About Barrier Busting

Barrier-busting.com is devoted to news, opinion, and information about “busting barriers” to profitable applications of energy efficiency and alternative renewable energy sources. The barriers to using energy more efficiently arise in several ways:

Conflicting incentives result in short-term decisions that have significant long-term costs
“Traditional” design practices that optimize subsystems instead of whole systems
The assumption saving energy is costly and not profitable

The fact is that energy efficiency and alternative energy use are cost-effective today, contributing both top-line and bottom-line benefits to organizations that break through the barriers. Companies such as DuPont, Caterpillar, and even the local hardware store (Palo Alto Hardware) see their profits and productivity go up when they implement well-designed solutions that happen to save a lot of energy. This is not just limited to companies, either! Cities, counties, states, and even countries see immense benefits when they “go green” using integrative design.