rAVe GreenAV

Another Step in the Coming of Age of Medical Visualization

reply@ravepubs.com (Arthur Berman) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:16:34 GMT

A small article that appeared in this week’s news caught my attention. It was a report that Örebro University in Sweden had installed three Sectra Medical Systems AB (Linköping, Sweden) “Visualization Tables.” The attention catching part was that these systems are to be used in medical education programs to replace or complement the dissection of bodies. What struck me was the realization that technologies for the creation of graphical imagery, the display of imagery and the capabilities for users to interact with imagery had all advanced to the point where a medical school could justifiably choose a hardware/software solution as the means to teach anatomy to students. The Sectra Visualization Table is a 46-inch LCD with a pixel resolution of 1920 x 1080. The system has an ambient light sensor and can produce an image up to 700 cd/m2. The system includes multi-touch capability with the ability to detects up to 32 points simultaneously with a spatial resolution of less than 2 millimeters. Since the touch system is optically-based, a light touch is sufficient and no pressure is required.

The software associated with the Visualization Table facilitates user interaction with can render 3D images of the human body. Any DICOM image can be viewed on the table. This specifically includes images generated by CAT or MRI scans as well as medical images and videos from almost any other source.

One of many online videos illustrating the Visualization Table in operation can be found here. As shown in the video, students are able to zoom in, rotate or cut into the virtual body without the use of a scalpel but in a way that, none-the-less, seems quite natural. Since the “body” is not destroyed, the same image can be used repeatedly. This not only reduces the number of bodies needed for instruction but also allows interesting or unusual conditions to be presented an unlimited number of times.

Going beyond student education, other important uses and advantages have been identified for the Visualization Table specifically and medical imaging system approaches generally. These include the following:

Providing a surgeon the opportunity to become familiar with a patient’s anatomy before surgery thus allowing detailed planning of the operation.
The touch interface allows a surgeon to interact with the virtual body with their hands, much they would during actual surgery. This enhances tactile memory and arguably increases the quality of the surgery. Furthermore, it can reduce operation and rehabilitation time by minimizing the occurrence of unexpected issues.
The system effectively enhances collaboration between doctors.
The system can be used to improve the quality of communications on medical issues between doctors and patients.

Closing with just a thought: given a single user and with the addition of head tracking, it would seem to be a straight forward matter to transition the system from rendered 3D imagery to active glasses-based stereoscopic 3D imagery. Doing so would provide an additional level of realism to the “off-line” medical applications described above.

AVFoundry's New HDMI Test Pattern Generator Ships

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:49:02 GMT

The VideoForge is a portable test pattern generator that can be used independently or incorporated with Spectracal's CalMAN Software. It provides an HDMI output with video signals you need for testing, calibrating and servicing video displays, including 3D displays. The VideoForge’s features three distinct control interfaces. First the VideoForge utilizes a modern XML-RPC control interface for automated control. Second, the VideoForge features an Adobe Flash-based control panel for interactive control. Finally, the VideoForge can be controlled with a programmable infrared remote for standalone operation.

The VideoForge’s features full 3D support -- every pattern can be displayed in a 3D video format. The standard patterns will show the same image in both left and right eye frames. True stereo patterns are available from JPG and PNG files on the SD card. The VideoForge allows on/off gating for left and right eye images independently -- allowing for testing and measurement of stereo separation or left/right crosstalk.

Here are all the specs: http://www.avproalliance.com/pages/product-catalog-detail/AVFoundry_VideoForge

An Institution of Greener Education

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:37:22 GMT

If you’re serious about sustainability, you must be committed to being educated on key concepts, technology and emerging trends. But, this type of education can be difficult to find! From green building materials to Cleantech, there are a number of associations and publications out there, but it can be overwhelming trying to decide which will provide the best fit. So, I have a few suggestions on how to wade through the resources to derive the best educational benefit.

First, find one or two resources and stick with them. Whether you subscribe to a journal such as Sustainable Industries or watch monthly webinars from the U.S. Green Building Council, try to find a medium that is comfortable with you and stick with it. Otherwise, there are so many fantastic and interesting resources out there that you can easily find yourself swimming (perhaps drowning) in a sea of them!

Next, I encourage you to go outside of the industry to discover emerging trends. You will learn about everything from B Corporations to Biomimicry. The idea is to take these innovations and apply the inspiration or concepts to our industry. Finally, engage in conversations! Get out there and start talking to sustainability experts. The best way to do that is to attend a conference that focuses on sustainability. Here are a handful you might consider:

ISSP, International Society of Sustainability Professionals (May, Chicago): I like this one because it has a blend of our industry topics (green architecture) with some that may have relevance (sustainability in the industrial sector).
AASHE, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (November, Nashville): You will find a fantastic variety of topics that are relevant, not to mention an amazing opportunity to do targeted networking! This conference is where I first learned about the Living Building Challenge (I’m a fan).
CISBAT International Conference (September, Lausanne, Switzerland): This is a good international option, focusing on topics around the built environment. It’s primarily solar and renewable energies, but I’ve learned quite a bit from this industry on power – or, more specifically – power management.
ISSST – International Symposium on Sustainable Systems & Technologies (May, Cincinnati): This conference was formerly the IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment. It seems to have a great mix of sessions, including quite a few on technology, which sets it apart from some of the other conferences.
SB13 Graz – Sustainable Building Conference 2013 (September, Graz, Austria): Another international conference, this one presents the interesting topic of “Blue Buildings and Green Products.” Also touches on Smart Cities (something we AV folks should be highly tuned into).

This is just a handful of some of the more unique and interesting conferences out there. Of course, you will always benefit from visiting the granddaddy of all green events, GreenBuild, or networking and learning at local events too. If attending a large conference like this just isn’t feasible, you should at least commit yourself to attending one or two sessions focused on sustainability at the industry events you do attend.

Whichever events or resources you choose, the key is to continue the conversation with peers and others both within and without the industry. It’s a great way to learn more while also staying encouraged and motivated. Do your best to take the information you gather, glean what might be useful to our industry and then apply to your work. That will be the key to innovation and help you sustain your Green AV initiatives.

Midori Connolly is the founder of AVGirl Productions in California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging best practices after discovering none existed. She was the co-chair of the AV committee for the ASTM Standard for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings and is a speaker, writer and consultant for green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@avgirlproductions.com

China’s Energy Saving Program Pushes LCD TV Market to Larger Sizes

reply@ravepubs.com (Bing Zhang) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:16:52 GMT

Recent rumors suggest the current subsidy program for energy saving appliances, which is scheduled to end in May 2013, will be replaced by a second generation program soon after expiration, with a higher EEI (Energy Efficiency Index), new size group splits, and new subsidy standards by size group. Indications are that the new program will last for another four years from June 1, 2013, a much longer term than the current program has run.

The first generation energy saving index assigns subsidies to different screen size groups as follows:

China Energy Saving Subsidy (Unit: RMB)

The industry is buzzing about the new EEI criteria, which seems to favor larger sizes like 46” and above. The information shows that the EEI criteria for the new program could be as follows:

Our industry checks show that the 6 billion CNY budget of the current energy saving subsidy program was increased to 10 billion CNY by the end of 2012, after the Chinese government decided to raise the budget allocated to FPD TVs. This indicates that there is flexibility under the total budget of 26.5 billion CNY for all 5 home appliance categories. The increased budget allocation for FPD TVs helps TV sales, especially for local brands and panel makers. In the first round, 32” and 42” benefitted most from the structure of the program, and gained the most share of the three size groupings (19"-31", 32"-41" and 42” and larger).

It will be very interesting to see the higher EEI requirement against higher cost new products like UHD and D-LED, and whether the new subsidy program will encourage LCD TV makers to move towards larger sizes, especially for 46” and 36.5/37”, while 32” and 42” will have less support.

There is still a risk that the Chinese government will not allocate increased budget towards FPD TV due to excessive expense in the 1st program, but the EEI request will be a mandatory policy applied to all FPD TVs.

It is understandable that the government is looking to help out the TV industry, which has undergone a slowdown in recent quarters. There have been concerns about the impact on the market from the expiration of the current program without a replacement program in place. In the case of Japan, once the subsidies ended, demand fell dramatically, though it is not likely that the impact would have been as severe in the case of China. The impact from the most recent rounds of the latest subsidy program have seemed to be having less effect on demand stimulation and resulted primarily in more push from the supply side.

This column is reprinted with permission from DisplaySearch and originally appeared here.

One Touch of Nature Makes the Whole World Kind

reply@ravepubs.com (Raymond Kent) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:22:09 GMT

As a consultant who has spent a great amount of time over the last 10 years designing technology systems for performing and cultural arts facilities and as a professional in the very same industry for over 26 years, I am often struck at the unbelievable willingness and resolve of the people involved in these endeavors to seek out better ways of producing art. Most recently there has been a renewed and concentrated focus of making the arts sustainable with real opportunity to do so. Some of this comes from decades of experience in reducing, reusing and recycling out of pure financial necessity, while the rest comes from an understanding that this undertaking provides for a social, economic and environmental benefit to the arts, the communities they serve and the environment in which we live and operate. The current state of technology is such that real opportunities to play a major role in this exist for the first time in history. It is more than simply presenting opportunity for a “green” arts industry; it’s a smart arts undertaking that truly is sustainable in every sense of the word.

First and foremost, we need to truly define the word “sustainability” without all the green wash. Webster’s defines sustainable as “capable of being sustained; of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted permanently or damaged beyond repair.” It is the capacity to endure. However since the 1980s, sustainability has transformed the meaning of human sustainability on the planet into the concept of sustainable development. In 1987, the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

To achieve this, the 2005 World Summit of Social Development created what is now known as the “three pillars of sustainability” -- Environmental, Social Equality and Economic. The three circles diagram below shows how these three pillars are not mutually exclusive but interdependent on each other and are quite often referred to as the triple bottom line.

Sustainable development is seen as an oxymoron by many since development in and of itself prescribes destruction and some degree of environmental degradation to be successful. From this vantage point, the economy is a subsystem of human society. Human society is a subsystem of the biosphere. So a gain in one sector is a loss in another. A true universal definition has had difficulty in coalescing because of the political nature of it needing to be scientific and factual. Who gets to decide what is scientific and factual is at the center of the debate. Just mention global warming to a politician and you will see what I am referring to. The simple lay definition then is improving the human experience while living within the limits of the ecological systems in which we call Earth. This explanation sets up limits and conjures up political calls to action set around common goals and values. In particular, this not only can refer to human sustainability, but also incorporates situations and contexts over vast scales of space and time from the local to the global balance of consumption and production. It implies structured and agreed upon decision making, innovation and resolution that minimizes impact and maintains balance among the three pillars to ensure the desired results for all environments now and in the future. This is evident in the below famous Venn diagram showing the confluence and interdependence of the three pillars.

This is why many see sustainability as a purely “feel-good” mantra while to others it is a life or death concept. To add to the mix many have described sustainability as requiring that culture also be added to the model. Arts are significantly about culture and therefore have had some difficulty in fitting the three circle model efficiently. The emerging alternative known as the Circles of Sustainability looks at the economic side of the equation and asks why it is either central to the three-circle diagram or is located outside of the social as shown in the Venn diagram. The UN Global Impact Cities Programme uses this model (shown below) to further integrate real world challenges. What I find most interesting is that from a standpoint of the technology systems employed into the arts environments we design, this model represents a clear picture on the impact we can make with the systems we design and implement. I feel it also provides a clearer roadmap to the arts operators as to how to resolve sustainability from an operations standpoint.

So to head back to sustainability in the arts and how this all fits in, we have to look at how arts organizations function within the construct of the models. It is quite often apparent that from the social side of the equation, the arts ranks pretty high and has a clear track record of providing longevity to be sustainable. Let’s face it -- the arts have been around for thousands of years and don’t appear to be going anywhere soon although it has been economically more challenging in the last few decades here in the U.S.

Arts, throughout history, have provided thought and direction, cultural enlightenment, education, entertainment and most importantly, a way to communicate with our contemporaries. The essence of art is a three-legged stool -- one artist, one spectator, and one idea to communicate. At its simplest it is sustainable with no perceivable impact on the constructs of the model other than location. The arts can simply just be without fancy structures, lighting, sound, costumes or other amenities we have become accustomed to. This would easily be understood thousands of years ago to the first storytellers conveying their ideas to their peers under the sun or around the campfire. We, however, do not live in that world. We expect our arts to be in technologically rich environments with all the bells and whistles to capture our attention and imagination as it competes with other forms of entertainment. This does not make for a very sustainable practice from an economical sense or and environmental one as arts are inherently energy inefficient but from a social and cultural has proved vital. This is not to say the other areas are not impacted.

Modern arts organizations do have a significant outward impact on the economy in which they reside. They provide jobs within their venues and help to maintain the economic engine of surrounding businesses such as restaurants and retail. If they are successful, they may generate a profit or other financial endowments that allow them to maintain their contribution for generations to come. This is a huge boost to local economies and has been well documented by the Theater Communications Group, which provides many studies on the economic impact of arts facilities on communities. Where most fall short is in the impact and inefficiencies of their operations. Much of this is a result of tradition in the way art is produced but is often out of financial hardship as not-for-profits often struggle for operating capital. As a consultant, we often work with our clients to investigate their operations and see how efficiencies can be gained to better the financial burden of operating what generally is a substantially intensive and expensive venture. Generally easy targets can be in building systems such as HVAC and lighting (two usually large bills). It often extends into the environmental side of operations in that resources are used more efficiently then they save money. What has to be the driver is that a measurable benefit must be seen and felt by the company otherwise there will be a perceived failure on their part making it less likely that they continue with the strategy.

In the first part of this article, I want to examine the built environment. If an arts company has decided to make improvements or renovate a facility, we have the opportunity to work directly with them to better their operations as well as provide them with a better building. Most arts building owners are by now well aware of the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED rating system or maybe even other rating systems that can help guide them towards a better facility with lower operating costs from a building operations perspective. The key is for us to help educate the clients on how their operations will be impacted by the decisions made during the design and construction of their project. This truly means that operations and the design and construction of a facility are not separate issues. They have to be dealt with together to achieve the maximum benefit. This includes not only building operations, but also production operations as well.

It surely would also benefit organizations from engaging with consultants to evaluate their operations -- both from a facilities side and a production side -- to see if there are changes that can be made to improve their operating costs. This may lead to a construction project or a technology refresh that was not necessarily planned but can have an overall impact on the triple bottom line. Here is where a good understanding of what the client can expect as a return on their investment is a benefit to you and the client. This is not exclusive to the arts but there are usually much larger technology systems in these venues that are driven by larger than normal energy demands and operating costs.

What you may be unaware of is just how informed an arts organization is on strategies to improve their process. There are now several organizations for the arts dedicated exclusively to sustainability, including the Broadway Green Alliance, The Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts and Julie’s Bicycle to name a few. Other trade organizations such as InfoComm, USITT, ESTA and PLASA also have had many sustainability initiatives. Many festival and arts organizers are having competitions and are sharing ideas or producing demonstrations of sustainable arts practices. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, for example, held a competition in 2012 for the most sustainable production that included the facility as well as the performance. Also, for instance, I took part in the first Sustainable Practice in the Arts summit this past summer in Minneapolis with many colleagues who are practitioners in a two-day summit discussing ways of being more sustainable within their arts organizations beyond just what the building can provide. They are informed and eager to work with you on the sharing of ideas and strategies. We need to embrace that, nurture it and find ways to lead the conversation.

When looking at the built environment, many of these are in facilities made during the great experimental architecture period of the ‘60s and ‘70s, many of which fail miserably when it comes to efficient building systems. Energy was cheap (at least until the Oil Embargo of the mid-1970s). Others are in older buildings usually made in the 1920-30s that are on historic registries. These buildings are expensive to renovate and even more expensive to maintain. Their mechanical and electrical systems are in dire need of upgrade and usually are not up to capacity of a modern production. The technology itself can be old and out of date and require extensive overhaul to bring to safe, current, working condition. Modern new facility construction is the best opportunity to create a demonstrable efficient environment that truly is sustainable for the arts organization. Our work as technology designers who should understand the ins and outs of operations within these facilities can be a key driver in how the final outcome shapes up.

For these projects to be successful, sustainability must be an identified and agreed upon goal as the single most important thing you can do for the arts organization. It simply must be understood that the majority of these projects are funded through donations from foundations, corporations and private citizens who are favorable to an arts institution. They must for that very reason be excellent stewards of the generosity of their patrons. This can differ very much from the corporate or other for-profit markets where the costs are born entirely by that entity. Many times the donating party will require a measure of a sustainability goal and we have seen more operations pro formas being tied to this as well. They simply do not want to donate money to an organization for a building that will not be sustainable in every sense of the word.

So having that defined and mutual goal will actually make it relatively easy to achieve. Understanding the trade-offs of providing sustainable solutions and the ROIs will go a long way to the success of the project. As an example, you could prove to a client that a digital audio retrofit can be ultimately more sustainable as it may require fewer conduits, wire and installation time, which may save them money on the labor and infrastructure during construction. This is even though the cost of the components may cost more than an analog system. Proving out efficiencies in the operation of a digital audio solution regarding set up time and strike from a production standpoint as well as inherent ease of use is also critical to acceptance by the owner/operator of the facility. They also may achieve a benefit of being able to reduce power consumption and heat load, as more often than not the digital systems have incorporated many levels of functionality that would typically take many pieces of equipment to achieve with an analog system. Doing this as an afterthought will ultimately result in a less efficient design and more costs to the owner.

As designers, it is our responsibility to understand lifecycle costs analysis by working with manufacturers to know where the product comes from and if there are end-of-life programs that they may offer. If they don’t have this information readily available, then a great alternative is to have an answer for the client as to what to do with gear when it does reach the end of its useful life. Also, make sure you understand the power demands, monitoring and control options and that the client is clear about these systems and how they benefit them from a usability standpoint and an operations/economic benefit. Without conveying this they may not have that perceived value and think it to be ineffective and a waste of resources and money.

As designers we also have to look, as I mentioned previously, in the operations side and work with the client to better their production operations. You may be surprised what they are already doing and that you may have opportunity to offer other ideas. For instance, in an arts organization’s facility, there has to be a way to separate materials for recycling especially in a producing house where shop space exists. Productions often have dual carbon footprints -- once when they are built, and once when they are struck and the end of the production. Reuse of materials can be critical and has the potential to save time, money and the environment. This means that working with the rest of the design team and the owner to identify storage requirements for stored materials has got to be part of the plan for sustainability.

There is inherent value in stock costumes, platforms, flats, cables, loudspeakers, projectors, hardware, etc. but these do need to be stored within a reasonable distance to the stage. Simply moving these items to an offsite location may seem the best economical solution within a project’s budget, but you may just be moving costs to operations and ultimately creating an unsustainable model as there will be time necessary for travel to the site possibly with multiple trips -- most likely using an inefficient vehicle such as a van or stake bed truck for delivery. Every effort should be made by the design team to incorporate adequate storage onsite to minimize impact on operations, which will beget a more sustainable activity.

We can offer now more efficient technology solutions now that are using less electricity, generate less heat, have more controllability, better standby power and take less physical space during the production or when in storage. We now have a multitude of power distribution systems that have true intelligence to them by manufacturers such as Furman, Middle Atlantic and Lyntec. Ultimately this will work to reduce the total power demand to the building and result in the need for less cooling capacity. Communicating this to the building design team and to the owner is critical to staying on the path of sustainability.

Daylighting (a fancy word for having widows) within the facility, particularly within the performance venue itself is a great way to help with the overall building sustainability goals but can wreak havoc on a production without excellent blackout capability, which requires shades of some sort and a control system. Who better to be part of that strategy that those of us who provide control for so many other things? But we need to have that conversation with the team.

And what about heating and cooling needs? Making sure the mechanical engineer on the project understands the true demands of a well-designed system can significantly reduce HVAC systems. Fan wall technology and variable fan drives (VFDs) provide a smarter solution that runs on demand rather than all the time. These strategies also reduce low frequency noise requiring smaller silencers, duct-work and a reduced footprint which means possible more storage space.

Alternative power generation (wind and solar) may now be economically feasible with a reduced power demand by smart performance systems tied into a well-integrated building management system. In older facilities that may have a steam generation system with waste heat, you may look for opportunities to co-op the system during non-peak hours to adjacent tenants. This could potentially create cash flow for other operations costs such as purchasing gear for productions.

End of life opportunities should also truly be vetted out with the design team and owner/operator. Having a plan as to what happens to the production systems after the show is over is critical to discuss with the owner as part of a comprehensive operations plan. Minimizing waste on the tail end and designing the production around what will happen after the show closes can be a great benefit to the organization reducing costs and potential landfill material. Having that storage is a great way to start. Possibly reselling or donating no longer needed equipment (in good working order of course), or finding e-cycling opportunities for no longer functioning electronics should also be part of the plan. Regularly scheduled equipment maintenance and actually having a plan to keep the place clean and organized will help to extend the life and service of technology for future productions.

This just scratches the surface on opportunities to work with facility owners and design teams for renovation projects or new construction. The second part of this will look at the traveling and temporary arts and what can be done to be more sustainable when you don’t have a home.

Raymond Kent is the Managing Principal of Sustainable Technologies Group, LLC specializing in technology systems for the performing and cultural arts, healthcare, Government, higher education, and corporate markets. He is a co-author of the STEP rating system and serves as the chair of the Technology Task Force for the STEP Foundation. Raymond received the 2012 InfoComm Sustainable Technology Award and is involved with the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts. Reach him at rkent@sustaintech-llc.com

Bids Gone Bad: The Protest

dave@pressdooh.com (Dave Haynes) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:28:09 GMT

Disclaimer: This represents the opinion and experience of me personally and does not represent any specific policy, law or official guidance. Understanding what happens in a bid-protest will help your firm manage its expectations on what may happen with the entire solicitation and may help you be successful working with the government.

No one on either side of the procurement process wants to discuss the bid protest and how it affects businesses trying to sell products and services to federal government. The main object in this article is to clearly address some great feedback I received on my inaugural column on Hiccup’s in Procurement.

The feedback received relates to the possibility of an inappropriate relationship between a participating vendor in the open procurement and the government representative handling the procurement.

Being an idealist, and someone who tries to find the good out of every bad situation, I try not to think this happens. However, I also do understand the reality of some people and their behavior, which can be professionally inappropriate, not to mention legally murky. So what do you as a vendor do, when you suspect another vendor is getting preferential treatment in an open solicitation?

Please note I am not promoting the idea that any vendor should have the attitude, “when in doubt, PROTEST.” I think the key is to educate contractors what options are available in the event you do need to protest an open procurement. It’s essential to understand that once a protest is filed, everything stops, and a new timeline begins.

First, the simple fact is if your firm doesn’t have concrete evidence, you shouldn’t be making accusations or starting protests. Protests can and most likely will be costly to all parties involved. They should not be taken lightly.

So how do you enter into a protest? Well, since I’m a technologist, not a lawyer, I wouldn’t be the best person to completely answer that question. However, if you are protesting an open procurement where the Federal Government is involved, then the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has a tremendous amount of helpful information for you, all of which can be found here: http://www.gao.gov/legal/bids/bidfaqs.html.

However, not all bid protests are done through the GAO. This is where a good lawyer can help you. There are three potential places to file a protest. The first is with the government agency itself, the second is with the GAO and the third is with the United States Court of Federal Claims (http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/). I can’t stress enough that a good lawyer is needed when attempting this type of action.

Looking at the GAO provided statistics, bid protests are on the rise, up 5 percent from fiscal year 2011, with a total filing of 2,475. This total represents more than just what I’ve discussed. However, one important fact is more people are at least asking for reviews on bids, and as I see anytime you have “checks and balance,” the end user is always the winner. The full GAO annual report can be found here: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-162SP

Don Palmer has 15 years in Civilian Federal service, during all of which he's been involved with AV- and IT-related project management, including aspects of budget and procurement. Prior to joining the federal government, Don worked in telecommunications and network communications with a large outsourcing call center. Reach him at palm1004@gmail.com

Philips Reports Green Successes

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:06:21 GMT

Today Royal Philips Electronics reported green product sales of EUR 11.3 billion in 2012, marking 45 percent of total sales and moving the company significantly closer to its EcoVision sustainability performance targets of 2015. Healthcare drove the highest green product nominal sales growth with 36 percent and expanded its green product portfolio with 16 new introductions to improve patient outcomes and expand access to care, while reducing environmental impact.

This achievement underscores Philips’ continued focus on driving sustainability throughout the organization and aim to improve the health and well-being of people through innovation. “We are proud to report that today Philips improves the lives of every 4th person on earth and our ambition is to grow this target to 3 billion a year by 2025 as part of our company’s vision”, said Jim Andrew, chairman of the sustainability board and Philips’ chief strategy and innovation officer. “We have also made huge progress in the environmental impact of our operations and have reached our five-year carbon reduction target of 25 percent this year. This was primarily accomplished through energy saving programs in our major operational sites, green logistics, reduced travel and increased use of renewable energy, which we will continue to implement globally.”

In 2012 Philips invested EUR 569 million in Green Innovation, on track to reach our target of EUR 2 billion by 2015. Lighting led the way by investing over EUR 325 million in innovation towards furthering the LED revolution which aims to substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions by switching to energy-efficient lighting.

In Consumer Lifestyle the company implemented its voluntary commitment to phase out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFR) from its products, and for the first time all its espresso coffee machines launched during the year are free of these substances.

Investments in healthcare support the increasing interest that we see in societies across the globe for green hospitals and reduced environmental impact of healthcare. This commitment was recognized by COCIR in choosing Philips Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as the front runner in the industry for energy-efficient MRI with 22 percent lower average energy consumption.

The Philips 2012 sustainability update is an integrated part of the Philips 2012 Annual Report, available at: http://www.annualreport2012.philips.com

Hospitals Get Smart with Latest Interactive Patient Care Solutions

reply@ravepubs.com (Warren Kressinger-Dunn) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:04:19 GMT

Today’s hospitals are facing a virtual tidal wave of demand for healthcare services based on several factors: an aging baby boomer population that requires more intensive care and more of it, new healthcare legislation that is extending eligibility to thousands of newly-insured patients and emerging treatment modalities offering the potential to extend lifetimes to the longest in history.

