June 21st, 2010
The funding for energy-efficiency within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is starting to take shape. The US Department of Energy (DOE) is focused on building a smarter and more sustainable future by funding 45 energy-efficient building technology projects and 13 green job training projects.
$68.4 Million in government funds and $31 Million from private industry will go to 45 advanced and emerging energy-efficient buidling technology projects centered on 5 key areas:
| Area of Focus |
# of Projects |
$ of Federal Award |
| Analysis, Design, and Tech Tools |
5
|
$5,969,682 |
| Advanced Building Control Strategies, Communcations, and IT in Net Zero Buildings |
12
|
$22,497,833 |
| Building Envelope/Windows |
14
|
$22,807,255 |
| Residential & Commercial HVAC |
10
|
$11,144,592 |
| Water Heating, Residential and Commerical Appliances and Miscellaneous Load |
4
|
$6,033,246 |
Around $8 Million in Federal funds and $1.5 Million in private will be awarded to 13 projects centered around green job training in the following 3 categories:
| Area of Focus |
# of Projects |
$ of Federal Award |
| Building Equipment Technicians |
4
|
$2,898,486 |
| Building Operators |
4
|
$2,281,828 |
| Building Energy Commissioning Agents/Auditors |
5
|
$2,825,753 |
It will be exciting to see what the selected projects accomplish and how they help shape our sustainable energy future. Without going forward into the unknown, we will be perpetually dependent on the failed systems of the past.
For a complete listing of all award amounts and awarded organizations.
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May 28th, 2010
Vampire energy loss occurs when an electronic device, like a cell phone charger, continues to draw and waste energy when left plugged in, which adds wasted watts to your electric bill! The US Department of Energy has noted that vampire energy loss is responsible for up to 15% of a home’s annual energy costs.
Vampire Proof Chargers are here to put a stake in vampire energy loss once and for all! Coming soon Vampire Labs will be offering an exclusive pre-order for our revolutionary vampire energy eliminating mobile phone chargers. Our patent-pending technology eliminates vampire energy loss at its core – reducing your home’s wasted energy, saving money, and ultimately saving our planet.
Visit www.vampirelabs.com to learn more about our exclusive pre-order, which guarantess you will be among the first people in the world to own a piece of tomorrow’s energy-efficient, ground-breaking technologies.
Tags: eliminate wasted energy, energy efficient, energy efficient technology, pre-order, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, Vampire Proof, Vampire Proof Charger
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April 22nd, 2010
Today marks the 40th official year of recognizing the Earth for being, well, the Earth. Check out the certified Earth Day website and see what you can do to help celebrate our cosmically singular yet ubiquitous home.
Unfortunately for our planet, April 22nd will come and go like so many other honorary holidays or birthdays where a calendar day recognizes or memorializes something that is forgotten the next day. If everyone on the planet observed 4/22/2010 with 100% earth-friendly practices, it would not change the Earth’s plight. This is not to say that Earth Day is not important or that it having its own day of recognition is not valuable. It is; it is.
The message just comes with a caveat – Earth Day should be everyday and practiced by everyone in a rational manner. Human behavior is not hard to change for a single day once a year. Most people are incentivized by a mix of peer pressure and conscious that comes with an official Earth Day to think green (but just for today). Instead of going overboard on green-this and eco-that all packed into 24 hours, why not incorporate more sustainable (and attainable) practices in one’s everyday life?
Aside from spurring more people to think about how their everyday actions represent themselves as stewards of a world, hopefully this Earth Day will add fuel to the new climate bill being introduced on April 26th in the U.S. Congress. Because while everyday individual choices do, can, and will make a collective difference, changing our laws in order to move to a more sustainable, more energy-efficient and less oil-dependent world is worth all the carbon free activities one can cram into a late day in April.
Abusus non tollit non nocet – Happy Earth Day, Earth.
Tags: april 22nd, earth day, Eco friendly, energy efficient, Happy Earth Day, sustainable, vampire labs, Vampire Proof
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April 9th, 2010
Earlier this week, 47 companies, including savvy corporate giants AT&T, GE, Google, and Intel,  sent a letter to the White House requesting a summit on home and office energy use monitoring. Home energy monitors, like smart meters and devices, have been around for quite a while, which may have you asking what’s the big deal?
Whenever Google publicly does something of this nature, we should be paying attention. The same can be said for their PR-savvy counterparts. Most of these corporations are very guarded with their street cred. Additionally, it’s not good enough to brush this aside as a good natured call to governmental duty because that would be naive.
The opening paragraph of their missive to Obama reads:
Clearly Google, AT&T, GE, Nokia, Intel and the rest are vying for plausibility of providing this type of consumer and commercial energy management on the varying platforms they specialize in, support or manufacture. Sending an open letter to Obama is a sharp marketing ploy to create public interest and demand surrounding the individual savings and global impact that reducing wasted energy at home and in the office will have. Something Vampire Labs has been arguing all along.
