efficiency

Examples of efficiency in the following topics:

• Additional examples of efficient buildings

  • Low-cost technologies combined with common sense have been producing efficient structures for years.
  • Elsewhere, the California State Automobile Association office in Antioch, (the cheapest CSAA building ever built), decided to flood its 1,459 m2 interior with lighting from energy-efficient light bulbs and (free) daylight that streams in through super-insulated windows.
  • One of the most written about case studies in commercial building efficiency, however, concerns the ING Bank in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), which was built in 1987.
  • Moreover, the $3 million in annual reduced energy costs paid for the building's efficiency upgrade in three months.
  • What makes them particularly compelling is the fact that efficient buildings not only save money, they also help the businesses that reside in them make more money by providing increases in productivity and decreases in employee absenteeism.

• It's not just photocopiers and carpets

  • Carrier is further driven to ensure that the building where it administers its cooling service is energy-efficient because the more efficient the building the better and more cost-effective its product will be, which translates into higher profits for Carrier.
  • Customers love the arrangement because Carrier'scommitment to increasing efficiency, reducing waste and lowering costs ultimately means lower all-around heating and cooling prices for consumers.
  • In a similar fashion, the Bank of Japan collaborated with Japanese power companies to facilitate the leasing of energy-efficient automobiles, home appliances and water heaters to everyday consumers.
  • The aim is to encourage and promote the development of energy-efficient appliances while reducing the nation's energy requirements, carbon emissions and waste.
  • Appliances that aren't efficient are not allowed into the program, which encourages the manufacturers of wasteful products (who want to be included in the program) to make their products more sustainable.

• Product

  • Because of the vast quantities of materials and energy that many products and services require, not to mention the huge amounts of waste they produce while they're being manufactured, making products and services more efficient (and more efficiently) is crucial to reducing the costs of running a sustainable business.

• Determining the true costs of a motor

  • In the long run, however, motors designed to be more efficient always end up costing less.
  • The efficiency rating and amount of time the motor will be in operation are also needed.
  • (100 horsepower × .746 kW/hp × 40,000 hours × $.05 kW-hour)/ .94 efficiency = $158,723 electricity costs
  • Another way to compare the amount of money a motor can cost to operate is to take the difference in efficiency points (expressed as a percentage) from the efficiency rating of two similar-horsepower motors and to multiply the difference by the amount of horsepower.
  • For example, the difference between a 96%-efficient 100 horsepower motor and a 92%-efficient 100 horsepower motor is four percentage points.

• Reducing Waste and Environmental Impacts

  • Reducing waste by more efficient manufacturing is a key goal of management, with supply chain sustainability seen as a key component.
  • Wal-Mart asked suppliers to be more efficient in their deliveries through it's Supplier Energy Efficiency Project (SEEP).
  • In industrial production, using more efficient manufacturing processes and better materials will generally reduce the production of waste.
  • Sustainability has been found to be a major component of supplier relationship management as an efficient way to cut costs among retailer giants such as Wal-Mart.
  • Realizing the efficiency that effective supplier relationship management creates, Wal-Mart has asked suppliers to be more efficient in managing their environmental footprint.

• Getting over the hurdles

  • Without question, the greatest misconception about energy-efficient buildings is that they always cost more – which many architects insist is not true.
  • High-rise tower buildings can also enjoy the benefits of efficient construction even though, on average, they require 30% more energy and materials to build and operate.
  • Just as with small buildings, extra costs can be neutralized through efficient design and materials.
  • Under-floor ventilation and wiring and super-efficient windows and daylighting are also incorporated.

• Suggestions for improving the efficiency of building interiors

  • Replace all light bulbs with energy-efficient light bulbs.
  • Replace all office equipment with energy-efficient alternatives.
  • The shop also replaced its lighting with energy-efficient bulbs (reducing the number of bulbs, yet doubling the store's brightness), replaced old ice makers and water heaters with efficient models, and tinted the building's windows.
  • Check to see if your business is eligible for energy-efficient tax incentives.
  • Typically, tax credits are awarded for installing energy-saving technology and equipment, using hybrid vehicles, adopting efficient heating and cooling systems, switching to solar (or wind) energy systems – and/or for making efficient constructions or renovations.

• Learn as you go

  • Indeed, most successful efficiency initiatives begin with a handful of individuals stepping into the unknown with little more than common sense, a healthy understanding of their business (and its customers) and an overwhelming desire to succeed.
  • Ken Tannenbaum, a technology associate at Dow Chemical who has successfully led several efficiency projects, explains this concept as follows: Most of the work on efficiency [at Dow Chemical] is done by Dow employees.

• Building a better future

  • For more information about the planning and construction of efficient, energy saving buildings, visit the Advanced Buildings website at www.advancedbuildings. org.
  • The USGBC has developed a rating and certifi cation system titled Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to recognize the efficiency performance of buildings (as well as healthcare systems and labs) in five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

• The Argument Against Barriers

  • Economists generally agree that trade barriers are detrimental and decrease overall economic efficiency.
  • Economists generally agree that trade barriers are detrimental and decrease overall economic efficiency, this can be explained by the theory of comparative advantage.
  • In the terms of the analogy of trade as a more efficient productive process used above, reducing the flow of imports will also reduce the flow of exports.
  • But, more importantly, from this perspective the overall economy that consumed the imported goods must also lose, because the more efficient production process–international trade–cannot be used to the optimal degree, and, thereby, will have generally increased the price and reduced the array of goods available to the consumer.
  • Therefore, the ultimate economic cost of the trade barrier is not a transfer of well-being between sectors, but a permanent net loss to the whole economy arising from the barriers distortion toward the less efficient the use of the economy's scarce resources.