Complicating matters is an anticipated global healthcare provider shortage, which is threatening the ability of healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) to meet the growing need for services. As a result, HDOs are aggressively seeking ways to re-tool their operations to provide care more efficiently and cost-effectively to an increasing number of patients, without compromising quality or their own financial bottom lines.

High-Tech Improves Coordination of Care

Fortunately, one of the latest trends in Healthcare IT may provide a partial answer to the crisis in the form of new Interactive Patient Care (IPC) solutions that promise to improve clinical workflow and staff efficiency, while enhancing the patient experience. New and re-purposed technologies are converging to equip the hospital enterprise with a user-friendly IT platform that streamlines numerous processes while empowering patients with tools to personalize their stay and optimize their recovery.

Hospitals are rapidly adopting Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) technologies throughout their facilities to automatically identify clinicians and patients and deliver a wealth of patient data to caregivers at the point of care. Featuring built-in security parameters, RFID and RTLS capabilities ensure access to specific patient information only by authorized individuals, so that sensitive data is always protected.

These technologies are now providing value far beyond simple inventory tracking and equipment monitoring in facilities, creating opportunities for a more streamlined, coordinated approach to patient care on behalf of the entire healthcare team. Today’s IPC solutions are designed to increase clinician productivity and enhance both patient safety and comfort. Having a patient’s up-to-date medical history and current medications at your fingertips is the key to safely and effectively delivering optimum care while reducing the administrative burden.

A Portal in the Storm of Information

By combining these automated identification capabilities with new networked, smart terminals located at the point of care, these fully integrated solutions provide a convenient portal to information, services and a diverse array of capabilities for clinicians, staff and patients alike.

Today’s bedside smart terminals come in all shapes and sizes to provide the utmost comfort, control and convenience for both patients and clinicians within the confines of the hospital room. Typically comprising a medical grade all-in-one computer, these consoles are available in wall-, ceiling-mounted or tabletop options for easy viewing and mobility. User-friendly graphic interfaces, similar to smartphone menus, make applications easily accessible via an anti-bacterial touchscreen. Patients can select from a wide array of functions to make their stay more personalized, from ordering their evening meal to checking their daily schedule or simply adjusting the room lighting.

The best-performing solutions offer a turnkey approach to interactive patient care systems, bundling proprietary software with the terminals to ensure seamless operation and smooth connectivity. Many also feature sound ergonomics and sleek styling, in addition to energy-saving LED backlights for a truly “green” approach to bedside computing.

Clinician Collaboration Goes Mobile

One of the greatest benefits to physicians and other caregivers is the ability to instantly access, update and communicate a patient’s medical data conveniently at the bedside. Using smart cards or RFID cards, doctors and nurses can also securely access the Hospital Information System (HIS) in addition to complete Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for patients. Healthcare providers can view a patient’s chart to prescribe medication, examine x-rays, update records with lab test results – all conveniently at the bedside, so information is available to the entire healthcare team at any moment, from any networked workstation. Moreover, by entering patient data only once at the point of care instead of transcribing notes or logging into multiple workstations, providers can significantly reduce the potential for error and deliver improved efficiencies and clinical workflow.

Clinicians can also use bedside smart terminals to build a rapport with patients, employing these user-friendly tools as an interactive “whiteboard” to communicate more clearly and completely about a patient’s course of treatment. While a patient rests comfortably in bed, the doctor can pull up their latest MRI scan, show a video depicting the upcoming surgical procedure, and provide post-operative instructions to illustrate the continuum of care in a meaningful, understandable way.

Staying Connected for Better Outcomes

In addition to learning more about their condition and course of treatment, patients can utilize smart terminals to access a diverse palette of entertainment and communication apps, allowing them to stay connected, both inside and outside the hospital, during their stay. Armed with a fully-optimized, ergonomic monitor, patients can quickly and easily access television, movies, radio, Internet, email, games, video conferencing and more to make their recuperation more enjoyable.

Hospitalized patients can also use the terminal to communicate with hospital workers, control their room environment, request special meals and view their daily schedule to feel more in control of their experience. It goes without saying that the patient “self-service” aspects of bedside smart terminals can also free up medical staff to attend to more critical tasks and provide better care in a more timely manner.

Education Promotes Long-Lasting Recovery

Another key benefit, is that patients and their families can view educational brochures and videos about their specific medical condition, including follow-up care, to learn ways to enhance their opportunities for a full recovery. It’s no surprise that a well-informed patient is likely to have a more successful recuperation and return to good health more quickly. We are seeing that patients actively engaged throughout their hospitalization typically experience greater overall satisfaction, which can also positively influence their clinical outcome.

Hospitals Re-tool for Efficiency

Patients who have taken an active role in their care and treatment are often more likely to continue healthy habits upon their return to home. For an HDO, successful patient outcomes can result in fewer re-admissions due to potential complications or relapses. With fewer re-admissions, hospitals can benefit from faster bed turnarounds to accommodate new, incoming patients.

In addition to their clinical advantages, IPC solutions can also aid healthcare administrators in significantly improving operational efficiency throughout the hospital enterprise. Anything that empowers clinicians and staff to increase their productivity and throughput is going to benefit an institution’s bottom line.

Hospitals can leverage the networked communications and information-sharing capabilities of IPC solutions to reduce the administrative burden on providers and staff, primarily by eliminating repetitive data entry and automating many routine tasks. Also, by integrating these solutions into the hospital’s nurse call systems, hospitals can enable caregivers to prioritize and more fully respond to requests while allowing patients to obtain exactly the type of assistance needed. For the hospital, these types of modifications can enable a smarter approach to staffing and clinician coverage, which in turn, improves utilization of resources across the enterprise.

Creating New Revenue Streams

The flexibility of the platform also enables hospitals to package and upsell premium patient entertainment packages to create a new source of revenue stream, complete with integrated billing systems for true self-service entertainment. This may also be a benefit that prompts patients to rate their hospital highly when it comes to satisfaction surveys. The bedside smart terminal makes this easy! Hospitals can offer online patient satisfaction surveys right on the device, potentially using positive results to secure higher reimbursements from many healthcare insurers. Patients can take surveys anytime during, and at the conclusion at their stay, providing feedback on numerous parameters which can be used by healthcare administrators to continue improving the delivery of care.

From a cost-containment perspective, hospitals typically benefit from the bundling benefit of IPC solutions, i.e., sole-sourcing TV/telephone/Internet platform and services, which typically results in a lower total cost of ownership for these items when not combined.

Paving a New Path to Quality Care

IPC solutions can play a vital role in ensuring the continuity and quality of patient care, closing the resource gap with innovative, self-service tools that benefit patients, clinicians and the entire hospital enterprise. By adopting these bedside smart terminals in their facilities, healthcare delivery organizations can continue their mission of safely and cost-effectively delivering high-quality patient care in a new era of growing demand for services.

Warren Kressinger-Dunn is vice president of strategic marketing, Point of Care for Barco Healthcare. In his current role, he leads the corporate strategic direction and product development for Barco’s Point of Care solutions. Bringing more than 25 years of experience in the electronics industry, Kressinger-Dunn joined Barco during its acquisition of JaoTech where he formerly served as the company’s chief executive officer.

The Biggest Loser (So to Speak)

rkent@sustaintech-llc.com (Raymond Kent) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:12:36 GMT

So you have decided to take on the noble task of helping your clients and customers achieve sustainability nirvana. You have worked tirelessly to train your staff and clients about all of the great devices and system strategies that are available to provide a realistic meaningful energy efficient, intelligent and sustainable solution. You have become an expert in a whole host of green building rating systems such as LEED and STEP; codes such as the International Green Construction Code or New York City’s Zone Green codes; and procurement and funding strategies such as grants and rebates. You are feeling really good about your contribution to the process. Congratulations!

Now how much do you practice what you preach? As a consultant I have had the opportunity to work with design and construction professionals who can talk the talk but have a hard time walking the walk when it comes to their own businesses and personal lifestyles. It is rather profundicating to me. I suggest that one of the best and easiest ways to sell your ability to provide meaningful, environmentally sound and sustainable solutions to your clients and customers is to show them what you do in your own business and life and be able to convey real world experience in how that has affected your company and yourself personally.

In the days of Facebook, Twitter, Angie’s List and a plethora of other social media avenues, a personal recommendation is still the best and least intensive way to convince others that what you are telling them is true and has benefit to them. Modern social media has certainly taken this to stratospheric heights as there are myriad places people can post their experiences about anything from a dentist to dining to a contractor. For example, as a trained degreed (MFA) theater professional that still designs professionally and teaches in the field, I am able to understand and offer up meaningful real-world experience because I live their challenges. So let’s look how you do with your own carbon footprint and what experience can you bring to the table to help your clients. Save money? Retain happier employees? Protect the environment? You would be surprised at one of the largest companies that are constantly learning, expanding and sharing this lesson -- Wal-Mart.

Whatever disdain or enthusiasm you may have for this company and its impact on local mom and pops, they can and are offering a great opportunity and example here in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. Wally World has moved seriously to make its supply chain more sustainable as a good and profitable business model. They have also decided another avenue to work on was their own employees and their sustainability choices in their own lives. Now first and foremost I want to point out that the word “sustainability” in itself does not only include green efforts but in the true sense of the word means something continuing in perpetuity. So what has Walmart been up to and how does it impact their customers and their own?

In 2007 an associate pilot program started with some noticeable results. By the end of the first few years over 20,000 employees had quit smoking, they recycled 3,000,000 pounds of plastic and shed a collective 184,000 pounds from themselves. Wal-Mart saw this real opportunity to make a change for the better in a positive way for themselves, their families and to 200 million customers worldwide.

In 2010 the My Sustainability Plan (MSP) was created (formally know through the pilot program as Personal Sustainability Project) to better engage employees to advance their sustainability initiatives through a comprehensive guide. MSP is a true win-win for the associates and Wal-Mart as a whole by providing opportunity to the employees to feel valued, engaged and cared about giving rise to increased productivity and job satisfaction. The plan was created with the employees input as well as an outside consultant, BBMG.

Launching MSP in 2010, Wal-Mart engaged and urged employees in 28 countries to adopt goals in specific areas of concentration: living healthier (My Health), caring for the planet (My Planet) and getting the most out of life (My Life). An online space was created with a tracking component and a social networking side that allowed employees to see how they were succeeding or even to provide a little friendly competition using a goal oriented framework. To date over 50,000 Wal-Mart employees worldwide are signed up and participating. For Wal-Mart this provides them with real data that can then be translated into actual strategy to increase profitability, say a reduction in healthcare costs, to both Walmart and the employees as employees are eating better, losing weight and staying healthier. Employees get to keep more of their take home pay because they lowered their electric bills by switching to CLFs or LED lamps. This translates into that real world experience that can then be brought to the customers providing them with confidence that what they are buying means something and they can feel good about.

One of the best things about this program in particular is that Wal-Mart and the Clinton Foundation have made it royalty free and available to all. Many organizations such as UPS, J.B.Hunt, United Healthcare and others have taken advantage of this initiative including my own company. You may be tempted to say “But Wal-Mart is a huge company. What impact can my ten person firm make?” There really is only one way to find out. This particular program does not rely on how many employees you have to work and most can be tailored to suit your situation. So now I have given you an example of a great set of tools. There are probably many out there and hopefully you have some motivation to provide that personal experience you need to walk the walk as you talk the talk with your clients and customers.

The roadmap is easy as BBMG explains. Set the strategy by creating a vision statement giving works a good solid understanding of the resources and firms goals. The goals should be actionable and personal, but also measurable and achievable. Next build the buzz by using firm social media, e-newsletters or other corporate communication. Also, try inviting local nutritionists to speak at your firm about eating healthy or other guest speakers related to the goals. Make the goals voluntary and rewarding -- competition with a juicy prize always helps. And lastly, measure the impact and use the programs successes to continue to garner support from your employees. Display this not only for your employees to see but your clients as well. You will be surprised at the positive results. Then next time you meet with that client you can be really speaking from experience beyond what you installed for your last client.

To find out more about what the Clinton Foundation and Wal-Mart are doing you can go to http://mysustainabilityplan.com

Raymond Kent is the Managing Principal of Sustainable Technologies Group, LLC specializing in technology systems for the performing and cultural arts, healthcare, Government, higher education and corporate markets. He is a co-author of the STEP rating system and serves as the chair of the Technology Task Force for the STEP Foundation. Raymond received the 2012 InfoComm Sustainable Technology Award and is involved with the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts. Reach him at rkent@sustaintech-llc.com

Looking Back and Forging Ahead: Preparing for 2013

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:12:24 GMT

Did anyone here read the first column I ever wrote for Green AV? If you didn’t, you should. It was good… I mean, really good. I told you I would focus on goal-setting, and sharing success stories with you. I said this place would be less about scare tactics, and more about envisioning together where we should be headed with the right tools to do so. So, on that note – and to kick off 2013 in the best way – I’d like to take a look back at what we’ve learned in the last year or two, and make some forecasts about where we are headed.

Lessons Learned, Achievements Made

We created standards… a big deal, but it was hard! Lest you poo poo this one, let me tell you from experience how momentous this really is. As the co-chair for the AV/Production committee of the ASTM Standard for an Environmentally Sustainable Meeting, I experienced first-hand how labor-intensive and political this process can be. It took us three years and all the passion we could muster to get the standards done. However, in a shorter time frame, and with probably much less on-the-job-training, the STEP rating system, the ANSI Energy Management standards and ISO 20121 Event Sustainability Management System were all completed. This is largely due to the support, funding and expertise of an association like InfoComm and the demand of an event like the Olympics. Lesson Learned: Find support in the form of experience and ensure there is a market demand for standards.
Standards alone are not enough. This means that we need stakeholder engagement, from end-user to manufacturers. Educational opportunities are a MUST, whether from private trainers or associations.
No one can do this alone. In a recent rAVe Radio podcast interview with my friends Scott Walker of Waveguide Consulting (remember…that guy that used to take up the space above my column?) and Gary Hall of Cisco, we talked about their invitation to present on Capitol Hill, to the U.S. House of Representatives’ High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition, which came largely as a result of collaboration with BICSI. This illustrated the need for cross-industry collaboration. Lesson Learned: Expand your education and awareness to industries outside of ours in order to outsmart your competition and lead the industry.
Resource and knowledge are available! With several years of archives of columns such as this, the building of future GreenAV podcasts and the continued efforts of organizations such as Project Green AV, we have now compiled a solid knowledge base of resources. Lesson Learned: Use the resources and share your experience equally.

What Lies Ahead, Forecasts for 2013

Legislation is upon us. If you didn’t catch it, the President made a point of mentioning climate change as a major component of his next term in office. And when you hear that type of talk, it is fairly safe to assume lawmaking will follow. I like to cite the example of microphone manufacturers and their management of the FCC regulations. By being proactive about legislation passed in 2009 (some claim they had been tracking progress and preparing since 2007), they were well prepared with business opportunities when it went into effect in 2010. Lesson to be learned: Get educated, stay aware and begin looking for business opportunities.
Structure and measurement are imminent. For what has been a long time, we’ve kind of crept our way around a dark room looking for answers. Well, now there are a bevy of them floating around. And what’s coming is more structure around sustainability. A large part of this is a result of #3, which is:
Tools and specialists will arrive to market. Right now, there is a contingency of experts building tools to help businesses incorporate sustainability into their audiovisual operations. Backed by international legislation, a President with an agenda and a respectable collection of peer-developed standards, these experts are no longer “gurus,” but trained experts who can help drive business success through sustainable practices. Lesson to be learned: Find experts who have a background in AV or technology and make sure they use the language of business.

Midori Connolly is the founder of AVGirl Productions in California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging best practices after discovering none existed. She was the co-chair of the AV committee for the ASTM Standard for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings and is a speaker, writer and consultant for green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@avgirlproductions.com

Understanding Procurement Hiccups

reply@ravepubs.com (Don Palmer) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:05:38 GMT

Disclaimer: These represent the opinion and experience of me personally and do not represent any specific policy, law or official guidance. Knowing the practices of each entity you are dealing with for any given situation is a critical part of how you will be successful working with the government. You will learn this through my column.

Have you had experience with selling or installing A/V services or equipment to the government? I suppose the simple answer is yes. Everyone in the A/V industry has stories to tell about their own experience with government procurements. Most often these stories can be depressing and discouraging to you and your business. In this inaugural column, two very similar, but different points of view will be shared to hopefully assist you better understand, “It’s the government …” really isn’t such a big bad animal after all. Always consider planning for the unexpected while participating in any procurement process, stick to the deadlines but anticipate anything could happen, and if your messenger gets lost or stuck in traffic trying to deliver your bid package – well, there is really nothing that can be done.

Federal Rule #1: One of the most basic principles of doing any procurement involving the government is completing the all the forms. If forms are provided, fill them out, COMPLETELY. It should never be assumed that your business will make it through various stages of a procurement process due to performance or references from other projects or any other qualifying factor, if your forms are not complete. Each submitted bid package is reviewed on individual merit, and depending on the evaluation criteria, it is scored appropriately.

Your business wouldn’t want its bid to be discarded for something as simple as forgetting your references. In order to make sure the forms are completely filled out prior to submitting a proposal for review, someone in your company must READ the entire procurement solicitation, as well as understand the entire terms and conditions that the procurement is associated with.

Federal Rule #2: What kind of procurement is it? Another critical component to understanding government procurements is what type of contract is being utilized. There are General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule contract, Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement (SEWP)contract and Blank Purchase Agreements (BPA), just to name a few. It would take up the rest of this column to cover the various types of contracting options that exist in the government. However, it is essential your business recognizes what type of contract it’s bidding on.

Federal Rule #3: Pay close attention on the differences between service contracts and equipment contracts. Service-based contracts can include both labor and products when the scope of work clearly defines how the products are integrated together to form one system. However, product-only scopes may include the complete system and not include any service related items. This is why the first two rules are so critical to the procurement process.

Federal Rule #4: Remember in grade school, when our teacher would remind us, “There is no such thing as a stupid question!”? It applies here. If you don’t ask, you won’t know. HOWEVER, remember sometimes answers take time. If after the initial review of a solicitation, you realize there might be a number of questions, nominate someone to handle managing your questions and submit all your questions at once. As noted, there is a deadline for you to submit all your questions, and no exceptions can be made.

Federal Rule #5: Be patient. Have you heard the phrase “the Legs of Government are turtle length”? Or seen a turtle that is 6’3”? Heck, No! But, you’ve probably seen a government procurement process that’s taken more than three months to complete. The type of procurement can largely affect the resources assigned within the government or the number of divisions and authority that need to sign off on the use of funding, let alone whether the technical solution meets the performance requirements and specifications. More important is whether the government employee assigned has multiple procurement solicitations he or she is managing.

What I have briefly shared with you is the tip of the iceberg about federal procurement and what I will help you navigate in the future through this column. The process and requirements at a state level are specific and different for each state. I know we have 50 here in the U.S. and we all wish there was one easy way. Here to share with you some information on procurement in California is my fellow colleague Jennifer H. Willard, CTS.

State Rule #1: Know who the decision-maker is for each of your projects. Whether you are dealing with the Legislative, Executive or Judicial Branch projects, you have to know where it is coming from and who to submit your proposal to. Is this a state body putting out a proposal for a master agreement or is this a local jurisdiction seeking proposals for a countywide project? Knowing the hierarchy in each state and for each project is a bonus to anyone who wants to do business with the government.

State Rule #2: Know how taxes are applied for the particular project you are submitting for. Trust me, it’s a bear for me to figure this stuff out at each of the 58 counties we are working in and how the tax should apply. But I can tell you this: There are laws around what is taxable and non-taxable when it comes to services versus equipment. Similar to Don’s Rule 3, an integrator can’t charge me tax on equipment (unless it’s associated with installation) and there are only certain scenarios in which an integrator can charge me tax on labor. Knowing more about what taxes apply to any project and breaking it out in the documentation, builds my confidence that you’ve done your homework when I review it.

State Rule #3: Know the deadlines! It can’t be said enough: Deadlines are deadlines and the process is what it is. I know it seems like such a pain to do business with the government and understand that is why some people choose not to. The process is tedious and cumbersome. That said, I hope people realize that once you get in step with it, you will find yourself competing in a much bigger market.. Some of our best proposals have been received minutes after the deadline.

Government AV Rule #1: As much as any individual employee may appreciate dinner or tickets to a game, we CANNOT accept them. It is a nice gesture, however; ethically and legally it cannot be done. We will refer you to the same public information that everyone has access to to find the details about any open procurement. Jennifer and I hope everyone understands how seriously we honor the duty and challenge of being good stewards of state and federally held funds, which in the end is ALL of our tax dollars.

See you next month!

Don Palmer has 15 years in Civilian Federal service, during all of which he's been involved with AV- and IT-related project management, including aspects of budget and procurement. Prior to joining the federal government, Don worked in telecommunications and network communications with a large outsourcing call center. Reach him at palm1004@gmail.com

Data, Data, Everywhere and Not a Drop to Charge

rkent@sustaintech-llc.com (Raymond Kent) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:00:45 GMT

First I want to say a thank you to Gary Kayye and Scott Walker for asking me to take over Scott’s EcoSystems spot as a sustainability contributor to the newly indoctrinated rAVe GHGav eNewsletter. They both have provided tireless years of contribution to our industry on all things related to green AV. Scott, I hope to live up to your 44,000+ words of insight and carry the torch. Gary, I look forward to collaborating with you on many articles on what to me is a very important topic -- sustainable technology. (So important to me in fact that my company is named after it.) To the readers of this I hope to bring my own perspective on news and events and where we should be not only within our industry but in others as well. We are an interconnected Web and even if you don’t see the connection right away, you have to trust it is there.

In the December 27th edition of rAVe GHGav (Vol. 3, Iss. 2), I found it fitting that Scott discussed an interesting question: “Have we (the AV/IT industry) proven that there is a market for sustainable technology?” Scott’s conclusion was that we should focus on our ability to make buildings smarter with what we do while keeping our eye on sustainability. Owners may ultimately be more receptive to this than the green fatigue they are experiencing now with LEED and other rating systems. After all, they have smart cars and smart phones -- why not smart technology systems in their buildings?

Following this submission in the same publication was another connected article by Midori Connolly (brAVe New World’s Big Data, Smart AV). This was a great piece on how we can create smart AV systems that are data driven. After all, isn’t the intelligence in a building all about data? We are a data-driven society. Just look at the New York Stock Exchange, fantasy sports, retail and marketing or Google anything – all data-driven. Smart building systems pump out reams of data that need to be culled and collated for a facilities operator and other end users to be able to be efficient with their building.

Both of these articles have a great theme: being smart with data. I want to take it one step further and ask what do we do with all this data and where do we keep it? As we collect more and more data on everything, there needs to be a strategy for who stores it, how is it stored and where is it stored. Problem one: Who stores it? Is it locally stored, in the cloud or by another division off site? Problem two: How is it stored? RAID 5 Server system? Virtual Server? Something else? Problem 3: Is it local servers, desktop, or server farm? Any way you look at it, this is a problem that is difficult to manage in itself now throw sustainability on top of it and you have a headache the size of Texas.

One of the biggest disconnects in our quest for sustainable technology is that the IT department in four out of every five companies surveyed by the Uptime Institute, a private consortium that tracks data center industry trends, is not directly responsible for the cost of the heating and cooling or power use of the data centers for their company. It is lumped in with everything else. If you take into consideration my three questions and the normal day-to-day data transactions of a company then add the data driven smart building systems from HVAC, electrical/lighting or plumbing plus now smart technology from AV, security/life safety and other plug load intelligent devices, you can start to see how quickly the power and cooling demand of the IT system can rapidly escalate.

In September of 2012, the New York Times ran a front page story about the intensive use of power and heating and cooling in the data world. “A yearlong examination by the New York Times has revealed that the foundation of the information industry is sharply at odds with its image of sleek efficiency and environmental friendliness,” the article said. The article goes on to implicate data centers as using up to 2 percent of the nation’s power in the US (1.5 percent globally) and up to 90 percent of the energy used in some of these data centers is wasted as a result of full tilt operation with little demand. That is 30 billion watts of electricity annually, or roughly 30 nuclear power plants. This number would be larger except that it only accounts for the fact that data centers on average only use 6-12 percent of their power at any one time for actual computations. The rest is idle power use in case of a surge. To add insult to injury, many data centers use heavily polluting diesel generators to guard against power failures to the point where they can be labeled a major polluters, appearing on the government’s naughty list. Why so much? We are just generating that much more data and we don’t really give it much thought. This is especially true when we go into “the cloud.”

Source: Info-tech Research Group, 2010

The cloud is a bit of a misnomer. Quite often when people think about storing their data on the cloud, they picture a happy place in the Internet where data is held in suspended animation until such time as we call it down out of the heavens. This has been perpetuated with such great opportunities such as Dropbox, Google Drive and iCloud, where thousands of music tracks and video clips are sent from homes across the world and the user just expects the data to appear at the click of a mouse instantaneously with no glitches. The thinking is, “Well, I don’t have it on my network anymore, so I have smaller servers using less energy and I can get to it from anywhere, so look how efficient I am being!” Locally, yes you are, but your data is not in Never Never Land. It simply resides on a server farm somewhere else churning away with everyone else’s data until you call it back. And the farm is using a whole lot of energy.

The main culprit is the way the IT industry practice has developed. Instead of location, location, location, it is redundancy, redundancy, redundancy. Even a millisecond of delay in a server can cause catastrophic crashes or provide an unfair advantage to the competition (think stock trades). This tends to make the IT industry a bit risk-adverse to say the least.

To create all of this redundancy and prevent a global nuclear meltdown for businesses, IT managers and data farm designers build in a crazy amount of safeguards, causing huge amounts of power use and cooling needs. These include lead acid battery farms that are constantly being charged, diesel generators and moment springs that store energy. This is not to say that IT guys are the Lex Luther of the technology world hell bent on creating a giant hole in the ozone. Quite often the cause of this, beyond financial, is smaller data farms that are using outdated technology and methods. They are getting better. A decade ago data companies spent more than 1.5 times the amount of money on energy to cool their servers as they did just to power them. Now they are at 80 to 90 percent, which, although a huge improvement, is still outrageously wasteful.

