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Building & Design
New US water heater efficiency standards not enough, says ACEEE
New energy efficiency standards for home water heaters being proposed by the US Administration do not go far enough, says the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
npower launches first UK test of smart fridges
Energy supplier npower, white goods manufacturer Indesit and smart grid specialist RLtec are launching the first UK residential trial of smart fridges.
UK Government launches review of low-carbon construction
UK Secretary of State Lord Mandelson yesterday launched a review of the country’s construction industry to identify how it can meet the challenges of a low-carbon future.
Household appliances not living up to efficiency standard, says research
Household appliances like washer-driers, ovens and light bulbs are not all living up to their energy efficiency labels, according to tests carried out by UK Government department Defra.
China receives EU bank loan of €134 million to improve efficiency
The European Investment Bank is loaning China €134 million to support four projects aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions by 830,000 tons.
South Africa receives major boost to renewables and efficiency efforts
South Africa is set to benefit from a major investment of $500 million from the Clean Technology Fund and €40 million from the European Investment Bank to promote renewables and energy efficiency.
US in clean energy companies and turbine research
The US Department of Energy last week announced investments of $18 million in small clean energy companies and $45 million in new wind turbine designs.
California unveils draft cap-and-trade programme
California has unveiled the draft version of its greenhouse gas cap-and-trade regulation that would be the first in the US.
US research project aims to improve home efficiency by half
A research project at a US national laboratory is undertaking a series of energy retrofits on selected homes to improve efficiency by 30-50%.
UK Government sets standard for zero-carbon homes
The UK Government yesterday confirmed that by 2016 all new homes will have to be zero carbon, and proposed that public sector buildings should follow suit in 2018 and commercial premises in 2019.