The Empire State Building retrofitted 6,514 windows and is 100% powered by wind.
The world’s most famous office building, the Empire State Building in New York City amazed people in 2009 when it set out to retrofit its 6,514 windows taking them from antique to modern day performance standards. If this 1,454 foot building can do it, any building can!
For doing so, and for applying other key green building characteristics, the EPA awarded the building with ENERGY STAR certification for the second consecutive year – equivalent to achieving LEED-Gold status under US Green Building Council certification standards.
In April 2009, President Bill Clinton and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a groundbreaking $20 million sustainability retrofit for the Empire State Building. The total renovation program is costing $550 million.
The retrofit will lessen energy use by more than 38% and save the building over $4.4 million a year.
The Empire State Building further strengthened its sustainability efforts in 2011 by announcing the use of 100 percent wind power, becoming New York’s largest commercial purchaser of renewable energy. Most recently, ESB shared details of a multi-year contract with Otis to fully refurbish and modernize the building’s 68 elevators. As a result of this upgrade–in addition to being much more energy-efficient, they’ll be able to send regenerated energy back into the building grid, reducing elevator energy use 30%.
Besides replacing all the building’s windows, building management has added insulation behind radiators to reduce heat loss, replaced the chiller system, and introduced energy management systems on every floor so that tenants can effectively manage and control their energy use.
EPA’s ENERGY STAR program provides tools which help organizations evaluate and reduce their building’s energy use and carbon footprint. To obtain a certificate, a number of structural and energy output goals must be met and verified by a licensed engineer. Only buildings with a rating of 75 points or above (out of 100), are eligible for certification.
For the whole story check out: http://www.esbnyc.com/sustainability_energy_efficiency.asp
About the Empire State Building
Soaring 1,454 feet (from base to antenna) above Midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. The Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions and is the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit:
www.esbnyc.com, www.facebook.com/EmpireStateBuilding, or @ESBObservatory.
Scenic Pictures and Videos for your enjoyment.
In my travels over the last few years I have enjoyed stopping along the way and photographing the beautiful waterfalls and scenery of Oregon. Several times a month I will be uploading the pictures and videos I have taken. Please feel free to use them for desktops or what ever you want, enjoy!
Have you put in a DIY solar or wind system?
We are embarking into the area of DIY systems. We would love to hear from you as to your interest, successes, failures and needs. If you have done your own DIY system and are willing to share your processes and best practices, please share them with us. We would love to hear you. Check out EverGreen Energy LLC for more information.
EverGreen Asks: Why Waste the Wind? Apr 04, 2011 Cascade Business News By JEFF SPRY CBN Feature Writer
Apr 04, 2011
By By JEFF SPRY CBN Feature Writer
Why waste the wind? This is the question on Mark Patt’s mind every hour of every day.
Patt is CEO of EverGreen Energy LLC in Bend, a distributor and supplier of photovoltaic solar tiles, solar hot water heaters and his main product creating a hurricane of excitement – the Windspire vertical wind turbine. EverGreen provides a tantalizing line of green-conscious, eco-friendly energy saving and energy producing devices to convert homes and businesses into “Net Zero Energy” structures. Their mission is to become a leading vendor of environmentally smart products, services and supplies.
“We started this company less than two years ago and got into the alternative energy business representing various manufacturers,” said Patt. ”There is a lot of wind in Oregon and seems the most logical thing to do is utilize it. America is on the forefront of green technology and we need to lead the way and infuse our innovation and ingenuity into these clean energy products. Too many jobs in this field are being lost to overseas corporations.”
The latest trend among green builders and homeowners is to include vertical wind turbines on the property to capture gusts and convert that energy into stored electricity.
