Category: Energy Management and Lighting

FMA Shorts: What Are the Top Benefits of Smart Building Technology?

On this latest episode of FMA Shorts, Melanie Danuser, director of education and training at the Smart Buildings Center, explores the many upsides of using high-tech solutions in facilities. This clip was taken from a webinar titled “Navigating the Future: Top Trends and Challenges for Creating Smart Buildings.” The full session is available for FREE […]

‘Cicada-geddon’: 7 Ways Facilities Managers Can Prepare for the Bug Invasion

The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming! Some facilities professionals will indeed experience a “cicada-geddon,” a term coined by John Cooley, a University of Connecticut cicada expert. According to The Associated Press, two broods of cicadas—13-year and 17-year varieties—will be coming together for the first time since 1803, meaning trillions of them will come […]

Top 10 Earth Day Must-Reads for Facilities Managers

Unless Elon Musk stops messing around with Twitter and gets us to Mars, Earth is our only home for the foreseeable future. That means we’ve got to take good care of the planet and conserve its finite natural resources. It’s also why sustainability is a hot topic all year long and why facilities managers are […]

Biden Admin Finalizes New Lightbulb Efficiency Standards

On April 12, the Biden administration finalized congressionally mandated energy efficiency standards for the most common residential and commercial lightbulbs. The standards will go into effect in July 2028 for newly produced bulbs. Over 30 years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects the standards will save Americans more than $27 billion on their utility bills […]

Is Your Facility Blackout-Ready? Ensuring Safety and Continuity During Power Failures

Between extreme weather events, an aging power grid, and the transition to renewable energy, power interruptions are becoming a much greater risk in all parts of the country. Many will remember the highly publicized 2013 Super Bowl blackout when the power shut down the biggest game in American sports for 34 minutes, plunging the New […]

Mitigating Workplace Hazards with Smart Facility Design

Workplaces of all shapes and sizes have potential safety hazards lurking around almost every corner. From slippery floors and poor indoor air quality to excessive noise and inadequate emergency preparedness, the number of employee safety and well-being risks is quite high. Facilities managers everywhere have a duty of care to mitigate these dangers for the […]

State Farm Stadium: Star Player for Men’s March Madness Final Four

Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, is about 10 miles from downtown Phoenix and will be the home of the ultimate thrill of victory and the agony of defeat for the remaining four teams of March Madness, as the NCAA Basketball Men’s Final Four and championship games will be held […]

How to Better Maintain Facilities with Thermal Imagery

Facilities managers looking for ways to better maintain their properties while saving money should consider investing in thermal imagery. This topic was discussed during the Feb. 29 Facilities Management Advisor webinar “Getting Started with Thermal Imagery: A Beginners Guide to Thermography for Building Inspections,” sponsored by Zeitview, a company that builds advanced inspection software. The […]

Major Bronx Zoo Energy Upgrade to Benefit Animals and the Bottom Line

One of the largest zoos in the U.S. isn’t monkeying around when it comes to sustainability! The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced the completion of mechanical work to the heating system at the Bronx Zoo, marking a significant […]

Energy Group Slams International Code Council Over Model Building Rules

On March 18, the International Code Council’s (ICC) board of directors made determinations on a series of appeals to the draft 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), thus finalizing the latest model code that sets minimum energy efficiency requirements for new commercial and residential buildings. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit […]