29 Apr, 2008
Green Retrofits
But retrofits are the main chance -- at the very least, to use energy much more efficiently -- in a country with 5M + existing commercial buildings (and 128M existing dwelling units).
Commercial Property News ran a Q-and-A with a Dallas-based company "that greens buildings at no cost" (& without forcing the building's owners to take on debt). I really, really, REALLY like this interview, including the answers to these two questions:
CPNTechnology: Why do you think that more companies are NOT doing what you are doing?
Gossett: According to the National Association of Energy Services Companies (NAESCO), commercial real estate has historically comprised less than 5 percent of the total energy efficiency projects performed in the United States . Traditional ESCOs, technology manufacturers and contractors think in terms of expense savings, technology improvements and finite duration construction projects. Their traditional transaction models do not serve the unique needs of commercial real estate. There is plenty of “low hanging fruit” in energy savings projects in schools, universities, hospitals, government buildings and owner occupied buildings. Why should they suffer through learning all about recurring capX, expense stops, mortgage loan covenants, etc. that make commercial real estate unique?
CPNTechnology: What does it mean to be truly green?
Gossett: A truly green building is highly energy efficient and operated in an environmentally responsible manner.As you know our focus is on existing buildings rather than new construction. I believe the new LEED O&M standard is a reasonable, objective standard to determine if a building is truly “Green.” In order to obtain the LEED O&M certification a building must first prove that it is energy efficient by obtaining an EPA Energy Star rating of 70 or more (out of 100). Then the building must submit proof it has adopted various sustainable operating and maintenance practices. This involves such things as implementing a building recycling program and eliminating all polluting chemicals used in building cleaning and maintenance.
Gossett: According to the National Association of Energy Services Companies (NAESCO), commercial real estate has historically comprised less than 5 percent of the total energy efficiency projects performed in the United States . Traditional ESCOs, technology manufacturers and contractors think in terms of expense savings, technology improvements and finite duration construction projects. Their traditional transaction models do not serve the unique needs of commercial real estate. There is plenty of “low hanging fruit” in energy savings projects in schools, universities, hospitals, government buildings and owner occupied buildings. Why should they suffer through learning all about recurring capX, expense stops, mortgage loan covenants, etc. that make commercial real estate unique?
CPNTechnology: What does it mean to be truly green?
Gossett: A truly green building is highly energy efficient and operated in an environmentally responsible manner.As you know our focus is on existing buildings rather than new construction. I believe the new LEED O&M standard is a reasonable, objective standard to determine if a building is truly “Green.” In order to obtain the LEED O&M certification a building must first prove that it is energy efficient by obtaining an EPA Energy Star rating of 70 or more (out of 100). Then the building must submit proof it has adopted various sustainable operating and maintenance practices. This involves such things as implementing a building recycling program and eliminating all polluting chemicals used in building cleaning and maintenance.
29 Apr, 2008
'Overlooked' Bldg Systems Component
Check cables: Sometimes,
network problems can be as simple as a loose or poorly terminated
connection. Also, check to make sure CAT cables are not running next to
fluorescent light fixtures; the high-frequency magnetic fields from the
ballasts can interfere with IP transmissions.
Also in the story is a detailed horror story about a video implementation. Adding 45 cameras to a facility (and its cabling system) resulted in a disaster, with users even complaining about "slow Internet and e-mail." According to the article:The CCNA technician dug a little deeper and found a problem that many
overlook: the network cable terminations were poor quality and were
slowing transmissions. The contractor who had installed the cabling had
done a poor job, leaving many of the terminations loosely connected.
Just as in the VoIP example, the reduced network capacity was not
noticed when the only network traffic was e-mail or Web surfing, but
the use of video overwhelmed these shoddy connections. The cables were
re-terminated, and the network’s capacity was restored. The video then
streamed smoothly, even with all 45 cameras being viewed simultaneously.
Interesting, eh? What electrical/datacom contractors do every day MATTERS . . . and if it doesn't matter today, it's gonna matter later on.
(More)
29 Apr, 2008
Chinese Car Facts
Last year, Toyota sold 414 of the Prius model in China last year. The company's goal reportedly was to sell 3,000 of the things.
How many cars were sold in China in 2007? 5.2 million.
The 2007 sales total was up 21% from 2006.
"Smaller cars, which made up 67% of all car sales in China last year, are selling for as little as $4,500."
The 2007 sales total was up 21% from 2006.
"Smaller cars, which made up 67% of all car sales in China last year, are selling for as little as $4,500."
29 Apr, 2008
Motor Diagnostics
29 Apr, 2008
Wireless 'SmartWalls'
Here's an appetizer:
The technology would replace electric wiring and open sockets.
