Category: Technology

Ivy Corset Building in Worcester Increases Energy Efficiency

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With lighting costs being a significant percentage of energy costs, it’s important for buildings to update outdated and energy-wasting luminaires. Access Fixtures achieved energy savings for the historical Ivy Corset building in Worcester, Mass by retrofitting six wall packs on the front of the building.

 The renovated brick factory building once housed the Ivy Corset Company. The wall packs on the front of the building were part decorate, part functional—but produced an unattractive yellow light. Previously, the wall packs used 35 watt high pressure sodium lamps and ballasts that totaled 43 watts per pack. By replacing the lamps with energy-efficient A21 style LED lamps, the building was able to maintain the historical elements while reducing energy by 75% and improving visibility.

 According to the press release, the retrofit will save $14.08 per wall pack for a total savings of $84.48 per year. Payback for the initial cost of the LED retrofit is less than 1.5 years including labor. Because the LEDs won’t have to be replaced for 17 years, the LED wall pack retrofit will provide a total energy savings of $1,436 over the lifetime of the LED lamps. Additionally, the longevity of the LEDs reduce maintenance cost needed to frequently replace the lamps.

 It’s important for property managers to understand the value of updating lighting systems. Updated luminaires can cut energy use, save money, and ensure that all areas are safely illuminated. And, lastly, no more ghostly yellow or orange lights.

What are the latest internet scams to beware of and how can you avoid them?

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Guest Post From Sarah Hewitt

Be sure to follow Sarah on twitter @SarahHewitt52

Internet scams will exist as long as scammers continue to be inventive. Fraud prevention teams work extremely hard investigating internet fraud but once one scam has been brought under control a new, more inventive one will arise. For this reason it’s important to stay on your toes when it comes to online transactions or interactions.

One of the most famous scams of the internet age has become known as the ‘Nigerian prince’ due to the scammer’s method of extracting cash using an elaborate back story.

Email Link Virus

Links within the body of an email that urge you to click through to a website are known as phishing links and have been around for a number of years. The more sophisticated of these emails will appear to be from a well-known and trusted organization such as a bank or phone company. When you click the link the website may even look like the official website however if you’ve been requested to verify your card details or similar you should beware. Check the URL in your browser- if it’s irregular then leave and visit the correct web address instead.

Don’t click a link in your email where you cannot see where the link goes. If the text is hyperlinked you should mouse over it or right click it as if to edit it. You should then be able to find out if the link you thought was to a 20% off sale at ASOS really goes there at all. Shortened URL such as those created by but.ly can be converted back again using longurl.org.

Automatic Email Viruses

Emails can launch a virus upon opening. In days gone by the virus was usually contained in an attachment but this variety, known as the ‘drive-by email’ begins downloading malware when you open it.

Don’t open emails from addresses you don’t recognize, that don’t have a subject line or have a suspicious subject such as ‘Urgent-renew you insurance today’. If you already have security software on your computer I urge you to install some straight away. AVG has an excellent free anti-virus package.

Additionally you should make sure your email security settings are set to maximum and if you use browser based email clients such as Gmail and Yahoo! you should update your browser to the latest versions. The newest updates for browser also try to combat the latest scams and viruses.

Online Dating Scam

Yes, even the world of romance has been tainted by fraudsters. The methods of fraudsters on dating sites is rather low tech and sometimes so blatant that you wonder how people continue to be scammed but unfortunately it could happen to you too. After building a rapport online the person you think you’re chatting with (usually a pretty young lady) will tell you a tale of woe which either ends with a request for money or compels you to offer cash.

Don’t trust too easily. You should question how much about your new online friend can be verified. The fraudster will often concoct a scenario where by you can’t meet in person or speak over the phone.

ID Theft

ID theft can happen in a number of ways and occurs on and offline. Online vulnerabilities include your social media presence and shopping accounts. Details stored locally on your desktop are also at risk. If your laptop is stolen or your computer screen at work is left open it’s very easy to glean enough information to adopt your identity.

Don’t use the same password for everything. Make sure you lock and password-secure all your digital devices. Don’t allow automatic login to sites such as Facebook. Many shopping sites now require you to verify your password before you make a purchase or view your account details but some don’t so always log out.

You should also never give sensitive details over unsecured channels. Sending your complete credit card details over instant chat is not smart. Keep an eye on transactions in your bank account. You might notice small amounts of cash you can’t account for. Be vigilant, scams often start small in order to test the account and judge if you’re likely to investigate it but then a huge amount of cash could be debited.

220% Revenue Increase of Access Fixtures LED Products

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LED lighting is continuing to grow. Access Fixtures reports LED products sales are up 220% year over year compared to the first half of 2013.

While the price of LED lighting is decreasing, LEDs are simultaneously advancing in energy efficiency, light output, module life, and versatility. The rapid progression of LED lighting is known as Haitz’s Law. Every decade, the cost per lumen (lumens are the unit of useful light emitted) falls by a factor of ten while the amount of light generated per LED package increases by a factor of twenty. Therefore, LEDs are becoming a reasonable and cost-effective option when considering alternatives to incandescent, HID, and fluorescent light sources.

LED lighting provides a significant return on investment, but its biggest draw is arguably its energy efficiency. For example, today’s ten-watt LED bollard lights can outperform a seventy-watt, high-pressure sodium bollard light. LED wall packs can exceed the performance of 100-watt metal halide wall packs using less than half the energy.

Increased sales are found in products such as LED bollard lights, LED area lights, and LED wall packs. Future sales are expected to maintain the rapid growth in sales of Access Fixtures LED products.

Massachusetts Firms Look to WIN-911 to Raise the Alarm

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Austin, Texas is pretty far away from the rolling hills and rocky shores of Massachusetts, but a Texas firm is supplying some of the top Massachusetts companies with a software product that protects their assets and, in some cases, even saves lives.

Companies such as Raytheon, EMC, Boston Scientific, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Biogen all have industrial processes that control and monitor their facilities. If part of the system malfunctions, it’s imperative to know right away. Those firms look to WIN-911, formerly Specter Instruments, the world’s most widely-used alarm notification software for the process control industry to recognize issues and raise an alert.

Working in unison with a company’s SCADA system and able to push notifications through a variety of devices and network environment (smartphone push notifications, web browser, analog or VOIP phone calls, SMS messages, email, in-plant announcement system, and other devices), WIN-911 recognizes an alarming condition and notifies the appropriate party. WIN-911’s built-in logic engine also decides how the notification escalates should the alarm continue to be a problem.

As a company with global clients, WIN-911 has plenty of options for service providers. Yet WIN-911 looked back to Massachusetts to keep its business at the leading edge of the online world. With a website newly designed by Worcester-based firm Applied Interactive, LLC, WIN-911 is set to launch a new version of it’s alarm notification software to the world, via touchpoints in Massachusetts.