Windspire turbines are miniaturized clones of full-sized wind turbines seen gracing hillsides on vast wind farms and stand 30-feet-tall with a 15-foot base and a radius of two feet. A major difference between the two designs is the use of vertical airfoils instead of a propeller blade style system. The sleek turbines are made from durable corrosion-protected steel and aircraft grade aluminum and are engineered to operate for 25 years or more. Owners can paint or decorate their turbines in any way to suit their needs or blend into the surroundings. They’re produced in a plant outside Detroit using the same displaced worked employed in auto industry plants.
Due to the moving components spinning on magnetic bearings, the units are extremely quiet, producing sound levels in the six decibel range, barely above a whisper. For safety concerns, the turbines are installed with a braking system which activates when winds exceed 46 mph to prevent self-destruction and are rated at a maximum capacity of 105 mph.
EverGreen Director of Marketing Dave McCorkle thinks these turbines are a pure play to get your power. ”Marrying the wind turbines with solar is a great way to utilize both technologies to get to a Net Zero position because when the sun is shining the wind isn’t always blowing,” he said. ”Wind technology has been improving by leaps and bounds.”
These wind turbines have been successfully tested and utilized across the country in such places as the University of Kansas, in neighborhoods in Ashland, Oregon, Adobe Software’s corporate headquarters in San Jose, CA and even at Google’s new data center in The Dalles.
“It’s an attractive, non-invasive piece of technology that’s good for the planet,” declared Patt.
Turbines work in conjunction with roof-mounted solar panels to provide and store electricity for household or commercial needs, often substantially offsetting measurable monthly costs for utilities, contributing up to 25 percent of the total power for the average home per turbine. Much is determined by the amount of wind available. The cost for all this high-tech gadgetry and efficiency does not come cheap.
Each Windspire unit costs $19,800 installed. However, a sizeable portion of that price may be reduced once tax credits and government incentives are introduced and applied. A 30 percent Federal Energy Tax Credit is available to those who obtain the turbines. Total payback for the unit is 7-9 years and that has been reduced from 27 years with decreased costs and increased efficiency of the turbines. They come complete with a high-efficiency generator, integrated 120 volt inverter, hinged monopole and wireless performance monitor. Output is 1200 watts or 2000 kilowatt hours per year assuming an average windspeed of 12 mph.
Why waste wind? There may be no reason to. The State of Oregon even has low-interest loans through the Oregon Department Of Energy (ODOE) that can provide financing.
“Our motto is to leave this world better than we found it,” said Patt. “My father taught me to come out of the woods without polluting it. The goal of EverGreen Energy is to bring homes and businesses from energy dependence to energy independence and we believe that can be easily achieved.”
www.thinkevergreenhome.com
info@thinkevergreenhome.com
541-508-4505.
Oregon Utilities to Start Feed-In Tariff Programs
Oregon utilities to start feed-in tariff programs
POSTED: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 04:06 PM PT
BY: Nathalie Weinstein
Tags: Pacific Power, Portland General Electric, solar
Portland General Electric and Pacific Power next month will begin their feed-in tariff pilot programs for solar photovoltaic panels.
The feed-in tariff programs are the first to roll out since Oregon established the feed-in tariff system in 2009. Under the system, utility companies pay customers who have solar panels for the power they produce. The program is suppose to help pay off the cost of solar panels and encourage customers to install them.
Currently, power produced by solar panels goes toward customers’ power bills. If the solar panels produce a surplus, the credit rolls over to the next month. The feed-in tariff program instead would pay customers at a set rate for the power produced, applied to the power bill at first and paid in cash in the case of a surplus. Customers who already have solar panels will have to install new ones to participate in the program.
The rates for payment were set up by the Public Utility Commission: 65 cents per kilowatt hour for systems up to 10 kilowatts, and 55 cents per kWh for systems between 10 kW and 100 kW. The amount of kWhs generated by a solar system multiplied by the rate of pay will be paid to the customer.
Bruce Barney, a PGE project manager, says solar installers can apply to the program for projects of less than 100 kW. Applications will be online beginning July 1 at 8 a.m. through each utility company’s respective website, www.portlandgeneral.com and www.pacificpower.net.