Appliances placed on the embedded power substrate, such as coffee
makers, laptops, or cell phones, will work with energy created by
magnetic induction instead of a directly wired connection.
The wireless technology consists of a very thin layer of printed electronics, like wall paper, that can be overlaid, put inside of or integrated into drywall, marble, or wood and in ceilings, floors, walls or furniture. Powermat needs just one outlet to draw its electricity from, which it then converts to magnetic force.
The wireless technology consists of a very thin layer of printed electronics, like wall paper, that can be overlaid, put inside of or integrated into drywall, marble, or wood and in ceilings, floors, walls or furniture. Powermat needs just one outlet to draw its electricity from, which it then converts to magnetic force.
29 Apr, 2008
Housing & Energy Inefficiency
Stupid is as stupid does? Here's what Salmon wrote:
Dan Ariely asks why people are more willing to shell out for a Prius than they are to spend a similar amount of money to save much more CO2 by making their houses energy-efficient. And I think a large part of the answer is connected to the popularity of 2/1 and 3/1 ARM mortgages.
If you're going to do things like install energy-efficient appliances and well-insulated windows and solar panels and so on and so forth, you're going to worry about the cost, which will be earned back over the years in lower energy bills. If you're not going to stay in your house for very long, you might end up negative. And there's really no way in which a house with energy-effiencent appliances is going to be more valuable than one without them.
29 Apr, 2008
Powering Civilization To 2050
Here's a link -- and a snippet that, I hope, is indicative of what Staniford sees:
Of course, I wouldn't claim for a moment that my back of the envelope
calculations will actually be the way things play out quantitatively.
However, it does seem to me that the qualitative features of this graph
are likely if
we do the required international public policy groundwork to install a
global renewables grid. The qualitative features I mean are a period
over the next 15-20 years of high energy prices and slower global
growth, followed by a period after that when renewables take off and
become the main power source for society and energy becomes cheap again.
28 Apr, 2008
Non-Res - Off A Cliff
And it has, in the past month, fallen off the proverbial cliff. See the graphic below.
Find AIA's release on this here, and a deeper exploration (with more charts) here. Why present both? The release is shorter, but it carries the headline: "Architecture Billings Index Drops to its Lowest Level Ever."
28 Apr, 2008
Shortage Of Electricians
"We are suffering from a shortage of tradespeople in all the trades. It's not just electircians. We are seeing across-the-board shortages of skilled tradesmen and construction craftsmen and carpenters.
"We feel that our schools aren't emphasizing the importance of the industrial arts. The focus has been on white-collar careers so, consequently, there just are not as many kids who are interested in entering into those building trades."
"We feel that our schools aren't emphasizing the importance of the industrial arts. The focus has been on white-collar careers so, consequently, there just are not as many kids who are interested in entering into those building trades."
What's the solution? In Salina, the idea for solving this problem seems . . . well, not so damn good. According to the story, the Building Advisory Board has asked the city commission to reduce "the years of experience needed to become a master electrician . . . from six to four years" and to earn the journeyman electrician designation, down from four to two years.
- - - - -
EleBlog take: This is a wake-up call. Hey -- you can't "redefine" a journeyman or master electrician into existence.
The newspaper story -- to which I cannot link, as we all don't have access to the Journal's archives -- included a quote from Eric Barnett, owner, EB Electric, on the reduction in years required to earn those designations:
"I think that's moot compared to them being able to pass the test. The guys are still going to have to pass the test. The test scares a lot of them off."
And from Dave Retzlaff, owner, D&R Electric:
"[those who employ apprentices] have not forced the issue to tell them to take the tests. I really thin if employers would mandate that after four years they have to take the test, there would be no shortage."
- - - - - When I explain what electrical work is, and why it's the most important job on a construction site, I tell people the simple facts:
a. The plumber CAN kill you. He's usually a pretty strong guy. He can grab you and drown you in the bathtub. Or he can hit you in the head with a pipe. But generally, if he makes a mistake on a job, that error won't kill a building's occupants. It might lead to a flood, and cost you money. But that's it.
b. The electrician has several ways to kill you AND cost you money. He can screw up in doing simple wiring, and you can be electrocuted. He can mess up the grounding/bonding of a job, and (at best) your equipment won't work; at worst, it will be damaged. Or he can mess up the job -- and there can be a fire. And at the very least your building will be damaged or burn to the ground; at worst, the fire will kill people.
b. The electrician has several ways to kill you AND cost you money. He can screw up in doing simple wiring, and you can be electrocuted. He can mess up the grounding/bonding of a job, and (at best) your equipment won't work; at worst, it will be damaged. Or he can mess up the job -- and there can be a fire. And at the very least your building will be damaged or burn to the ground; at worst, the fire will kill people.
