• Friday, November 20, 2009 Latest Update: 4:41PM
Michael Kanellos | February 24, 2009 at 2:40 PM 2 Comments

In a Down Market, Green Building Is Soaring

For green building companies, the good times have just begun.

Despite the worldwide economic crunch, a number of companies with green building products or services are doing well. Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials, said that his green drywall company had a record year last year and is in the midst of a record quarter at the moment, he told an audience at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco.

Matt Golden of Sustainable Spaces, which does energy assessments for homes, says his company is wrapping up a record month. Dan Geiger, who heads up the U.S. Green Building Council in Northern California, says interest in the group continues to build. Classes are exceeding expectations.

And to top it off, David Elien, CEO of GE Lumination, says that the LED market is down, but because notebook makers are buying fewer LEDs. “General lighting is up,” he said.

So what gives. “Some of the bigger customers are taking their dollars out of new projects and putting them into their existing footprint and optimizing it for energy efficiency,” said Elien. “When they come out of the downturn, they want to lower their operating expenditures.”

Surace had another explanation. Housing starts are 83 percent down. But new home builders have never been interested in products like Serious’ EcoWall.

“Big tract home builders don’t care. They don’t pay your electrical bills,” Surace said. (Surace, by the way, sits on numerous green building advisory committees and boards. Serious also sells windows.)

The product is mostly being bought by commercial builders and custom home builders. A lot of these segments are only down moderately. Large builders like Webcor now get the lion’s share of revenue from green projects.

The stimulus bill will also pump billions into retrofits and energy efficiency programs, Surace and Golden said.

You can learn more about it at the Green Building Summit we are holding in Menlo Park, Calif. on June 11. If you have a business plan for green building or would like to participate, drop me a line.

Comments [2]

  • Rick Lutz 02/24/09 5:15 PM

    Axis Technologies’ Dimming/Daylight Harvesting Ballasts Selected for Energy-Saving Upgrade of Lighting in Florida State Office Building
    Proactive State Governments Impacting Increase in Adoption of Green Technology Initiatives

    LINCOLN, NE—(MARKET WIRE)—Feb 24, 2009—Axis Technologies Group, Inc. (OTC:AXTG), a green technology designer, manufacturer and marketer of a proprietary line of energy saving and daylight harvesting electronic dimming ballasts for the commercial lighting industry, announced that the company’s energy efficient ballasts have been installed in the Daytona Beach Regional Service Center, a facility of the State of Florida.

    In a September 2008 press release, Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) Secretary, Linda H. South, stated, “As the agency responsible for state-managed facilities statewide, we have a responsibility to ensure those facilities are efficient in reducing our carbon footprint and that we’re doing our part to follow Governor Crist’s lead of reducing waste and providing savings to the taxpayers of Florida.”

    One of these facilities was the Daytona Regional Service Center. The Axis Technologies, Inc. Daylight Harvesting & Dimming Ballast was selected to be part of the lighting update of the state owned building. Nearly 600 new fixtures were installed with Axis ballasts.

    “Axis is proud to partner with the Florida Department of Management Services in their statewide energy reduction program and to play an instrumental part in meeting their energy efficiency goals in the future,” said Gary Boe, National Sales Manager.for Axis Technologies, Inc.

    Kip Hirschbach, CEO of Axis Technologies, added, “We are very encouraged that the long awaited adoption of green technology in the lighting industry has arrived and building some momentum. With the signing of the Economic Stimulus bill signed by President Obama and its emphasis on funding the upgrading of energy efficiency in Federal buildings, we are excited about the potential for our ballasts this year.”

    To be included in the corporate e-mail database for company press releases and industry updates, please send an e-mail to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

    For further information on Axis Technologies, Inc., visit http://www.axistechnologyinc.com.

    About the Axis Ballast:

    A standard “ballast” is an electronic component that regulates voltage in light fixtures. Axis Technologies Group, Inc. has developed an innovative ballast with which expands daylight harvesting into mainstream lighting applications. The patented Axis Dimming/Daylight Harvesting Ballast is a new technology that transforms the standard ballast into a dynamic energy saving system that can reduce lighting energy costs by up to 70%. The Axis Ballast utilizes an individual photo sensor to automatically adjust the amount of electrical current flowing to the light fixture and then dims or increases lighting in conjunction with the amount of available sunlight. The Axis Ballast avoids “over-lit” conditions that increase energy costs by harvesting and utilizing free daylight from windows or skylights. As the amount of available daylight fluctuates, the Axis Ballast automatically keeps lighting “tuned” to the desired level in a designated area.

    About Axis Technologies Group, Inc.:

    Axis Technologies Group, Inc. conducts its business through this wholly owned subsidiary Axis Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Axis Technologies, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets a proprietary line of energy-saving and daylight harvesting electronic dimming ballasts for the commercial lighting industry. The company’s target market is small to large commercial users of fluorescent lighting including office buildings, wholesale and retail buildings, hospitals, schools, and government buildings. In 2002, Underwriters Laboratory (UL) approved Axis products for sale in both the United States and Canada. The Axis ballast is priced competitively and is the only daylight harvesting ballast system that can be marketed as a replacement for a standard ballast.

    Safe Harbor

    Statements about the Company’s future expectations and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The above information contains information relating to the Company that is based on the beliefs of the Company and/or its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company or its management. When used in this document, the words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plans,” “projects,” and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of the Company regarding future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties noted. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or projected. In each instance, forward-looking information should be considered in light of the accompanying meaningful cautionary statements herein. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, successful performance of internal plans, the impact of competitive services and pricing and general economic risks and uncertainties.

      Contact:
       
        Public Relations for Axis Technologies
        (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
        404 261-1196

    Reply
  • Lighting Equipment Leasing 03/9/09 12:51 PM

    We’ve been seeing warehouses switching over their lighting systems to LED for the past 3-years now, with a HUGE spike in demand over these past 6-months. With the economic stimulus plan setting aside funds for energy efficient lighting in government buildings, I think we’ll be hearing a lot about green building in the near future.

    Reply

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