Climate change, energy price spikes, and concerns about energy security have reignited interest in state and local efforts to promote end-use energy efficiency, customer-sited renewable energy, and energy conservation. Government agencies and utilities have historically designed and administered such demand-side measures, but innovative…

The Energy Challenge is an environmental education program that is administered to ninth grade students in the public schools of a small Midwestern city in the United States. The program is sponsored and administered by the two local electric utilities, and it has been going on for seven years. To determine the effectiveness of the program, a…

Climate change is only one factor driving growing numbers of cities throughout the globe to reconsider conventional approaches to electricity generation and use. In the U.S., this momentum is incorporating a shift away from centralized, supply-side approaches reliant on fossil fuels and nuclear power, toward more distributed, flexible, and cleaner…

This article examines how local experiments and negotiation processes contribute to social and field-level learning. The analysis is framed within the niche development literature, which offers a framework for analyzing the relation between projects in local contexts and the transfer of local experiences into generally applicable rules. The…

In this, the second in a series of reports, a study of school and home energy consumption in New York was undertaken to determine if schools would save energy by closing for an extended period during cold weather; if more energy is used in homes when schools are closed than when schools are in session; and, if energy savings by schools during a…

The first in a series of reports consolidates data about energy sources and extrapolates that information to the problems and expenses that New York has and will experience in heating public schools. A presentation of national energy consumption is followed by an examination of the availability of potential alternatives to petroleum and natural…

Thirty-three school boards responded to an energy survey administered by the Ontario Association of School Business Officials. Energy savings are illustrated in tables. (MLF)

This Value for Money project provides an update of the 1996 "Energy Management Study in the Higher Education Sector: National Report." It reviews the management arrangement for utilities in the higher education (HE) sector, and it identifies key actions and future issues that must be addressed by HE institutions in developing a strategic…

This report discusses many of the economic and policy questions related to the widespread introduction of solar power, presents recent progress in developing solar technologies and advancing their economic feasibility, and reviews some recommendations that have been made for achieving the early introduction and sustained application of solar…

The technical feasibility and economic benefits of an Integrated Utility System (IUS) at the University of Florida are addressed, as are the environmental and institutional factors. This study demonstrates a conservational and economic advantage in supplying the energy necessary for heating and cooling as a by-product of power generation. Contents…

Electricity conservation programs were implemented in matched pairs of office-classroom-laboratory buildings and dormitories. The methodological problems of predicting consumption levels, interpreting why changes in consumption occurred, and estimating initial waste levels are discussed along with their implications for the conduct of behavioral…

To determine the relationship of various forms of communication to adoption of energy conservation behavior among homeowners, and to compare the energy conserving behavior of those under 65 with those over 65, a three-year panel study was conducted in a Midwest suburban community. Heads of households who owned single family dwellings were…

A study of the energy savings potential in New Zealand schools demonstrates that considerable reductions in energy costs can be achieved through energy management. An initial examination of available 1985 light, heat, and water expenditures for 268 secondary schools (84 percent of the secondary schools in New Zealand) is followed by the selection…

Five privately owned homes and two university owned homes were examined by architecture students in order to formulate design alternatives to fit the houses with solar collection, storage, and control devices for supplementing domestic space and/or water heating. General principles advanced include why energy conservation and solar retrofitting…

This publication is a compilation of data concerning energy conservation measures at more than 60 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The data are presented for the information of all who are interested in the variety of ways in which institutions of higher education are managing energy. Project descriptions are divided into…