Dropping the requirement for becoming a master electrician from 6 to 4 years, and for a journeyman from 4 to 2 years, does NOT create more electricians, does it? Further, it would seem to DEVALUE those two designations.
Does this make any sense at all?
28 Apr, 2008
Geek Squad To Do Installations
Here's the part that interested me:
According to Robert Stephens, chief inspector for Geek Squad, company
technicians are the “plumbers of the IT industry. We are at the bottom
rung,” and he says that is exactly where the company wants to be.
In the mid-1990s, as Publisher of Electrical Contractor, I thought EC magazine readers could be the "plumbers of the IT industry." We spent a lot of time on home automation and the "smart house" back then.
28 Apr, 2008
Crisis In Retail?
And the news is . . . bad. Read the Q+A. Here's one slice -- which resonates with me:
I don’t think this is the end of the world. The business is cyclical.
Frankly, cycles are necessary. Inefficiencies in the marketplace are
corrected during this part of the cycle, and in fact we’re seeing a
whole host of investors taking a strong interest in the retail real
estate market right now, looking for value-add opportunities and even
distressed situations, though there aren’t as many of those as you
might think.
Find it here.
28 Apr, 2008
Q1 Contract Values Down 19%
This is the value of construction starts, which I imagine includes contracts just signed and projects on which ground has been broken. Of course, the fact that residential spending is down 40% should be no surprise.
But I'm not sure that the 3% non-res gain keeps up with inflation . . .
YEAR-TO-DATE CONSTRUCTION
STARTS
Unadjusted Totals, In Millions of Dollars
Unadjusted Totals, In Millions of Dollars
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
28 Apr, 2008
Disconnected
Some quick math:
Average 600 per day x 5-day work week = 3,000 disconnected customers per week.
In a four-week month, that's 12,000 customers disconnected by Xcel, minimum.
If you had two months of this, Xcel will have disconnected 1.7% of its customers.
That's not so good. In a four-week month, that's 12,000 customers disconnected by Xcel, minimum.
If you had two months of this, Xcel will have disconnected 1.7% of its customers.
28 Apr, 2008
Mortgages: Resets vs. Recasts
Apparently, there's a lot more -- and perhaps a lot worse -- financial stuff to come. According to the guy Herb's quoting:
The
option arm loan was very popular through 1Q07 - so take 40 months from
that date, plus 3 months for them to go 90 days late and then and only
will you see foreclosures start to level off.
43 months from Jan-March 2007 takes us into mid- to late-2011. If this analysis is correct, we've got years of additional, worsening misery to go -- for a small subset of existing homeowners, for those who loaned them money, and perhaps for the U.S. as a whole.
22 Apr, 2008
Housing Forecast Handouts
[I can say you're probably NOT going because, while there are no doubt hundreds in attendance, most of them are home builders or association types.]
I found a page on the NAHB site where they've made paper presentations from the CFC downloadable. It's nowhere near as good as being there. But it's something.
22 Apr, 2008
Food Prices
22 Apr, 2008
Commercial RE Financing
His 4/17 entry is extremely interesting:
Commercial real estate financing is way more difficult, costly, and harder to find today than one year ago. Cash is king. Cap rates that may have been 6% in mid-2007 for the same property might be 7 - 7 1/2% today.
There's a bit more to the entry. But I believe that slice is enough to focus your thinking, if your an EC whose business is in the commercial market (at least in northern California, which is where Jeff operates). 22 Apr, 2008
Release On Green Power
22 Apr, 2008
Cabling Market Forecast
WORLDWIDE STRUCTURED CABLING SYSTEMS (SCS) MARKET
TO GROW TO $29.1 BILLION IN FIVE YEARS
HUMMELSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, MARCH 25, 2008 - Frank Murawski, President of
FTM Consulting, Inc., announced the publication of its latest market
research study.
The study, "Worldwide Structured Cabling Systems (SCS) Market," projects
that the worldwide SCS market will grow from $15.3 billion in 2008, at a
compound annual growth rate of 13.7%, to $29.1 billion by 2013. The
study examines five major geographic regions of the world.
By far, the largest market is the Americas led by the U.S. market. This
growth in the U.S. market is expected to be fostered by the addition of
new IP subnets to the enterprise's existing core networks. Frank Murawski,
President of FTM Consulting stated, "During the next five years we
expect to see the U.S. SCS market deploying enormous amounts of copper cabling to
support VOIP applications. In the same way, the SCS market grew in the
1990s, as each PC in a building needed to be connected to a network, we
see the need to connect each individual VOIP telephone to the existing
network."
