Florida

2022 EnergyWhiz Winners

Stephanie Salmon Awards, Continuing Education, Energy News, Feature Story, K-12 Education, Press Release , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment

Junior Solar Sprint

Green Division (Grades 3 – 5)EnergyWhiz sun logo holding Earth in it's hands.
Best Design
1st Place – The Limo – Pine Crest School (Ft. Lauderdale)
Teacher – Kris Swanson
2nd Place – The PC Mobile – Pine Crest School (Ft. Lauderdale)
Teacher – Kris Swanson
3rd Place – HELIOS – The Bonds – NSU University School (Ft. Lauderdale)
Teacher – Michele Murray-Garren
Most Innovative
1st Place – The Limo – Pine Crest School (Ft. Lauderdale)
Teacher – Kris Swanson
2nd Place – Ocean Odyssey – Buck Lake Elementary (Tallahassee)
Teacher – Kim Perez
3rd Place – Mordor – Buck Lake Elementary (Tallahassee)
Teacher – Kim Perez
Race
1st Place – Sun Runners – Orlando Science (Orlando)
Teacher – Amy Trujillo
2nd Place – The Bonds – NSU University School (Ft. Lauderdale)
Teacher – Michele Murray-Garren
3rd Place – The Lightning Sharks – NSU University School (Ft. Lauderdale)
Teacher – Michele Murray-Garren

Blue Division (Grades 6 – 8)
Best Design
1st Place – The Rovers – Parkland STEM Club (Plantation)
Teacher – John Garren
2nd Place – The Milwee Falcons – Milwee Middle (Longwood)
Teacher – Carol Unterreiner
3rd Place – Meowzster – Cornerstone Learning Community (Tallahassee)
Teacher – Karen Metcalf
Most Innovative
1st Place – Panther Engineering G8 – Pine Crest School (Ft. Lauderdale)
Teacher – Kris Swanson
2nd Place – The Rovers – Parkland STEM Club (Plantation)
Teacher – John Garren
3rd Place – Meowzster – Cornerstone Learning Community (Tallahassee)
Teacher – Karen Metcalf
Race
1st Place – The Rovers – Parkland STEM Club (Plantation)
Teacher – John Garren
2nd Place – Meowzster – Cornerstone Learning Community (Tallahassee)
Teacher – Karen Metcalf
3rd Place – The Milwee Falcons – Milwee Middle (Longwood)
Teacher – Carol Unterreiner

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New Florida Energy Code Effective June 30, 2015. Sign Up for the Training You Need; Limited Time Discount Available

Sherri Shields Energy News , , , , , , 0 Comment

By Sherri Shields
June 4, 2015
Updated: July 01, 2015

Florida Building Code Fifth Edition (2014) Energy Conservation
FSEC training courses will address the changes in the Florida Building Code, Fifth Edition (2014) Energy Conservation.

New Florida Energy Conservation Code—5th Edition (2014)—is effective June 30, 2015*.

*Notice of Legislative Delay: SB 2502-A, Section 69, Chapter 2015-222 Laws of Florida 5th Edition (2014) Florida Building Code

Residential energy code changes include:

  • Building air leakage rate testing and limit requirements
  • New prescriptive compliance requirements
  • New performance compliance reference values

Commercial energy code changes include new methods for code compliance:

  • ASHRAE prescriptive method
  • ASHRAE energy cost budget method
  • ASHRAE envelope trade-off option method
  • IECC prescriptive method
  • IECC performance method.

Get the updates and training you need.  Sign up by July 31 for a $50 discount (use discount code “Newcode”) on the following courses:

A complete list of FSEC courses can be found at: http://ce.fsec.ucf.edu/.

