Emergence of Water Efficiency

As businesses, consumers and government entities become increasingly aware of the overall environmental and economic impact of their decisions, water efficiency is emerging as the next big topic in the green movement. General Electric Co. executives recently predicted that their water products and services division could quickly become a major growth driver, likening the potential of the water business to their recent and rapid success in the wind business.¹

What is WaterSense?

WaterSense seeks to promote the market for water-efficient products, programs, and practices. Launched in 2006 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), WaterSense helps consumers identify water-efficient products and programs by labeling products and programs that perform as well or better than their competitors and use at least 20 percent less water than their competitors.²

WaterSense Products

Today, consumers can choose from more than 300 high-efficiency toilets (HETs) and more than 1,000 types of water-saving faucets and accessories that have earned the WaterSense label. In 2008 alone, WaterSense labeled toilets, faucets, and faucet accessories helped Americans save an estimated 9.3 billion gallons of water - enough water to supply 100,000 average households for a year - and realize more than $55 million in savings on water and sewer bills.³

WaterSense Partners

WaterSense partners with manufacturers, retailers and distributors, utilities, state and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, trade associations and irrigation professionals to bring water-efficient products to market and to endorse the WaterSense label.

Ferguson Enterprises, the country's largest wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies, partnered with WaterSense in 2007.

¹ http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2235851820090811

² http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/every.htm

³ http://www.epa.gov/watersense/news/current/summer2009.htm

Determine the impact of energy saving solutions by using measurement and verification (M & V) tools.

Two of the Obama Administration’s stimulus programs focus specifically on energy efficiency: the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) and the State Energy Program (SEP). Combined, these programs offer just over $6 billion in funding for various energy efficiency projects, but they require project participants to measure and provide verification of energy savings. For instance, the EECBG program requires grantees to report energy savings per dollar invested to the Department of Energy.^[1] To help customers using these programs meet new regulatory requirements for transparency and effectiveness, electrical distributors should be familiar with measurement and verification (M&V) protocols.

M&V provides reassurance for the customer (and the government) that what was promised in the energy project proposal is actually delivered. Some incentives and rebate programs may also require M&V. Many Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) offer performance guarantees as a method of verifying energy savings. Energy service providers, facility managers, and building owners can all follow M & V guidelines to determine whether or not energy savings were actually achieved. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) developed a Measurement and Verification Guideline for Federal Energy Projects to help with before-and-after energy use comparisons. These guidelines can be scaled up or down depending on the complexity of the energy project. The Efficiency Valuation Organization’s International Performance Measurement & Verification Protocol (IPMVP) also provides guidelines on how to measure systems in isolation or to conduct whole building comparisons. This protocol is also referenced in the LEED rating system, under Energy and Atmosphere credits.

What does this mean for the electrical distributor? A chance to sell customers more sensors and other measurement systems, not only for these specific stimulus-funded projects, but also for all the LEED projects that choose to pursue the point(s) for using M&V systems. For more information, see NAED’s Findings in Brief: Services & Solutions to Help Customers Go Green.

^[1] http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/about/FAQ.html#lh1 accessed August 11, 2009.

Retailer Reduces Environmental Impact

Wal-Mart High Efficiency (HE) pilot stores help the world’s largest retailer reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

As the world’s largest company, Wal-Mart has a tremendous impact on the environment.^[1] Over the past few years, the company has been building High Efficiency (HE) pilot stores to reduce their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Wal-Mart introduced the sixth generation of HE pilot stores last summer in Sacramento, California. The store is climate-specific, using a combination of evaporative cooling and radiant flooring technologies to cool the stores. Cool water is produced in roof-mounted cooling towers and then pumped through the radiant flooring system to cool the retail space.

This system uses less energy than traditional air conditioning. HE pilot stores also feature daylight harvesting through skylights, which reduces lighting energy by up to 75%, and LED lighting, which is 70% more efficient than traditional fluorescent lighting. Overall, the Sacramento store is 30% more energy efficient than the 2005 Wal-Mart supercenter baseline.^[2] Wal-Mart uses energy management systems in all of their U.S. stores and Sam’s Club locations.^[3]

It is important for electrical distributors to be aware of what retailers are doing in terms of sustainability. According to a 2009 survey of NAED members, 44% of respondents identified retailers as an end user of energy management solutions. For more information on selling energy management solutions to commercial customers, please refer to NAED’s “Selling to the Commercial Market“ case study.

[1] http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/FactSheets/ accessed August 5, 2009.

[2] http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/9203.aspx accessed August 5, 2009.

[3] http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/9124.aspx accessed August 5, 2009.

In the growing green market, distributors may consider plug load controls to help customers meet their energy management needs.

Plug loads account for 15 to 19% of residential energy use^[1] and about 20% of commercial energy use in the U.S.^[2] Plug loads grew by 12 to 14% in 2007 and it is safe to expect similar growth in the coming years.^[3] Most plugged-in devices use energy even when they are turned off. This type of energy use is often referred to as phantom load or vampire energy. Electronics draw power through two types of standby modes: passive and active. The clock on a microwave is an example of passive standby. An example of active standby is a DVD display when it is programmed to record something. Even cell phone chargers still draw power when they aren’t actively charging a cell phone battery. 22% of plug load electricity is used in standby mode.

There are several devices that can help reduce plug loads. GreenSwitch™ is an innovative device that can wirelessly control wall plugs and light switches, allowing users to control plug loads with one switch. Wattstopper/Legrand offers Isolé Plug Load Controls; surge protected power strips with occupancy sensors. When no one is present, peripheral office equipment is powered down to reduce energy consumption.