On a global basis, the study's findings indicate that growth in fiber
cabling will surpass growth in copper cabling during the next five
years.
In 2008, fiber cabling accounted for 52.7% of the total global SCS
market.
By 2013, it is expected that fiber cabling will account for 60.1% of the
total global market.
The study, "Worldwide Structured Cabling Systems (SCS) Market," provides
detailed market forecasts in 105 tables. Additional information on this
study can be found at www.ftmconsultinginc.com
21 Apr, 2008
Lighting Webinar - Tomorrow - Free
21 Apr, 2008
Recent Columns
March 5 + 12 -- a two-parter on how the housing/credit crisis could affect non-Residential construction.
March 19 + 26 and April 5 -- 3 columns written based on my visit to the National Assn. of Home Builders convention.
April 9 -- COPPER. Yes, the stuff through which the electrons love to flow!
April 16 -- An economic column. I call it "Two-Tiered Capitalism" these days.
To be posted probably tomorrow, 4/23 -- a piece on The Home Depot.
March 19 + 26 and April 5 -- 3 columns written based on my visit to the National Assn. of Home Builders convention.
April 9 -- COPPER. Yes, the stuff through which the electrons love to flow!
April 16 -- An economic column. I call it "Two-Tiered Capitalism" these days.
To be posted probably tomorrow, 4/23 -- a piece on The Home Depot.
Thanks for taking a look!
18 Apr, 2008
Lack Of Energy Investment
With crude oil's price around $115/barrel right now, and some idiot on CNBC just now predicting $4/gal. gasoline by Memorial Day (gee, that was surprising, was't it?) . . . the question asked by the headline sure as heck is relevant. PLUS, the thing came with this pretty graphic:
Fusaro is chair of Global Change Asssociates, so he's got a "green" axe to grind -- you might read the column anyway, but you'll agree with that summation. What I found interesting is this, from the start of his effort:
The outlays for R&D last year were $4 billion for U.S. energy companies—that includes oil, gas and power companies. We see little movement this year, as well. The Federal government's outlay was $7.5 billion in many politically wired projects. The energy industry is the most capital-intensive industry on the planet and requires vast reservoirs of capital. The funny thing is that the industry is awash in capital but seems content on stock repurchasing and dividend boosting. It's not a very enlightened approach to the future.
In fact, it can be argued that the major oil companies are now in a liquidation phase of their existence. Their reserves-to-production ratio is declining, and they are now beginning to peak as they now produce and monetize their depletable assets. Investment in a new energy future is not being pursued by many energy companies yet. I see the energy companies, therefore, as the buyers of the new clean energy technology, not the innovators producing them.
If he's giving us the straight skinny here, it says the USG is outspending the energy companies on R&D. This is positively frightening on many angles.18 Apr, 2008
Small Wind
18 Apr, 2008
Energy Productivity
Or: You could take a short-cut. The blogger at GreenEnergyWar.com has written up three posts on the McKinsey report -- and (to my reading of the original report and his pieces) . . . he hasn't done a bad job. The relevant posts are from April 2, 3, and 4.
Here's just a tiny bit of the story here:
There’s a tired joke about the economist who was disdainful of his
non-economist friend for picking up a $20 bill from the sidewalk. “If
it were real, somebody would have already picked it up,” is the
received wisdom. But very few Green Energy War planners, let alone the
economists among them, have ever made investments which compound at 17%
over a lengthy period of time.
18 Apr, 2008
Home Automation + Green
Home automation systems can help second home buyers reduce and
control their energy consumption and enhance their lifestyle comfort
remotely — not a bad selling point for the systems or the homes.
With these systems, home owners can turn on water heaters and HVAC systems, have the house shutters and shades opened, the lights on and the house ready for their arrival by activating them by cell phone or computer. The home can be ready and waiting, as if they never left.
None of this technology is new. Companies like mine have been connecting and installing these “green” features for nearly 15 years.
Yes, none of this is new. And yet, it still seems to be taking forever for this to catch on, doesn't it?18 Apr, 2008
Eunuchs, Pakistan, Electricity
Islamabad - Four eunuchs in central Pakistan threatened to dance
in protest at a regional power company office if it fails to provide a
schedule for daily power outages, local media reported Tuesday.
(More)
18 Apr, 2008
Construction Starts: Down 21%
Residential -39.8%
Non-residential - 5.0%
Heavy Engineering - 10.9%
Overall Total - 21.2%
That's at odds with what I'm hearing (things ain't bad) -- specifically about Non-res. Of course, "starts" can mean initial contracts, I guess -- and as electrical contractors, especially, do a lot of work at the tail end of projects, they might still be working hard on projects started back in the middle of 2007 or earlier.