Plus, they are asking the US government to be a leader (err … market driver?) in four bullet points from their letter:
Expect to see an escalating push around the individual and global savings of monitoring residential and office energy on a very large scale. Do any of the aforementioned companies market any other way? High level savings data was already outlined in the dispatch:
Conjointly, the corporations and associations involved are seeing a developing market and are informing the right administration – we are ready to make good on a clean energy future and it starts with wasted energy; let’s work together.
Tags: AT&T, energy monitor, energy monitoring, energy savings, GE, Google, google energy, Intel, letter to obama, Letter to the president on home energy, Nokia, smart meter, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, Verizon, wasted energy
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March 9th, 2010
U.S. Congressional hearings are set this week for proposed energy efficiency legislation and programs, like Home Star and Building Star, which primarily focus on residential home and commercial energy efficiency and rebating those who outfit their homes or commercial locations accordingly. Check out the New York Times online Green Wire post for detailed information on these and other exciting energy efficiency legislation slated to be reviewed this week in Congress.
Click on picture to view downloadable U.S. DOE Energy Posters
2010 continues to be the year of energy efficiency, and the positive attention it is receiving from venture capital markets, consumers, the European Union and U.S. Governmental bodies are market drivers that contend it’s here to stay.
Why not have products and facilities that waste energy use that energy more efficiently? It saves energy resources, which in turn saves money, reduces unnecessary climate warming environmental waste, and can ultimately lower the cost of energy altogether. Our future depends on conserving energy in a practical manner and that future is now.
Tags: Building Star, energy efficiency, energy efficiency rebates, energy efficiency savings, energy efficient, Home Star, Save Energy Money and the Future, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, vampire proofâ„¢
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February 17th, 2010
A recent Ernst & Young analysis
revealed that cleantech Venture Capital (VC) investments fell 50% overall in 2009 from 2008. Seemingly alarming news for this important sector, but there’s optimism in their analysis.
What is cleantech and why should anyone care that VC funding dropped 50%?
Ernst & Young, “a global leader in assurance, advisory services, tax, transactions, and strategic growth markets“, defined cleantech in their analysis as, “a diverse range of innovative products and services that optimize the use of natural resources or reduce the negative environmental impact of their use while creating value by lowering cost, improving efficiency, or providing superior performance.” Cleantech will continue to play a vital role in our everyday lives and our future. The U.S. Government thinks it so vital that they are noted as one of the largest investors in the sector.
If cleantech is so crucial, why are VCs backing off?
Keeping in mind the global recession and that 2008 was a record year for cleantech investments, the analysis becomes less drastic. After all cleantech received $2.6 Billion in VC financing through 2009, and Q409 was even kinder. VC cleantech deals rose 21% overall in Q409 while energy efficiency cleaned up. As a sub-sector of cleantech, energy efficiency VC investment rose 11% in Q409 making it the largest VC deal maker. In line with the boost in VC deals, energy efficiency also raised the most capital in Q409 than all the other cleantech subsectors.
The shift marks as an interesting cleantech market driver. Others noted in the analysis include the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which recently awarded $2.3 Billion to cleantech manufacturing; the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, who is expediting cleantech entries; U.S. corporations, who are rapidly “going green” in order to reduce overhead and operating costs; and U.S. public markets, which brought $2.8 Billion in cleantech investment.
John de Young, an Associate Director at Ernst & Young, captured the trend concisely, “These results reflect the easing of an investment cycle largely driven by significant capital demands of solar companies and a shift toward energy efficiency products with lower funding requirements and potentially faster commercialization.“
Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment act, cleantech, energy efficiency, Enrst & Young, Rise in Energy Efficiency VC deals, standby power, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, VC Funding, VC Investment, Venture Capitalist
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February 4th, 2010
President Obama released his Administration’s 2011 budget request on Tuesday, and energy efficiencies’ role in the United States’ energy policy is increasing. According to the President’s budget proposal, the DOE will be appointed around 28.4 Billion, which is $2 Billion more than what has been slated for 2010. As Energy Secretary Steven Chu expressed, “This budget supports new approaches to energy research and invests in the next generation of scientists and engineers, and it will spark clean energy projects nationwide.”
Highlights per the Office of Management and Budget website on the Energy Department’s 2011 budget allocation:
- $4.7 Billion in clean energy technology investments at DOE, including:
- Nearly $2.4 Billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.
- $300 Million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy to accelerate game-changing energy technologies in need of rapid and flexible experimentation or engineering.
- $793 Million for clean energy activities, including R&D and infrastructure programs.
- $5.1 Billion for the Office of Science, including $1.8 Billion for basic energy sciences to discover novel ways to produce, store, and use energy.
- Double newable energy generating capicity by 2012.
- Assist in the development and deployment of advanced battery manufacturing capacity to support 500,000 hybrid electric vehicles a year by 2015.
