Jacob Cain isn’t a rocket scientist, but you might think so when you see how much energy he and his team are saving in all kinds of facilities. In fact, Cain is the first to admit that he didn’t need a Ph.D to save $700,000 a year of energy costs for Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

Everyone wants to save energy; everyone feels the pressure to reduce costs and improve the bottom line of their business in a lousy economic climate. Energy Savings Companies (ESCOs) come in two varieties, guaranteed savings or non-guaranteed savings.

Energy efficiency is the single greatest source of energy in the industrial world, especially in the United States. And yet, as a resource, it’s still largely untapped – despite almost always being cheaper than new generation. Although there have been some serious efforts...

As a demonstration of Spectrum Engineer’s own high-tech, cutting-edge capability, the decision was made to seek LEED Platinum CI Certification for the company’s Salt Lake City headquarters.

Many people assume that automated electronic building control systems are similar to other electronics.

With the demand for conservation, energy is the new buzzword that can’t be avoided. But why think about energy now? In Utah, who cares? Power is cheap.

For hope of reducing the carbon emissions created by the construction and operation of buildings, the focus must be on making existing building stock as energy efficient as possible.

Growing up, I can remember the energy crises of the 1970s and 80s. I remember the radio and TV commercials that reminded us to turn off the lights when we left a room. I remember the stickers that were placed on light switches around houses, schools and offices that helped with those reminders.