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Smart Meters in the Home

A New York Times article about the energy efficiency of two towns in Britain, Hove and Brighton, highlighted a simple device that could significantly reduce our energy consumption - a smart meter.  The meter tells you how many watts of electricity you're using in your home at any given moment.  The ability to equate watt usage with energy costs becomes instantaneous and second nature, and prompts many people to become very vigilant. 

Here in Southern California, Southern Cal Edison, is in the process of providing these smart meters on a large scale.  This simple step in energy conservation will go a long way to reducing consumption, reducing greenhouse gases, and saving money!  It displays real-time information about watt usage and enables all family members to monitor their electricity usage.

A quick Google search will provide local information for your area of the country. 

New LA Green Building Law is Light on Enforcement

LA mayor Villaraigosa used Earth Day to sign a new law that requires new and renovated buildings and residential towers bigger than 50,000 square feet to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards - approximately 150 buildings and 7.5 million square feet per year (most builders say that it will not increase the cost of construction). Los Angeles joins Connecticut and 14 cities in requiring LEED standards compliance of developers.

The City has an aggressive goal of reducing carbon emissions by 35% below 1990 levels by 2030. This new law will prevent about 85,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over 5 years (the equivalent of 15,000 cars off of the road).

The City of San Francisco is considering an even more aggressive ordinance (all structures over 25,000 square feet to a higher standard than LA's) with stricter enforcement. The Los Angeles law is light in enforcement - only every seventh application will be scrutinized for violations.