Not all data centers are evil. Large companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and others are taking extreme measures to reduce operating costs and provide a lower footprint. This is mainly fueled by having the capital on hand to do so, as well as the desire to provide a positive outlook to shareholders. Google, for instance, uses just 12 percent as much power on cooling as they do to power their systems. They do this by employing both physical and technological solutions. A huge one is keeping hot and cool air separate. The more they mix, the more energy is needed to compensate. Data centers do this by creating “hot aisles” behind servers and “cool aisles” in front. If you notice I said cool, not cold. Doing this allows the data centers to run at warmer temperatures (80° instead of 60-65°). In addition to this, moving all the serviceable connections into the cool aisle allows data centers to maintain the separation between the two temperatures so technicians don’t have to go between them to do maintenance. Switching temperatures also has allowed data companies to rely less on power hungry chillers and more on “free cooling” evaporative systems using outside air. Now the chillers are a back up or not even included in the design depending on the location of the data center. Building in colder climates is another strategy employed by data centers like Yahoo and Google. They are able to take advantage of the colder climate to cool their servers with outside air rather than chillers.

A less massive data company, whose pockets may not be as deep as some of the large players, can also clean up their act with a little leg work. Google actually started publishing papers on how to minimize energy use in data centers using low cost methods and Facebook made its entire data center design available for free online, offering people the chance to learn from and offer improvements to the system.

A simple way to have efficiency, which I believe we already know in the AV world, is to replace outdated equipment, especially servers, with more efficient ones. Even with all of these strategies available, it is often counter to the behavior of IT professionals because of the lack of incentive beyond bragging rights. In other words, the people with the power to save the energy have no direct benefit to doing so.

So where does that leave us -- the AV industry? Well with our devices creating more and more data and our smart technology relying on even more data, we will need to have an open conversation with the IT guys on how to manage this in a responsible way. Otherwise we are just trading horses and getting nowhere. Work with the IT guys to investigate how they can make their own systems more efficient or move their data to a cloud that is run efficiently (most companies will gladly provide this information). By doing this you are truly helping your client be better informed about their new smart building and helping them to make smart decisions. A good example is found in LEED where credit is giving to a building owner for sourcing their power from renewable energy generation. Help the client source there data from an efficient farm or help improve it locally.

Raymond Kent is the managing principal of Sustainable Technologies Group, LLC specializing in technology systems for the performing and cultural arts, healthcare, Government, higher education and corporate markets. He is a co-author of the STEP rating system and serves as the chair of the Technology Task Force for the STEP Foundation. Raymond received the 2012 InfoComm Sustainable Technology Award and is involved with the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts. Reach him at rkent@sustaintech-llc.com

Mitsubishi's HC8000 Is Most Affordable True 3D Home Theater Projector Ever

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:15:58 GMT

Most inexpensive 3D projectors are junk. But, the new $3,000 HC8000 from Mitsubishi is not only getting incredible reviews, it's also one of the hottest projectors at CES. Spec'd to have 330,000:1 contrast ratio and output 1,300 lumens of brightness, it's both a native 3D and 2D to 3D conversion projector using DLP technology. The native 1080p HC8000 includes a 1.5x zoom lens, is integrated with a six-segment 3D deep color DLP color wheel and includes both dual HDMI ports and a component video input.

Here are all the specs: http://www.mitsubishielectric.ca/en/displays/projectors/PDF/brochure_8000D.pdf

We're Adding Healthcare and Government AV

gary@ravepubs.com (Gary Kayye, CTS) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 01:21:42 GMT

We're adding both Healthcare AV and Government AV technology to our existing rAVe GreenAV newsletter, making an all new eNewsletter called rAVe GHGav.

Why?

All year, we debated launching a new eNewsletter totally focused on Healthcare AV. The healthcare market is booming -- some say it's because of the new healthcare law and some say it's inspite of it. No matter what it is, there's a lot of money being spent to upgrade everything from the software used to track patient records to the technology used to monitor patients -- heck, just today, I learned of a mobile vital signs monitor from a company called Sotera (and they say they've taken orders for nearly a million of them already). And, guess what? That data is streamed via the network to giant NEC monitors in hospitals.

Simultaneously, one of our largest sponsors of rAVe GreenAV asked us to consider adding a Government AV section to our GreenAV eNewsletter -- since most "real" GreenAV systems are being driven by government specs.

Then late this summer came the announcement that the National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC), a public-private partnership that accelerates secure and meaningful use of health IT, and InfoComm International, the InfoComm show people, announced their partnership as co-hosts of the inaugural Technology Crossroads Conference in Washington, DC on November 27-28. And, it was held in conjunction with the GovComm 2012 Expo.

Thus, rAVe GreenAV's fate was sealed - it would become rAVe GHGav: still the industry's first and only AV publication focused on GreenAV technology, but now the industry's first and only publication focused on Government AV systems and Healthcare AV too!

The first rAVe GreenAV was already published, which you can read here. If you're already a subscriber to rAVe GreenAV, you don't need to do anything as your subscription will carry over into rAVe GHGav. If you're not a subscriber yet, you can subscribe for free here: http://www.ravepubs.com/subscribe

Big Data, Smart AV

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 03:11:30 GMT

Right now, there isn’t much bigger than big data. Big data, data mining and business intelligence (BI) are the hottest terms around, and our industry is poised to capitalize on this trend.

In case you’re still a little unsure about these terms, here is my best explanation of the relationship between these terms, beginning with data. Data is just what it sounds like... raw numbers, facts or text that are captured and stored in some type of repository (aka a database). Then, by the process of data mining (through some type of analytical technology or human review), these numbers are organized into patterns and outcomes that can be referred to as information. Finally, by applying historical analysis and forecasting models, we generate knowledge, or intelligence, that will improve business results.

One of my all-time favorite stories of how big data and BI achieves results is the story of how a grocery chain identified the relationship between diapers and beer. They gathered data on the behavior of their male shoppers and organized this data into patterns of goods purchased, and on what days. Then, they were able to identify a relationship between their diaper and beer purchases on Thursdays and Saturdays. With this intel, they were able to increase revenue by selling those products at full price on those particular days, and improving product placement between the two (would love to hear the story of how they got the diapers closer to the beer!).

OK, so here we are halfway through this Green AV column and you haven’t heard a word about sustainability or AV... well, here goes. I see two ways that we, as AV professionals, can participate in the big data trend -- mostly as it relates to what I’ve been calling Smart AV. As I see it, Smart AV is an audiovisual system that is designed to produce an improved quality of experience for the user, influences better business results and will improve the impact on the environment.

And, if we’re talking Smart AV, then we must discuss intelligent buildings. How do they become intelligent? By collecting data about all of the factors in an environment, performing analysis of this data and ultimately creating predictive technologies that will anticipate the needs and behaviors of the inhabitants. And this absolutely includes data to make your building greener (mostly in terms of energy efficiency), which we should easily be able to provide! As a matter of fact, you might just want to check out the impressive Green Building Council database on building efficiency at Gbig.org and see where we fit.

You know how the pro AV market was long intimidated by the encroachment of IT on our industry? Well, before long, with the data and information we can gather and supply with our networked systems, we may just see those IT peeps holding roundtable discussion groups at their annual conferences about the best ways to manage (or, better yet, cooperate with) the expansion of the AV market into their traditional territory.

Midori Connolly is the founder of AVGirl Productions in California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging best practices after discovering none existed. She was the co-chair of the AV committee for the ASTM Standard for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings and is a speaker, writer and consultant for green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@avgirlproductions.com

Always Be Closing

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 02:43:35 GMT

Earlier this month a very important person in our industry asked me a very straightforward question: Have we (the AV/IT industry) proven that there is a market for sustainable technology? In other words, do we believe there is a sizable group of buyers out there willing to pay a little more to have their projects undergo the STEP process? I answered honestly that I wasn’t sure how big that pool was, nor was I sure where the pain threshold lay in terms of additional fees to deliver a more sustainable system. Since then, I’ve been thinking long and hard about this question.

From my own experience I can certainly point to enterprise clients my firm has engaged and projects we have won based, in part, on our leadership in sustainability. I have pitched STEP on many occasions and seen the “aha moment” in peoples’ eyes as they understand the imminent logic of having not only a sustainable core building, but also that same sustainability mindset applied to the technology coursing throughout their building. It’s just an obvious follow through that aligns with what many clients are already doing in terms of their building programs.

However, we also have been living through four years of a pretty tough economy in the construction industry, and while our industry has fared better than most, our partners in the architectural and construction community have not been having a lot of fun. Thus, fees have been reduced all throughout the design and construction process, and “sustainability” has morphed into a gallows-humor term about simply staying in business another year as opposed to doing something good for future generations.

We also live in an era, I believe, of post-recession, green-rating-system fatigue. LEED doesn’t have the luster it had a few years ago. In many architecture firms it’s almost become a commodity. I’ve heard several architects say that LEED has become so second nature to them that it’s hard for them to not deliver a LEED-Silver building anymore. Their specs are just set up that way. I’ve also been in more and more project kickoff meetings where owners say they want the design team to follow LEED principles, but they (the owner) will not be paying tens of thousands of dollars just to get a pretty LEED plaque for the lobby of their building. It is against this backdrop that we are trying to introduce these same owners to STEP.

However, there are also some clients who want to push way beyond LEED. They are ready for something more. They want a smart, sustainable building, and some even want to go net-zero if they can only find the partners who can take them there.
We seem to be at a crossroad of sorts.

Over the past five and half years I’ve written 41 articles—more than 44,000 words—on this little topic of green AV. That’s almost the length of an average non-fiction book. What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Back in the summer of 2007 when I wrote my first article, everything about sustainability was new—at least to our industry. We were busy learning strange acronyms like VOC (volatile organic compounds) and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances); new terms like heat-island effect, load shedding and carbon credits; and exploring new associations like the U.S. Green Building Council to see if this was a place to learn and network with like-minded people.

The modern environmental movement, which had begun in earnest with the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” in 1962 and had grown in the 1970s with cultural signposts like the No Nukes concert, the beginning of the annual Earth Day celebrations and the ubiquitous Keep America Beautiful commercials with the iconic image if a crying Iron Eyes Cody, came into sharp relief in 2006 with the release of “An Inconvenient Truth.” This film, combined with reading “Cradle to Cradle,” is what made environmental awareness jump from like 50th on my list of things I thought and cared about to somewhere up in my top 10 list. It changed me, both personally and professionally. The cars my wife and I drove in 2006 averaged under 20 miles per gallon. Today, my family owns only hybrids that average well over 40 miles per gallon. My company, which had nothing to say about sustainability prior to 2007, is now winning business because we are known for our thought leadership on this issue. And along the way I have had the pleasure of building relationships with people who inspire me with their passion for this topic.

However, the questions still remain: How big of a market is there for sustainable technology and how much will people be willing to pay for it? How can we best make the ROI argument to justify the cost, or is that the wrong paradigm altogether?

Perhaps we should focus on the real special sauce we bring to the party: making a building smart and the owners who occupy it even smarter. Think about a smart phone or a smart car. If you’ve bought new car recently, did you create an ROI spreadsheet on what the Bluetooth, navigation, rear-view camera, etc, payback period was, or did you just say, “I want a car that has all that smart stuff in it. It will make me more efficient and safer in my travels.” The same goes for a smart phone. I’m starting to think we need to pivot our pitch toward the benefits of smart without losing sight of the positive aspects of sustainability.

So that’s what I intend to do, and with that declaration I have a little announcement to make: This will be my last monthly EcoSystems article. While it has been a great joy to be able to express myself each month in this column, I want to spend some time with my head down figuring out where this movement is going and see what I can learn. I hope to pop up a few times a year with updates on that quest, but I will be handing over this column space to my good buddy, Raymond Kent, one of this year’s recipients of the InfoComm Green AV Award. You guys are in good hands with Ray. We all have lots to learn from him. And Midori, keep marching on, sister. I’m rooting for you.

Before I close I have three thank yous: First and foremost, I want to thank Gary Kayye for this opportunity. I had only two conditions when Gary asked me to write for rAVe: I wanted to be able to say whatever I wanted to say, and I essentially wanted to be left alone and remain an independent voice in this cause. Gary, to his credit, gave me the freedom to say everything I wanted to say and allowed me to keep my voice independent in these columns. To Gary, Sara and everyone at rAVe, I appreciate you keeping your word and working with me for the past two and half years, even as I pushed my deadlines to the bitter end each month.

Second, I have to thank my faithful editor and monthly nag, Julie Benz. Julie, it’s been a wonderful ride trying to write an article each month that you would find better than the last one. You were always my target audience, and if I could make you laugh or inspire you, then I knew I had something. And thank you for teaching me grammar all along the way. You make it look like I was paying attention in college English class.

Lastly, I want to thank all the readers and friends out there who have inspired me over these past years. For all of you who forwarded one of my articles to your associates, tweeted about my column, or simply sent me a nice email, I greatly appreciate it. It can be a lonely place sitting in front of a flashing cursor every month wondering if I really had anything to say, but you guys kept me going when I doubted myself.

I’m not done with this journey, not by a long shot. I do firmly believe we have a valuable proposition to make to our clients. I’m just rolling up my sleeves for the next five years.

Always be closing. Walker out. (Drops mic.)

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

ANSI Seeks Input for Energy Standard

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 20:34:21 GMT

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative (EESCC) is soliciting input regarding relevant standards, codes, guidelines and conformance programs that are available or under development, and what perceived gaps in energy efficiency standardization and conformance activities currently exist.

The EESCC has set up online forms to make it easy for stakeholders to submit information about relevant standardization documents (standards, codes, guidelines, and regulations), conformance programs, and standardization gaps. Submissions should consider the following questions:

What standardization documents or conformance programs related to the built environment currently exist and what are on the horizon?
What is the goal of the document or conformance program in question?
Who is the standardization document or conformance program intended to serve, and how is it being used in the market?
Is the document or conformance program being implemented at the state or federal level?
What building types does the document or conformance program apply to?

Submissions regarding major gaps, challenges, or untapped opportunities in the energy standardization landscape are also encouraged. Submitters are asked to explain why the gap is a priority, who the affected stakeholders are, and how the gap could be addressed by the public or private sector.

Here are the forms:

Online entry form for documents (standards, codes, guides, and regulations): http://toolswiki.ansi.org/tiki-index.php?page=EESCCSInputForm

Online entry form for conformance programs: http://toolswiki.ansi.org/tiki-index.php?page=EESCCCInputForm

Online entry form for potential gaps in the standardization landscape: http://toolswiki.ansi.org/tiki-index.php?page=EESCCGInputForm

New Milestone AV Headquarters Awarded LEED-CI Silver Certification

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:17:57 GMT

The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Milestone AV Technologies’ newly renovated global headquarters and design center a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) Silver certification. Milestone, home to the Chief, Sanus, Da-Lite and Projecta brands, expanded into the new location in Eden Prairie, Minn. earlier this year.

The U.S. Green Building Council developed the LEED rating system to reward designs that reduce environmental impact throughout a range of categories including water efficiency, indoor environmental quality and transportation. Silver certified buildings have reached a designated number of goals toward reducing environmental impacts in these categories.

Architecture firm Mekus Tanager designed Milestone’s new space with a focus on sustainability. The first step in sustainability was to rehabilitate a building with unique design features and great natural light. The updated interior of the building includes natural lighting for 95 percent of regularly occupied seated spaces and ENERGY STAR ratings for 95 percent of the equipment in the building. The building’s design also encourages cross-team interaction and collaboration toward new product innovation.

Other examples of sustainable design solutions that Milestone employs in the new headquarters include:

30 percent reduction in water usage with the implementation of low flow fixtures
5 percent reduction in energy consumption from lighting fixtures
15.5 percent of construction materials were made of recycled content
89.5 percent of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill and recycled
Use of outside air to cool the building’s data center without using additional energy due to Minnesota’s low ambient temperature
Nearby walking/jogging paths, bicycle storage and shower facilities to encourage alternative ways for employees to commute to work
Location near four major highways as well as the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line

Although LEED-oriented construction calls for a higher initial investment, the reduced long-term operational costs of running a building with efficient electrical and mechanical systems offset the price over time.

More on Milestone’s commitment to environmental responsibility can be found at http://www.milestone.com/sustainability.html

Green AV and Noise Pollution

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:36:35 GMT

A few months ago, a good friend of mine reached out to me with the most interesting dilemma. She was overseeing a study on a new amphitheater project in a pristine area of Central America. She asked me what I knew about noise pollution, and the potential implications of such a project in this fragile ecosystem (yep, just another day in the inbox of Midori). I thought it would be interesting to share what I discovered about the environmental impact of our ProAV activity beyond the usual energy consumption or waste management.

As many of you probably already know, the United States Environmental Protection Agency established the Noise Control Act in 1972. This Act is largely why building codes around noise exist, and each state has a general reference somewhere in a state statute about noise abatement. These statutes can range from the state of Arkansas, which only pertain to the use of mufflers in vehicles, to Oregon, where the Department of Environmental Quality continues to innovate on new research and regulation around the impact of sound. However, the findings from these government-funded projects are, in fact, still what many of the readers here use when providing acoustical consulting services for their clients. This is probably in large part due to the fact that nine years later, in 1981, the U.S. government ceased funding for the federal noise control program.

I found a few key points most interesting about these studies and regulations. First, they largely center around noise created by industrial products, construction projects and (mostly) transportation. Second, they are meant to consider the impact to humans as it pertains to preservation of hearing and the human right to a comfortable level of noise, in both a personal and work setting (the latter regulated by OSHA). Third, building codes are meant to mitigate the impact of noise both from the perspective of the inhabitants inside as well as limit the impact of the noise they make to the environment around them. Lastly, the ability to enforce regulations is actually quite complicated. Although at one time there was a professional association for noise enforcement officers called NANCO, "National Association of Noise Control Officials,” now most government agencies charged with enforcing such regulations don’t have staff qualified to do so.

As I thought more about the implications of a new amphitheater, my curiosity was piqued by how the ecosystem would be affected by the introduction of noise, and this was the most fascinating part of my research. In New Mexico, a study on piñon pine trees showed that scrub jays (an important distributor of this tree’s seed) avoided the trees in noisier areas. Compared to loud areas, the researchers counted four times as many piñon pine seedlings in quiet sites. The conclusion is that noise could be a major factor in how these trees survive from generation to generation. I went on to discover several similar studies, such as birds calling in a different range to overcome noise, which didn’t attract the females of their species in the same way as their natural voice.

I think most of us in this business will agree that the average human isn’t aware of the value of audio in creating an audiovisual experience. But now I begin to wonder if perhaps we, as Green AV professionals committed to sustainability, should begin to consider how unmanaged sound (as it transitions to noise) could possibly dictate the survival of a species…

So what do you think? Is noise control something we need to start including in our Green AV repertoire, or is it just needless worry?

Midori Connolly is the founder of AVGirl Productions in California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging best practices after discovering none existed. She was the co-chair of the AV committee for the ASTM Standard for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings and is a speaker, writer and consultant for green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@avgirlproductions.com

Dear President Obama

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:48:33 GMT

Dear President Obama,

Congratulations on your reelection. In this modern era, presidential elections are brutal slugfests where billions of dollars are spent, hundreds of thousands of miles are flown, and grey hairs multiply like rabbits just to end up right where we started.
Now that all that silliness is behind us, you get to focus on what you are actually going to attempt to accomplish in your second term. Despite the impression that the last two years have been total gridlock, your first term was really quite productive (or destructive depending on one’s political leanings) and will surely be known for historic health care reform, winding down two wars, getting Osama Bin Laden, economic rescue/recovery efforts (auto bailout, stimulus package, etc), and issues of equality (Lily Ledbetter Act, end of DADT, etc).

Your second term is likely to be just as busy. We have to deal with the debt and deficit, comprehensive immigration reform, entitlement reform and tax reform, just to name a few. However, one REALLY BIG issue that got almost no attention in your first term -- and no mention in any of the debates -- was the development of a comprehensive energy plan that addresses not only our near-term desire for energy independence but also the long-term need to reduce our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions to combat global climate change. My fear is that given the immediacy of the other second-term issues noted above, crafting a far-reaching energy plan that both parties can agree on might get put off for another four years. (“Ah, screw it; let Hillary deal with it in 2017” could be the mantra at the White House over the next few years.)

I think this would be a huge mistake.

In fact, I think energy/climate change ought to be the FIRST THING you tackle right out of the gates, starting with your inaugural address and next State of the Union, and here’s how I think you ought to approach it: This country truly moves forward when the best minds from both parties bring their diverse perspectives together to solve complex problems. Many liberals are passionate about environmental protection and not handing future generations an ecological disaster. Most conservatives are passionate about lower taxes and a return to federalism (i.e., letting states innovate and take the lead in fashioning programs closer to home to address our common problems). So why don’t we combine these two passions toward a common solution?

I have long thought that we need some type of program that would fire up both the left-wing and right-wing halves of our national brain in the pursuit of dealing with energy and climate change. Then this morning, it hit me. We need a “Race to the Top” program for energy independence. What I’m recommending is that we steal a page from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s Race to the Top program, which awards education grants to states based on who has the best, most innovative plans for improving education in their states. Forty-eight states competed with awards from $75 million to $700 million going to both blue states like Hawaii and red states like Georgia.

Here’s how a Race to the Top for energy and climate change could work: We know the population of each state from the 2010 census, and we know the total fossil-fuel-derived energy consumption of each state based on utility company data and power-plant outputs in each state. Thus, we can calculate the per capita energy consumption of each American on a state-by-state basis. So how about this: What if each individual of a state can have their personal tax rate lowered by, say, three percent if their state can reduce its per capita energy consumption by, say, 20 percent? Say what?!?

Yeah, so I live in Georgia. If the state of Georgia cuts its per capita energy consumption derived from fossil fuels by 20 percent, all of its citizens, including me, get a tax cut starting the next year. If a resident doesn’t “believe” in global climate change, but he likes lower taxes, he can still come on board and take his tax cut. It’s all good. There can even be a bigger prize for the top three states that have the biggest drop in per capita greenhouse gas emissions where they could earn a 4 percent, 5 percent and 6 percent tax cut for the bronze, silver and gold award, respectively.

This kind of idea could give a role to the big utility companies, to every 9-year-old kid and to all of us in between to switch off lights in our own houses (I used to be that 9-year-old kid during the energy crisis of the 1970s). We could all play a role in lowering our taxes and going for the gold while protecting and preserving our environment and natural resources for the next generation.

Now, the catch is this. Once a state hits the 20 percent reduction mark, they start receiving their tax credit for the next four years, but to keep earning it after that they have to get to another 10 percent per capita reduction. If they hit that mark, then they are good for another four years until they get to another 10 percent and so on. Perhaps when a state gets to 50 percent reduction, their residents could receive an even larger tax break. If any states followed this program, they could conceivably get to net zero GHG emissions by 2050 or thereabouts.

What kinds of innovation could this ignite? Who doesn’t like saving the planet while also saving some of your hard-earned income? I bet we’d see an explosion of renewable energy projects that would spur both the construction industry and manufacturing.

Interestingly, Mr. President, I was in your hometown of Chicago earlier this month as part of an InfoComm smart building task force meeting. Some of my task force buddies, Howard Nunes and Bill Lally, and I went to the lounge at the top of the Hancock Building to view the beautiful Chicago skyline. While others were swooning at all the pretty lights, all Howard, Bill and I could see (after spending two days talking about smart buildings) was a landscape of dumb buildings staring back at us. If you get this initiative passed, it would represent decades of growth for our industry to help turn these millions of dumb buildings into smart ones while we simultaneously help earn a tax cut for our fellow Americans.

Sure this plan is naïve and full of devils in the details, but what’s your better idea? A carbon tax? (Yeah, that’ll pass the House…NOT!) Cap and trade? Dead on arrival.

So listen, Mr. President, as fate would have it, my family will be celebrating the Christmas holidays with my wife’s family, who are from Hawaii, in Kailua on Oahu. (I assume you will be vacationing there again this year.) If you want to get together and kick this idea around down at the beach, I’ll bring a cooler full of beers. This whole “saving the world” stuff is thirsty business.

Sincerely,
Scott

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

Delta Ships 10-Millimeter Outdoor LED Display

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:50:51 GMT

Delta Products is now shipping its 10-millimeter SMD LED, specifically designed for outdoor use. The S-10 weighs in at only 22 pounds per tile and claims a "super-rugged" IP66 front and back protection rating. It's spec'd at 6000 nits light output, has 16-bit color processing for the input video and can be mounted to replace a billboard on the side of the road, or used in temporary install applications for live or on-going events. In addition, Delta says the S-10 has been specifically designed for low power consumption (200-240 volts nominal) 50/60 Hz. The operating temperature rating of the S-10 is -20 degrees C to 50 degrees C and the humidity rating is 10 percent to 99 percent. Each module has a 96 pixel by 96 pixel LED density in a R/G/B, three-in-one SMD pixel configuration.

Here are complete stats: http://www.deltadisplays.com/Outdoor-LED-Displays-S-10.html

A Bit About Batteries

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:40:29 GMT

If there is one thing that has always plagued me about our business, it’s the consumption of batteries. Whether we are on the integrated/installed side of the business or the wild west of live events, there is one little nuisance we all share… and that is the vexing hassle of battery consumption. In a world where wireless has become ubiquitous, there are few users out there who will settle for the idea of being tethered while presenting or lecturing from a stage. But along with this liberation comes its own weight for us to bear… what to do about the rapid consumption of batteries in our jobs, from power tools to microphones to other electronics used in the course of our work?

You might be wondering whether batteries are truly such a big deal that we can spend an entire column on the topic – and that’s understandable! But the troublesome fact is that household dry cell batteries (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, etc.) contribute about 88 percent of the total mercury and 50 percent of the cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream. In the past, batteries accounted for nearly half of the mercury used in the United States and over half of the mercury and cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream, per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And I know from personal experience that if there is one practice that is ingrained in every event technician, it’s that microphone batteries are changed DAILY, if not between sessions (when your client is paying $200K for a keynote speaker, you better believe the tech lives in fear that a dead battery will kill the show).

