WASHINGTON – A diverse coalition of technology companies are touting a new approach to energy efficiency that leverages low-power electronics, smart devices and networks along with the larger Internet of Things to achieve what proponents call “intelligent efficiency.”
The coalition that includes chip maker Intel Corp., Verizon and Johnson Controls advocates a system-level approach to energy efficiency as a way to scale up energy conservation gains achieved through efficient appliances and other consumer devices. “We must take a systems-based approach to dramatically scale up energy efficiency to meet our future energy challenges,” said the authors of a report release Tuesday (June 5) titled, “A Defining Framework for Intelligent Efficiency.”
The report was published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The industry group argues that leveraging cloud computing and growing consumer access to real-time information on energy usage could help reduce U.S. energy consumption in homes and offices by as much as 22 percent. Intelligent efficiency could yield billions of dollars in energy savings and productivity gains, the group claims.
A prime example of how intelligent efficiency would work is the recent “sustainability” retrofit of the Empire State Building in New York City. Sponsors of the retrofit claim it will reduce the landmark building’s energy consumption by 38.4 percent while cutting energy costs by an estimated $4.4 million annually.
An energy retrofit to the Empire State Building included 6,514 new windows with "insulated radiative barriers." An equal number of old radiators were removed from the building to reduce energy loss through windows.
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