Month: March 2023

Energized by Edison

For Southern California Edison’s business and residential customers in the agriculture-rich Central Valley, the future has arrived. That’s SCE’s message at the World Ag Expo, the largest agriculture trade show bringing together more than 100,000 people from across the globe to learn about emerging trends and technologies in the farm industry and beyond. 

SCE has been a sponsor and exhibitor at the expo in Tulare for more than 30 years. In addition to daily electric safety demonstrations by linemen, SCE is helping visitors visualize how to integrate clean energy into their daily lives. 

“The World Ag Expo provides SCE an opportunity to continue to engage our agriculture and Central Valley customers with our programs and services to enable clean power solutions through electrification and related opportunities for increasing operational efficiencies and a cleaner energy future,” said Mike Bushey, director of SCE’s Business Customer Division.

Visitors to the SCE booth will find themselves walking into an imagined “smart home,” equipped with an induction cooktop, smart thermostat, electric heat pump water heater, a battery storage system and an EV parked in the garage. The smart home display simulates how residents can implement electric technology in their homes now and what it will be like in a decade or more. Switching to energy-efficient home systems can put people on a path to sustainability, leading to cost savings over time. 

“Space and water heating systems are the two largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in residential buildings,” said Jose Buendia, senior manager of SCE’s Building Electrification Program Operations. “One of the benefits of electric appliances is that they can be programmed to operate during off-peak hours. This means customers can take advantage of our more favorable Time-of-Use rates, and those who install electric heat pumps can receive an additional electric baseline allowance on their monthly bill.” 

Building electrification isn’t simply a matter of adopting the most innovative technology, it’s about the resiliency that is critical to achieving the state’s zero-carbon emissions goal of 2045. To get there, SCE’s Pathway 2045 blueprint estimates that 30% of residential and commercial space and water heaters need to be electric by 2030 and 70% by 2045. With the first major milestone seven years away, California can no longer afford to delay decarbonization, and everyone’s participation is needed now more than ever.

“Something’s afoot — climate change is real, and we feel the impacts through wildfires, driven by high winds, and there’s more extreme weather everywhere,” Buendia said. “The state and many others have identified electrification as the most cost-effective way to mitigate the impacts of climate change. There are also many health benefits and opportunities for customers to save money as we move in this direction.” 

For visitors to the World Ag Expo mulling how they can participate in electrification, or anyone interested in decarbonization, SCE’s Energy Education Centers host free online classes. Together, Californians can power a clean energy future starting now. 

To register for SCE’s online classes about the benefits of electrification, visit on.sce.com/electrification. Learn more about electric technologies and their benefits by visiting sce.com/cleanenergy.

Originally published on HARMAN News Room

From helping improve academic, social, and cognitive skills to inspiring creativity and fostering a sense of belonging, there is no doubt that music and music education have a positive impact on people. And with our long history in the music and audio industry, all of us at HARMAN have experienced first-hand the power music has on our lives.

Through our global cause initiative, HARMAN Inspired, we work closely with our longtime partner Music Will to bring the benefits of music education and helpful resources to students across the U.S. in classrooms and communities in need. In honor of Music In Our Schools Month, we wanted to take stock of our recent accomplishments and share how we’re bringing the power of music education to the next generation of leaders…

During the 2021-2022 school year, HARMAN helped Music Will recruit, train, and equip more than 450 new music teachers who each launched a new, modern band music program in their classroom. Take a closer look at our achievements by the numbers:

Launched 458 new music programs in 21 markets to bring music to more than 86,000 new students987 new and returning Music Will teachers participated in a total of 52 training workshops and gained 5,750 professional development hoursDonated 3,200 instruments to schools nationwide682 teachers, arts administrators, special guests, and supporters participated in our second Virtual Modern Band Summit594 teachers enrolled in the new online learning management system, which provides asynchronous training to advance teachers’ skills on their own time60 pairs of JBL headphones were donated to students in Washington, D.C., Detroit, and to performers at the Music Will Benefit event

Overall, HARMAN helped Music Will serve 560,000+ total students in more than 2,400 classrooms from coast to coast! Because we know that music has the power to bring us together and connect in new ways, HARMAN and Music Will also partnered on several in-person events and activations throughout the year:

One-of-a-Kind Performances: As part of our DE&I Inclusive Leadership Summit held last year in Detroit, MI, a group of all-female Music Will students was invited to perform a special concert showcasing their musical abilities.Instrument Donations: At Theodore Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C., HARMAN, Music Will, and special guest artist Harry Miree donated a drum set and other instruments, as well as eight pairs of JBL headphones to help further the student’s musical learning experiencesCelebrating 20 Years of Impact: At the Little Kids Rock 20th Anniversary Benefit Concert, HARMAN was one of more than 350 special guests that gathered at New York City’s Terminal 5 music venue to honor Hall of Famer Mavis Staples with the Peace and Freedom Award and John Reznick, frontman of the Goo Goo Dolls with the Rocker of the Year award. The evening concluded with special performances from Music Will students alongside stars like Hozier, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Cassadee Pope, Michael Bearden, and Jon Secada, as well as a silent and live auction that raised over $1 million to help bring the gift of music to even more schools across the country.

At HARMAN, we remain dedicated to partnering with leading organizations like Music Will to provide students with opportunities to experience the benefits and impact of music education. For more information on HARMAN Inspired and our work to empower the next generation to realize their potential through the power of music, technology, and service, visit: https://www.harman.com/inspired