First off, we hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy! Like many people and industries, the energy efficiency community is getting hit hard by COVID-19 or “coronavirus.” We, over here at Fairbanks Energy, are working remotely and...
Let’s face the facts: you probably have LED lighting installed in your building. To what extent, which fixtures and whether you’re getting utility money to cover the cost is another story. But LED lighting has grown in such prevalence over the last...
Ever explain HVAC systems to someone and watch their eyes glaze over? Ever try to wrap your head around HVAC and what makes it important? HVAC, or Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems are complex and custom-engineered to serve their own...
The Human Brain: A Comparison The human brain stores a lot of data. The brain has the potential to store as much as a petabyte of information. A computer with that capacity would weigh 293 lbs which is still over 4 cubic feet of space. We do it in...
Live here, work here, been here, you know how it is: there’s no space in Manhattan. This makes major building equipment upgrades – like rooftop units or boiler replacements – challenging depending on the building’s layout and location. Many are...
Everybody’s doing it: from MIT’s energy initiative to Colgate University’s carbon neutrality, colleges and universities all over the US are prioritizing energy efficiency and getting to net zero. Whether for sustainability or financial reasons,...
Sitting in your office in the winter, do you ever feel a little sleepy? Ever think to yourself, "why am I tired at work?" This might be due to shorter days, overindulging during the holidays or not enough coffee. Or it could be something else. Turns...
Sleeping with the fan on ensures the movement of air, in your bedroom and on your rooftops. But how do you know the fans in your air handling units (AHU) and rooftop units (RTU) won’t fail overnight? If equipment starts to fail or you’re spending a...
The framework for understanding utility incentives is simple: utilities want commercial/industrial businesses to use energy efficiently and they are willing to subsidize the process, meaning there’s money available to fund energy efficiency...
Adam Farragher sits on both our project management and business development teams, allowing him a unique perspective on the 360 process of designing and building efficiency projects. For our recently announced work with independent school, Thayer...
Let’s set the scene: it’s a bitter cold, winter afternoon in Chicago. Snow is blowing in off Lake Michigan and temperatures have hovered at just below 30 degrees for weeks. You arrive for a work conference and check into your hotel. You confirm your...
Are you reading this from your Nokia 1011? No… you aren’t. That is a fact. The Nokia 1011 is the iconic, indestructible, first-gen cell phone from last century. At the time, these were the best devices available on the market to make mobile phone...
It all began in 1973. Energy efficiency is widely traced back to exactly this year, when Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed an oil embargo which raised prices around the globe. While a few types of legislation...