Intel’s chief sales and marketing officer Sean Maloney delivered the keynote at the annual Cleantech Forum today, urging the importance of three themes: the government’s commitment of billions of dollars to cleantech industries over the next year; the utility of even conventional 3-D simulation software in the development of greener buildings, products and vehicles; and [...]
Shifting gears to more concrete allocations for these funds, Maloney discussed the value of 3-D simulation software in future green technology designs. Using AutoDesk as his prime example, he introduced a demonstration of how the software can be used to not only realistically render a building in three dimensions, but also register the impacts of the environment on a structure. For example, the program can track where shadows fall around a building, recommending the best spaces for solar coverage. It can also show how air moves through a building, allowing designers to strategically engineer ventilation systems to reduce heating and air conditioning costs. He stressed that this technology already exists — it just needs to be more broadly applied so that designers can identify green opportunities before costly prototypes are even built.
After brief remarks on clean burning transportation initiatives being pursued in other countries — notably, China’s plan to roll out 26,000 miles of high-speed train track (more than in the rest of the world combined) — Maloney turned his attention to residential and commercial power monitoring systems. In one compelling example, he highlighted a household energy consumption dashboard connected to another Intel employee’s home in real time. The amount of electricity being used was staggering — amounting to $2.27 an hour (or a $1,500 monthly bill). It turned out that he had left his pool pump on, and the simple act of switching it off dropped the hourly rate to 41 cents. This particular dashboard also indicated how many days were left before the end of the billing cycle, which could empower even casual users to cut down drastically when costs start to run too high.
Maloney also cited Yahoo’s power monitoring system in effect on the company’s campus here in Silicon Valley. Apparently, many of its buildings are outfitted with screens clearly detailing their power consumption, giving employees the information they need to reduce their electicity use, and maybe even save Yahoo money (it certainly needs it). Harvard University instituted a similar system in its dorms with screens indicating power use. It even used them to spur competition between the houses to see who could slash electricity use the most. The results were surprising — during the month of the contest, energy consumption fell by 56 percent for the six competing dorms. Even more surprisingly, the lesson stuck, as electricity use increased only 6 percent in the next, noncompetitive month.
Maloney capped off his address by describing Intel’s own efforts to reign in its energy efficiency. In the past year, the company has made changes so that 47 percent of its purchased electricity comes from renewable sources. It’s also actively experimenting with its data centers to see where it might be able to lower energy demands, and ultimately costs.
If any one theme tied these fairly disparate points together (aside from them all contributing to the emerging green revolution), its the urgency of saving money, cutting costs where possible, and conserving existing resources. While the recession has drained capital and liquidity from some sectors within cleantech, it might also give it the kick in the pants (and government funds) it needs to be more widely drafted into mainstream life in the U.S. and abroad.
The Cleantech Forum is a production of the Cleantech Group.
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