McGraw-Hill Construction hasn't yet published its rpeort on March, which will provide data on the first 3 months. As of the Feb report (which was reported here earlier), MHC -- which vies with RCD for various construction industry business -- had Non-res up 10% in the year's first 2 months.
18 Apr, 2008
Guy Explains Commodity Prices
Here's
a prediction for you. If the Fed surprises the markets by holding
steady at 2.25%, all those commodities will begin to crash within hours
of the news.
I'd fade that prediction. Big.
14 Apr, 2008
Power Use - IT/Communications
My session at Voicecon, “Saving Money with Green VoIP” did not draw a large audience. However everyone stayed until I was finished. It can be difficult to get attendees to stay until the end of the Thursday sessions. I thought that the keynote with Vice President Al Gore, who won the Nobel Prize, would help set up the attendees for wanting to learn more.
None of the attendees had any idea there were techniques and products for reducing the energy costs. Several came up to me at the end of the presentation, enthusiastic that could make a real difference.
Most attendees agreed that it would impossible to discard their present equipment to improve the energy conservation. However, IT departments have about a four to five year refresh cycle for equipment. This is the opportunity to purchase energy saving equipment. Most IT departments do not change out all of the equipment at one time. The energy savings can begin relatively soon for most IT organizations with the refresh cycle of about 20% to 25% of their equipment.
The author's prediction: Green is going to be more important at the next Voicecon event (November in San Francisco).14 Apr, 2008
USGBC 'Under Attack'
In an article published by the Wire Journal International www.wirenet.org, March 2008, Frank Peri,
executive director of CCCA (Communications Cable & Connectivity
Association) has already joined the voices of the Vinyl Institute and the SPI (The Society of the Plastics
Industry, Inc.) in a strong attack on the USGBC (US Green Building Council)
LEED – HC voluntary proposal to improve environmental and safety conditions in
the Health Care Industry. The
CCCA official location is currently in the office of a Washington , D.C.
14 Apr, 2008
Archaeology: Sifting Debris
14 Apr, 2008
Jobsite Security Checklist
14 Apr, 2008
Green Move -- How-To
14 Apr, 2008
Energy Stuff
Additionally, the EIA has now posted presentations from that Energy Conference. Most of them are downloadable PDFs, but a couple of links (i.e., John Dingell's speech) take you to HTML pages.
14 Apr, 2008
A 'Per Capita' Recession (?)
Barry Ritzholtz of Big Picture quotes David Rosenberg, the chief economist at ML (note this underline is NOT clickable):
"We are amazed that everyone quibbles about whether real GDP growth
will be fractionally positive or negative this quarter. The population
is growing in a 1.0-1.5% band annually, so anything less than that on
real GDP means that real per capita income is contracting."
More here.
09 Apr, 2008
Locking In Wire Cost
So I can't give you a link to the Q-1 cost report, which appeared 3/24.
It included an 1,148-word article on how project managers in Seattle are dealing with a "big issue" -- "how to mitigate the risk of volatile material and fuel prices.
Included in this was information on Opus Corp., which has been "developing materials procurement strategies and procedures in the pre-construction phase." Electrical construction is part of this, of course, and -- in the building of a 440-foot-tall residential building in downtown Seattle, Opus took the following approach, according to a quote from Todd Williams, senior PM:
"We told the electrical contractor that we wanted it to take the risk. We advanced it money to buy copper wire and store it in bonded warehouses. That protected us as well. I've heard of jobs like ours that didn't take precautions,a nd the subs are after hundreds of thousands of dollars in escalation fees."
Williams also told the magazine that his biggest problem is "finding quality subcontractors" and "a scarcity of quality workers." 09 Apr, 2008
Local Contractor Makes Good
Established in 2006 by Suzanne and Roger Ervine, Fidelity Electric has
built its business on an unparalleled reputation fueled by
word-of-mouth and referrals on sites such as Angie’s List. Roger’s
expertise and diligence in electrical troubleshooting, remodel, service
and repair has propelled the company to the top of the listings on
several consumer-driven referral sites. The company continues to
promote its campaign of homeowner education and awareness, recently
publishing “Four Quick Questions That Reveal Any Electrician’s
Operating Philosophy” which can be downloaded for free at www.
fidelityelectric.com.
Here's a link to the 4 quick questions -- which actually aren't that quick (but they are good!). Incidentally, I don't know the Ervines at all. Here are the questions; you'll have to go to the site for the answers:
Is your quote a fixed “bid” for the total contract price, or is it merely a vague “estimate” of what you think my project will cost?
