EEB HUB News

May 2012

Featured Articles

GPIC is now the EEB Hub
On May 1, the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy Efficient Buildings (GPIC) became the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub (EEB Hub). Check out our new website at www.eebhub.org and update your records to reflect our new name!

EEB Hub looking for summer interns

The EEB Hub is hiring paid summer interns to contribute to our work to reduce energy use in regional buildings. Each position is supervised by one of the EEB Hub members, and range in focus from building modeling, to research and analysis, to education and outreach. Read the internship descriptions on our website, and then find them on Campus Philly to apply.

Building 661 Integrated Solutions Showcase

On April 2, 2012 the Wharton Small Business Development Center and the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center co-hosted an EEB Hub Integrated Solutions Showcase for Energy Efficient Buildings. The aim of the showcase was to allow the Building 661 Integrated Design Team to explore building energy technologies and systems that could help them accomplish the advanced energy retrofit. In particular, novel approaches to deploying off-the-shelf technologies in an integrated manner to reduce energy consumption were sought. Three teams were invited to present and discuss design approaches for Building 661. Another similar event is being planned for June of 2012.

Electricity Ticker offers real time power pricing

On April 18, the Electricity Price Ticker Partnership unveiled its web-based Electricity Price Ticker that tracks the real time wholesale electricity price for the PECO area. The ticker aims to increase the public’s understanding of the connection between the wholesale price of electricity and their electricity bills to show that energy use patterns affect the price of electricity and to support national Smart Grid efforts. In addition to PJM Interconnection, Penn Institute for Urban Research and the EEB Hub, other partners include the University of Pennsylvania’s Facilities and Residential Services (FRES), Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), Penn State’s GridSTAR Center and PECO Energy. The EEB Hub provided financial support for the ticker design. More information can be found at www.powerisknowledge.com. 

Earth Day bike tour of Navy Yard video

To celebrate Earth Day at the Navy Yard, the EEB Hub participated in a bike tour that showcased the various clean energy and sustainability efforts underway at the Navy Yard. Almost 50 participants were able to learn more about Liberty Property Trust’s commitment to LEED buildings, about electric vehicles operated by the Navy, and about the EEB Hub’s future headquarters at Building 661. Check out a great video of the bike tour created by our friends at the Mark Group!

EEB Hub News

GPIC gets more efficient as EEB Hub

From Flying Kite- May 9- The multi-partner organization GPICHub is now EEB Hub, which stands for Energy Efficient Buildings Hub. Same players, but a redesigned website, logo and tagline to reflect a change of focus.

Philly Inc: At the Navy Yard’s Network Operations Center

From Philadelphia Inquirer- May 8- On Monday, I visited the Navy Yard’s new Network Operations Center (NOC) to see what’s expected to be a showcase for how “smart grid” technologies will perform at the growing urban office and industrial park.

Balfour Beatty Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Innovation Hub Project at Philadelphia Navy Yard

From Sun Herald- May 8-A team of Balfour Beatty companies was chosen by Pennsylvania State University to provide integrated construction management services for the retrofit of Building 661 at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pa.

Efficiency group shortens its name- Philadelphia Inquirer

From Philadelphia Inquirer- May 3- The Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings (GPIC), the federally funded Navy Yard organization whose mission is to transform the building-retrofit industry, has rebranded itself less than two years after its founding.

Partner’s Spotlight

University of Pennsylvania’s Mark Alan Hughes has been appointed as the Technical Advisor to the Alliance to Save Energy’s Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy

IBM’s “Building Whisperer” Dave Bartlett talks about the technology behind sustainability and the importance of data to help buildings become more efficient

Wharton Small Business Development Center offers a variety of programs to help you start, grow and prosper.

Bayer Corporation unveiled a new report titled STEM Education, Science Literacy and the Innovation Workforce in America: Analysis and Insights from the Bayer Facts of Science Education Surveys 1995-2011.

From the EEB Hub Library

From the Institute for Market Transformation- Recognition of Energy Costs and Energy Performance in Real Property Valuation. This updated guide features details in rating energy performance on property value. Energy efficient properties will see an increase in appraisal value as a result.

From the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy- Keeping it in the Community: Sustainable Funding for Local Energy Efficiency Initiatives. This report describes several options for local communities to sustain funding for their energy efficiency efforts.

From the American Academy of Arts & Sciences- Beyond Technology- Strengthening Energy Policy through Social Science. This report examines the legal, social, and economic implications and challenges of transitioning to a greater reliance on cleaner energy technologies. Changing the existing technological infrastructure will require modifications to legal, social, and economic structures as well.