Smart Buildings – More Than Just Energy Efficiency

The smartest people in the commercial real estate industry agree–if we really got energy efficiency in buildings right using smart building technologies, corporations could save so much money that there would be little need for solar panels or windmills. While most experts are still strong supporters of these alternative energy sources, they agree that extreme energy efficiency measures could have very dramatic positive results.

On the other hand, there are an increasing number of people who are growing disenchanted with the energy efficiency movement. It is not that they are against the idea, it just seems like it is an “all or nothing” proposition, and one of the major aspects of smart building technologies is the impact they can have on OPERATIONS and TENANT SAFETY/SATISFACTION as well as energy efficiency–which solar panels and windmills don’t offer.
In our world of buildings, a world that impacts us every time we enter an office, mall, school or sporting venue, and an environment that requires a great degree of operational support, why totally ignore the operational benefits, financial and human productivity possibilities, and tenant safety/satisfaction potential of intelligent, connected, high performance smart buildings?

This new generation of smart buildings, in which an IT infrastructure is laid on top of a building and every electro-mechanical device is IP enabled and connected with the ability to send data and be controlled, can provide energy savings and a WHOLE LOT MORE. The concept of centralized portfolio control with dramatically reengineered workflow, combined with advanced data analytics and visualization, could have an equal (if not greater) impact on the operational and tenant satisfaction bottom line of a building when comparing energy efficiency and savings.

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Tips for Decorating Your Christmas Tree

It can generally take an entire day to decorate a Christmas tree. If you follow our quick-start plan outlined below, however, it is quite possible to decorate the tree and still have some time left to spend with your family. Here are some time-saving tips you can easily adopt as you put up your Christmas tree decorations.

One of the key factors that will help you in decorating your tree very quickly is to use an artificial and not a live tree. Just for now, lets ignore the usual arguments about which tree looks better or which is more traditional. The fact is that with an artificial tree, you can string your Christmas lights together in such a way that when you disband the tree, you can still leave the lights on. This is really very important if you are using a lot of lights. With a fake tree, even if you are using a thousand Christmas lights, all you have to do is put the pieces together and plug in the lights. This is far easier than wrapping lights around a real tree.

Once you have set up your tree, you are ready to add your ornaments. Ornaments are generally categorized as “decorative” or “fillers”. A decorative ornament might be a collectible ornament like a Hllmrk ornament or it could simply be a hand painted ornament that your child made in kindergarten. Filler ornaments, on the other hand, are plain round balls that come in bright colors. Single colored and basic ornaments like apples (in miniature or regular sizes that may be used to complement other ornaments) will also fall under the filler group too.

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IRS Revenue Procedure 2011-14 Energy efficiency and claiming the 179D deduction

The 179D tax deduction came about as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). Congress wanted to incentivize the utilization of energy-efficiency components in a building to one of the following parties:

1.The owner of the building
2.The tenant
3.The primary designer of an energy-efficient government building. (Architect, engineer, contractor etc.)

The deduction available is up to $.60 per sq./ft. for lighting, HVAC and building envelope, creating potential for $1.80 per sq./ft. if all three components qualify. These deductions are applicable to buildings that were either built or retrofitted after 12/31/2005.

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Toyoto Introduces The Toy The First Pedal Car For Adults

In an effort to rescue drivers from the high cost of gasoline, Toyota has announced the introduction of the Toy, the first car for grownups that is operated like a childs pedal car.

Its main benefit is, of course, that it requires no gas. There is, however, a limit as to how far the vehicle can travel on one adults leg power.

The resourceful auto giant maintains that the encumbrance is not a drawback at all, because adults can change places at the wheel. While one pedals, the other can rest.

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How Cooling Systems Can Improve Your Energy Efficiency

The business case for energy efficiency is a powerful one. At the end of 2010, the Carbon Trust reported that the average return on investment of energy-efficiency projects carried out in commercial premises is 48%. Increasingly, it is becoming clear that to invest in sustainability is to save money.

But while the UK government is supporting carbon reduction by introducing grants and green initiatives, these have done little more than skew people’s perception of what represents an energy saving. With heavy focus applied to insulation and heating, cooling strategies have been left rather more out in the cold.

The hot topic

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