I don’t have time to sit around all day. Will you give me a specific appointment time or do I have to wait during a four-hour window?
I need to get a service panel upgrade. How much do you charge?
I want to add a new light and switch where there is no existing power. What will my walls look like when you are finished?
09 Apr, 2008
Electrician Shortage: Hawaii
Q. How is the shortage of qualified workers affecting your expansion plans?
A. It makes it very, very challenging and we spend a lot of money recruiting people, bringing in people from the Mainland and training our own people. It's one of the biggest challenges to support the growth and it's requiring a huge investment on our part to sustain the quality of people we need to support the growth.
Q. Why do you think there is a shortage of qualified workers?
A. It is more a result of a lack of people entering the field in general. We sort of failed to give value to the trades people in our society so a lot of young people don't want to go into the trades, although it's a very good living. They just don't see it as being glamorous or a lifestyle career so there aren't a lot of people going into trade and perhaps not the best and the brightest.
There are lot of mysteries in American society. The fact that a professional electrician can make 150% of the average person's wage -- or more -- and yet the trade can't attract quality applicants is one of them. A. It makes it very, very challenging and we spend a lot of money recruiting people, bringing in people from the Mainland and training our own people. It's one of the biggest challenges to support the growth and it's requiring a huge investment on our part to sustain the quality of people we need to support the growth.
Q. Why do you think there is a shortage of qualified workers?
A. It is more a result of a lack of people entering the field in general. We sort of failed to give value to the trades people in our society so a lot of young people don't want to go into the trades, although it's a very good living. They just don't see it as being glamorous or a lifestyle career so there aren't a lot of people going into trade and perhaps not the best and the brightest.
09 Apr, 2008
Turtle-Friendly Lighting
A Bay County businesswoman who has spearheaded efforts to develop “turtle-friendly” lighting fixtures to prevent disorientation of sea turtle hatchlings has received national recognition from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Gradi Morgan, owner of Rachel’s Lighting and Home Accessories, is one of two Florida residents selected for the Recovery Champion Award issued by the federal agency each year. This year’s award recognizes contributions from 16 agency employees and private citizens nationwide toward efforts of recovering threatened and endangered species in the United States.
09 Apr, 2008
Housing: Loan Terms Tougher
I've taken the liberty of breaking up the one-solid-paragraph. This makes the thing seem more dramatic -- but it IS pretty damn tough, if you trouble to read it through.
Jumbo Loans Are Reborn, But Terms Are Stiffer
Home buyers should not expect the eligibility standards for the new
super-size loans available through the end of this year under the
economic stimulus plan to be as generous as in the under-$417,000
segment of the market.
For example, in the guidelines for what Fannie
Mae calls its new “jumbo conforming” program, the company will buy
fixed-rate mortgages up to $729,750, but only if
there is a 10% minimum
downpayment;
there is a minimum FICO score of 700 for any loans with
less than a 20% downpayment;
there is minimum 40% downpayment and 660
FICO for second homes and investor properties;
there are no balloon or
negative-amortization terms; and
household debt-to-income ratios do not
exceed 45%.
Also, the interest rates on the new super-size conforming
loans are not expected to be anywhere near competitive with smaller
mortgages. Besides higher base rates, there are add-on charges in
“declining” markets that can push final note rates beyond 7.5%. Many
areas tagged as declining are in former housing-boom markets in
California and the Eastern Seaboard, where jumbo mortgages are most
common and most needed. On jumbo FHA mortgages only a 3% downpayment is
required. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (3/29/08); Kenneth R. Harney
09 Apr, 2008
Unrolling Electric Cable
09 Apr, 2008
BIM + Green = Video
Autodesk, the leading software company in construction/design . . .
. . . has been doing research ("Project Chicago") with the U.S. Green Building Council . . .
. . . on how Building Information Modeling fits into the green picture . . .
-- and you can get the info on it via a video on the Autodesk site.
From the companys description:
See how an instant and interactive means to evaluate innovation, water,
energy, indoor environmental quality, and carbon footprint elements
could give designers an immediate sense of the results of different
design scenarios.
03 Apr, 2008
Offsourcing -- To The U.S.
Yes -- it's off-shoring going backwards. TCS is going to hire Americans.
Here's some perspective, from the magazine's IT Editor. Note that IW is a magazine written for the U.S. manufacturing community:
As wages inflate in India and China and the dollar falls against pretty
much every foreign currency on the market and the corresponding
comparative advantages of the international talent marketplace ebb and
flow with the global trade winds, we may actually see an influx of
manufacturing jobs of all sorts coming back into the U.S. -- just
probably not the same jobs, and definitely not under the same corporate
umbrella from which they left.
