by Jake Millette | Oct 15, 2025 | The Big Why, Uncategorized
As Fall sets in and I debate when to turn on the heat (pump), I think about other ways to efficiently keep homes warm. In addition to upgrading the efficiency of the heating equipment, improving a home’s building envelope (insulation and air sealing) is a great way to...
by Michaels Energy | May 8, 2025 | The Big Why
As with building energy codes, equipment standards are a very cost-effective way to save energy by requiring a minimum level of energy efficiency for certain products, thereby transforming the market. Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR...
by Michaels Energy | Apr 16, 2025 | The Big Why
Electrification can have many benefits. These include higher efficiency (because of the refrigeration cycle and less waste heat), lower GHG emissions (due to an increasingly green grid), and many non-energy benefits (such as reduced indoor air pollution). However,...
by Michaels Energy | Mar 12, 2025 | The Big Why
To say that 2025 has been chaotic in the energy sector is an understatement. From freezes of clean energy projects to cuts to funding and staffing of key government agencies to removal of publicly available data, the Trump administration has slashed our country’s...
by Michaels Energy | Jan 9, 2025 | The Big Why
It seems every day I see news about the exploding growth of data centers, driven by artificial intelligence and crypto-currency mining. As AI gets integrated into everything (whether we want it or not), the energy required to do the same tasks multiplies. (A ChatGPT...
by Michaels Energy | Dec 3, 2024 | The Big Why
After about a year since it was installed, my heat pump is finally up and running correctly! Why did it take so long? Controls issues. More specifically, because it is a dual-fuel system (an air source heat pump with a backup oil furnace) all of the components did not...
