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panels and a battery storage unit. The con guration with battery stor-
age and solar panels would be able to supplement a typical electrical
utility company supply as well as function independently during
any utility company blackout, should one occur. In areas subject to
natural disasters including ooding, wild res, hurricanes or earth-
quakes, this will be a capability of particular interest.
The SPAN app also makes it easy to optimize power usage by
letting you categorize and prioritize the energy use in your home.
SPAN.io recently worked with installers in Hawaii and is currently
working with homeowners and installers in California. The com-
pany’s ocial website is www.span.io
COURTESY OF SPAN.IO Broadening the horizon.
Since 2014, air quality
Power pack. The SPAN accessory package includes a storage battery, monitoring firm Aclima
has made its presence
electric meter lights, fan and controller app. felt in a growing number of
3. AIR QUALITY DATA ——– STREET-BY-STREET INFORMATION COURTESY OF ACLIMA cities in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
Aclima is a company currently undertaking air quality measurements
and the mapping of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, block-by-
block, in the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area—more the application can amplify existing air quality improvement eorts
than 5,000 square miles. The company currently has a eet of cars underway in the community, and how the app can be made even
mapping every street in Santa Clara County. more powerful for the public’s use and understanding. The online
Aclima’s overall goal is to protect human health and the environ- tool includes access to information provided by the San Diego County
ment. It has partnered with the Bay Area Air Quality Management Pollution Control District.
District to raise awareness and work toward ensuring that Bay Area Aclima is headquartered in San Francisco. Its website is
residents breathe clean air. The company also wants to bring an www.aclima.io
unprecedented level of visibility to air pollution and climate change
emissions to the region. Aclima will make its air quality information NEXT ISSUE: ROBOTS IN CONSTRUCTION
available, including address-based insights accessible to the public The robots are coming! In my next article for the May-June issue of
online. Green Builder, I’ll be reporting on my visit to a robotics company to
In September 2019, the Aclima team took steps to make its local see a demonstration of its rst construction robot, as well as other
data available to air quality regulators and the public in San Diego. companies that are developing autonomous vehicles for civil engi-
Aclima’s eorts in the San Francisco and San Diego areas serve as neering work for site construction. GB
examples of what collaboration between citizens, government and
the private sector can do to address air pollution across California Terry Beaubois is the CEO of Building Knowledge Systems, LLC, in
and around the globe. Palo Alto, Calif. He is involved in research projects, articles, speaking
The public meetings in San Diego involved small groups where engagement, and guest lecturing in university classes related to the
everyone had an opportunity to ask questions and brainstorm ideas building industry, with a specialty in advancing technologies and green
for future versions of the online application. They focused on ways building.
58 GREEN BUILDER March/April 2020 www.greenbuildermedia.com
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