Not long ago oil was plentiful and cheap. Many Americans either had no clue or no care about conserving energy, whether it be for their cars or to keep their houses at a comfortable temperature. While oil prices may be down now, once the economy improves and consumption rises so will the price. Not only that, the environment is suffering at an increased rate due to our energy usage, so something must be done. Here in New York, efforts by the Office of General Services are making some headway.
From The Times Herald-Record:
Now this is great news for the fifty or so buildings that OGS operates. Unfortunately there are millions of buildings across the state and many more in the nation that do not have access to this technology. Green construction is starting to help but too many old buildings are not even close to being energy efficient. When the Governor calls the legislature to special session in a month's time, expanding OGS' services to property owners should be brought up. With the talk about tax hikes and spending cuts, one way to dramatically reduce the cost of energy in the state would be to spend some cash on this.ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A New York official says energy consumption in government buildings is down 8.4 percent from last year.
Office of General Services Commissioner John Egan says turning off lights and turning down temperatures cut energy consumption in the more than 50 buildings and more than 19.5 million square feet of office space that OGS manages.
OGS is also using a Web-enabled advanced metering system to monitor electricity, water and natural gas use in buildings around the state. Egan says the system allows OGS to analyze where and how kilowatt hours are consumed so officials can come up with more efficient conservation methods.
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