'Super Star' Green Label Proposed

A major overhaul to the Energy Star program, which currently certifies and labels products that are energy efficient, is imminent. How this overhaul occurs remains to be seen. On the one hand, the two current agencies responsible for the Energy Star program- the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy —are trying to revise the program internally. But it's not clear if the agencies' actions will be enough. More     More

Facilities Engineering Journal Now Online

The electronic edition of Facilities Engineering Journal, Nov/Dec 2009, is now available! This issue focuses on the financial impact of equipment inventories; reasons for renting equipment over buying; averting common causes of generator failure; a first-person perspective from an AFE Member, and much more.      Seeking Wind Energy, Some Consider the Sea from The New York TimesLast June in a fjord in southwestern Norway, a 213-foot-tall wind turbine did something large wind turbines normally don’t do: it headed out to sea. Towed by tugboats, the newly built turbine, with three 139-foot rotor blades and a 2.3-megawatt generator atop the tower, which itself was bolted to a ballasted steel cylinder extending more than 300 feet below the waterline, made its way to a spot six miles off the coast. Once in position it was moored with cables to the seafloor, about 700 feet below. MoreMore

AFE Corporate Partners Support Facilities Engineering Education

AFE’s Global Technical Partners play a direct and significant role in promoting the personal and professional success of AFE members. Their support allows AFE to offer ongoing training and education, certification courses and other valuable technical resources AFE members need to deal with everyday issues on the job. Not surprisingly, the majority of AFE members and certified professionals indicate they’re more likely to do business with an AFE Global Technical Partner than their competitors. To learn how to become an AFE Global Technical Partner and reach more than 40,000 facilities professionals, please contact Jane Jacobs at JJacobs@AFE.org or (571) 203-7235. Trump Tower Now Sixth-tallest Building in World from Chicago TribuneDonald Trump's Chicago skyscraper just moved up one notch on the list of the world's tallest buildings. And the developer and reality TV star hasn't done a thing to his 92-story hotel and condo tower. Why does the Trump International Hotel & Tower now stand in sixth place on the world's tallest building list? The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the widely recognized arbiter of height standards, announced that it has changed its criteria for measuring the height of skyscrapers. More

Certified Plant Engineer (CPE) Online and Classroom Review Classes Now Scheduled!

Online CPE Review: Join instructor Jim Taylor of Machinery Management Solutions for an extended review of the CPE Review Pack. This online class is double the instruction time of the traditional week-long review to allow working professionals to dedicate the appropriate time to prepare. Classes will be held from 12-2 EST. Traditional Classroom Review: To be held Dec. 5 and Dec. 12, 2009 in Eastern Massachusetts. For the schedule, pricing and registration, please click here. or contact Carol Lawrence at (571) 203-7238 or CLawrence@AFE.org.More

Chrome Hotel's Swiss Cheese Façade Saves Energy

Sanjay Puri Architect's new Chrome Hotel features a fresh façade punctuated with holes that allow natural light to stream in while keeping air-conditioning costs to a minimum. The opaque windows were purposefully set throughout the swiss cheese façade to allow ambient natural light to enter, and they also create an incredibly cool effect at night when backlit by LED lights. MoreMore

Greening Commercial Buildings Makes 'Solid Business Sense,' Report Says

Cutting energy consumption stands as a lucrative opportunity for the commercial real estate market, according to a report just announced by KPMG LLC. It is possible to reduce energy use by 30 to 50 percent in commercial buildings, providing a positive return on investments, KPMG found. MoreMore