So what do you think about rechargeable batteries? For the longest time, I operated under the assumption there was no way it could work, there are just too many variables with these tricky little suckers.
Here are a few of the issues:

Traditionally, NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries lost up to 20 percent of their charge on the first day and up to 4 percent per week of storage after that.
Batteries can walk away. And they always do. Accounting for at least a 10-20 percent loss in consumables is a safe bet. When is the last time you did a full audit of batteries used on an event site, or a client was confident no one would take a liberty or two with these high-demand items?
Can anyone guarantee that there will be an ample supply of fully charged batteries at go time? Between user/employees going home for the day or crew heading to a mandated dinner, it’s a tough call to ensure the batteries are placed in chargers at end of day.

But here are a couple of redeeming qualities, and the possibility of how rechargeables might have a place in our future:

Shelf life has improved dramatically in the new generation of NiMH, the Low-Self Discharge (LSD). These cells retain 70 percent to 85 percent of their capacity after one year when stored at 20 °C (68 °F). This is a great thing for being able to charge all batteries before an event or once a week in a built environment.
NiMH rechargeables actually outperform disposable alkaline batteries in high-drain devices, where the voltage of even a fresh alkaline battery can be lower than a NiMH battery while under a load.

Knowing that shelf life is a little more predictable and performance is a non-issue, I do think that there are possibilities of how processes and policies could be developed to start implementing the use of rechargeable batteries.

However, I guess my real conclusion would be about how we manufacture our equipment, rather than tackling the batteries we put in it. If we have been trained to replace our radios and other devices on the charger each night, is there a reason why we can’t do the same with all the mics and other battery monsters we use? I think the challenge is less about developing better removable batteries, and more about rethinking how this equipment could be recharged in a new way (built-in Lithium-ion anyone?).

Midori Connolly is the founder of AVGirl Productions in California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging best practices after discovering none existed. She was the co-chair of the AV committee for the ASTM Standard for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings and is a speaker, writer and consultant for green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@avgirlproductions.com

Back to School

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 23:14:41 GMT

Over the past six years I have been striving to find the right balance point between our industry’s response to the global climate change mess we are inheriting/propagating and the present-day needs of our industry to stay viable and add value to our customers amidst a technological sea change that is breathtaking, in and of itself. While “being green” speaks to my soul, “making green” speaks to my family, employees, mortgage company, banker, etc. Everyone once in a while the whole “being” thing and “making” thing come together. When it does, it can be jaw dropping.

Earlier this month I was honored to give a keynote address for the Consortium of College and University Media Centers (CCUMC) Conference 2012. I had spoken at this conference back in 2008 on the topic of green AV, and as I told my audience, it was great to get a do-over and inform the attendees that my 2008 message, while well-intentioned, was dead wrong. As it turned out, LEED was not our pathway to sustainable technology as I prophesied in 2008, and thus we created STEP as our answer to the gaping building technology chasm in every green building rating system out there.

However, in the course of preparing my recent presentation I had a series of epiphanies, which I should probably keep to myself for selfish business reasons, but I feel compelled to share them for the greater good of the sustainable technology movement.

As I reviewed my 2008 slides and waded through the 33 slides dedicated to LEED, I came across one slide on another green program that had started in 2007: the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. This initiative is a voluntary program wherein college and university presidents sign a commitment to take their institutions to carbon neutrality through a series of progressive and meaningful steps. When I first researched the ACUPCC back in 2008, I was intrigued by the structure of the commitment, particularly the requirement for signatories to publish a complete carbon inventory for their entire campus and produce their climate-neutrality action plan within two years of signing the commitment. I mused at the time that once people had to actually undertake this difficult work the whole program might devolve into just another exercise in green washing.

Boy was I wrong! (Again.)

In preparing my 2012 talk I thought I would see how many of the nearly 100 institutions in attendance had signed the commitment. Among the 660 total institutions who have signed the commitment, more than half of my audience worked at colleges and universities where their president had signed on the dotted line that they would go carbon neutral. That was encouraging enough, but I thought I would delve a little deeper. So, not fully realizing what I was getting myself into, I clicked on a link on the ACUPCC homepage that goes to the carbon inventories and climate action plans of each signatory. In short – oh, my God!

I ended up spending about two days on my front porch with my laptop reading dozens of carbon inventories and climate action plans (I’m not right in the head). The information contained in these reports is nothing short of stunning. First of all, the amount of work and attention to detail that went into most of the carbon inventories is amazing, and I came away with the clear understanding that these institutions are serious about this commitment. Some institutions have created online dashboards that show the energy consumption per building in real time. Arizona State University has a cool building metabolism portal that highlights the efficiency of all of its buildings as if they are biological entities.

Then, as I got into the action plans, I saw the variety of approaches these institutions are employing to get to carbon neutrality. Each report has some version of a chart like the one below that shows their energy consumption if they follow a “business as usual” approach to the future verses a carbon-neutral approach.

Some institutions have very aggressive schedules that get them to carbon neutrality within the decade. Others -- and I really had to admire the optimism in this -- show a carbon-neutral date of 2099. (You just gotta love academics. Not only did these institutions firmly believe they were still going to be around in 2099, they also imagined that 86 years from now they’d be really, really close to hitting their climate-action goal. I just had to smile at that.)

Most institutions employed a mix of strategies to meet their climate-action goal but their plans all end with a statement that basically says, “…and then we’ll buy a huge amount of carbon offsets to make up the rest the gap.” That brought me to Epiphany #1: Why would they want to buy one more pound of carbon offsets than necessary when our industry can probably help them squeeze more efficiency out of their buildings through STEP and smart building technologies? It just doesn’t make any sense to stop short of true energy efficiency based on a lack of understanding about what a smart building approach could do for them. Nearly all signatories pledge to make all new construction LEED Silver or higher. What if we could convince them to go LEED Silver and STEP Silver or higher on all their future buildings? In the words of the immortal Wayne Campbell, “Shwing!”

Then I started angling toward Epiphany #2: I got curious/selfish to see how many Waveguide clients were among the 660 signatories. I was pleased to see that we had 40 current clients on the list. Forty! Furthermore, I counted about 20 more signatory institutions we had courted but hadn’t yet landed as clients. Then it hit me: We’ve never talked to any of these clients or potential clients about how we can help them with their carbon neutrality plans. And among the many big ironies here is the additional fact that most of the architecture firms we work with in our higher education practice have signed the Architecture 2030 Challenge to make all of the buildings they design net zero energy buildings by 2030.

Uhhhh, dur! Why don’t I call these institutions and architects and talk to them about how STEP and smart building technologies can help fulfill both of their commitments? Why don’t we help our AV/IT customers at these institutions improve their value proposition to their employer by helping them produce a carbon inventory for their institution’s classroom technologies? The truth is in all the climate action plans I read there is too little attention paid to the role that technologies like distance learning and streaming media can play in reducing the carbon footprint of these institutions. Given the backdrop of the skyrocketing cost of higher education, as well as the growing threat to bricks-and-mortar campuses from initiatives like Coursera and EdX (that’s a whole article in itself), the only way most higher education institutions are going to make it to 2099 is to fully embrace the digital campus. The good news is that staying viable by delivering their courses digitally also helps their climate action plans: the proverbial “win-win.”

So, I figure if I start this week and call one ACUPCC university and one 2030 Challenge architect a week, it’ll take me more than a year to get to all of them.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

LG Intros Third Generation Solar Panels for HomeAV Integration

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 21:23:48 GMT

LG Electronics today announced the MonoX NeoN premium series solar module -- the third-generation of its solar energy solutions line-up and among the lightest available on the U.S market.

The MonoX NeoN Premium series features the same 60-cell panel design of the MonoX module, however it claims a higher maximum high-efficiency output of 300 watts with 18.3 percent module efficiency. Green is a great differentiator for HomeAV integrators and these aren't your dad's solar panels.

With a weight of just 16.8 kilograms, the new modules are proven to demonstrate outstanding durability against external pressure up to 5400 Pa. The MonoX NeoN is easier to install and meets regulatory requirements for installation by one person opposed to two which will have a direct impact on installation costs. The product features clamp guideline marks on the frame indicating where the mechanical load can be maximized, fixed cable hooks attached on either side of the frame for stability, and two-way grounding holes on either the rear or the side depending on installation settings. The corner of the module has been re-designed to provide better grips and safety for handling.

Consider becoming a dealer for this to differentiate: http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/monox-solar-panels

Inside The EcoChamber: Interview with Bruce Toman of Perkins+Will

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 20:21:56 GMT

September’s Inside the EcoChamber interview is with Bruce Toman, AIA, a principal with Perkins+Will and member of InfoComm’s Smart Building Imperative Task Force.

Scott Walker: As we in the AV industry play catch-up to the overall A/E/C industry with regard to sustainability, there are lessons we can learn about what it felt like for architects 10 to 15 years ago when LEED was launching and gaining traction. Were you at Perkins+Will in the early days of LEED? Also, there is an urban myth that Perkins+Will wasn’t necessarily early to the sustainability game, but some young hires right out of school began to influence management by saying, hey, we’re missing the boat here. So then Perkins+Will went whole hog into LEED and sustainability. Is there truth to that?

Bruce Toman: I was not with Perkins+Will when LEED was new in the industry. I had some friends who knew about LEED and suggested I get accredited by taking the test, so I got involved and understood the importance of it early on. I took the exam and became a LEED AP, and then I came to Perkins+Will, a firm that had made a very conscious business decision about LEED. There were people of a certain generation -- those of us above 40 to 45 years in age -- who had the most experience in our profession, who understood that sustainable buildings were the future of architecture, who taught our children that protecting the environment was a great thing, but who were sidelined by a “do as I say, not as I do” approach. Then suddenly we were faced with a whole generation of young architects who really understood sustainability well and who pushed us and drove us to be sustainable. They were trained in sustainability, whereas we never were; we were trained in aesthetics and efficiency and functional use of buildings, but never really thought about sustainability. So we had a group from the bottom pushing in a new direction instead of pushing from the top.

In addition to that younger generation, there were a couple of more experienced guys who got it early and who were instrumental in influencing the corporate leaders of Perkins+Will as they made long-term plans for the firm. During that process we did two things: First, we committed to LEED; second, we began looking for partners who were already producing sustainable buildings, one of which was Peter Busby, who was practicing in Canada and had instincts about taking care of the environment in a way that was much stronger than anything we had done.

SW: I know there was a time in the mid-2000s when each architect was out-greening his/her competitors. How did your commitment to LEED change the way Perkins+Will won commissions?

BT: We determined that one of the best ways to solidify the new commitment for Perkins+Will was for everyone to become LEED accredited as the organizing element in getting the firm further down the road to producing sustainable buildings. We provided incentives to our staff for becoming LEED accredited and we supported that initiative by giving them as much training as they needed to pass the exam. That was a very successful way of raising our consciousness internally about the importance of a sustainable approach to projects. The secondary effect was that it raised our profile as a firm, and we began to be recognized as the firm with most LEED accredited professionals. We also marketed the initiative by telling clients that we were committed to LEED, and as much as possible we would like to produce buildings that are certified at some level. Even when clients weren’t initially interested, we still stuck to the LEED principles whether the building was going for certification or not, and we obligated ourselves to achieving that without costing the client extra money. Committing to LEED had real value in gaining us recognition as a firm very committed to sustainable buildings.

SW: The turning point for me actually came from an architect, William McDonough. I saw him speak and read his book “Cradle to Cradle,” and then it clicked: This is one big interdependent system, upon which buildings have a huge impact.

BT: He has certainly been a real leader in our profession. He embodies everything he believes and has been hugely instrumental in raising awareness and in influencing people in the profession.

SW: How was your experience as an architect before LEED different than it is now in the post-LEED world? It seems like you can’t do an unsustainable project anymore, even if it’s not going for LEED. Is that accurate?

BT: I have practiced in states with very strong energy codes, so there was some consciousness of sustainable values even back then, but LEED opened that up to all architects and now there are definitely aspects of LEED we try to incorporate no matter what. But ultimately we have seen that by and large, owners ARE interested in LEED and/or sustainable practices. Professionals in general, of all generations, are demanding buildings with greater sustainable characteristics and market forces follow that trend, so owners are paying attention and buying into the process, almost regardless of personal convictions.

SW: As we launch STEP, we understand there are certainly aspects of LEED to model and mimic and appreciate even while we attempt to address deficiencies in the system. One of the challenges is that we are launching this in a tough economy and are facing battles LEED may not have had coming up in a strong economy. What are lessons learned that we can use for STEP, and what should we do differently especially considering current economic conditions?

BT: Part of what was advantageous for LEED was that it had a broad range of topics, which was good and bad. There are some parts of LEED that are what I would call bad “earmarks” and were included because certain forces had a greater influence than others during LEED’s founding and early growth. The advantage of that was that it had such a wide range of topics that it covered that you could find things across the spectrum to comply with and at the very least achieve minimum certification. It made it easy to apply the principles. The flip side was that certification -- the “prize” and marketing benefit -- became more important than the results we were trying to achieve. And because certification could be achieved by meeting so few requirements in such a broad range of areas, it didn’t really drive us to build exceptionally better buildings. We should be paying the closest attention to energy conservation and to achieving net zero buildings, but LEED is not as focused on innovation as it is adhering to prescriptive methods for getting a plaque. STEP must be able to provide avenues for innovation without additional cost to clients.

SW: One of the challenges we’ve had in promoting STEP is answering for the client whether STEP is a business opportunity or a cost burden to providers. During LEED’s early days, were architects taking it in the chin or was it recognized as a business accelerator?

BT: My experience, not just with LEED but with many trends in architecture, is that the profession is becoming much more complex while the fee structure has not changed, so architects are tasked with channeling their creative energy into sales, winning a project at the lowest possible fee, and then figuring out how to make it work, which of course does not always lead to the highest quality product. There are areas, such as commissioning and documentation, where the owner is willing to pay architects additional fees, but it is difficult to make a case for a higher fee during the design process. In the early days when we discussed this with clients, the common answer was, “Sure, I’ll do LEED as long as it doesn’t cost me any money.” Thus, LEED has had more value for us in being able to say this is what we’re all about, which attracts clients who are more inclined to understand and accept the costs involved in designing a sustainable building.

SW: LEED isn’t the only game in town anymore. Architecture 2030 is an architect-led initiative that has been around for a while, and then we have ASHRAE 189.1 and IgCC. Which standards currently dominate conversation among architects committed to sustainable buildings?

BT: We as a firm have consciously said that while LEED has been great to us, it’s not the be all, end all for sustainable building design. What we really want to do is create net zero buildings; we want to meet the 2030 Challenge and be designing and constructing net zero buildings by 2030, which is a huge challenge. In reality, when we look at what we’re doing today, we’re not hitting great numbers yet. We still have a long way to go on energy and water conservation. If we focus on energy and are less focused on renewable materials, how does that change what we do with buildings? The buildings that are really interesting are the ones making major advances in energy conservation. They are drastically different from anything we’ve done in the past and a lot of what we’re doing currently. We see 2030 as the future for us.

SW: All of that is kind of the backdrop to STEP, which you have had some exposure to in your involvement with InfoComm’s Smart Buildings Imperative. One of our head-scratchers is whether there is room for another rating system or are people getting weary of green ratings; are they moving instead toward making sustainable design the gold standard outside of ratings? We are not going to get to net zero if we aren’t serious about energy conservation, so are people going to recognize that LEED accomplished important goals, but now there’s a new thing that will get us over the next innovation hump, or are they going to throw everything out with the bath water and say, we’re tired of rating systems?

BT: One of the things we have come to understand is that LEED is a really effective tool for educating us about sustainable buildings, but is less and less effective in providing guiding principles for making the kinds of leaps we will need to make to achieve reductions in energy use. I believe ratings or not, the market force change will happen when we are not dependent on off-shore energy sources. One of our greatest challenges is the fact that basic cost of energy is still pretty low in this country, so the driving force is the cost of energy; it is very difficult to make a case for energy conservation when buying energy is cheaper than funding innovation that may not necessarily lead to lower building costs. The big positive that we see is a real change in the market in terms of who is using our buildings; again, as the younger workforce comes into the market and demand smarter environments -- from repurposing old warehouse spaces into trendy offices, to providing clean power and a robust technology infrastructure, to things as simple as having an abundance of bicycle racks -- building owners want to accommodate those demands and attract top talent to cities and companies focused on growth. I see STEP as a huge advantage for us in bringing out the greatest aspects of what businesses in this era require. In some sectors, I expect that STEP will be much more important than LEED in achieving the technological standards today’s businesses are looking for and demanding.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

The Importance of a Green Procurement Policy

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 01:47:39 GMT

Besides a solid sustainability policy, there is one other policy that anyone interested in Green AV needs to know about. Plus, it is actually an integral part of the sustainability policy. This is a procurement policy, which outlines an organization’s formal procedures and considerations for purchasing goods and services. Companies that implement formal, strategic procurement policies demonstrate a focus on long-term cost savings, risk management and internal efficiency.

Besides the benefits to the company, there is possibly no other business practice with as much potential to lower the environmental footprint of a company than the conscientious management of a greener supply chain. As we know from basic economic theory, demand drives supply. When a customer requests that goods and services be designed, manufactured and delivered in a more responsible manner, we see the vendors begin changing their practices, which then forces them to make the same requests of their suppliers, and so on. There is also an improvement in the ability to manage the life cycle of products. Rather than focusing on just how to handle the end life of a product (i.e., policies on recycling), responsible procurement allows for taking a step back to take into account how the product was made. Procurement asks questions such as, “Is it made from recyclable materials?” or, “Does the manufacturer preserve labor rights and have a diversity program for hiring?”

So what does this look like for an AV company? Here is a quick outline of suggested steps and considerations:

1. Plan: Be sure that you have a sound sustainability policy and the right people in place. Do initial research on what is available in the market for products and services. Take a one-step-at-a-time approach, and focus on one or two areas where you determine you can have the most impact. For instance, will it be energy efficiency and/or waste management?

You might want to include social considerations as well. Look at the human/labor rights policies of vendors; buy local (and produce an environmental benefit as well); think about diversity in terms of gender and the empowerment of women or other underrepresented groups.

2. Implement: To make the implementation as easy as possible, from one department to the next, devise some standard processes and language. Perhaps you include wording that can be used for any product purchase, such as saying preference will be given to suppliers who:

Show 50 percent electricity is generated from renewable sources at manufacturing plants
Have an EMS such as ISO 14001
Have a written sustainability policy
Demonstrate experience with environmental projects
Have certified their products with a verifiable eco-label

Begin to include these clauses in your purchase orders. Make sure your specifications clearly focus on the desired outcomes, and communicate to vendors why you are requesting such specs. When there are no environmental data available, ask why. Begin the process of asking to help catalyze industry change.

3. Continuity: I know you’re so sick of hearing me say it that you’ll bat me over the head next time you see me, but measurement and reporting, year after year, are instrumental to determining the success of a plan. Measure the impact you’ve had as an organization by implementing such a plan. And make sure this is distributed both internally and externally, where all stakeholders can see, from potential vendors, to investors, to employees.

When I first began asking our suppliers to provide environmental data on their products and services, they most often would look at me blankly (and, usually, with understandable annoyance). However, here we are just five years later and I can now pinpoint about 40 percent of our suppliers who can provide some type of sustainability information. And, that my friends, is precisely how this girl planned it.

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

Middle Atlantic Combines Power and Cooling in a Single Rackspace

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 20:09:56 GMT

The PowerCool Series from Middle Atlantic claims to be the industry’s first and only integrated power distribution and thermal management product. A family of single-space (1RU) power and cooling solutions, PowerCool uses Middle Atlantic’s purpose-designed quiet blowers. Each blower unit removes 50 CFM of heated air while providing high static pressure to maintain airflow even in crowded racks. Middle Atlantic also says the unit is energy efficient, running only when temperatures breach a safe operating threshold and at proportional speeds to ensure they only function as fast as necessary.

Incorporating multi-stage surge protection with surge status notification, the PowerCool Series additionally offers protection against surges and spikes. Models are available with 15 or 20 Amps and 10 or 11 outlets. The PowerCool Series also includes a model with a black brushed and anodized finish to match the company’s other higher aesthetic line of accessories. We are impressed with the look...

To learn more, click here [PDF]: http://www.ravepubs.com/utility/documents/middleatlantic-powercool.pdf

Offsetting: What the AV Pro Should Know

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:11:26 GMT

If you’re like me, when you first heard about carbon offsetting and carbon neutrality years ago, you rejoiced at being able to purchase a certificate that said we were doing the “right thing.” In our innocence, we figured we no longer had to feel guilty or concerned about the implications of our equipment wattage reaching the tens of thousands in a single, average-sized production.

Alas, as the business world was treated to a greenwashing smackdown, we learned that offsetting wasn’t the magic elixir that evaporated GHGs* as we had hoped. Over time though, we also recognized that offsetting is still a viable element of sustainability planning when done properly. Hopefully this month I can give you a few insider tips on how to effectively offset as an operator in the (primarily Rental & Staging) professional AV industry, without incurring the furious scrutiny of the green police (not to be confused with the subject of a great Cheap Trick song).

The first thing you need to know is that offsetting IS ALWAYS the last step in a comprehensive sustainability plan. Go back through the last two years of rAVe GreenAV columns of awesomeness and study every word we have told you about how to develop this plan. And then do it. No, seriously, do it now. Because a major step in most of these plans encourages you to reduce your environmental impact before you ever think about offsetting. This usually includes sourcing as many resources locally as is humanly possible, such as labor, materials, gear and any other elements of our systems. Transportation is a big, fat producer of GHGs and can often be avoided with better planning and awareness. Your plan should also include on-site recycling, designing more energy efficient lighting, using equipment that is lighter and more energy efficient, measuring your impact… you get the idea.
OK, so I’ve harried you enough and you’ve implemented your plan. You’ve earned the right to offset. So here’s what you need to know:

Did I mention the plan? No, in all seriousness, you need to be sure that part of your plan includes the measurement and reporting of your activity. This will prepare you for knowing how much you need to offset. You then need to determine if you are looking to offset everything, including travel of crew, the impact of equipment during a show, consumables used on-site and transporting any equipment.
Choosing an offsetter: As of now, there is no globally (or even nationally) defined standard or compliance required for voluntary offsetting (voluntary meaning this isn’t the large corporate or government trades where you HAVE to offset what you’ve said you will). Ensuring that your money is going where you think it’s going and that the project actually is neutralizing your footprint is basically on an honor system… or at least a reliance upon watchdog organizations to blow the whistle on offenders. The good news is that there is at least one standard that assesses their participants for compliance, which is the Gold Standard. Additionally, the state of California is in the process of developing a registry of projects. Watch for other states (or even the federal government) to follow suit once this system is functioning.
Choosing a project: Once you’ve selected a reputable offsetter to purchase credits from, it’s time to select one of their projects that will most effectively absorb the GHGs you’re producing. The most generally accepted best practice is to try to find a project that is close to where your event is taking place. If you’re a national operator or in-house company, you might want to choose a location where you do the most events, or perhaps in your headquarter city. Further, renewable energy projects are usually preferable to reforestation projects as they’re most effective at reducing GHG emissions immediately, whereas trees take anywhere from five to 15 years to begin having an effect.

If you can keep in mind that only after you have minimized travel/shipping, reduced material consumption, increased energy efficiency and made other reduction efforts, offsetting is a viable and powerful tool to help us mitigate the impact of our GHG emissions.

*GHG = Green House Gas emissions are gasses that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere. As determined by the Kyoto Protocol, these gasses include Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and Perfluorocarbons (PFCs).

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

SurgeX Adds IP Integration to Surge Eliminators

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:54:29 GMT

SurgeX has announced a new line of IP-enabled surge eliminators called Axess Ready. With Axess Ready, integrators now have a complete line of IP integrated surge eliminators, from stand-alone solutions up through the company's NEMA panels.

Axess Ready products are fully equipped with IP network connectivity, no additional hardware needed. Once connected, a web interface acts as the control and monitoring dashboard, providing a number of useful power management functions. Schedules can be created with single or multiple conditions to conserve energy by powering down equipment when not in use. Installers can also remotely reboot connected equipment in real time if a problem is identified, or schedule a shutdown at a pre-determined time. Axess Ready can also automatically power-cycle locked up gear.

When used in conjunction with the SurgeX Cervella platform, all Axess Ready products are automatically discovered and can be securely controlled by Cervella. Cervella, when used in combination with SurgeX's new Axess platform, delivers the most comprehensive and fully integrated power protection, device management, control and reporting system in the industry. When installed on a network, Cervella aggregates outlet-level energy and power information collected from each connected Axess, Axess Elite or Axess Ready devices into a single interface, while providing comprehensive reporting of the system's power status, energy usage and overall network health.

To learn more, go here: http://www.surgex.com

Inside The EcoChamber: Interview with Jim Sinopoli of Smart Buildings, LLC

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 23:11:23 GMT

We continue our Inside the EcoChamber series with Jim Sinopoli, founder of Smart Buildings, LLC. Smart Buildings provides owners, developers and architects with ways to manage, operate and meet their environmental and financial objectives through building systems.

Scott Walker: One of the challenges in the GreenAV movement is people making the first step and moving into this marketplace. You come from a background of being an engineer, so how did you get involved in making buildings smarter?

Jim Sinopoli: I started in control systems for airplanes, got into design, construction and operation of buildings, and slowly took on all systems after a client requested total integration. By training I’m an aeronautical and astronautical engineer. In school I concentrated on the control systems for airplanes, so I knew something about systems and networks. Then I worked at a research lab and did a project for the federal government on satellites for states in the Midwest that shared a satellite to trade government data. Eventually I landed at a consulting firm where I worked on building systems, telecomm, security and AV. We started doing building control systems and then were asked by a client -- Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida -- to try things a little differently. We designed and bid all of the systems under one contract so we could get a master systems integrator to take on everything related to cabling, control and IT. The metrics showed that the savings on that project were pretty significant, so from there we thought, well, we’re doing all the systems and talking about integration, maybe we can move toward integrated automation.

