Southface Institute: Blog

Article originally published by Atlanta Business Chronicle on Dec. 20 The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates — also called COP28 as an acronym for the 28th Conference of the Parties — concluded on Dec. 12, 2023. More than 65,000 core participants convened to advance the global implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement toward the goal of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. While sustainability advocates agree on …

Continue reading “Think Globally, Decarbonize Locally: Climate Solutions in Georgia”

Article originally published by Saporta Report on Dec. 18 One of The Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta’s many facilities—a 324-bed emergency and transitional housing shelter called Red Shield Services—recently completed energy and water efficiency upgrades through Southface Institute’s GoodUse program. GoodUse provides financial and technical assistance to retrofit nonprofit buildings so that utility bill savings can be invested back into core services to the community. For Salvation Army, that includes support for people transitioning out of homelessness, substance abuse treatment, and …

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(Post 6 of 6) ←Previous Post | The use of batteries, like the Tesla Powerwall or Enphase IQ10, for residential electricity storage is growing rapidly. The March 2023 edition of Wood Mackenzie’s “US Energy Storage Monitor” noted an 88% increase in residential battery storage capacity in the US in 2023 and projected a four-fold increase in residential battery installations from 2022 through 2027.   While battery storage is most often used to capture excess energy from solar panels and provide backup …

Continue reading “Electric Bills Decoded: How Home Batteries Can Cut Energy Costs”

Southface Institute, a sustainable building nonprofit, held its 25th Visionary Dinner at Agnes Scott College on October 10. During the celebration, Southface presented Dawn Brown and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (MBS) Green Team with the 2023 Argon Award for setting a new global sustainability standard for stadiums. Brown serves as MBS’ Senior Manager of Tours and Education Programs + Sustainability. With programs and policies to divert at least 90% of waste from landfills, incineration plants, and the environment, MBS is the …

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Southface Institute, a sustainability nonprofit, has launched BIT Building – a program designed to improve the operational efficiency of any type of existing building or tenant-controlled space (except single-family residential) regardless of age or current performance. BIT Building equips users with the tools necessary to reduce energy, water, and waste consumption and provides verifiable recognition for those efforts via third-party certification.  Federal, state, and local governments are increasingly mandating higher building performance standards to meet climate targets. Companies are centering …

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(Post 5 of 6) ←Previous Post | Next Post → I hope that using my family’s data and writing about picking our residential electricity rate plan has made the process more accessible, but I recognize that what’s right for me is not necessarily right for you. To provide broader guidance, I asked people I know to share their hourly energy use data with me and developed five case studies that differ from my own.   For each case study, I’m using …

Continue reading “Electric Bills Decoded: Different Rate Plans Benefit Different Customers”

(Post 4 of 6) ←Previous Post | Next Post So far in our Electric Bills Decoded series, we’ve covered electric rates and bill charges, how electricity is used at home, and how to use data to decide on a Georgia Power residential rate plan. If your goal is to shield your household budget from rising electricity rates, you might be wondering how much you can save by going solar at home. Loyal readers of this series won’t be surprised to hear …

Continue reading “Electric Bills Decoded: Which Electricity Rate is Best If I Want to Go Solar?”

(Post 3 of 6) ←Previous Post | Next Post → This blog series centers around a seemingly simple question: Can changing my electric rate plan from Georgia Power’s Standard Residential Service plan to one of the utility’s other residential options save me money? While I enjoy the suspense of a good mystery, I won’t keep you waiting—after crunching the data, it’s clear that the answer is no.  Shortest blog post ever? Not quite. I’ll take you through the options that …

Continue reading “Electric Bills Decoded: Using Data to Decide on a Georgia Power Rate Plan”