Can cool surfaces—roofs, walls, or pavements that are generally light-colored and highly reflective—help combat climate change? We spoke with Ronnen Levinson, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, about how such surfaces combat climate change by reducing heat and lowering energy consumption in buildings.
Comments closedTag: energy efficiency
Heat pumps are a more sustainable and efficient way to heat homes than to conventional gas heat, but they’re often too expensive for homeowners to install. Meet the GeoGrid, an underground geothermal heat pump network that could make the technology more efficient and accessible. Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) is a nonprofit working with utilities to develop GeoGrids in residential neighborhoods. We spoke to HEET Executive Directors Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi about heat pumps and the advantage to connecting them via a GeoGrid approach.
In our second episode with California Air Resources Board’s Executive Officer, Dr. Steve Cliff, hear how Dr. Cliff is thinking about the challenges of building electrification and the role government can play in ensuring a just transition to energy efficient buildings.
Heat pumps are often suggested as a way for homes to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. However, their high price tag has traditionally made them inaccessible to many. By installing neighborhood wide geothermal technology, GeoGrids could provide the solution.
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We have built 1.2 million rooftop solar systems in the state of California.Bernadette Del Chiaro, the Executive Director of the California Solar and Storage Association, discusses the importance of net-metering, an electric utility billing program that credits solar energy owners for the surplus electricity they add to the grid.
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More than 40 percent of energy generated in the United States is used to power buildings, from heating and lighting to igniting gas-powered stoves. Decarbonizing buildings could put a serious dent in overall energy consumption, but it’s not an easy task.
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