SW: Your smart buildings reference book, Smart Building Systems for Architects, Owners and Builders, is one of the few on this subject. What need were you trying to fulfill by writing this book?

JS: We are really in the design and construction industry, so for a time I was doing lunch-and-learns about smart buildings for architectural firms. What I found was that a lot of architects didn’t know much about building systems; they know about the static parts of the building, but not about the building systems themselves. The design and integration of building systems were really left to mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and contractors. The goal of the book was to lay out basic things about each of the systems and building operations and how to go about integration of systems.

SW: What are the biggest hurdles still out there that are impeding the growth of the smart building market? Do owners not know what is possible? Are RFPs not written to deliver it? Are design teams not structured right? Why don’t projects that should be smart buildings end up that way?

JS: Those are probably all true. Owners want a smart building because they like the concept, but they really don’t know a lot about the details. And at the design table we see many designers repeating designs the delivered for other clients rather than putting in the work to do something different.

Also, the design and construction industry had not changed in decades; then in the late ‘90s when energy became the focus, design and construction had to change. At that time very few people had experience with new systems such as exterior shading, water reclamation, sun tracking systems and other new building systems, and we began to see a big disconnect between what is currently being taught in schools and the skillset needed to operate newer, complex buildings. So a major obstacle is having a new complexity to designing, operating and maintaining building systems and having fewer qualified people to actually manage them.

SW: What impact has the economy had on the smart building movement? In terms of sustainability and LEED, we didn’t see any change for several years, but more recently it appears that people are following the tenets but not necessarily going for certification. In this economy and with the current trend in energy prices, it seems that a savvy building owner -- particularly in hospitals and universities -- might say, I want a smart building because I’m going to own it for many years. But are they making the decision not to pursue because of first-cost fears as opposed to long-term savings?

JS: Well, there’s obviously less new construction going on in the U.S. than we had a few years back, but I also think focus on building systems has become an integral part of design and operations of buildings. There are also building owners that have portfolios of campuses where they have significant existing buildings and square footage and they have corporate mandates for energy management, but they simply can’t get their arms around what they’re consuming and spending, so they’re going the integrated approach to meet those requirements.

SW: Are there vertical markets that look stronger than others?

JS: We have two large health care clients right now, one of which is primarily concerned with managing demand and eventually procuring energy based on the aggregated data from their hospitals.

SW: So they’re looking at leveraging the data gathering to make a more intelligent purchase of energy, based on their demand load predictions?

JS: Yes, they’re trying to do two things. First, on the demand side, they can get information on their hospitals and test energy conservation measures, and if they work the client can standardize those measures across their portfolio of hospitals. Second, on the procurement side, the client spends more than a couple hundred million dollars a year on power and natural gas, so if they can develop some energy profiles from certain hospitals, aggregate those energy loads and then go to the regional energy market, they are likely to save 10 to 15 percent of the cost of the energy, which is a significant chunk of change.

SW: You did a project with Microsoft not too long ago. What was their interest in smart buildings?

JS: Microsoft has a corporate mandate to address and manage energy and sustainability, but they were challenged by compiling all their systems data in one place. We were involved with designing their integration requirements to get all that relevant data; then we created specifications and helped them pick vendors to pilot different software on campus. This process had immediate payback because they discovered information about their buildings that they never knew before and were able to identify immediate savings. They also used to have a five-year schedule to re-commission all the buildings, but now they can re-commission buildings in one year, which provides additional savings.

SW: Do you have any parting words of wisdom for manufacturers, designers or integrators in the AV industry who are interested in smart buildings?

JS: I have always believed designers and contractors in the AV industry have the integration experience. They deal with different kinds of cable and communication protocols, and they take different pieces of equipment and have them work as one system, so there is a natural symbiosis between the AV industry and building system integration.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

Green AV University Webinar Series Continues August 21

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 21:31:37 GMT

Project Green AV and TCO Development are again joining forces to present the second webinar in the Green AV University Series for audiovisual professionals. The one hour free webinar, Structure Sustainable AV: How Guidelines, Standards and Programs Empower AV Pros, will be held Tues., Aug. 21, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The webinar educates audiovisual professionals in all sectors of the industry on how to understand and apply guidelines, standards and programs and empowers Green AV professionals to create smarter, more successful Green AV innovations.

Webinar content covers products, installations, performance and end of life management, as well as sustainable guidelines, standards and programs that together build the structure for successful, sustainable AV.

Hosted by Project Green AV Director Gina Sansivero, webinar speakers include Annika Overödder, business area manager headsets and projectors at TCO Development; Elizabeth Eames from Project Green AV and featured presenter Christopher Maione, president of Christopher Maione Associates and InfoComm Energy Management Standards committee member.

To register, go to http://www.greenavuniversitywebinar.eventbrite.com or http://www.projectgreenav.com

Inside The EcoChamber: Interview with Howard Nunes of PepperDash

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:31:28 GMT

Are you getting a little bit worn out by me? Need a break? Me too.

With this month’s article I’m starting a new series called Inside the EcoChamber, wherein I will interview those brave folks out there in AV-Land who are transforming their companies to seize the opportunities offered by the smart sustainable building market. For this inaugural interview in the series I sat down (over WebEx) to speak with Howard Nunes, co-founder and president/CEO of PepperDash, a leading independent software programming company with offices across the U.S.

Scott Walker: Howard, give us a little background on PepperDash.

Howard Nunes: PepperDash is a 12-year-old company founded by David Hughes, Sumanth Rayancha -- my two business partners -- and me. We spun out of a large-scale Internet development company called Breakaway Solutions, which I also co-founded. In 2000 when the market collapsed, so did Breakaway. The three of us left to form PepperDash. Originally, Pepperdash was doing mostly application development on the Windows and Unix platforms. We began to dabble in Crestron and then eventually AMX programming to bring in some cash while we worked on product development. However, by 2004 AV control system programming had become our primary service line.

The AV industry at the time was talking about convergence with IT. Our success in providing control programming for large projects stems from the fact that we are IT people at our core, so the AV-IT convergence thing has been more of an opportunity than a barrier for us. Today, we are about 30 people strong, which is quite large for a company solely focused on control system programming.

SW: If where we’ve been as an industry over the past 10 years is along a path of AV-IT convergence, where do you see “traditional” AV control system programming going over the next 10 years?

HN: That’s a great question and one that comes up a lot around here and among our control programming peers in the industry. Some think there will always be a role for custom AV control programming for many years to come. I tend to look at it differently. The need for the function will go on, but the service will change dramatically. Mobile devices are beginning to have a big impact on how we deliver solutions for our customers and will disrupt traditional thinking radically.

I also think commoditization and standardization trends will continue to progress and will cut the heart out of the low end and middle tier of the market. If you look at CDW, Dell, Cisco and others, they are all offering packaged solutions to the market. That could be an opportunity for some and a challenge for others.

SW: As I talk to people who are engaging the smart sustainable building market, I am always interested in the perspective of those who come from different backgrounds and service offerings to understand how the opportunity looks to them. As a software company how to do view this opportunity?

HN: In any market where you have rapid change and diversification you will see some kind of consolidation. On the AV side, I imagine we’ll see more and more manufacturers as well as service providers getting bought and rolled into larger traditional IT companies. On the building side, I think we’ll see the same thing. There are hundreds of companies out there creating innovative solutions for the smart building market; I imagine these companies will be prime candidates for acquisition by the larger companies in this market like Siemens, Johnson Controls and Honeywell.

SW: This year the InfoComm show was held in conjunction with Realcomm and IBCon, events dedicated to the real estate industry and the intelligent building market. What did you see over there?

HN: It was notable to me that Crestron had one of the largest booths at Realcomm to showcase their Fusion EM software platform, but there were also many small providers along what was called the “Niagara Way.” Niagara is the Java-based software platform created by Tridium, a subsidiary of Honeywell, to work with their hardware. The Crestron Fusion platform is very similar in its goals to the Tridium Niagara platform. They both allow third-party software companies like PepperDash to create solutions around their platform.

SW: So let’s talk about the impediments to entering the smart building market. A big AV company is tiny compared to the big building automation companies. Is there room for small to mid-sized AV companies in this valley of the giants?

HN: If you think about Siemens, Johnson and Honeywell, they all have huge networks of dealer/installers the same way that a Cisco or Crestron does. However, most of the building automation dealers are not large companies. So I think there is a lot of opportunity for AV integrators to partner with building automation integrators to jointly pursue this work because the building automation folks have little knowledge outside of building management systems. Tying in to high-end AV systems, enterprise digital signage, building lighting controls and room reservation software is where the AV integrators can bring their value.

Actually, to my mind there’s an impediment for the building automation folks to get into our world because AV requires such a high degree of custom integration, but the AV industry is accustomed to that level of complexity and innovation and has a leg up when it comes to complex systems integration.

SW: You mention partnering among traditional building automation integrators and AV integrators. I haven’t seen much of that yet. Perhaps the problem is that there are too few building project specifications that are written holistically and in a coordinated manner such that these partnerships can emerge.

HN: True. Upstream of all of us AV providers are the building architects and engineers. There can be a level of risk aversion at play there where everyone wants to stay within the same contract framework in which they are most comfortable to mitigate their liability on a large project. USGBC was very successful in getting designers to try something new because they went to owners and made the case for sustainable design. Those owners in turn wrote RFPs that required the design team to meet a certain level of LEED certification. The same strategy of marketing to owners needs to be undertaken with respect to smart buildings.

SW: PepperDash has gone a little farther than simply peering into this market to learn more about it. You’ve created a software product called Sentegy to address this market. What is Sentegy, and why did you create it?

HN: One night I working in New York and wondering why the big shiny new LEED-Gold building across the street had all the lights on in the middle of the night. Well, it’s because there’s a human factor in setting and optimizing building systems for energy efficiency, and someone probably hadn’t bothered to configure the lighting automation settings in this building.

So we began to think about how to create a learning management system for buildings. At PepperDash, we think buildings should think for themselves based on learned usage patterns with respect to their specific occupants’ needs and the measured hysteresis curves on the heating and cooling of spaces. You can’t treat every floor the same. A trading floor may be very different from a marketing floor or executive floor. The building needs to construct its own set of rules based on algorithms that factor in these various usage patterns and continually adapt them over time. In our first pilot projects, we found energy savings of between 23 percent and 26 percent using this predictive approach. And that’s just on the energy side. Imagine how a tool like this could help the owner’s facilities people determine what their space needs truly are when planning and designing new facilities. Perhaps they can design and build a more usable and therefore more efficient building based on this empirical data, so Sentegy becomes a very useful facilities planning tool as well. This could apply to all sorts of buildings: schools, banks, office buildings, etc.

SW: So is Sentegy a shrink-wrapped product or a custom service only to be deployed by PepperDash?

HN: Our business plan is to make Sentegy 100 percent a product to be sold as a SaaS (software as a service) much like SalesForce or other web-based software offerings. Sentegy is entirely web-based, uses HTML5 and can be run on an iPad. It will be purchased as a monthly or annual subscription with additional modules that can be added depending on the particular systems being controlled and monitored in the building.

There is a services element to it, so, much like other complex software offerings, it needs to be integrated into the overall environment, and this is where AV providers can add their value. We will be developing networks of resellers and identifying architects and consultants who could be partners in specifying Sentegy. We expect there will be a number of detailed integration services that our partners can provide to tailor the product for each owner’s needs. We have deployed a few trial sites and are about six months to a year from version one in the marketplace. We are actively looking for beta partners who are open-minded and interested in this kind of advanced technology for their buildings.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com
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An Eco-Certification Primer

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:55:43 GMT

Have you ever done your best to swim through the alphabet soup of eco-certifications? And with Apple voluntarily pulling the EPEAT label from its products (and then changing its mind two days later), there is increased scrutiny and more need than ever to understand how these labels differ and what each brings to the table. So, even though at this time of year, any kind of swim probably sounds pretty appealing, you’d probably prefer a lot less confusion around that alphabet soup, and a bit more clarification on what all of the certifications are out there, and what they mean to you as an AV professional.

Energy Star: As a certification backed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Star carries some serious street cred! Ranging from audiovisual to hospitality/hotels to water/wastewater utilities, the primary focus of Energy Star-certified electronics is traditionally around the power consumption of consumer audiovideo. So, for the professional market, we have long discounted the value of the Energy Star certification. However, as boundaries between our markets increasingly encroached upon one another -- and as our clients have continued to ask for certified products -- there was a movement supported by InfoComm to provide influence and advice on how the Energy Star certification could be implemented in a professional market. Thanks to the input and feedback from AV professionals, Energy Star now considers the needs of the ProAV market in standby functionalities.

Key features:

Focuses on energy consumption
20 years in existence
Backed by U.S. EPA
Third-party verified
Excludes projectors, wireless microphones, media servers, videoconferencing systems, control and automation products and battery-operated products

EPEAT: EPEAT is a registry of products that meet a set of environmental criteria. The criteria include: Reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive materials; material selection; design for end of life; product longevity/life extension; energy conservation; end-of-life management; corporate performance; packaging. There are three levels of achievement, ranging from Bronze (meets all criteria) to Silver (meets all criteria plus 50 percent of optional) to Gold (meets all criteria plus 70 percent of optional). The U.S. EPA requires that 95 percent of its electronics purchased meet EPEAT criteria.

Key features:

Self-certifying
Traditionally just PCs and PC displays, but will soon include TVs and imaging equipment

TCO: Self-proclaimed as the broadest certification, TCO has long been centered around the IT industry, but includes projector and displays. It considers its standards to be more about sustainability, so they include more than just environmental criteria. This includes corporate social responsibility, environmental management system, hazardous substances in products and packaging, climate aspects, ergonomics, health, safety and emissions, products and packaging designed for recycling and product take-back.

Key features:

TCO is a pass/fail system, meaning the product must meet ALL criteria to qualify
20 years in existence
Includes projectors
Covers social, economic and environmental
Requires third-party verification

As Clare Hobby, regional manager of TCO observed, the ProAV industry seems to have surpassed the IT industry in having the most energy and enthusiasm for supporting eco-certifications. We should be proud that our demand is having a positive influence on our vendors in manufacturing more responsible products. Be sure to look at these eco-certifications for more resources and insight on how to include specs in your purchasing activity.

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

NEW IDC EI Report: Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid -- Strategy for an Integrated Future

reply@ravepubs.com (Casey Talon and Marcus Torchia) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:30:47 GMT

Interconnection between Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid represents significant opportunity for economic gains and grid stability. While Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid are developing in parallel, there is a near-complete void of the shared business practices and technology alignment necessary to make this opportunity a reality in the near term.

This IDC EI study explores how to institute best practices in business processes and technology adoption to converge the development of Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid in a way that generates benefits to parties on both sides of the meter. Smart Building solutions are being adopted at growing rates due to the economic benefits they offer building owners, with little benefit transferring to electric utilities. At the same time, Smart Grid developments are generating value for electric utilities but without transferring significant benefit to commercial, industrial or institutional building owners.

Building management decision makers, technology vendors and electric utilities all have a stake in the development of a paradigm of interoperability between Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid. The problem today is a disconnect between the development of Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid and the heterogeneous market conditions for electric utilities and drivers for technology investment has translated to a void in the kind of best practices that support market transformation.

This IDC Energy Insights study discovered how smart technologies are improving system operations and delivering quantifiable benefits to stakeholders on both sides of the meter. There are illustrations of successful deployment of Smart Grid technologies that deliver reliability, support regulatory compliance and support market demands for electric utilities. There are also growing numbers of examples of Smart Buildings that improve operations, maintenance and support business goals.

Now we see opportunities to learn from pilot programs and early adopters of both Smart Building and Smart Grid technologies to develop a framework of "next practices" that can foster collaboration between stakeholders to promote more coordinated development of Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid.

The development of Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid is happening through parallel but distinct processes. Interconnected and interoperable Smart Buildings and Smart Grids represent significant value in terms of economics, reliability, and efficiency. Improving awareness of the value of smart technologies on both sides of the meter is essential for aligning the benefits of investment to begin a convergence in the adoption of infrastructure necessary to make the connected paradigm a reality.

Are you a subscriber to IDC Energy Insights Smart Grid & Distributed Energy Strategies? If so read our findings on how this convergence can happen: http://www.idc-ei.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EI235547#.T-nJJxfy_UY

Reprinted with permission from IDC Community Insights. Find the original here: https://idc-insights-community.com/energy/clean-energy/new-idc-ei-report-smart-buildings-and-the-smart-gr

Acer Foundation Launches the First Annual Green Innovation Contest to Promote Next Generation Green Living

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:09:02 GMT

Acer Foundation today kicked off the first annual green innovation contest to promote a better and greener living environment. The competition is open to students at all levels worldwide to create innovative and sustainable solutions. Finalist teams will be selected to compete for Grand Prize of U.S. $60,000 and provided with complimentary trip to Taipei for Computex 2013.

"Acer Foundation is proud of being the organizer of the contest to enhance awareness and understanding of caring for a greener environment, and we are excited to see innovative approaches to sustaining our environment," said Richard Lai, executive director of Acer Foundation.

The deadline to submit an entry is September 30, 2012. From the pool of competing entries, Acer Foundation will select up to twelve finalists. Submitted entries will be evaluated by a panel of experts based on essential factors of earth friendliness, reality friendliness and innovation friendliness.

The competition is open to all students worldwide. Additional details including eligibility, awards and submission guidelines are available at http://greencontest.acerfoundation.org.tw

AV Will Be Doing Smart Buildings - Are You Ready?

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:00:57 GMT

A new report from IMS Research forecasts the increasing integration of building automation and lighting control systems. The IMS Research report titled The EMEA and Americas Markets for Integrating Smart Building Systems -- A Quantitative Market Analysis -- 2012 Edition found in 2011, an average of 25 percent of the installed building automation systems in the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) were integrated with lighting control systems. The report forecasts this will increase to an average of 35 percent in both the Americas and EMEA by 2016.

Regarding building automation installations, solutions almost always start with environmental or HVAC-R (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration) control as the first priority. For many buildings HVAC-R is one of the largest consumers of energy and is often seen as one of the simplest systems to control and automate.

William Rhodes, senior market analyst at IMS Research said, “Lighting control and building automation use similar control logic and have similar control system architectures. Both systems can use the same sensors to measure room or building occupancy. The combination of the two systems can often lead to increased energy efficiencies and the benefits of integrating the two systems can be easily explained to customers.”

However, not all installers have the knowledge and expertise to install these more complex integrated solutions. Despite the benefits from integrating building automation and lighting control systems; traditionally, integrating more complex systems has only been the remit of ‘super integrators.’ These integrators have a robust understanding of multiple system types and strong IT networking knowledge. ‘Traditional integrators’ often have a good understanding of one building system but may lack wider IT knowledge.

Rhodes continues, “As more complex systems gain increasing mainstream appreciation in the industry, some observers argue ‘traditional integrators’ are starting to lose business to ‘super integrators’ when a building owner or management company wants to integrate across building systems. It is likely that if interest in integrated and intelligent buildings continuous to grow, ‘traditional integrators’ will have to overcome their knowledge gaps to remain in business.”

ANSI Approves InfoComm AV Systems Energy Management Standard

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 21:02:14 GMT

In a matter of weeks, InfoComm’s latest standard, 4:2012 Audiovisual Systems Energy Management, was approved by the InfoComm Board of Directors, submitted to the American Nationals Standards Institute, and approved by ANSI. The new standard defines and prescribes processes and requirements for the ongoing power management of AV systems.

Here are the details: http://www.infocomm.org/cps/rde/xchg/infocomm/hs.xsl/21107.htm

rAVe Scoop: Sony and Panasonic Partner for OLED Production

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:12:29 GMT

Just off the heels of their breakup with Samsung in LED-lit LCD's, Sony has re-partnered -- but this time with Panasonic and it's for OLED production.

The agreement, to be officially announced Wednesday, will tie Panasonic and Sony together with a joint-owned OLED manufacturing plan - making sizes up to 90" eventually, which will start production early next year. OLED (organic light-emitting diode) promises blacker-blacks and whiter-whites in flat-panel TVs and displays, but also has the capability to be extremely thin -- most of the larger OLEDs that have been show have been less than 0.4" thick. They can also be built as flexible displays.

Rumors are that the new OLEDs from Sony-Panasonic will be less than 0.2" thick and will start at 40" diagonal.

We'll report the official news when it happens.

Extron Ships 800-Watt Energy Star-Qualified Amp

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:09:15 GMT

Extron Electronics announced this week the immediate availability of the XTRA Series XPA 4002 two channel power amplifier. This compact 1U, convection cooled amplifier delivers 400 watts rms per channel into 4 ohms or 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms. The XPA 4002 replaces the XPA 2002 amplifier at the same price. It is an Energy Star-qualified amplifier with an advanced Class D amplifier design. The XPA 4002 also features patented CDRS - Class D Ripple Suppression technology that provides a smooth, clean audio waveform, which Extron says is an improvement in signal fidelity over conventional Class D amplifiers. It is half the size of comparable amplifiers, conserving rack space and weighing only 9 pounds (4 kilograms).

The XPA 4002 includes an auto power-down feature that automatically places the amplifier into standby after a period of inactivity, and consumes 30 watts or less when idle and less than 1 watt in standby mode. It also has an ultra low inrush current draw to prevent power circuit overload that occurs when multiple amplifiers are switched on simultaneously. Extron says this feature eliminates the need for power sequencing in systems with multiple amplifiers in large centralized equipment racks, and prevents other equipment from experiencing power interruption from associated power surges. Additionally, the XPA 4002 amplifier features very low thermal dissipation under full load, which keeps racks and equipment racks cool.

To see all the specs, click here: http://www.extron.com/xpa4002nspr

Keyword: Global

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:29:57 GMT

As a U.S.-based writer and staging company owner, I have a tendency to focus on updates and resources that are largely centered in the United States. However, I know that a good percentage of readers and the events they serve are actually outside of North America, so this month I’d like to explore a few happenings and resources with a more global reach for the rental and staging industry. And, if any of you are looking to expand into international markets, I suggest that you pay close attention to your sustainability initiatives... because your potential clients, employees and competitors certainly are. Europe accounts for 45 percent of the world’s GRI certified sustainability reports and Asia 24 percent (compared to 14 percent in North America). This is significant in emerging markets as well. Brazil alone experienced a 68 percent increase in GRI reporting in 2011. You may also have more stringent environmental regulation to contend with, particularly in Europe.

First up, one of the most recent occurrences is the release, and application of, the new ISO 20121 Standard for Sustainable Event Management. I’ve touched on this standard before – mostly about its origin being BS8901 and how it differs from the new ASTM standards – but what’s most exciting is that it has just been released this month in time for implementation at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. While the Games seem to largely be overlooking the impact of AudioVisual/Event Technology, the standards suggest event organizers will emphasize sustainability in their supply chain management.
If you haven’t explored it before, may I suggest you take a look at the UN Global Compact. When I speak at global events, this is the one topic that seems to be most pervasive, whether in North America, Europe or Asia. The Global Compact is guided by ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The ten principles are quite simple and easy to grasp. For example, Principle 8 is to “encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.” Your best bet is to start with their Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership, which can be found here. It includes an easy-to-follow checklist that can get any organization started. But, simply, the first step is just to commit to adhering to the principles. Why not start today?!
Hailing from Australia, an organization with a truly global brand is the Sustainable Event Alliance, with information from all regions of the world. Founded by Meegan Jones, this organization has a more well-rounded focus than some of the other green event associations. For instance, rather than focusing on just business conferences, there are resources for musical and cultural events as well.
A smattering of additional global resources to assist with event measurement are also available. A mix of for- and non-profits, these are each worth a look as possible tools for event reporting and measurement of the impact of our onsite AV activity. These include (and in no particular order or importance, or endorsement from me): Eventberry, Positive Impact and Sustainable Event Solutions.

I hope you find this list helpful, please let me know if there are additional tools/resources/news items that I simply must add!

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

Milestone AV Holds Grand Opening of New Green HQ

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:10:15 GMT

Milestone AV (the parent company of Chief, Sanus, Projecta, Procolor and Da-Lite) held a grand opening of its new 85,000 square-foot headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn., on Friday, May 11. The event was open to invited community guests and the media and was followed by an open house for employees’ families.

The new space was designed with a focus on sustainability. The first step was to renovate instead of building new, rehabilitating a building with unique design features and great natural light. The building is undergoing the LEED Silver Certification process through the U.S. Green Building Council. The updated interior of the building incorporates a host of energy-efficient features and green building practices.

Some of the design elements in the renovated space include natural lighting for 95 percent of regularly occupied seated spaces and ENERGY STAR ratings for 95 percent of the equipment in the building. In an effort to reduce the overall environmental footprint, the building is located near four major highways as well as near the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line.

The company’s existing Minnesota facilities in Savage and Roseville will continue to operate as manufacturing and distribution centers. Including the new headquarters location, Milestone has 10 primary locations globally, including the three in Minnesota, plus facilities in Indiana, Ohio and Kansas, and international operations in The Netherlands, France, Hong Kong and China.

NSCA Hosts InfoComm Party Featuring the Drunk Unkles

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:23:13 GMT

Join the NSCA Education Foundation and The Drunk Unkles from 9-11 p.m. on June 14, at Gilley’s Saloon in Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, during InfoComm 2012.

In its 7th year of supporting the Foundation, the Drunk Unkles have made a name for themselves and are sure to rock the house! During the live event, you’ll enjoy a night of mingling with colleagues and peers, cocktails and some classic blues tunes in a unique country western atmosphere.

To date, the event has raised more than $90,000, a record setting amount of support for this annual charity fundraiser.Contributions from the concert go toward the NSCA Education Foundation, which focuses on the advancement of the systems integration industry by providing access to the best education and training programs for new students and current professionals.