Controlling plug load growth is an important energy management strategy. Electrical distributors should consider offering plug load controls to all customers as a means of accessing the growing energy management market. For more information on plug load controls, please refer to NAED’s Going Green – Inside and Out white paper, How to Profit from Green Market Opportunities available at the NAED Learning Center.

[1] https://touchstoneenergy.cooperative.com/public/programs/EnergyEfficiency/documents/EnergyUseofHouseholdElectronics.pdfaccessed August 10, 2009.

[2] Sabo, Carol. “Plug-Load Energy-Efficiency on Campus”, a presentation given at the Advanced Design and Technologies for Higher Education Facilities Workshop in Lansing, MI September 23, 2005. PA Government Services, Inc.

[3] http://www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/articles/does-it-pay-to-pursue-plug-load-reductions.php accessed August 10, 2009.

Companies with strong sustainability plans need actionable strategies to ensure optimal business, environmental, and social performance. In May 2009, the Aberdeen Group released the results of a study that investigated how best practices in sustainability are linked to business return on investment (ROI). “The ROI of Sustainability: Making the Business Case” recommends a number of sustainability practices and shows how companies excelling at these see higher ROI for their efforts.

Practices that help companies excel in sustainability efforts include corporate leadership, developing metrics, setting policies and standards, improving stakeholder communications, educating staff, and formalized reporting. Using dashboards to deliver sustainability metrics in a user-friendly way is also a highly recommended practice. Dashboards provide a visual means of gauging how well a company is doing on various indicators, like energy and water use. They often come in the form of websites or “apps”.

The study used six key performance criteria to differentiate “Best-in-Class” companies. These companies achieved the following returns on their sustainability investments:

• 9% reduction in carbon footprint
• 6% reduction in energy costs
• 7% reduction in facilities costs
• 10% reduction in paper costs
• 7% reduction in transportation / logistics costs
• 16% increase in customer retention

For more information on sustainability practices tailored to the electrical distribution industry, please refer to NAED’s “Inside Going Green – Little Green Book of Corporate Sustainability.”

Source: Cindy Jutras and Jhana Senxian, “The ROI of Sustainability: Making the Business Case,” Aberdeen Group, May 2009.

Available at: http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/5908-RA-sustainability-environmental-stewardship.asp

Municipal outdoor lighting is one of the main markets for LEDs. LED City™, a public-private partnership, is focused on promoting LEDs across the full range of municipal lighting applications; such as parking garages, architectural lighting, and streetlights. The partnership promotes the following attributes of LEDs:

• Save energy
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Reduce maintenance costs
• Improve light quality
• Save tax dollars

Cree, a leading manufacturer of LEDs and one of the LED City industry partners, is going after outdoor lighting as a primary market.^[1]

In December 2006, a pilot project for the LED City program was launched in Raleigh, North Carolina. LEDs replaced high-pressure sodium fixtures in a parking garage and produced energy savings of 40%. User surveys conducted before and after the project found that LED light quality was superior and that the garage felt safer.^[2]

A good approach to building your initial LED sales program is to inquire about municipal and institutional energy efficiency initiatives and whether they include using LEDs for outdoor lighting. Municipal energy efficiency initiatives are seeing a boost in funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The best place to look at how stimulus funding is being spent on the local level is through your state’s recovery website, which can be found here: http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/state-local-tribal-and-territorial-resources&mode=map.

CRS Electronics, another large LED manufacturer, offers an online savings calculator that might also be helpful in generating LED sales. For more information on LEDs, please refer to NAED’s white paper Findings in Brief: Services & Solutions to Help Customers Go Green.

[1]Detar, James. “LED Chipmaker Cree Plugs Into Green Field.” Investor’s Business Daily, November 26, 2008.

[2] http://ledcity.org/about-the-program/ accessed August 10, 2009.

Interface, the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet for commercial and residential applications, is frequently cited as an example of a manufacturer taking great strides towards sustainability. Founder and Chairman Ray Anderson took a hard look at the company’s environmental impacts and decided to start taking steps toward long-term sustainability in the mid 1990s.

Mission Zero™is the company’s commitment to completely eliminating its negative impact on the environment by 2020. Anderson coined the term EcoMetrics™to describe the measurement system Interface uses to track their progress. The system was put in place in 1994, and it is designed to assess how much the company takes in, in terms of materials and energy, compared to what comes out, in the forms of products and waste.

Every facility the company owns tracks hundreds of metrics on a quarterly basis. Some of the key indicators include energy and water use, waste output, renewable energy generation, carbon emissions, and social investments through philanthropy and volunteering.^[1] This data is compiled each year on a company-wide basis and published on Interface’s website.

One of the most striking examples of how successful their approach has been is the amount of carpet they’ve diverted from landfills through recycling and reuse. From 1995 to 2008, Interface has reused over 725 million pounds of carpeting, thus diverting it from landfills. Other EcoMetrics show that renewable energy sources supply 28% of the company’s energy use, and that biobased or recycled sources supply 24% of their raw materials.^[2] While this example is from the floor covering industry, you can find examples of electrical distributors and manufacturers that are taking innovative approaches to sustainability in NAED’s Corporate Sustainability case study series.

^[1] http://www.interfaceglobal.com/Media-Center/Ecometrics.aspx accessed August 3, 2009.

^[2] http://www.interfaceglobal.com/getdoc/7e96b54e-ad49-4eff-9877-38a55df0396d/Global-EcoMetrics.aspx accessed August 3, 2009.