 

Director's Message: Purchase a Solar Hot Water Heater Today – Chinese Solar Hot Water Heaters Certified for Sale in Florida are Safe and Efficient (But Please, Buy "Made in Florida")

Sherri Shields Director's Message, Energy News , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

U.S. Senators Bill Nelson and Mary Landrieu have introduced a resolution and bill pressing the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall Chinese-made drywall and temporarily ban imports of the building material, as worries about the possible effects of the tainted product continue to grow.  The bill would ask the Consumer Product Safety Commission to impose the ban until it can create federal drywall safety standards.   It is clear that independent, third-party testing and certification has extensive value in the marketplace, especially for products such as drywall, solar water heating systems and solar electrical (photovoltaic) systems.  Independent, third-party certification provides not only protection for consumers, but also much needed consumer confidence.  Even more important, third-party certification provides protection to reputable manufacturers, ensuring that lower quality products, often from foreign markets, do not compete head-to-head with Florida and U.S. products unless they meet the same standards.  The state of Florida had the foresight to protect Florida in 1976 through Florida’s Solar Energy Standards Act of 1976 (§377.705 F.S.) which requires the Florida Solar Energy Center to certify that “all solar energy systems manufactured or sold in the state…meet the standards established by the center and…display accepted results of approved performance tests in a manner prescribed by the center.”

Governor Crist’s climate change agenda, many states passing “real renewable energy portfolio standards,” and skyrocketing electric prices have led to strong interest in solar hot water heating.  Residential electricity in Florida moved from 8 cents to 10 cents and then to 12 cents a kWh in January 2006. In the last several months, the price of electricity to some consumers in Florida has reached 15 cents a kWh!  The average Florida customer who used 1,250 kWh of electricity per month paid $120 in 2005 and $152 per month in 2008.  In 2009 they may be paying more than $160.  So, by doing nothing, the price has gone up $40 per month (33%) since 2005!

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Director's Message: Energy Too Costly for Florida

Sherri Shields Director's Message, Energy News , , , , , , , , , , , , , 11 Comments

While gasoline prices have recently dropped, electric costs are skyrocketing!  Gasoline for all of the 90s was about $1 a gallon, oil $18 a barrel, natural gas was $2 for a thousand cubic feet and residential electricity in Florida was 8 cents a kWh.  Gasoline at its peak last year was over $4, oil over $140 a barrel, and natural gas over $11 for a thousand cubic feet and residential electricity in Florida was 12 cents a kWh.  In the last several months, the price of electricity to some consumers in Florida has reached 15 cents per kWh.  The average Florida customer who used 1,250 kWh of electricity per month paid $120 in 2005 and $152 per month in 2008.  In 2009, the average customer will be paying more than $160.  So by doing nothing, the price has gone up more than $40 per month (33%) since 2005.  Some customers will be paying $188 per month, a $68 per month increase (50%) since 2005!

Alternative energy is called alternative, until it is cheaper, but cheaper than what? – electricity out of the wall at 12 cents yesterday, 15 cents today, 18 cents tomorrow?  Are you aware that people in the U.S. pay different amounts for electricity?  The average residential retail price of electricity in the U.S. was 10.6 cents per kWh in 2007.  Florida was 11.2 cents, most southern states were about 9 cents, WV 7 cents, UT 8 cents, NY and CT about 18 cents, and CA and NJ 15 cents.  So, states that burn coal have the cheapest electricity rates. Places like Utah and West Virginia burn their own coal, so even though they get all the pollution and the greenhouse gasses, at least they get to keep all their money, unlike Florida which ships more than $25 billion out of state to purchase fuel.  Florida has already been paying more for cleaner burning fossil fuels than the Southern states to our north.  We are now paying more for natural gas than we are for coal, and that price increase is more than what is being suggested to add to our electric bills for solar energy.

New Jersey has more solar than Florida because homeowners in NJ have a Renewable Portfolio Standard, and fees (collected into a Public Benefit Fund) are used to incentivize the homeowner for solar on their roof.  If such a fund collected $1.50 on your electric bill in Florida, we could have the equivalent of California’s Million Solar Roofs Program.  Clearly $1.50 is less than the $40 a month cost of doing nothing.  While solar water heating is cost effective today, solar electricity (photovoltaics) without a subsidy is not cost effective today, but the subsidy is still less than the cost of “accelerated cost recovery” for nuclear power.  What about the jobs?  These jobs will not be in China and India, they will be done by your neighbor.  Vote Solar estimates that more than 3,800 megawatts (MW) of solar could be added by 2020 and with it approximately 85,500 new jobs in Florida. What a great way to love your neighbor.

Jim Fenton, Director
Florida Solar Energy Center