The Drunk Unkles started more than 10 years ago as a casual hobby. They performed their first charity fundraising event to help support the family of an industry peer who unexpectedly lost his life. The NSCA Education Foundation has continued this tradition of supporting industry members during InfoComm, the NSCA Systems Integration Expo, individual member causes and other fundraising events throughout the year. The Drunk Unkles, made up of your industry peers include:

Felix Robinson (Angel) – AVI-SPL
“Unkle” Steve Emspak (Aerosmith Songsmith) – Shen Milsom & Wilke
Marc Hochlerin (Mazarin) – Cerami & Associates
Mike “The Pie” Phillips – Hudson Marketing Inc.
Johnny “Bottom” Cardone – Cardone Solomon and Associates
“Aunt” Lisa Wenger – Bosch Communications Systems

For more information on the concert contact Barbra Snitker, NSCA Education Foundation Managing Director, at 800.446.6722 or bsnitker@nsca.org

STEP Up on the Hill

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:48:31 GMT

Washington, May 17, 2012…This morning, less than a year after its official announcement at InfoComm 2011, STEP made its debut on Capitol Hill in a presentation to the U.S. House of Representatives’ High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (www.hpbccc.org). The caucus, co-chaired by Reps. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) and Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), was formed in 2008 and is intended to heighten awareness and inform policymakers of the opportunities to design, construct and operate buildings to be more energy efficient. STEP, as we all know by now, addresses the role that electronic systems such as AV, IT and integrated building technologies (IBT) can play to make buildings smarter and more energy efficient from earliest planning through day-to-day operations.

Wild horses couldn’t have kept me away.

The presentation, part of High-Performance Building Week up on Capitol Hill, was arranged by our fellow STEP sustaining member, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). From its inception, the STEP rating system was always intended to be more than just a GreenAV thing and certainly more than just a set of best practices. It needed to embrace all low-voltage building technologies and attract other like-minded industry associations who could broaden its mission and message. Today was an example of the power of good partnerships. If STEP were just an AV thing, no way would we get a meeting on Capitol Hill within a year (or maybe ever). However, as a coalition of four major trade associations representing AV, IT, structured cabling and telecommunications, we get a swing at the plate.
The presentation was attended by congressional caucus staff plus industry representatives from ASHRAE, APPA, NFPA, UL and other groups. Cisco’s Gary Hall was first up to bat with a presentation highlighting Cisco’s efforts to imbue sustainable thinking into every aspect of their corporate culture. Having served on InfoComm’s STEP task force, Gary was in the room as STEP was being molded. (In fact, he was the one who came up with the name STEP.) Cisco’s clout combined with Gary’s familiarity with STEP and his passion for sustainability (he makes me look like Mr. Burns from “The Simpsons”) made him a great leadoff hitter.

STEP executive director, Allen Weidman, followed with an overview of STEP’s evolution and a run-through of the rating system itself. With more than 30 years of association experience working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and other governmental bodies, Allen could speak to the niche that STEP fills in the high-performance building landscape. The final presenter was Herb Congdon, TIA’s Associate Vice President of Technology and Standards. Herb talked about STEP’s pathway to becoming a consensus-driven ANSI standard with broad industry input and acceptance.

The presentations were very well received and the question and answer session at the end highlighted where STEP needed to go next. In fact, Mae Stevens, legislative assistant to Representative Carnahan, stunned us all by asking the $64,000 question: Did we have a bill we wanted the caucus to present to the House? Shwing!

Speaking for myself, I felt a little like Jimmy Stewart’s Jefferson Smith from Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Oh, we get to actually propose legislation? Just like that? We don’t have to wander in the wilderness for millennia like the USGBC wanted us to do? Being my first time on Capitol Hill (other than as a kid visiting D.C. during the Bicentennial), it hadn’t crossed my mind that there was an “ask” we should have embedded on the last slide.

Ms. Stevens added that while Congress was stuck in gridlock these days over almost everything, her boss and his Republican co-chair believed that there was broad bipartisan support for legislation to promote energy independence through smart building technologies. Indeed, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, along with a series of executive orders and agency-specific rules, paved the way for STEP. In 2010 the General Services Administration (GSA) upgraded its green building requirements to mandate that all new federal building construction and major renovation projects obtain LEED Gold certification. I suggested to Ms. Stevens that adding STEP alongside these LEED requirements might be the logical bill that would eventually emanate from our efforts.

In all honesty we are probably a year or more away from being ready for the deluge that would follow if such legislation were passed. With more than 350 million square feet of space under its purview, the GSA is the single largest real estate organization in the U.S. If they were to adopt STEP, we’d “need a bigger boat” as Chief Brody famously proclaimed in “Jaws.” However, as a first date with Congress, I would call today’s meeting a huge success and a promising path for STEP to follow once we’re ready. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about STEP, now might be a good time to get your business aligned with STEP’s goals and credits. We just might be on to something…

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

Thanks to CEA, Recycling of Electronics Up 53 Percent in 2011

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:33:25 GMT

The CEA (Consumer Electronics Association - the people behind the CES show) launched a Billion Pound Challenge in 2010 to promote recycling of consumer electronics rather than throwing them away. So far, they've recycled over 460 million pounds, so the organization is nearly half way there. And, recycling was up 53 percent in 2011. In addition to more than 7,500 used electronics drop-off centers, the CEA has convinced cities, states and businesses like Best Buy to make it easy to recycle electronics by allowing anyone to drop them off conveniently.

Known as the eCycling Leadership Initiative, the goal of a 2016 Billion Pound recycling program should be easily attained.

Here's a video that explains it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoVKCnOqdXI&feature=player_embedded

What Will Happen vs. What Should Happen

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:47:31 GMT

I’ve always thought of Earth Day as a somewhat trippy, idealistic date on the calendar. So as I sit on my front porch on this brilliantly sunny Earth Day 2012, I will be a little idealistic and trippy myself about an inescapable event in our not-too-distant future: the upcoming presidential debates between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

First let’s prognosticate on how the issue of climate change will actually be addressed in these debates.

October 3, 2012; University of Denver; Denver, Colorado – First Presidential Debate:

Diane Sawyer: “Governor Romney, as we sit here on this beautiful campus in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, we are reminded of the abundant resources and natural beauty of this country, but we are also aware that gas prices have soared to their highest levels ever and we have just lived through the hottest summer of what is shaping up to be the hottest on year on record. Isn’t it time we take seriously the issue of global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels?”

Governor Romney: “Diane, what we need to take seriously are the failed policies of this president. We simply can’t afford another four years of Barack Obama. Five-dollar-a-gallon gas prices essentially constitute a tax on every working American who has to fill his or her gas tank to get to work and back every day, and President Obama has done nothing to stem this crisis; in fact, he’s made it worse.”

Diane Sawyer: “But what about the climate crisis that we seem to be exacerbating through our burning of fossil fuels?”

Governor Romney: “You know, Diane, I don’t know if what we’re experiencing is real climate change or just weather anomalies. I remember we had some pretty big snow storms a few years back. So, you know, the weather changes all the time. Sometimes it’s hot; sometimes it’s cold. I don’t think we can let one warm summer dictate our nation’s energy policy.”

Diane Sawyer: “President Obama, same question.”

President Obama: “Thank you, Diane. I’ve said consistently that I believe man-made climate change is a real and growing threat. However, I’ve also said that while our economy is struggling to recover from the greatest recession of the last 70 years, we have to be careful not to do anything that might hamper that recovery. I believe we need to take an “all of the above” strategy when it comes to energy, but I also believe we have to be environmentally sensitive in our pursuits of energy independence.”

Diane Sawyer: “So you don’t see any opportunity for real change in our nation’s approach to climate change?”

President Obama: “Well, I’ve spelled out a list of long-term strategic goals for our country with respect to our energy and climate future, but I need Congress to act if we are going to move anything forward. Congress can’t simply say “no” to everything and then complain that nothing gets done.”

The two candidates’ answers will of course go on longer than that, they will hit all of their well-rehearsed talking points, and nothing substantive will happen. But in the spirit of Earth Day, let’s imagine a different universe, one where an honest discussion on climate change can occur.

Alternate-Universe Diane Sawyer: “Blah blah blah…beautiful campus…blah blah blah…warmest year on record…blah blah blah….time to address climate change.”

Alternate-Universe Mitt Romney: “You know, Diane, there are not a lot of things that President Obama and I agree on, but one issue where I believe we have to come together as one nation is in the area of addressing our dependence on fossil fuels and the greenhouse gases they emit. In my many years in business as well as in my time as a public servant, I’ve learned that you have to make sound decisions based on data, and you have to listen to what the experts are telling you. The data has become more and more clear every year that our planet is warming, and the scientific community is nearly unanimous in concluding that there is a link between our emissions of greenhouse gases and the rise in global temperatures. As I have crisscrossed this beautiful country over the past few years, I have seen the best of America, but I’ve also seen what can happen when we turn a blind eye to the environment. That’s why during the first 100 days of my presidency I will call all the leaders in Congress from both parties as well as our nation’s top scientists to a summit at Camp David because I discovered during my business years that getting together away from the office and focusing on one issue is the best way to tackle big challenges. We’ll stay there as long as it takes until we can come out together with a set of realistic, market-based measures to address this very real challenge to our children’s and grandchildren’s future.” (Thunderous applause.)

Alternate-Universe Barack Obama: “You know, Diane, Governor Romney and I have traded a lot of punches over the last few months, but I am encouraged by his boldness in addressing the issue of global climate change when it hasn’t been politically easy for him to do so. If I am fortunate enough to be granted another term by the American people, I will welcome his leadership on this issue to help bring the two sides together and find, as Governor Romney states, market-based solutions to this pending crisis. In fact, I vow tonight that if I am reelected, the cornerstone of my second term will be the creation of a new energy economy because I believe the green economy is the economy of the next 50 years. This is our moon shot. America needs to lead the world in innovation and manufacturing and energy efficiency. We’ll foster the rise of a new generation of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who will create the products, design the buildings and reengineer our cities to make America the cleanest, healthiest and most livable country in the world. We can do this—we must do this—to secure our future as the greatest country in the history of the world.” (Thunderous applause.)

OK, wake up, Scott. I think the pollen must be getting to you. You’re talking like a crazy man now. Happy Earth Day, everybody, from the alternate universe.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

Metrics Matter: How to Develop Green AV Key Performance Indicators

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:38:14 GMT

It recently dawned on me that I’ve been throwing a lot of cool information about reporting, standards and other tools at you, but I’ve never really done a deeper dive into how to do some of these things.

So this month I’m going to walk you through the process of developing KPI, or Key Performance Indicators. I can think of no simpler means of tracking results and demonstrating value to a client than delivering them a report showing the environmental impact of their audio video systems over time. Here is what you need to know to develop your own system of tracking and reporting Key Performance Indicators.

First, you must choose which indicators to report. This requires a delicate balance of choosing metrics that matter to the client, your organization and, really, the world beyond -- this will make them key to measuring performance. There is significance in this word performance, in that it indicates performance relevant to a goal. So, hopefully you and your clients have already established goals. This will ultimately make choosing your supporting indicators that much easier.

Next, while it is important to include certain intangibles in reporting, for KPI you will focus on that which can be measured (even if approximations). Categories we can support include:

Energy: This is kind of a no brainer. Essentially we measure how much our systems consume. The primary unit of measurement would be kwh (kilowatt-hour). You could potentially also include British thermal units (Btu) here for the heat generated by elements of our systems. Of course, we don’t always have the exact measurement of our entire system, but even if we provide measurements for our most significant pieces of gear, we can at least lend some value to the measurement.
Waste: What consumables can we measure? How many batteries will we recycle? How many hours of content were recorded to hard drive (in turn, how many tapes were avoided)? How many sheets of paper did we save using iPads for presentation materials? How many sheets of flip chart paper will be recycled? Usually the real metric we’re looking for here is to support waste diversion. So, for the units of measurement, you would begin with a count of the unit itself (e.g., 800 batteries). But, to support a client’s waste diversion goals you would ultimately translate to pounds or other appropriate unit of weight.
Transportation and Local Resources: How far and how much did we ship? What percentage of equipment and labor came from within 50, 100, 200 miles? You could provide these numbers as pounds, miles and percentages.
Carbon: This requires a special note. If it’s a priority for your client, you will need to provide measurements of your carbon impact, which is done in tons. However, knowing if you’re to measure your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and which elements of your activity is to be measured, could require the assistance of a professional.

Keep in mind that ultimately we’re trying to answer questions such as, “What impact do our choices for more energy efficient equipment make over time?” Or even, “If we reduce the Btu of our system, will we be able to reduce cooling requirements in the room?” So, by consistently tracking metrics that matter, over time we will be able to assess our performance and answer those questions which matter most to our clients and our planet.

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

Energy Management Standard for AV Nearly Done

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:23:09 GMT

The newest ANSI/INFOCOMM draft standard, Audiovisual Systems Energy Management, is now open for public review. At this important stage of the process, the industry gets to weigh in on the proposed standard’s merits.

Don’t miss out on your chance to have your opinions heard. If you're interested in participating, click here: http://www.infocomm.org/cps/rde/xchg/infocomm/hs.xsl/7028.htm

Audacious Vision

safdl@ljd.com (Midori Connolly) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:57:36 GMT

Have you heard of a product called “Shrilk”? This material is a biodegradable plastic alternative that is stronger than aluminum and is made from layering a polymer of shrimp shells and silkworm silk. This product will have applications as both surgical sutures and trash bags. What about changing the world by logging into your computer and playing a game? The famous Jane McGonigal-designed game, World Without Oil, attempted to do just that. As the game progressed over 32 days, 1,800 participants responded to the imaginary oil shock by making changes in the real world -- growing apple trees, converting their cars so they could be fueled by cooking oil and collectively writing a manual about ways to respond to the crisis. Over 45,000 people followed the imaginary crisis.

These are two bold, innovative ideas that eschew the idea that we must skimp, sacrifice and go without in order to be green. These types of ideas are the shift in thinking and innovation that we desperately need in order to truly achieve a sustainable business environment and make changes to the world. The January/February issue of Harvard Business Review provided the list of 2012’s most Audacious Ideas. Citing the precarious position of the global economy and $2 trillion in cash reserves, HBR asserts that business are paralyzed, “risk-averse, strategically incremental and notably lacking in fresh ideas.” Further, HBR says, “We think this stinks. The world needs invention and daring now more than ever. Now is the time for audacity, not austerity.” Frankly, I couldn’t agree more.

Thinking about AV professionals, I see a group of innovators at heart. We are daydreamers, tinkerers and pioneers in engineering who have manifested communications systems that made interplanetary travel possible! Oh -- and let’s not forget it’s our industry’s science that generated wonderments such as the wireless TV remote (which I can remember was oh-so-space-agey as a kid!). So maybe it’s time to tap into the soul of our engineers and makers – to turn them loose on concepts such as biomimicry. (Biomimicry studies nature’s models and then emulates these forms, process, systems, and strategies to solve human problems – sustainably. One of the most well-known examples is the Mirasol Displays by Qualcomm, which mimic the way light reflects from the scales on a butterfly's wings.) Is there more we could learn from the hydroacoustics or innovations in Cleantech?

What we need now is to look beyond our industry for inspiration and big ideas. It’s time to let our inner geeks be bold and audacious. We must make connections between the technology we know with futuristic concepts such as artificial intelligence and Brain-Computer Interface. Finally, we must ensure the basic tenets of sustainability are inherent in these engineering and design feats. Then we will achieve a truly audacious vision for our industry and beyond.

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution

sdfasdf@sdf.com (Scott Walker) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:45:24 GMT

Having exorcized my political demons last month, I’m feeling much better, thank you very much. This month, I want to talk specifically to the readers out there who work for the end-user/owner organizations, without which none of us in the AV business would have a job. First of all, on behalf of the tens of thousands of people who make a living in pro AV, we thank you for your business. We really do, especially in these tough economic times. Now that we have that established, what say we start a little revolution.

If you are reading this article and you work for a college or university, K-12 school district, corporation, government entity, museum, etc, then you are likely interested in and involved with sustainability on some level. Perhaps it is a personal passion for you regardless of your employer’s position on sustainability. Or perhaps you work for a green-minded organization that embraces LEED principles, incentivizes green behavior of its employees and is always looking for new ways to be a better steward of the environment. I suspect for many of you both are true. Regardless, there’s something wrong that needs some fixing if you are a) green minded and b) involved in technology but c) haven’t been entirely successful marrying these two worlds.

So here’s a thought: On your next technology project, put a sentence on the first page of the request for proposal (RFP) that states, “The owner is interested in pursuing a more sustainable plan for the design, integration and operation of its building technologies. As such, the selected technology firm will be responsible for administering the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEPSM) rating system process and obtaining at least a STEP Bronze rating for technologies encompassed by this RFP.” Bam! That just happened. Overnight, there would be a flurry of activity from consultants, integrators, manufacturers and programmers who both need your business to stay in business and need to learn about this whole STEP thing to comply with the RFP. Allen Weidman, STEP’s executive director, would quickly become a very busy man (not that he’s not already) with calls to the STEP Foundation asking how one can learn more about running a STEP project. There would be a big public outcry to create STEP accreditation courses. In short, things would get plum crazy in STEPville.

Why do I think this would happen? Because that’s exactly what happened with LEED. I saw it firsthand in my own backyard when big institutions like Emory University, Georgia Tech and the CDC committed to pursuing LEED certification for all of their projects and that a healthy percentage of the points to award the project would be based on a firm’s experience with LEED projects. The construction industry went nuts. It had to. Suddenly, firms were falling over themselves to “out-green” their competitor with marketing campaigns that promoted themselves as having more LEED APs than any other architect in the state; having built more square footage of LEED-certified projects than GC in the area; being the only firm on the shortlist who has completed a LEED Platinum project, etc. It was an amazing thing to witness and informed much of my drive to help create STEP.

So I’m calling on all you wounded souls out there, all you techies on a mission to move the needle at least a little toward a greener future, to rudely inject yourself into the RFP creation process and say, “It’s time we got our technology spend aligned with our overall sustainability goals, and I have a way we can do that.” You can explain to your organization’s chief sustainability officer, facilities staff and/or campus architects that LEED doesn’t deal with all those blinky lights in the building. It doesn’t deal with e-waste. It doesn’t address the potential carbon footprint reductions from the use of conferencing technologies (only bicycle technologies). And it doesn’t specifically address the process to deliver a smart and adaptive building.

Yes, there will be tough internal questions (“Is this going to cost us more?”) and external handwringing from those responding to the RFP (“We can’t put a fee on this until you tell us more about how far you want to go with STEP”), but we’ve got to start somewhere. There are already at least 10 STEP projects underway right now that are grappling with those very issues, so you won’t be the first. And these projects include university buildings, corporate offices, government/nonprofit facilities and performing arts centers, so there’s probably a peer institution out there you can reference and say, “Well, University X is doing STEP already. Why can’t we?”

Yes, STEP is still in its infancy, and there is some risk in being the first on your block to engage a STEP project, but LEED had a period of infancy and uncertainty at some point too. Today, there are more than 100,000 commercial LEED registered and certified projects and nearly 200,000 professionals with some level of LEED accreditation. You know why all of that happened? RFPs, baby. RFPs.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

Sony Debuts New Ultra-Short Throw Projector

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:23:33 GMT

The new ultra short throw Sony VPL-SX535 is a 3,000 ANSI lumen 3LCD projector with 2500:1 contrast ratio spec that uses an XGA (1024x768) resolution LCD. It claims to project an 80-inch image from less than two feet away. Integrated with Ethernet control and Sony's BrightEra technology that claims to deliver improved panel light resistance, higher resolution, high brightness and increased panel reliability, the VPL-SX535 includes an EcoMode, lamp dimming in different ambient conditions and less than 1 watt of power in stand-by, making it a GreenAV product.

The new VPL-SX535 inputs include VGA and S-Video, but no HDMI?!? What the heck? It is network controllable, plus has IR and RS232.

It lists for $2,030 and full specs are here: http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-VPLSX535/

The News is Out: Sustainable Standards for Stagers Are Here; Let's Develop Some Culture!

reply@ravepubs.com (Midori Connolly) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:02:16 GMT

I bet you had no idea how lucky you are that your friendly monthly columnist is privy to the latest and greatest developments in green AV... but, guess what? You are lucky! See, I have the scoop on the fact that just two days ago, ASTM published the new "Standard Specification for Evaluation and Selection of Audio Visual (AV) and Production for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings, Events, Trade Shows and Conferences" (if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed just with that title, I'm with you!). Although I co-chaired the committee that developed this document, what I have discovered from re-reading the standard is that there is quite a bit that has changed. And there are a few things you should know.

I will say this: you will need to be able to get past the "standard speak" and delve into the meat of the specifications. And, for the most part, the first level of the specifications can be achieved by ANYONE who commits to integrating sustainable practices into her business. I gave you the lowdown a couple of months ago on how to get a head-start on being ready for these standards. Specifically, I had suggested that you develop a sustainability policy before anything else, and provided the first steps to doing so. However, now I have a vision for you that transcends beyond just developing a simple policy, because that will simply not hold up in the years to come. I now challenge you to develop a sustainability culture. Because, without this, you might find that your organization is following all the rules, but not actually deriving long-term benefits from going through the motions.

To some, a culture might mean a group of cells growing in a petri dish, and to others, the product of art museums and concert halls, but ultimately, they mean the same thing. Culture can be defined as the full range of learned human behavior patterns. It is generally agreed that the primary development of culture is through environmental influences. We develop patterns of behavior based on the predictability, ease and interdependency of the people in our environment. If we were then to apply this to our workplace and sustainability, what would that look like?

First, you start with that policy. This is a good place to begin, because it provides a set of defined rules that the members of the culture can fall back on. It defines the rules for the environment, creates a sense of predictability. Then, you add a communications plan and message of leadership. Develop the interdependence of culture by connecting members of your organization through your vision of sustainability. As we’ve learned in the green movement, there is no possibility of achieving sustainability goals without interdependence of various teams/departments upon each other. It cannot be an isolated effort, or it will ultimately fail. Finally, culture is developed by passing the systems of the environment from generation to generation, with the awareness that future generations have the potential to shape and influence the culture in new ways. You must develop training programs and bi-directional communication plans that equally balance sustainability education with feedback and agility in adapting worthwhile suggestions.

Above all, remember that while you’re trying to fulfill the requirements of these standards, the ultimate goal is to meet a human need. In a study of 50 of the fastest growing brands in the world, brand consultant Millward Brown found that those brands which built the deepest relationships with customers achieved the greatest financial growth from 2001-2011. Furthermore, investment in these companies -- the Stengel 50 -- over the past decade would have been 400 percent more profitable than an investment in the S&P 500. What set these brands apart? Millward Brown’s team determined that the 50 brands touch on five fundamental human values:

Eliciting Joy: Activating experiences of happiness, wonder, and limitless possibility
Enabling Connection: Enhancing the ability of people to connect with each other and the world in meaningful ways
Inspiring Exploration: Helping people explore new horizons and new experiences
Evoking Pride: Giving people increased confidence, strength, security, and vitality
Impacting Society: Affecting society broadly, from challenging the status quo to redefining categories

My challenge to you, then, dear AV staging co., is... how can your company adapt these human values into your brand? Have you already? I think a great number of you out there are already doing these things. Now, just take that passion for fulfilling these human values and see where it fits within the sustainability culture framework. You just might find that that getting through that standard jargon and integrating the practices is a lot easier than you thought. If not, let me know. I’m always happy to help.

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

And Then Everyone Lost Their Minds

reply@ravepubs.com (Scott Walker) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:37:30 GMT

In 2008 with our country fighting two wars in Muslim countries, Americans went to the polls and elected a young senator of mixed-race background named Barack Hussein Obama to be president over his opponent, a respected war veteran and former POW, Senator John McCain. No matter what you thought of Obama then or even now, it was a stunning moment in history. However, regardless of the unity and momentum created by Obama’s election, the economy was in a precarious place and expectations for his presidency were (unreachably) high. The IT revolution combined with automation and global outsourcing meant that formerly good-paying steel mill jobs in Pennsylvania or textile mill jobs in South Carolina were gone, and as John McCain warned us during the election, "aren’t coming back." Still, in the heady days of early 2009, the sustainability movement was energized like never before, and that would have been the perfect time to craft and enact a big energy plan and begin, in earnest, the mighty task of converting this country to a renewable energy future, leading to the creation of tens of thousands of good jobs right out of the gates, and eventually millions of high-paying jobs.

But, alas, that did not happen. The economy sank further. Recovery was slow. Unemployment rose and fell with the seasons. You were there. You remember. And before we knew it, another election season was upon us. And then everyone lost their minds.

Over the past five years I’ve written 30 articles on the topic of sustainability and the role technology can and should play in it. However, across those 31,000 words you will only find the phrases "global warming" and "climate change" three times. Was I just assuming (hoping) anyone reading my stuff had gotten the memo about the whole global climate change thing around, say, 2006? Yes. Was I also worried I might alienate potential contributors to the sustainable tech movement if I dipped my toes too deeply into what have become the political waters of manmade global climate change? Kinda, sorta. Am I about to alienate some of those folks now? Yes, that is going to happen right now.

Guys, what is HAPPENING? How have we devolved into a state of politics where one party instantly becomes against an idea as soon as the other party is for it? So poisoned is our political climate that the frontrunner for president from one of our two great parties is talking about the "bogus" science of manmade climate change or the "hoax of global warming." Seriously? Long gone are the days of Teddy Roosevelt, one of our greatest presidents and a proud Republican, who was chiefly responsible for establishing our national parks to help preserve America’s great natural resources for generations to come; or when Richard Nixon came together with Congress in response to public demand and established the U.S. EPA to clean up America’s water, air and land; or when George H.W. Bush heeded warnings about acid rain and signed into law the Clean Air Act, which introduced and used to great effect the conservative idea of "cap and trade." Those guys probably couldn’t get elected dog-catcher in today’s Republican Party. No, today you must rely on diverting attention from "junk science" and pointing fingers at your opponent’s "false theology" that "elevates earth above man."

