Energy Efficiency and the Brain: Which Part am I Talking to?

Written by on February 21, 2012

 

The brain is an amazing thing. We love learning about how it works and what we can do to help organizations motivate their people to change their behavior and be more energy efficient.

There are 3 main parts of the brain

 

  • The neo-coretex, which is used for highter level thinking
  • The limbic system, the home of your emotions
  • The reptilian brain, the oldest and most primal part of the brain which controls your basic needs

 

 

 

 The frontal lobe, which is part of your neo-cortex, controls motivation, judgment, behavioral choices, planning, personality, organization, attention and expressive language.

I think we found which part we need to talk to!  So how do you target the frontal lobe – and more specifically, how do you activate the areas of motivation and behavioral choices?

It’s as easy as 1-2-3!

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Choosing the Best Energy Efficient Lighting for your Organization

Written by on February 16, 2012

Light bulbs are getting more press these days than celebrities, and we know it can be confusing. Information coming at us from all directions – what is the right decision? 

How can I be sure I am making the most energy efficient choice? What will work in my office, home, restaurant or show room?

The Lumen Coalition recommends thinking about which style fits your fixtures, your preferred color temperature and whether or not you use dimmers. When choosing lighting for a workplace, consider your industry. Will you be showcasing food or products for sale? Will people be reading when they visit your business – or attending meetings in large spaces? Our partners over at Energy Star have created a fun, interactive lighting guide that is sure to help you narrow down the choices! Create your mood, choose your light and see what is best for you! 

Looking for an alternative to CFL’s? LED’s, or light-emitting-diodes, are offering more and more great solutions for business, restaurants, commercial kitchens and other organizations. LED’s offer long bulb life, resist breakage and turn on instantly. But what exactly is an LED? The folks at GOOD help explain…

 

Creating a Culture of Energy Efficiency

Written by on February 15, 2012

View a presentation by Joe Hallberg, president of CLASS 5 Energy, on “How to Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk,” presented on February 15, 2012, at The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Minnesota monthly seminar.

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Counting Energy Savings from Behavior – Can it be done?

Written by on February 14, 2012

Behavior-based energy management programs for commercial and institutional buildings have come a long way since the 1970s. Back then I was a young engineer working for a consulting engineering firm. I remember the countless energy audits consisting of building walk-throughs and building operator interviews. Our goal was to identify both energy asset improvement projects as well as changes in building operations which would result in energy savings. Results for each were always summarized in separate tables within the energy audit write-up. Typically a client would implement several of the asset projects depending on available funding. However the behavioral components (changes in how the buildings were being run) rarely saw the light of day.

Flash forward to today.

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Motivation by Personality Type – Energy Efficiency and DiSC

Written by on February 8, 2012

Carolyn Bauman is the Managing Director at Personality Profile Solutions, www.discprofile.com

Are you trying to motivate your employees, customers, or clients? You’ve probably already learned that what motivates you doesn’t always motivate them. You might have worked on a yearly fundraising campaign where some people always showed up for a fun group activity while others never showed up but gave generous donations anyway. How can you identify and reach different types of people?

DiSC is a personality assessment tool used to improve work productivity, teamwork, and communication. The DiSC style concepts can be helpful generating creative ways to motivate different types of people. Consider the people you want to motivate. You might not know their DiSC style and that’s OK. You simply want to be sure that your motivational campaigns address every style.

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