03 Apr, 2008
Network Lifeblood
An organization can’t make the broad claim that it is green or energy
efficient without knowing what and where it consumes energy. Lack of
numbers and usage data negate any energy plan. You can’t have an
effective energy plan without numbers.
So, the lesson is: it (energy) can be measured internally from local devices and workstations all the way up to the data center or network operations center. Developing and understanding energy benchmarks for the data center are imperative.
So, the lesson is: it (energy) can be measured internally from local devices and workstations all the way up to the data center or network operations center. Developing and understanding energy benchmarks for the data center are imperative.
That same piece also included this:
. . . organizations shouldn’t dismiss the little savings in power that are attainable by eliminating Phantom Loads as
unimportant, because they do accumulate to one significant amount of
energy.
These loads are low hanging fruit but your long-range goal is to achieve efficiency and optimal performance whether or not you adopt alternative energy now or later.
The concept to remember is when you do generate your own power that there is a cost associated with it- cost per kW (kilowatt). This is where and when numbers mean everything and do make huge differences especially in economies of scale.
These loads are low hanging fruit but your long-range goal is to achieve efficiency and optimal performance whether or not you adopt alternative energy now or later.
The concept to remember is when you do generate your own power that there is a cost associated with it- cost per kW (kilowatt). This is where and when numbers mean everything and do make huge differences especially in economies of scale.
Someone over at No Jitter is apparently using his brain. Congratulations!
(More)
03 Apr, 2008
DG - Global Outlook
I don't think there was, based on my knowledge of the magazine and its staff -- but the 2nd paragraph quote essentially says that "the prototypical co-generation plan" is "uneconomical for all but very special situations."
This is idiotic. A DG installation offers:
a shot at better power reliability than grid-supplied electricity
better power quality (it's under your control when you are generating it)
potential for using both the waste heat AND the electricity, which you don't get on the grid.
insulation (potentially) from the ever-escalating price of electricity.
the ability to shave power peaks and lower demand charges.
AND MORE.
better power quality (it's under your control when you are generating it)
potential for using both the waste heat AND the electricity, which you don't get on the grid.
insulation (potentially) from the ever-escalating price of electricity.
the ability to shave power peaks and lower demand charges.
AND MORE.
Paragraph 4 of the piece quotes a Flack + Kurtz executive saying "cogen makes a great deal of sense" in New York. Apparently, engineers in NYC are not quite as dumb as those in Pittsburgh.
Still, I wonder at the placement of that subversive up-front quote. First, it's wrong -- demonstrably wrong; much of the rest of the article reads like a refutation of the Pittsburgh engineer's nutty remark.
Second, it seems to undermine the premise; why print 2,000 words on the outlook for DG if you want to pull the rug out from under it before the reader gets to word #100?
I know, I know -- journalists are supposed to present "both sides" of the story. But there aren't two sides to EVERY story. For example: Planet Earth is ROUND; you don't have to quote the Flat Earthers when writing about it!
03 Apr, 2008
Dispatchable Standby Generation
03 Apr, 2008
Carbon Codes???
On a few pages, this pub included pithy quotes -- labeled, for example, "Architects' Corner." One that attracted my eye featured the brief thoughts of Catherine Benotto, AIA, ASLA, LEED AP, a principal with the Seattle firm of Weber + Thompson PLC.
Saith Catherine B:
"Sustainable design . . . is far more than a trend -- it will be a necessity as we move forward. Likely soon, there are going to be 'carbon codes' just as there are building codes and energy codes. These will require architects, builders, owners, and operators to account for the carbon emissions of their building construction and operations."
I'm not sure she's innovating here, but I can't remember seeing this somewhere else in the construction mainstream.
03 Apr, 2008
Wearable Power Source
Caption, from the site: "Illustration shows the concept behind a microfiber nanogenerator. Microfibers coated with gold (yellow fibers) scrub the nanofibers that are not coated with gold (green) to produce electricity through a coupled piezoelectric-semiconductor process."
Here's what they say they are talking about here: A "wearable power source that . . . would allow people to generate their own electrical current while walking."
No, the story was NOT posted on April Fool's Day.
03 Apr, 2008
Solar Pre-Wire
The article also refers to the company as "Bates Electronics," but that's not what it says on the Bates website itself. This is an electrical contractor.
02 Apr, 2008
Diesel Prices: Why So High?
Environmental actions have also raised the price of diesel fuel. The
switch to low sulfur diesel added substantially to refinery production
costs. But more importantly, it added to diesel distribution costs.