- Retrofits for 1.1 Million housing units through 2011.
Obama on the 2011 energy allocations, “We will build on the largest investment in clean energy history, as well as increase investment in scientific research so that we are fostering the industries and jobs of the future.”
The United States’ energy policy is finally moving in the right direction under the Obama Administration.
Tags: clean energy, DOE, DOE budget allocation, energy efficiency, green jobs, Obama 2011 budget Request, Obama Adminstration energy policy, Obama Budget, Obama Energy, President Obama, steven chu, US Department of Energy, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, Vampire Proof
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January 26th, 2010
A new survey conducted by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) finds consumers want energy efficient technology to save them money. In fact, it’s the #1 attribute consumers look for when purchasing new appliances. (UL is an independent certification organization that has been testing and creating standards for electronics and other products for over a century.)
A recent Consumer Electronics Association study corroborates this data but goes even further by indicating that consumers believe energy efficient electronics will save them money. And they’re right - energy efficient electronics will reduce the electricity that is used; thus, reducing the cost to operate that specific electronic.
And the government is well aware of this data. According to Steven Chu, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, ”Appliances consume a huge amount of our electricity, so there’s enormous potential to both save energy and save families money every month” Cash for Appliances is a government program to replace old inefficient appliances with more efficient Energy Star approved ones. Learn more about how to take advantage of appliance rebates.
Much like the Universal Charging Solution, an industry-wide effort led by the GSMA to standardize cell phone chargers, the program is well intended and will save money, energy and help reduce harmful CO2; BUT, Cash for Appliances still misses the larger picture of eliminating wasted energy that occurs when the appliance is plugged in but not in use or serving its primary function.
Vampire Energy Loss, often times called Vampire or Standby Power, is a parasitic blip suffered by most electronic devices – whether it’s a cell phone charger, microwave, laptop, washer or flat screen. If they are left plugged in and are electronic, then they most likely suck electricity when they are not being used. Through Energy Star, vampire power is slightly reduced in most products but not eliminated. If the aim is to be truly energy efficient, then vampire energy loss must be annihilated. The technology exists and should be utilized more effectively.
Tags: cash for appliances, CEA, consumer electronics association, Energy star, standby power, UL Certification, UL Survey, underwriters laboratory, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, vampire proofâ„¢, vampire proofâ„¢ technology
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January 11th, 2010
CES is history. Crazy entertainment platforms ruled the long weekend and why not? Personal entertainment is where the money’s at. The consumer electronics’ industry is vying for your entertainment dollars. Every product poses itself as the next big breakthrough.
We didn’t quite see what we came for – exciting energy efficiency technology. There were a wide variety of power strips that reduce vampire power. These same type of products have failed to be viable in past years. What do they lack? Aside from high cost, the biggest hurdle these products face is that they require consumer behavior change. A downfall of many valuable eco-friendly products to date.
It is no secret that most consumer electronics waste the majority of the electricity they draw during charging and conversion of the electricity from ac/dc power and when left plugged into the outlet when not in use. This is known as vampire energy loss, standby power consumption or vampire power. It was unfortunate that the engineers behind 3D TV, tablet pc’s and some of the other potential game-changers did not aim to eliminate vampire energy loss – only curb it. 
Tomorrow’s headlines reaffirm the need to stop wasting today’s energy resources that yesterday were just an afterthought …
Tags: CEA, CES, consumer electronics association, consumer electronics show, consumer electronics show 2010, power strip, standby power, standby power consumption, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, Vampire Proof
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January 6th, 2010
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially begins tomorrow the 7th and runs through the 10th. Although it’s been reported that CES 2010 has scaled back in size from previous years, the hype, speculation and predictions from tech-insiders has not.
While most every one’s focus is tuned towards 3D TV, viable touch tablets and competing e-readers, we will do our best to stick with speakers, sessions and exhibits that combine technology and energy efficiency – like the Innovations Movement, Greener Gadgets Tech Zone and Sustainable Planet. It’s really the creative prowess of technology and gadgetry that is truly amazing.
As an innovative,
ground-breaking company, Vampire Labs thrives in creative atmospheres. We’re geared up to take it all in – the ingenious, the impersonators, the unreal, and, yes, a few games of roulette here and there. Hopefully, you’re joining us, but, if not, check us out on Monday for a recap.
As our flight descends, I close with this quote and hope for an exciting, safe and, hopefully, promising weekend: “Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress.” (Ted Levitt, 1925-2006)
Tags: CES, ces 2010, consumer electronics show 2010, eco charger, energy efficiency, green gadgets, green tech, las vegas ces, standby power, ted levitt, vampire energy loss, vampire labs, vampire power, Vampire Proof, vampire proof charging solutions
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The funding for energy-efficiency within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is starting to take shape. The US Department of Energy (DOE) is focused on building a smarter and more sustainable future by funding 45 energy-efficient building technology projects and 13 green job training projects.
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