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Jeff Ihnen

Mar 02
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Utility 2.0; Decoupled and Disaggregated

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff 2 Comments
A lot of people have subscribed to the Energy Rant in recent weeks, so I think a little re-introduction is in order.  Last week, the post was entitled Gamification; from a Non-Gamer.  That was unusually peaceful and friendly because I really have no beef with that since, well, innocent until found guilty (of problems).  This week, discussing Utility 2.0, I get back in the spirit of the true meaning of the Energy Rant.  What dozens of readers have expressed is the Rant goes outside the comfort zone to discuss things no one else will say – like the emperor has…
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Feb 23
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Gamification; From a Non-Gamer

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
The ACEEE just released a study on energy efficiency programs delivered as games - gamification.  At this stage of my career, I never dismiss something that works, for some people, as dumb.  Gamification does not seem to be something I would be interested in as a participant, but it does seem to be a hot item; behavior based, and therefore, I am interested in learning what this is all about, as best as I can, from the ACEEE report. First, I start with my experience, which doesn’t matter, but you’re going to get it anyway.  I would need a psychiatrist…
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Feb 16
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Electric Vehicle Grid Integration, er Accommodation

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment
Twenty-five years ago, I lived in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington: the distance from my condo apartment to work was four miles as the crow flies; a half hour as the car drives.  Monthly parking fees were $100, so I biked.  Today, in Wisconsin, these numbers are: practically free parking, eighteen miles, and still a half hour.  I enjoy the drive, and apparently so do most of the rest of the US.  This report by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) provides interesting information on commuting practices in the US.  What is this all about?  Electric…
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Feb 09
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ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Benchmarks Lake Wobegon

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
Not that my opinion is worth anything, but the results of Chicago’s 2014 commercial building benchmarking report are excellent.  The report indicates that most of the 348 buildings that were benchmarked for the study were benchmarked using ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager.  The cross-cutting data provided reveals interesting facts that are not expounded upon – but I will. The first thing is rather stunning.  The median ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager score for 348 buildings, accounting for 260 million square feet of building space, was/is 76.  By definition, the median score of all buildings in the Portfolio Manager database is 50.  The…
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Feb 02
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Energy Analytics; A Loaded Weapon

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
A few weeks ago I talked about smart meter, smart meter, smart meter, smart meter… in, who would have guessed(!), The Deaf and Mute Smart Meter.  Today I talk about something with similar sex appeal with, to my knowledge, scarce measured/verified results.  The topic: big data analytics.  Any conference, many industry news articles and blogs, even ones in Forbes, are bloviating about big data energy analytics. Some of these solutions apply to residential, and some apply to commercial and industrial facilities.  I cannot speak for the effectiveness of the residential applications because I have not evaluated either the applications themselves…
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Jan 26
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Performance Incentives for Energy Efficiency Programs; Crazy with the Cheese Whiz

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff No Comments
This report from The Edison Foundation / Institute for Electric Innovation forms the foundation of this week’s Rant.  It includes a summary of utility cost recovery mechanisms, which to this nerd, is an interesting topic. Performance incentives are of particular interest. Why do utilities run programs anyway?  Typically because they have to, either because they are required to exploit lowest-cost resources, or they are assigned goals through a process, the description of which is beyond the scope of this post.  For business, however, smart utilities know when their customers use energy efficiently. It is good for the customer, and what…
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Jan 19
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Energy Code Compliance; Any Relation to Performance?

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 4 Comments
Last week, I received a late Christmas package in the form of an opportunity to throw a pitch for code compliance that would actually move the needle.  This will be at the AESP National Conference in Orlando.  I owe a substantial thank you to ACEEE for choosing papers at last year’s Summer Study for Buildings and this recently published research report, Energy Codes for Ultra-Low-Energy Buildings: A Critical Pathway to Zero Net Energy Buildings. I discussed the Summer Study papers in a post back in August.  There were seven(!) papers presented on the subject of code compliance.  The lack of…
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Jan 12
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Technology Application – The Crown Jewel

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff No Comments
As I watched one of the bowl games on New Year’s Day (darned if I can remember which one), the team behind had possession of the ball around mid-field with maybe a minute to go on the clock to score a touchdown and win, or not and lose (behind by four points).  Armchair QB advice: either throw the ball over the middle far enough downfield to be worth the time that will burn off the clock, or chip away with short out patterns to get out of bounds and stop the clock.  So, what is the boneheaded call?  A lateral…
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Jan 05
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The Deaf and Mute Smart Meter

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 5 Comments
Smart meter.  Smart meter.  Smart meter. Smart meter. Smart grid.  Smart grid.  Smart grid.  Smart grid. So what?  What are customers, utilities, rate payers, and tax payers getting for their money? At an AESP conference several years ago, I sat in place of a colleague for a Pricing and Demand Response Committee meeting.  I’ve been in/on the committee ever since.  Within the last year, I took a survey from the committee, and I asked questions that went something like this: What does demand response in the US look like?  How much of it is interruptible rates?  How much is direct…
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Dec 29
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No Energy Policy- Really?

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
I was planning to take a holiday break because no one is around to read the rant anyway, but this subject landed in my lap from Utility Dive, which leads to this article in The Christian Science Monitor.  Lack of federal “energy policy” makes for easy writing.  The notion comes from the International Energy Agency (IEA). First off, the IEA should familiarize itself with our form of government, which in a large sense remains just as the founders intended – with a strong dose of federalism. Federalism boils down to states’ rights.  Although federal government grabs all the power it…
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All things energy. That’s our jam.

We talk a lot about energy – from the serious to the satirical.

All things energy. That’s our jam.

We talk a lot about energy – from the serious to the satirical.

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