The new low sulfur fuel can not be moved in the same pipelines or
tankers that move the older higher sulfur fuel still also being used.
This would contaminate the new clean fuel.
Assuming Jim's explanation is correct (and I do assume that), then the answer seems rather simple: STOP making the older higher-sulfur fuel, for chrissake!01 Apr, 2008
Electric-Only Roadster
Tesla Motors started limited production of its all-electric 2008 Tesla Roadster on March 17. The rear-wheel-drive two-seater sports car combines a lithium-ion battery pack with a 185-kilowatt (248 horsepower) electric motor, packaging it all in an aluminum chassis wrapped in a carbon-fiber body that yields a curb weight of about 2,690 pounds. The car has a top speed of 125 miles per hour (mph) and a range of about 220 miles, and its worst-case recharging time, for a drained battery, is about 3.5 hours. Tesla claims that the battery will last through 100,000 miles of driving. According to the company, the car achieves the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon and costs only 2 cents per mile to drive, counting only the fuel costs, of course. The company set a base price of $98,000 on its 2008 models, all of which have been sold, and it is accepting deposits on its 2009 models, but has not yet set a price on them. See the Tesla press release.
Tesla has faced its share of problems in the production of the Tesla Roadster. The company had to delay its production due to problems with its two-speed transmission and ultimately decided to build its initial models using a transmission that is essentially locked into second gear. That creates some disappointment for performance enthusiasts, because the two-speed transmission promised to accelerate the car from zero to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds, on par with the top supercars, but the interim transmission will slow that time to 5.7 seconds. Tesla now plans to drop the two-speed transmission altogether and will instead employ a new powertrain with a single reduction gear. The cars being built today will be upgraded for free when the new powertrain becomes available later this year. Because of the transmission issues, Tesla expects to only produce about 600 vehicles for the 2008 model year, but plans to ramp up production to 2,000 cars per year in the near future. See the Tesla press release on the transmission issues.
01 Apr, 2008
Lighting For Farmers
“A lighting system is an investment, just like any other piece of
production equipment,” Lew Hodgett says. A registered professional
engineer, Hodgett spent 15 years as a sales and application engineer
with lighting systems. He now operates a consulting business.
“To calculate the most efficient, economical way to light a building, you have to look not only at the purchase price per unit but also at the efficiency of each unit, the lighting efficiency of each unit, the installation cost and long-term operating costs,” Hodgett says.
He notes that as power costs approach 15¢ per kilowatt hour, it is possible to recover the cost of a modern lighting system in less than one year. The quick payback is due to the energy efficiency of modern lighting options compared with old-school lighting systems, such as the 300-watt incandescent bulbs in porcelain fixtures that light many farm buildings.
Clear thinking. Sound reasoning. And: If everyone thought like this, the electrical industry would have more work to do than it could accomplish before the end of 2015!“To calculate the most efficient, economical way to light a building, you have to look not only at the purchase price per unit but also at the efficiency of each unit, the lighting efficiency of each unit, the installation cost and long-term operating costs,” Hodgett says.
He notes that as power costs approach 15¢ per kilowatt hour, it is possible to recover the cost of a modern lighting system in less than one year. The quick payback is due to the energy efficiency of modern lighting options compared with old-school lighting systems, such as the 300-watt incandescent bulbs in porcelain fixtures that light many farm buildings.
01 Apr, 2008
Construction Spending Update
Year-to-date (2 months), construction is down 2.6% overall, to $155 billion.
Private residential: Down 19.9% vs. the first 2 months of 2007.
Private Non-residential: Up 15.7% vs. the same period.
Public construction: Up 8.4%.
Private Non-residential: Up 15.7% vs. the same period.
Public construction: Up 8.4%.
Analysis, for now: This isn't much different from most of the monthly reports in the 2nd half of 2007.
01 Apr, 2008
Certifications Recognized
Certified Technology Specialist (CTS); and
Certified Technology Specialist-Installation (CTS-I)
Background info:
Certified Technology Specialists (CTS) serve clients by creating,
operating, and servicing AV solutions. A Certified Technology
Specialist - Installation (CTS-I) installs and maintains audiovisual
systems by following specifications, schematics, codes, and safety
protocols; administering installation process logistics;
troubleshooting and problem solving systems; maintaining tools and
equipment; and communicating with clients, designers, other trades,
other installers and staff. Ongoing professional education is required
to maintain the credentials. A certification is valid for three years
and certified individuals must earn 30 renewal units (RUs) within each
three-year period, remain in good standing, and abide by the CTS Code
of Ethics and Conduct.
Currently, 9,500 people hold CTS credentials.
Currently, 9,500 people hold CTS credentials.