“The project selection for small and medium installations is done on a first come, first serve basis,” Barney said. “Systems should be installed within the first year of receiving a project reservation.”
Larger solar projects between 100 kW and 500 kW will have to compete in an RFP process, according to Dorothy Sosnowski, PGE project manager. PGE will take on one to eight of these large scale projects, and Pacific Power will take on one to four. Projects will be awarded based on lowest cost, and the RFP will be available on PGE’s and Pacific Power’s websites on July 1.
Financing and ROI Has Never Been Better
I recently received a letter from a friend of mine. I think this is worth reading. Make no mistake this is the best time to be putting solar and wind up at your business or home in Oregon.
Solar Power for Oregon
Dan Fish
Our new commercial
We just finished a new commercial on one of our products. The Power Save 1200. After having our own electrician try the product and rave about the results we decided that it was time to go to market with this innovative product.
We feel that if a person “only got a Surge protection for the whole home or business” that would be enough savings, but the side benefit is that he saved on his power bills.
We are well aware that there are Nay Sayers out there trying to say these are a scam, but we did our due diligence.
- First there was a college study by Ayhan A. Mutlu, Ph.D., and Mahmud Rahman, Ph.D. Department of Electrical Engineering, Santa Clara University 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053 who did a study on this product.
- Second, there is a 60 day money back guarantee.
- Third, over 50,000 have been sold with little or no returns.
Sorry for the blast of information, but it upsets me when people put false information on the web and have not done their home work.
It sheds a dim light on those of us that care and are doing the right thing.
We are living in “Exponential times”.
Daily, I am in awe of the new products and services that are coming out of green energy movement. I recently attended a presentation on goal setting for the future. I viewed the “Did You Know video” from Youtube, and after viewing all I could say was WOW! We are truly in the industrial revolution of new technologies. What a great time to be a part of the race!
A day later I read a truly disturbing letter to the editor, in our local paper, from a very ill-informed person condemning the alternative energy movement, calling it a waste of tax payers dollars. And the dollars invested would never payoff. First of all a tax rebate is not money collected, but rather a lowered tax rate incentive to do the right thing. Second of all, we work hard for our dollars. Why shouldn’t we all get a tax bail out too, for doing the right thing? I wanted to ask if he if he realized that the electric car was just around the corner, and if he knows how the power companies are going react to a higher demand? Has he looked at the advances that are being made in literally every venue of alternative energy? Maybe he, just as the video say’s, basing his assumptions on old information.
We can not live in the past! The saving grace of our great country and our world falls directly in the hands of the innovators of our age. Lets face it America has always been the leaders of innovation right from our foundation and ancestors. Now is the time to think out side of the box! Get Moving, get creative and make it happen!
That is what we have charged our buyer at EverGreen Energy to do. Cutting edge is what we want people to see us leading the way.
Adobe Systems Corporate Headquarters Turns to Wind Power
Windspire wind turbines surround the rooftop basketball court at Adobe HQ. (Look closely)
Yes that right! The big players are now going for wind and a big way. There is a great article in the San Francisco Chronicle about how wind generation can also be artful.
As we gear up the solutions for off the grid consumption, we do not have to give up style. That is in perfect harmony with our vision at EverGreen Energy. We believe that you can have the best of both worlds. Looks and functionality can go hand in hand. And the best thing is we can lower our carbon foot print and go “Net-Zero Energy”
We are always looking for the creative and new approach. We marry the technologies to bring clients to a “Net-Zero Energy” solution.
What is new on the horizon!
I am truly sorry I have been lax and not been adding to our blog lately. Our company is exploding with opportunities and just have not sat down and shared. shame on me. The future is very bright for the “Net-Zero Energy” Business. We have many projects coming alive in 2010.
Well during this last months travels and while researching our presentation for a class we taught at Central Oregon Community College, we hsd an extreme interest in what is coming up in the near future. Here a few great things Dave and I discovered. Solar Trees, wind turbines for the freeways and solar generators
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