One of the (marginally less insane) reasons conservatives cite for being opposed to environmental policies is the harm they believe it will do to our economy. In a recession, they say, we can’t afford to do anything that will restrain job creators from their unfettered, free-market pursuits. However, let’s look at our current economic situation through sober eyes. We have a jobs deficit in this country of between 10 million and 30 million jobs, depending on how one looks at the unemployment verses underemployment. So where are we going to find tens of millions of jobs from blue-collar, non-outsourceable jobs to high-tech, high-paying jobs?

The only answer I see is the green energy, green tech, green everything economy. And as one of those mythical "job creators" politicians like to lionize these days, I believe a strong set of tax incentives to reward energy efficiency for not just big polluters like power plants, but for every homeowner and business would be a huge business opportunity for all of us in the AV/IT industry. Energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit of our clean energy future, and the ability to green our clients’ schools, homes, hospitals and businesses through conferencing tools and smart-building technologies could provide opportunities for decades while making a down payment on protecting our environment. And I believe my company full of conservatives and liberals alike could rally around that vision and collaborate on ideas for greening our clients’ buildings without a hint of politics in the air. I imagine yours could too.

But the task of addressing global climate change while simultaneously spurring job creation is made a lot harder when one of the potential candidates for president believes manmade climate change is nothing but a big lie. So wide is the divide between parties, and arguably, the country, that all President Obama -- that zany false theologian praying to earth gods or whatever -- could muster on the issue of climate change in his 2012 State of the Union address was, "The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change." That’s some pretty weak tea. No, it’s not even weak tea. It’s an empty saucer upon which used to sit an empty cup in which we hoped to one day fill with some tea or maybe some really strong coffee.

Fighting climate change is not about rocks and dirt and twigs or false theology or junk science. It’s about having a planet where my kids and your kids and their kids and the people we work with and our neighbors and the people we sit next to every Sunday at church can breathe the air, drink the water and eat the fish without getting sick. It’s about creating an energy future where generations of human beings (not darter snails) yet unborn can power their homes and businesses with renewal energy sources so they won’t have to fight endless wars over a dwindling supply of fossil fuels. As a job creator, a small-business owner, a father and a human, I would very much like to see the Republican party of today take a few notes from Teddy Roosevelt’s playbook and nominate a candidate who can bring some fierce intelligence and bold ideas to address our twin environmental and economic challenges. Lord knows, the door is wide open for someone to seize that mantle.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a leading AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. He is also a past president of InfoComm International. Scott is recognized as being one of the primary forces behind the founding of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system and currently is a member of the STEP Foundation board, which is responsible for managing the STEP program. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

Philips Increases Sales of Green Products to 39 Percent of Total Sales, Focuses on Commitment to Green Innovation

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:10:33 GMT

Philips Electronics announced today that it has made progress in its EcoVision program, which sets sustainability performance targets for the end of 2015. Philips reported that its Green Product sales in 2011 totaled 39 percent and are well on track to reach the target of 50 percent in 2015. The Healthcare sector achieved the highest Green Product nominal sales growth with 25 percent, while Lighting introduced over 4,000 new Green Products in 2011.

Jim Andrew, the recently appointed chairman of the Sustainability Board and Philips’ chief strategy and innovation officer, said, “Despite the challenging economic environment, sustainability continues to be an integral part of Philips’ strategy. In 2011 we invested EUR 479 million in Green Innovation dedicated to addressing global challenges related to care, materials and energy efficiency.”

“Our aim is to make the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation and we are pleased to report that in 2011, we already touched over 465 million lives4 mainly through the use of our Healthcare solutions,” Jim Andrew elaborated. In Healthcare Philips continued adding Green Products to its portfolio. For example, the wearable IntelliVue MX40 Patient Monitor, which helps clinicians to better manage patient alerts and uses 85 percent less power.

Efforts in Consumer Lifestyle focused on closing the materials loop through launching products such as the EcoCare steam iron, which is made from 30 percent recycled materials. Furthermore, Philips' sustainability performance in 2011 led to the company achieving super-sector leadership in the Personal and Household Goods category in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, as well as achieving the highest scores in the Carbon Disclosure Project.

In 2011, Lighting accounted for over 60 percent of the total spend on Green Innovation with the investment of a record amount of EUR 291 million. Drawing on more than 100 years of experience in lighting, Philips introduced CityTouch: an online outdoor lighting management system that enables dynamic control on a city-wide scale and provides light precisely at places and at times when needed. When combined with LED lighting, CityTouch can achieve up to 70 percent savings in energy and up to 70 percent in maintenance costs compared to conventional lighting.

By 2015 Philips aims to invest EUR 2 billion in Green Innovation to accelerate sustainable business across the company’s three sectors.

Focus on Lighting: Are Incandescent Bulbs Obsolete?

reply@ravepubs.com (Steven J. Thorburn, PE, CTS-D, CTS-I) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:06:29 GMT

Our article in our December eNewsletter as well as recent changes in laws regarding the incandescent lamp and ‘Ban the Bulb’ commentaries have many people asking the question, “Are incandescent bulbs obsolete?” The short answer is that new regulations do not seek to ban a lighting technology, but to force the reduction of energy consumption as a whole. This can be directly likened to edicts given to car makers to develop more efficient vehicles, starting with regulations reducing the obvious gas guzzlers first, then addressing higher efficiency overall.

While down the road we may very well see the end of the incandescent lamp, that road might be very long, dependent on technological advances that would give us both an efficient source of light as well as one that replaces the positive features of the incandescent lamp including low cost; good and consistent color rendering; ease of dimming; lack of major disposal concerns; and (setting aside the energy use factor) its relatively small footprint from a cradle to grave perspective. There is no current and available technology that replaces all of its positive features -- yet.

Light is one of the most fugitive resources we consume. Turn off a light source and what residual value is there of the light that was produced? Nothing -- unless it enabled you to live, to read and increase knowledge or to enjoy. If not, it was power used that accomplished nothing, the ultimate waste of energy.

Only by using all the technologies available to us can we produce lit environments that address both human needs and environmental concerns. For the foreseeable future, the incandescent lamp and its variations will continue to be in our lives. The answer is to make responsible choices for its proper use along with the other sources available to create environments that are not just efficient but which maximize the human experience.

Steve enjoys helping others understand the principals of acoustics and audiovisual technology almost as much as he enjoys sipping a good single malt scotch. He’s been InfoComm’s Educator of the Year, is a two-time InfoComm Facility Design Award Winner, author, teacher and has AV design experience on more than 2000 projects including Universal Studios Toon Lagoon, Hershey Park and Six Flags Great America. Find his company Thorburn Associates online at http://www.TA-Inc.com

Lectrosonics Gets a Bit Greener

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:37:54 GMT

Lectrosonics has taken a number of important steps to minimize the company’s power consumption and, thus, lessen the impact of its environmental footprint. The replacement of lighting fixtures throughout both the corporate offices and manufacturing facilities is an important step toward the company’s goal of being more environmentally friendly.

In the company’s manufacturing areas, 48 400-watt metal-halide fixtures have been replaced with 48 four-lamp, 52-watt fluorescent fixtures. Additionally, the machine shop offices had new bulbs and electronic ballasts installed in their 32 watt ceiling fixtures.

The company’s corporate offices received equally significant upgrades. One hundred twenty-six two-lamp, 96-watt fixtures were replaced with 126 four-lamp, T8, 32-watt fixtures, which offer a dramatic reduction in power consumption and vastly improved life expectancies compared to conventional lighting. Further, 120 office fixtures were retrofitted with new electronic ballasts and bulbs.

The lighting renovations implemented throughout Lectrosonics’ physical plant yield impressive energy savings. Whereas the power draw using the old lighting systems consumed 72 kW, the new fixtures draw just 42.6 kW, a savings of 29.4 kW or more than 40 percent.

The Importance of Energy Management in AV

reply@ravepubs.com (Tim Kridel) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:43 GMT

Last year marked the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program's first decade of existence, a span bookended by two major economic slumps. Despite spending much of that time tightening their belts, many enterprises, government agencies and other organizations were able to justify paying a premium for energy-efficient buildings -- so much so that LEED notched its 10,000th certified commercial project by summer 2011.

Call it spending money to save money. The trend is good news for AV integrators and vendors looking for new revenue and market-differentiation opportunities. In that sense, it dovetails nicely with another trend: the AV integrator exodus away from box sales and toward services, which are attractive for their margins, recurring revenue and long-term client relationships.

Helping clients find ways to improve energy efficiency -- not just when it comes to AV systems, but also with respect to HVAC, lighting and other infrastructure -- is ultimately like other opportunities that incorporate skills not traditionally considered AV, such as IT-related disciplines. Basically, the argument goes, if AV pros won't take on the job of energy efficiency, someone else will. Worse, companies offering energy-management services may eventually branch into AV.

“If AV doesn’t sit in that ecosystem nicely, we’ll find ourselves trying to play catch up,” says Bob Schluter, CEO of Middle Atlantic Products. “If professionals in our industry don’t embrace this, non-qualified people will start grabbing building owners’ attention and say, ‘I can do this with your AV, too.’”

The good news is that there’s growing recognition among clients and other industries that AV integrators and vendors are particularly well suited to taking HVAC, lighting and other systems under their wing. That’s what Ann Brigida, CTS, AStd, director of standards for InfoComm International, learned at a recent building automation conference, where most attendees were engineers from trades such as HVAC, electrical and plumbing.

Brigida recalls that at the conference, in a session about building automation, Jim Sinopoli, PE, RCDD, LEED AP, managing principal of Smart Buildings LLC, told attendees that the professionals on a building project who are the best at programming control systems are AV professionals. “So there’s definitely a great opportunity for our members to apply their knowledge at the next level,” Brigida says.

Can You Meet a Watts Budget?

For some clients, highly energy-efficient AV systems aren’t simply a “nice-to-have” feature required to win a bid; they’re a “must-have.” One extreme example is the Masdar Headquarters Building in the United Arab Emirates. Between solar panels and features such as skylights, the building is designed to provide 103 percent of the energy it needs — in other words, to generate more energy than it consumes. When it came to AV, the architect provided a budget not in dollars or dirhams, but in watts: The AV systems couldn’t consume more than 8W per square meter.

For AV integrators looking to capitalize on client interest in energy efficiency, the good news is that there’s a steadily growing selection of power-thrifty displays, projectors, amps and other gear. And aside from obvious specs such as standby-mode consumption, integrators can’t overlook how much heat a piece of equipment generates because when there’s enough of that gear, it means the facility’s HVAC system has to spend more money cooling the space.

In many cases, it’s possible to save energy simply by being smarter about how the AV devices are managed — or aren’t. Case in point: Instead of leaving dozens of digital signage displays blazing away in an office between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. and all day on weekends, offer the client a network-management system that automatically shuts them off when business hours are over. That’s one example of how focusing on energy efficiency can create upsale opportunities.

The utility industry’s steady march — fueled in part by government incentives — toward a smart grid represents an emerging driver for energy-efficient AV products and systems. The smart grid is slowly giving enterprises and other end users the ability to track the energy usage of individual pieces of equipment, including AV gear. As more clients take advantage of smart grids, watts budgets might not seem so unusual anymore.

“Smart grid has the potential to roll over everybody like a tsunami,” Brigida says. “InfoComm wants to help its members be proactively prepared when that happens.”

A New InfoComm Standard

Tsunami is an apt analogy because in all likelihood, clients will feel overwhelmed by the amount of usage data that smart grids enable. When they do, they’re likely to stop paying attention to that information, undermining their and their utility company’s investment in smart grid systems.

A forthcoming InfoComm standard, Audiovisual Systems Energy Management, aims to avoid the tsunami problem, at least when it comes to AV systems. Scheduled for release later this year, the standard defines and prescribes elements that enable ongoing power-consumption management of AV systems. The initiative’s goals include conserving power by putting equipment in the lowest possible power state that still enables a good user experience.

The standard makes usage information manageable by parsing it based on each user’s needs. For example, if the client chooses to track its AV power consumption, a monitoring platform based on the InfoComm standard could provide a dashboard-style summary of key statistics. And if the integrator uses that information — say, to set up the system or to monitor it as part of a service contract — it could opt for the deep-dive data set.

“One of the [standard’s] rationales is having good information available for people to easily make decisions,” says Schluter, who’s a member of the task group developing the standard. “You don’t want to clog them with a spreadsheet full of data. That might be useful for provisioning a system.”

There’s another reason why avoiding data overload is important: The standard makes end-user training and hands-on involvement a requirement. “You can say you’re going to do what it takes to reduce your power consumption, but unless the people who are going to actually be responsible for the system understand how it works, it’s not going to happen,” Brigida says.

For example, clients will be required to create an energy-management plan. “That plan is going to drive requirements for control interfaces, power factors and most importantly, provide a means of continual assessment of the system’s energy usage,” says Brigida.

The result would be a sort of AV smart grid that is, in turn, better equipped to interact with the larger smart grid. For example, an AV smart grid might communicate with a client’s campuswide smart grid.

“It’s much like the smart grid when you start porting this data over the Web,” Schluter says. “Hopefully all of these devices would be able to communicate over the Web. Then you can work with them from the smart grid and remotely turn things on and off and get power consumption from various points.”

The new standard is designed to make it easier for AV vendors to provide usage and other data so integrators and their clients can make informed decisions. “We looked at the lack of data about how much AV systems consume,” says Matthew Kosel, a Spinitar design engineer and moderator of the task group that is developing the new InfoComm standard. Kosel says that without a large, industrywide historical database showing how much power each type of AV device typically consumes, it’s difficult to create benchmarks for vendors and integrators to aim for when designing energy-efficient gear and systems.

The new standard also complements other InfoComm initiatives designed to help integrators and vendors capitalize on client interest in energy efficiency.

“InfoComm chose to take a stab at this on two different fronts. There’s the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) — the rating system analogous to the LEED certification system — and soon a standard on energy management, which talks more about how to be conscious in the use of power consumption but not necessarily setting standards for maximum usage,” Kosel says. “The rest of the power-consuming devices in a building, like lighting, have been going to a watts-per-square foot or per occupancy budget. We recognize that movement.”

The Audiovisual Systems Energy Management standard is currently in working draft phase. Before it can become an official InfoComm/ANSI standard, it must go through a thorough public comment period. This peer review is one of the many things that make InfoComm an accredited American National Standards (ANS) standards developing organization.

The public comment period is an opportunity for anyone with an interest in energy management and the proposed standard to review the document and offer feedback. Check in periodically with InfoComm’s standards group for updates on the energy management standard. When the standard is ready, it will be posted to InfoComm’s Public Review and Comment page.

This article was reprinted with permission from InfoComm International and originally appeared here.

The Next Big Thing in Displays is Flexible

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:11:37 GMT

NanoLumens is beginning worldwide deliveries of its expanded line of Flex Displays, as well as its first line of non-flexible displays. NanoFlex and NanoWrap flex digital pixel pitch displays conform to fit any surface, plus they are thin, lightweight, energy efficient and can be mounted as easily as art. The NanoWrap display gives advertisers the ability to utilize columns for 360-degree advertisements; the display can be mounted on any column with at least a 28” diameter.

The NanoSlim and NanoShape (non-flexible versions of the displays) are available in 6mm, 5mm, and 4mm pixel pitches.

In addition to being ultra-lightweight and energy efficient, NanoLumens displays feature an edge-to-edge picture quality (up to a brightness of 5000 nits) that can be viewed from any angle or any distance without color shift or picture drop-off. Designed and engineered to be energy efficient, NanoLumens displays consume significantly less energy per-square foot than conventional digital displays. NanoLumens displays are composed of up to 50 percent reclaimed materials and are completely recyclable.

Learn more here: http://www.nanolumens.com/

That Frog Was Right: It’s NOT Always Easy Being Green(AV)

reply@ravepubs.com (Midori Connolly) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:46:30 GMT

If you have an interest in sustainability, you’ve skimmed a dozen articles and subscribed to rAVe GreenAV. You’ve had a few conversations and read a bit about some of the upcoming standards. You’ve possibly even sketched a few notes about how you could be greener. Well, my friends, that is not enough. You know that I’m usually bouncing around in “rah, rah, rah” mode, giving you the pep and cheer to keep you motivated and excited about how you can adapt green practices. But as we kick off 2012, I want to talk about resolutions, a point of focus as we begin a fresh new year (resolution… focus… so nice to have an audience who might actually get the joke).

First, take a look at the definition. Resolution means “the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.” Think about resolve and having intent. If you are an employee who fervently nods along to your GreenAV newsletter each month, but then stash your green pom poms back under the desk (along with your ideas and passions on how to inspire sustainability in your workplace) and carry on with your day, now would be the time to get those pom poms out and shake them in the face of your management. If you’re unsure how to gain their buy-in, then you haven’t actually paid attention to what you read over the last year of my column. If innovation, cost-savings, employee morale and long-term growth aren’t appealing enough, then you might want to hunt for a new job. Just sayin’.

If you’re a manager who is toying with the idea, but you’re unclear about how to start… well, put the toys down and just get started!! I have produced no less than four columns about defining the steps to sustainability in the AV company. From writing a policy to communicating your green efforts to understanding standards, you have all the tools you need. It appears that what you would need is, um, resolve.

I know it seems a herculean undertaking, but if I did it, so can you. When I wrote the Sustainable Staging best practices, I was driven by a simple passion and a vision to make at least a small change in this world. It was NOT easy and it didn’t happen in a month, or even two. It took me a full year of research and writing to complete the guidelines. I didn’t always know what I was doing, but I let my instinct -- and resolve -- guide me.

The word resolution comes from the Latin resolutio -- process of reducing things into simpler forms. I would suggest building some type of steadfast deadline and build calendar reminders for your goals along the way. I admit, I happened to be lucky that my second baby was due by a certain date, so I couldn’t not finish -- but maybe you have some scheduled vacation or a yearly review or shareholders meeting that would make an excellent hard deadline for your goal. Additionally, if you can break this resolution down into simpler, measurable outcomes, such as joining a green association or achieving an educational goal or even writing that sustainability policy I talked about last month -- you might find it makes your commitment that much more approachable and reachable. OK -- rah, rah, rah after all, I guess!

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

Straight to Video

reply@ravepubs.com (Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED AP) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:59:55 GMT

I travel a lot, somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 miles a year. I also get a lot of emails, somewhere between 75 and 100 a day. These are the two great time sucks of my life, and, I imagine, of life in general for many of you as well. Both are necessary, both are a drag, and both can be dramatically improved through the pervasive use of videoconferencing. Let’s discuss.

Because I travel so much I am a Platinum-Medallion frequent flyer with Delta, which means I get bumped up to first/business class almost every time I fly. When I do, I typically chat up the person sitting next to me (you never know; it could be a potential client). If the person seems inclined to talk, I usually get around to asking him (or her) what he does for a living and why he’s traveling. Some are lawyers, some are in finance, some are business consultants, and most of them travel a lot more than me. When they invariably tell me they make this same trip every week, I usually explain to them what I do for a living and ask them why they don’t conduct these meetings via high-definition videoconferencing.

Their responses are so similar I could probably mouth the words as they say them. “Well, we have some old videoconference carts we bought years ago, but no one really knows how to work them. Plus, the quality is terrible, so I just end up flying. I do use Skype sometimes, but we need to share content, so travel it is.”

ARRRGGGHH!

As we in this industry know, the story shouldn’t end there. The current quality offered by today’s videoconference solutions is stunning and can eliminate a huge percentage of business travel. If my row mate seems interested at all, I usually pull out my iPad and show them some photos of spaces we’ve done for clients in the same business as them. I also show them photos or video of collaboration using desktop videoconferencing that I do with employees, partners and clients. They usually say something along the lines of “Wow! I didn’t realize the technology had advanced so far.” Business cards are exchanged.

But let’s get back to me and my little pity party. Last year, I hit my breaking point with email. If you get 100 real (non-spam) emails a day and you travel a lot, you can quickly get 500 or 1,000 emails behind, which results in many weekends and late nights spent farming emails. When I analyzed those emails, about two-thirds were internal, many of which required me to review some document and make some decision. Thus, I was becoming a bottleneck to forward progress within my own company. I’m sure this happens in many companies, both large and small.

So, at Waveguide we deployed desktop videoconferencing for everyone in the company, in addition to the HD videoconference rooms we have at each office. Our goal was to use “presence” information to determine who was online and who wasn’t and replace email with chat and video. The term “straight to video” is a pejorative in the film world, but it is a mantra at my company for escaping the tyranny of email.

Since our roll-out has taken root, I’d say that I probably average four to six video calls a day, 10 or so chat messages, and fewer and fewer internal emails all the time. My office phone is becoming something of a dinosaur used for occasional incoming phone calls from new and prospective clients. With existing clients, I try to get on a video call with them whenever possible since we are usually talking about some sort of content (RFP for a new project, CAD files on a current project, etc). As we go forward and replace internal phone calls with video, I can imagine not buying phone handsets for some of our employee’s workstations.

So, why do I still travel so much? Well, some travel is very necessary and very positive. Most of my travel is for project interviews, project kickoff meetings, industry tradeshows/events, and extended visits to our remote offices. This type of business travel should always continue. However, this year was the first year we conducted employee annual reviews using videoconferencing, and it was totally great while saving us a few thousand bucks. (And, for the record: Yes, I’ve seen “Up in the Air” and understand the limits of videoconferencing in a business setting.)

So, as I discussed in last month’s article, we need to be our own lab rats and experiment internally with green technologies like videoconferencing. If we make pervasive video part of our culture, we will be better positioned show our clients a way to a better (and more sustainable) future where travel is relegated mostly to vacationing, introductory business meetings and networking events. Attendance at Little League games will skyrocket.

So let’s get out there and take some airplanes out of the sky.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a national AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. Scott is a past president of InfoComm International, and he currently chairs InfoComm’s AV Sustainability Task Force, which is responsible for developing the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

IEEE P1901.2, Smart Grid IP Control Standard, Almost Complete

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:36:33 GMT

IEEE's P1901.2 – the Standard for Low Frequency (Less Than 500 kHz) Narrow Band Power Line Communications (PLC) for Smart Grid Applications — has entered its final approval process in the Working Group. Letter ballot on the draft standard supporting indoor and outdoor communications over low-voltage power lines opened Dec. 20, 2011 and will continue through Jan. 25, 2012.

"Smart Grid projects worldwide are moving ahead, and broad adoption of flexible, globally applicable standards such as IEEE P1901.2 for low-frequency, narrowband PLC (power-line communications) are needed now to accelerate wider-scale rollout," said Jim LeClare, chair of the IEEE P1901.2 Working Group. "More than 30 semiconductor manufacturers, meter and systems manufacturers, software developers, service providers and utilities have contributed to the work of the IEEE P1901.2 Working Group since its inception in fall 2009, and this broad base of participation has been crucial in helping us grow industry consensus and develop a globally meaningful and useful standard."

Sponsored by the Power Line Communications Standards Committee of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), the foremost international forum for the exchange of ideas on communications and information networking, IEEE P1901.2 is designed to specify secure PLC at data rates up to 500kbps and at transmission frequencies of less than 500kHz for applications such as grid to utility meter, electric vehicle (EV) to charging station, home area networking and lighting and solar-panel communications. The standard addresses low-frequency, narrowband PLC over low-voltage lines of less than 1000 V between transformer and meter, through transformer low-voltage to medium-voltage (1000 V up to 72 kV) and through transformer medium-voltage to low-voltage power lines in both urban and in long distance (multi- kilometer) rural communications. IEEE P1901.2 supports the balanced and efficient use of the PLC channel by all classes of low-frequency, narrowband devices by defining detailed mechanisms for coexistence among standard technologies operating in the same field, data rate and frequency band.

The next IEEE P1901.2 Working Group meeting is being held Jan. 30 – Feb. 3 in San Diego, Calif. For details of the meeting and additional information, visit the IEEE P1901.2 working group page here: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/2/

An ISE Must Attend: Embracing Energy Management: An Introduction to Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:04:29 GMT

Rising energy costs, green issues and customer expectations of an integrated home mean that today’s installers are being asked to include control of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) in homes.

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, Dave Robinson, managing director of Sensible Heat, will lead a CEDIA course in the ISE Education Zone that explains the basics of HVAC systems, including both heating and cooling systems, and explains new technologies such as heat pumps and solar thermal heating.

The session also covers control of HVAC, with the emphasis on energy efficiency and comfort. Robinson will also discuss user interfaces (often subtly different than those for audio/video and lighting) and touch on contractual issues such as who is responsible for what.

By the end of this course you will gain a good working knowledge of HVAC terms, of how the mechanical systems work and of the issues involved in controlling them.

Want to register? Go here: http://www.iseurope.org/kcms/home.php?navi=48&site=education&gname=CEDIA%20training

How to Write a Sustainability Policy for Audiovisual Staging Companies

reply@ravepubs.com (Midori Connolly) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:01:49 GMT

Now that we know the ASTM/APEX Standards for an Environmentally Sustainable Meeting will be released in the next month or so, the very first thing you should do is create an environmental policy for your organization. This is generally the first place to start for green success, for both internal and external purposes.

While it may seem daunting, creating a policy is really not that complicated. Your best bet would be to follow the categories that govern the new standards to ensure you’re a step ahead of the process.

Here is how to create your policy, one step at a time.

Make a statement of why you’re creating your environmental policy. Relate as much as possible to your organizational culture and mission statement.
List any mandatory legal compliance your organization will comply with.
Highlight any voluntary standards or procedures or achievements (e.g., take-back programs, e-waste recycling, transportation reduction, etc.).
Divide your environmental objectives into categories that align with the ASTM/APEX categories. Remember, those are: Procurement, Energy, Air Quality, Water, Communications, Staff Management and Environmental Policy, Community Partners and Waste Management.
The objectives for each category should be realistic and measurable. For example, is your goal to recycle 50 percent of all scenic materials? Will you be hiring 25 percent of labor within 50 miles of the event?
Clarify employee training and communication of the policy and practices to stakeholders. Will it be in training manuals or available on the website? Will education be offered to other industry members or clients?
Include any future goals and plans for how and when you will update the policy.

This might seem like a very simplistic list… but that’s the point! Perhaps for your organization, your policy will even be a video or visual graphic to start –- no one says you have to write ten pages of technical jargon. For far too long we seem to have made being environmentally responsible some kind of daunting activity that is for green experts. But, it’s not! Anyone with vision and energy has the ability to write an environmental policy. The end result should be positive results for both the planet and the 2012 profit statement… and that’s just good business.

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com

Blue Line Innovations and Smartenit Debut Real-Time Power Meter Monitor

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:21:24 GMT

You can't mess with or modify the power meters on the outside of your home, but you can monitor them in real-time with this new product from Blue Line Innovations and Smartenit (formerly known as SimpleHomeNet). Smartenit’s ZBPCM provides the bridge between the Blue Line Innovations PowerCost Monitor electric meter sensor, and wireless HA/SE ZigBee and INSTEON home area networks. This unique combination allows true energy management by providing not only energy monitoring, but also control of devices based on energy information.

The Blue Line Innovations PowerCost Monitor puts the power to save electricity into the consumer’s hands by turning almost any electric meter, old or new, into a broadcasting Smart Meter offering whole house energy information. The Smartenit ZBPCM device allows this whole house energy information to become part of a home control network using the proven ZigBee and INSTEON wireless protocols.

This solution feeds instantaneous demand (Kw) and consumption (Kw/hour) for the whole house control systems via ZigBee and INSTEON protocols. Based on this information, the consumer can customize parameters to allow for automated responses that will save energy. Smartenit also manufactures ZigBee plugs and load controllers that report energy usage to give the consumer an even deeper layer of energy management capability. This data from the meter or smart plugs is then displayed over dashboards for the customer’s viewing. Therefore, you now have the information you need in real-time, so you can then set very specific parameters as to when energy adjustments are to be automatically executed via a control system, truly smartening the environment.

For more information on Blue Line, click here: http://www.bluelineinnovations.com/

For more information on Smartenit/SimpleHomeNet, click here: http://www.simplehomenet.com/OEMSolutions.asp?page_id=SmartenIT

CES Determined to Make CES 2012 Totally Green

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:21:55 GMT

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today announced the adoption of several new sustainability practices at the 2012 CES, the world’s largest technology tradeshow, to be held in Las Vegas Jan. 10-13.

New this year, attendee badge holders are made from repurposed vinyl show banners from last year’s show, and CEA will collect those badge holders at the end of the 2012 CES to recycle them again. Furthermore, CES general services contractor Global Experience Specialists (GES) will produce signs using a reusable, recyclable kraft paper honeycomb material. CEA will also seek to collect even more magnetic, vinyl and cardboard show signs for repurposing through a partnership with Repurpose America, a local nonprofit focusing on tradeshow recycling.

Last Year, Repurpose America collected roughly 18,000 pounds of magnetic signs from the 2011 CES, nearly 15,000 square feet of vinyl banners and more than 150 foam boards. In addition, CEA worked with contractors to recycle 289.6 tons of the solid waste generated at CES and increased the event’s recycle rate from 68 percent to 77 percent, several points higher than the average recycle rate of trade shows held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Along with the greening of the International CES, CEA also supports local green non-profits. Last year, CEA gave $75,000 to Green Chips, a local Las Vegas charity supporting solar power installations. That money was used to install solar panels at a Las Vegas non-profit facility, resulting in substantial savings that allowed the organization to devote more money to serve those in need. CEA plans to make another donation benefiting Las Vegas and the environment at the 2012 International CES.

The International CES also allows attendees to reduce their carbon footprint by gathering in one location. With each attendee reporting an average of 12 business meetings per CES, CES participants collectively avoid more than 960 million miles in business trips that they otherwise would have to take. As a result of attending CES and consolidating trips, the estimated net savings in travel is more than 549 million miles.

For more information on sustainable materials used at the 2012 International CES and other information on the greening of CES, please go to: http://www.CESweb.org/green

Focus on Lighting: A Look Into Lamp Technology and Lighting Legislation

reply@ravepubs.com (Steven J. Thorburn, PE, CTS-D, CTS-I) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:56:31 GMT

The federal government is pushing toward more energy efficient solutions with regard to lighting and lamp selections, or what is more commonly referred to as “going green.”

This will result in changes over the next couple of years with regard to the lamps that will be available for purchase. Several governments around the world, including the United States, have passed legislation that will phase out the incandescent light bulb for general lighting. The goal is to encourage the use and technology development of more energy-efficient lighting alternatives such as halogen, compact fluorescents (CFLs) and the ever popular Light Emitting Diode (LED) which offer increased efficiency, decreased heat emissions and are significantly more economical than traditional incandescent lamps. (Technically speaking, a halogen lamp is an incandescent lamp, but it is more efficient than traditional incandescent as the result of the halogen technology and is usually considered separate from incandescent lamps.) This means “lights out” for Edison’s 131 year old lamp that still lights homes worldwide while wasting 90 percent of its energy as heat rather than light. While you won’t be required to throw out your old bulbs, you may be surprised when you are trying to find the same replacement lamps in stores.

The first phase of the process will bring an end to the production of the 100 watt A lamp in January 2012, the 75 watt in 2013, and the 60 and 40 watt counterparts by January 2014. This will also affect the availability of the T12 fluorescent tube which will be phased out by 2012.

The second phase will come into effect by 2020 and will require general purpose lamps to produce at least 45 lumens per watt, similar to the energy consumption experienced with CFLs. Subsequently, several states have adopted more stringent legislation which requires lamps to produce a minimum of twenty-five lumens per watt by 2013 and sixty lumens per watt by 2018.

New Display Technology Could Use "Quantum Dots"

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:03:41 GMT

A small upstart from the UK is working on what it hopes is a bigger hit in display technology than the current generation of LED-backlit LCDs. Called Quantum Dots (QD), the technology is from a nanotechnology firm called Nanoco. It's basically small 3D semiconductor dots which, together with millions of others, make a giant canvas-like display technology.

Nanoco Technologies is unique in that it is the only large manufacturer using large quantities of Quantum Dots, a semiconductor materials discovered in the 1980s. Their patented molecular seeding process does not use a regulated heavy metal, making it possibly the only completely "green" display technology. In addition to display technology, the QDs are being manufactured for use in lighting, solar cells and biological imaging.

The future of cadmium free display technology?

QDs are both photo active (photoluminescent) and electro active (electroluminescent) and because of their unique physical characteristics, they can be readily incorporated into OLED displays.

For more technical details on the technology, go here: http://www.nanocotechnologies.com/index.aspx

The GreenAV Do Over: 1/1/12

reply@ravepubs.com (Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED AP) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:06:29 GMT

I love movies, all kinds of movies. Big dramas, war epics, science fiction. You name it. And somewhere in my top 50, amidst all the Casablancas and Saving Private Ryans and Shawshank Redemptions, is a movie that, on the surface, is just a buddy film, but when you peel back the layers of meaning threaded deep into the buddies’ cattle drive across the American West, you will see this film is actually a philosophical study about our modern condition. I’m speaking, of course, about “City Slickers.”

The jokes and gags are great, but the film resonates for me because of the crises and eventual epiphanies each of the characters experience along the way: Billy Crystal’s “Mitch” realizing that, as a radio ad executive, he basically sells air (I mean, how different is that from AV consulting really?); or Jack Palance’s “Curly” telling that the secret to life is finding your “one thing” (I totally get that). However, each character’s arc (and the real message of the film, in my opinion) is summed up in Mitch’s speech to Daniel Stern’s “Phil” about do overs. Phil has lost everything -- his wife, his job, his self-respect -- and he doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him once they complete the cattle drive. Mitch counsels that it’s just like when they were kids and somebody loses a ball out of bounds, and everyone yells, “Do over!” Phil gets a do over. He can start clean and make choices that only look forward.

Like most people, I love holidays, and New Year’s Day is one of my favorites. It’s partly because I got married on New Year’s Eve nearly 23 years ago, but it’s also because that the turning of the calendar from December 31 to January 1 signals an annual do over for me. Not happy with the fitness regimen? Do over. Not thrilled about my work accomplishments? Do over. Not jazzed with my relationships with family members or old friends? Do over.

So what’s my big do over for this coming year? Well, I’d like to challenge all of us to have a green AV do over. Together. Let me explain.

In the general population, there was a ton of buzz about green from 2006 to early 2009. Back then, the media was replete with stories about how to green your house, how to shop more sustainably, and what carbon credits were all about. It was in this zeitgeist that the green AV movement was born.

However, as I wrote back in October, the recession, the debt/stimulus/austerity debate, the Arab Spring and countless other news stories have pushed green off the front pages and back pages as well. Yet, global warming -- or as Tom Friedman more accurately calls it “global weirding” -- marches on unabated. According to data collected by the Natural Resources Defense Council, nearly 3,000 monthly weather records were broken in U.S. communities this past year, and extreme weather events -- from the heat wave and fires in Texas to the floods in Thailand and across the Northeast and Midwest U.S. -- have resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, directly affecting the lives of tens of millions of people.

Sustainability is neither passé, nor unnecessary. It’s time to up our game, and here’s what I suggest: Make a green AV New Year’s resolution list. Sit down sometime over the holidays and create a list of three sustainability initiatives you can do at home, at your office and for your clients in 2012.

Under the old adage from the medical world, “physician, heal thyself,” I am a fan of starting at home. Find three things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint on the home front. Begin with simple things like caulking leaky doors and windows or swapping out incandescent light bulbs for higher-efficiency LED or fluorescent ones. I like the idea of measuring the power consumption of every device in your house and taking steps through automation (motion sensing light switches) or a habit-forming reward structure (tie your kids’ allowance to their energy consumption) to reduce your household carbon footprint.

Next, do the same around your workplace. There are hundreds of innovative ideas out there. I like the idea from 2010 InfoComm GreenAV Award winner Christie Digital who, over a weekend, basically removed trash cans from all workstations and offices to make people stop and think before they printed documents and created waste. Their in-office, non-recyclable trash plummeted when people realized they had to get up out of their chairs to throw anything away. Or, how about the idea from another 2010 InfoComm GreenAV Award winner, AVW-Telav, which takes all the half-used batteries from its rental-staging shows and gives them away to employees for their personal use. Then, when the batteries are completely depleted, employees can bring them back to the office where the batteries will be recycled.

Lastly, for those of us in the design, integration, software programming or manufacturing side, we need to deliver greener solutions to our clients. Start simple and work your way up. One of my resolutions for 2012 is to have at least 10 STEP projects underway in 2012. We’ve got three going already, so seven more is very possible. Our goal here at Waveguide is to get really good at delivering STEP-certified projects as quickly as possible. We as an industry need at least 100 STEP projects going on next year and a thousand the year after. We need to get a hockey-stick adoption curve going on STEP so we can get the attention of RFP writers everywhere who have LEED in all of their boilerplates. Those RFPs need to say LEED and STEP no later than 2014.

So, how about it? Is there a green AV do over in your 2012 drive? If so, send me an email about your successes over the coming months, and I’ll write a follow-up article highlighting the best ideas and brightest stars of the green AV universe.

Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED® AP, is president and CEO of Waveguide Consulting, a national AV, IT and acoustical consulting firm. Scott is a past president of InfoComm International, and he currently chairs InfoComm’s AV Sustainability Task Force, which is responsible for developing the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP) rating system. Scott can be reached at swalker@waveguide.com

Extron Announces PS Series Desktop Power Supply Trade-In Program

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:35:36 GMT

Extron has launched a creative (energy conscious) PS Series Desktop Power Supply Trade-In Program that allows Extron customers in the U.S. to return 15 unused 12-volt, 1-amp power supplies for a new PS 124 Multiple Output 12 Volt DC Power Supply. The PS 124 features eight 12-volt DC outputs, providing a total of 4 amps across all outputs with no per-port current limitations. It is designed to take the place of several individual Extron PS Series desktop power supplies, freeing up equipment rack space. The PS 124 is UL 2043 rated when used with the optional Flexible Conduit Adapter Kit for installation into a ceiling space.

Two PS Series desktop power supplies, Part #28-071-27LF and Part #28-071-57LF with an Engineering Revision number E21461 or higher, are eligible for trade-in. Extron customers will receive one PS 124 for every 15 eligible power supplies returned.

All details are here: http://www.extron.com/company/article.aspx?id=pstradein

BenQ to License Out New Green Lamp Technology

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:31:42 GMT

In addition to using the company's new so-called SmartEco lamp technology in its own new projectors, BenQ hopes to license it to others. BenQ says the new SmartEco technology combines energy efficiency for longer lamp life with optimized image contrast, greatly enhancing imaging performance while reducing projector operating and maintenance costs.

According to BenQ, SmartEco technology saves energy and increases lamp life by dynamically adjusting the lamp power to different brightness settings based on the projected content. SmartEco lets the projector compensate for this process with an internal software solution that maintains the ideal color spectrum and also provides an improved contrast ratio. When the projected content contains dark elements, SmartEco dims the lamp accordingly for those scenes without any loss of visible brightness for the viewer (according to BenQ). This provides many benefits to users, including prolonging lamp life by up to 70 percent and reducing energy consumption by up to 50 percent.

BenQ also provides online tools to help users calculate their yearly energy savings by projector model. By visiting the company's "SmartEco Savings Calculator" page and entering information on their current consumption levels, users can find out how much energy and money they can save with SmartEco technology.

Marantz Debuts Killer New AV Preamp Integrated with Apple AirPlay

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:34:10 GMT

Dubbed the AV7005, Marantz's newest preamp is a six-HDMI (1.4a) input, two-HDMI output, 7.1-channel processing, Dolby integrated preamp that's less than $1,600. Perfect for home theater, as well as boardroom and classroom installs, the pre-amp processes all analog (four component, five composite and seven analog audio inputs) sources and converts it all to HDMI (up to 1080p), so all signal switching and processing is handled via the internal video switcher. And, to ensure commercial AV applications will work, the two HDMI outputs are one with ARC and one without ARC. This is so you can connect the ARC output if you're using an LCD flat screen as the display and using its built-in audio, or use the non-ARC output when connecting it to surround-sound speakers. And, of course, you can also turn off the video processing (for straight pass-through if you want to use an external scaler).

Integrated with RS232, IR or IP control, the AV7005 is also integrated with Apple's new AirPlay system that allows for wireless streaming of video and audio from iOS devices (such as the iPhone and iPad) as well as the ability to wirelessly present anything from an iPad 2 to the preamp, and thus to the projector. Front panel inputs include USB, HDMI, digital optical, video and analog L/R. Audio processing includes a signal-to-noise ratio specification of 105dB (IHF-A weighted, Direct Mode) for analog, 102dB for digital and a frequency response of 10Hz - 100kHz (+1/-3dB, Direct Mode).

In normal operation, it uses 60 watts of power, in standby mode, only 0.2 watts of power and in CEC mode, 0.4 watts of power. It weighs 22 pounds. Complete specs are here: http://us.marantz.com/us/products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=AVSeparates&ProductId=AV7005

Acer Launches Gaming Display That Converts 2D to 3D

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:33:21 GMT

The new Acer HR274H is a 27-inch 3D monitor featuring a system that converts any 2D content to 3D. Using a native 1920x1080, LED-backlit LCD and integrated with one HDMI input, the HR274H monitor easily connects to any 3D-enabled PC, Blu-ray player, game console, cable set top box or camera. One differentiator is that Acer's monitor converts any 2D content to 3D in real-time with no extra software required, thus allowing regular movies and traditional photos and videos to be displayed in 3D using polarized (non-powered) glasses. Acer also claims it has a 1 million:1 contrast ratio and is Energy Star certified, as well as packaged in 100 percent recycled materials.

The 27-inch Acer HR274H 3D LCD lists for $599 and you can see details here: http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/monitor-3d

The AV Industry and Software: Death Spiral or New Hope

reply@ravepubs.com (Scott Walker, CTS-D, LEED AP) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:54:17 GMT

I’ve been an AV consultant for 22 years now, a business owner for the last 15 years and in the custom software business for eight enlightening years. I’ve also written nearly 40 articles over the past eight years, but I’ve never really written one on the software paradox in our industry… until now.

Let me start by warning you that I’ve got some stuff to get off my chest. Before I do, let’s make sure that it’s just us chickens in here. Attention EcoSystems readers: If you are someone from outside the AV industry, say an architect or facility manager, please stop reading this article now. And if you are a customer/end user/buyer/decision maker of any sort, for heaven’s sake, please shut down your computer and just walk away.

OK, now that we are alone, let me state what a fine job we have done over the past decade devaluing software in our industry. If our goal was a race to the bottom, then mission accomplished. For years now, software has been treated as the packets of ketchup that come with the fries that come with the burger. No one charges you for ketchup packets; they just give you as few as possible. That’s more or less been our industry’s collective approach to software: We won’t charge you much -- or at all -- but we’ll make sure you get what you paid for or less (like that as-built code that you didn’t exactly ask for that properly). You want fancy ketchup? Sorry. We’ve just got plain ol’ ketchup and not much of it.

The irony is that we shout from the highest mountain tops that we are the “integration” industry. It’s all about the integration, man. I mean AV contractors even changed their profession’s name to be called “systems integrators.” Well, what is it then that actually does all that integration? You can put a codec and a matrix router and an audio DSP next to each other in a rack, and they don’t do jack without some software running the show.

However, the hardware meth has been a tough habit to break, and low-bid award crack hasn’t helped the situation either. If everyone in the integration business is basically buying the gear at the same price, what differentiates prices among competitive bids? You can discount your hardware margins to unsustainable levels (not advisable), short change your installation time (it’ll come back to haunt you), or basically give away the software and hope for a miracle. I mean how hard can it be, right? Unfortunately, this third option seems to be one most favored by our industry. The incentives to actually scope out the AV software properly, write a decent software spec, design elegant user interfaces, craft efficient, robust code, and support it throughout the warranty period are all backwards on most projects. If you want the job, you’ll minimize your time on the software and pray for a change order.

However, what this leaves behind are thousands upon thousands of systems that don’t operate anywhere close to what the client was promised at the tradeshow booth when they fell in love with what our industry can do, but all too often, doesn’t do. I see this time and again out there in the wild. In this slow construction economy, a significant number of projects at my firm are renovation/upgrade projects. When we look at the client’s existing equipment racks, it’s all basically fine professional gear. When we go to the touch panel, it’s a horror show. Open the DSP and you’d think monkeys were let loose on the construction site.

So why am I being such a Debbie Downer and what does this have to do with green AV? Well, when I walk a commercial building these days, I’m also reminded of that old quote from Winston Churchill about democracy being the worst form of government except for all the others. The AV industry is the worst at software… except for all the other building trades. And therein lies our hope. We might suck, but we don’t suck nearly as bad as everyone else. So let’s build on that. Believe it or not, we actually have a head start on winning the software world cup; we just have to quit viewing software as a necessary evil to the hardware end game.

And what’s the green angle? Well, most of the really cool stuff we’re going to do in sustainability is going to be done on the software automation side of things. Yes, we should specify energy-efficient products in an energy-efficient way that allows our clients to conduct their business in a lower carbon-emitting manner. But the big money is going to be in imagining, defining, specifying, coordinating and, for some of us, delivering the software to make buildings smart, adaptive and green.

So take a cold hard look at your software future. Do you have a plan? A vision? A partner? A young genius on staff who needs to be empowered? A nearby college graduating a bunch of young geniuses come December? Surely, one of the above is true.

New ViewSonic Projector Features Campus-Wide Network Management and Smart Eco Technology

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:19:26 GMT

ViewSonic's new PJD6 Series DLP projector line (PJD6223, PJD6253 and PJD6553w) are Crestron- and AMX-enabled and specifically designed for classroom and corporate environments. Equipped with Crestron RoomView and AMX's InConcert, the new line is also integrated with Smart Eco technology -- the projector raises and lowers light output based on the ambient lighting in the room, thus saving energy by using less power when in a dimly lit room.

The projectors are spec'd with a longer lamp life (6000 hours in Eco mode) and 3500 lumens (2700 lumens on the PJD6223). Connectivity includes HDMI and multiple PC and video inputs, a dynamic movie mode for image contrast, digital keystone correction and a 10-watt integrated speaker.

The PJD6223 and PJD6253 are both networkable XGA 1024x768 projectors, while the widescreen PJD6553w offers a WXGA 1280x800 native resolution. Full specs are here: http://www.viewsonic.com/products/pjd6253.htm

CABA Offers Webinar on Smart Grid Implementation

reply@ravepubs.com (rAVe Staff) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:40:55 GMT

CABA is extending an invitation to your organization to participate in this webinar, to discuss the "The Impact of Smart Grid Implementation on the Connected Home Market" Landmark Research study on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 at 2 - 3 PM ET.

The connected home market is a fast evolving segment that is being influenced by a number of emerging industry trends. The recent developments in the implementation of end-to-end Smart Grid at the utility level, as well as the changes witnessed in the area of managed home devices and systems, are expected to further impact the dynamics of this market segment. The connected home suppliers catering to this fast evolving market are facing the challenges of keeping abreast with technology development in meeting new grid infrastructure requirements as well as innovating solutions that are compatible with changing standards and communication topologies.

In addition, there are uncertainties with regard to which technologies will remain current and adaptable to emerging changes in digital home requirements, energy dynamics as well as Smart Grid infrastructure deployment. For industry participants, it is critical to be well informed of the distinct challenges, the market gaps, the influence of key channels and the evolving market environment to execute a successful market strategy.

CABA's Smart Grid Working Group, under the Connected Home Council, is currently examining the deployment of residential Smart Grid, and the implications this will have on market prospects for connected home solutions. Committee members have developed a set of objectives and research areas that require validation. These include an understanding of the changing business models, technology commercialization prospects in the event of Smart Grid deployment, changes to communication standards, and time to market, amongst others.

Against this background, the purpose of this collaborative Landmark Research study is to greatly improve the understanding of residential Smart Grid development and deployment in terms of: identifying market demand and growth areas for new products; comparing competing product strategies and communication of competitors; determining product preferences for end users; developing messaging that resonates with the target audience; defining critical success factors to expand product offerings to end user markets; and establishing a market approach and foundation for strategic decision-making efforts.

To this end, the research will create the foundation for potential next steps:

Product/Services Research and Development
Recommendations and business decisions
Vertical market strategies
Training and coaching
Providing information on product demand into other parallel market segments and other business areas

By uncovering market opportunity in the development and deployment of residential Smart Grid, the study will be designed to:

Increase awareness and generate demand for connected home solutions (e.g., smart meters, home gateways, home area networks, etc.)
Understand the changing dynamics of the industry with Smart Grid deployment and the impact on connected home solutions
Create successful business models and technology roll-out initiatives to meet changing demand
Achieve standardization with regard to codes, communication protocols/standards and topologies that will be critical for market adoption of these solutions
Understand the technology market curve and isolate hype elements from actual growth trajectory
Create differentiating platforms for solutions - demonstrating added value through field trial
Provide relevant data and case studies
Define growth zones and prospects for market participants
Assist participants to formulate and execute key initiatives for technology commercialization and positioning
Align efforts in light of Smart Grid deployment initiatives

The Landmark Research proposal, developed and presented by Frost & Sullivan at the CABA Digital Home Forum at CBS Vision in Las Vegas, has garnered the support of the CHC and the Smart Grid Working Group, with a number of member organizations already having committed to the study.

Webinar Registration Instructions:

1. Click on the Registration Link: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/psemw52rt4ed to register for the Webinar (you can add it to your Outlook Calendar as well).

2. You will receive an email confirmation for the Webinar registration with the Dial-In and Web Login Information for the Webinar on December 1st. Please keep this email so you may join the meeting.

The Five Things You Need to Know About the New Green Meeting Standards

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:08:07 GMT

Over the course of the last year, I have looked on with envy (sigh, no it wasn’t green with envy) at the column of my compatriot above, Scott Walker, as he has thoroughly explored the InfoComm STEP guidelines. I have been waiting for what feels like an eternity to be able to share the same kind of information for my staging colleagues. But, now my green staging friends, our time has come.

This last month the Convention Industry Council released the fabulous news that eight of the nine standards for an Environmentally Sustainable Meeting passed the ASTM approval process. For the first time in history, those of us serving the business meetings industry will have a key role in shaping the outcome of a green meeting.

Here are the five things you need to know in order to be a part of the new standards.

Format: The standards are a checklist-driven, prescriptive list of requirements. They are split into four levels, with Level 1 being the basic level of attainment. The standards are considered nine different standards, individual of one another. In addition to AudioVisual, there is Meeting Venue, Accommodations, Transportation, Destination, Food & Beverage, Onsite Office and Exhibits.

Within each of these standards, the checklist items are divided into eight categories. These include Procurement, Energy, Air Quality, Water, Communications, Staff Management and Environmental Policy, Community Partners and Waste Management.
Certification: As of now, there is not an official certifying agency available. While there are plans in the future by some organizations to develop third-party certifications, for the interim, self-certification will be the only option. Additionally, you cannot call yourself a “certified ASTM/APEX supplier” – the standards are event-specific, rather than company. The correct phrasing would be, “We were a supplier/partner to the ASTM/APEX certified green meeting…”
Planner/Supplier Relationship: One really unique feature about these standards is that they require both the planner and the supplier to meet their levels together. This is great for a supplier in the opportunity to build closer relationships with their clients. They will need your full cooperation and partnership well before the event in order to achieve the goals together.
Access to the Standards: Beginning next month, ASTM will publish all eight of the standards. The can be purchased in the ASTM store, as document E2745.
Your First Step? If you are interested in becoming a green AV supplier, I recommend the very first step you take is not studying the standards or marketing your organization to meeting planners, but taking a close look at what you’re doing that is “green.” If it’s not a core part of your organization, you will struggle with meeting these standards. You need to begin having the conversations with your teams, building the value and case for environmental sustainability. And, it is imperative that you create an internal environmental policy.

To help you with this first step, next month I’ll give you guidelines on what you should include in your company’s environmental policy.

Midori Connolly is CEO and Chief AVGirl of Pulse Staging & Events, Inc. in Escondido, California. She wrote the first-ever set of Sustainable Staging guidelines after discovering none existed. She is the vice-chair of the AV committee for the U.S. EPA’s Green Meetings Standards and regularly speaks and writes about corporate social responsibility and green practices in live events and meeting planning. Reach her at midori@pulsestaging.com