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Energy Rant

This is a satirical and at times humorous but critical commentary on energy efficiency issues of the day.

“Keep up the good work! I like the variety of topics; never boring. It's like a Box of Energy Chocolates.... you never know what you're gonna get!”

Mike MernickSenior Vice President, ICF
Jeff Ihnen
By In Energy Rant

Are You Serious About the Climate Apocalypse?

Washington Post headline last week: “World is on brink of catastrophic warming, U.N. climate change report says.” Wolf! Wolf! People…
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Feb 03
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Google Buys Nest – Say, What’s In Your Underwear Drawer?

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
At last week’s AESP National Conference in San Diego, Meg Matt, AESP CEO, joked in her opening remarks that AESP was acquired by Google.  Others at the conference asked that with the purchase of Nest, is Google getting into the energy efficiency business?  At the risk of cliché, my answer is literally, “I don’t think so.” After the acquisition announcement, I opined to a couple colleagues that Google is the new Microsoft, and that when it came to Google’s SWOT, Google just buys all the WOT.  This doesn’t always go well.  Google purchased Motorola to battle Apple’s dominance in software…
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Jan 27
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Nest Thermostat – A Bird in the Hand

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 4 Comments
Six or seven years ago, without knowing more about the Nest thermostat, I would have commented something to the effect that, “It’s a stupid thermostat.  How brilliant could it possibly be?”  Once I got my hands on an iPhone, I could see what the deserved hype was about.  I expected something similar from Nest since it was developed by a former Apple guy, who I later found out led the development of the first 18 generations of the iPod and 3 generations of the iPhone.  I wanted to try the Nest out myself because: (1) I’m a stage 5 energy…
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Jan 20
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Utility Reference RIP – Thank You Litigious Loser

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff No Comments
In case you are new to this blog, or somehow haven't noticed, I tread where no mortals tread, through the valley of the shadow of death.  I discuss the all important bowels of the industry, and this week I have the crown jewel of a very unfortunate reality that is counterproductive and really harmful to the industry.  In fact, it is not only harmful to the industry, it is crippling the entire society.  Whoa!  Ok, what is it?  It is political correctness and our society of hyper-litigious losers.  We can't find or use utility references - people who will give…
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Jan 13
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Wind Chill – Baah – In Yo Face

By Energy Rant, Uncategorized No Comments
We just experienced the longest and coldest snap of winter weather in many years.  Here in southwest Wisconsin, the element that made this snap different from any I can remember since I’ve lived here for the past 18 years was the combination of wind and cold temperatures for an extended period of time.  And of course that means wind chill.  Some people think wind chill is a bunch of malarkey.  I think they all live south of the Mason Dixon line.  Having grown up in wind ally, Minnesota, I have a tremendous respect for the forces of nature: winter cold,…
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Jan 06
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Photovoltaic (PV) Electricity Generation: A Melange of (my) Gibberish

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
I don’t know much about renewable energy in the form of photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation, other than its efficiency is about 10% from solar radiation to electricity.  I’ve collected a mélange of articles that each seem to have interesting, if not humorous, short stories. First we have the Crips and Bloods of political adversaries; liberal groups like the Sierra Club recruiting Tea Partiers to promote rooftop PV installations in the arenas of politics, regulatory agencies, and with utilities.  The punch line: Promoting PV is good for competition.  Pause for a laugh break. Ok. A couple regulatory issues were being considered…
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Dec 30
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State-Run Programs: The Potemkins

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
This week, I was handed a layup via this opinion piece from a Montanan.  He describes “verification and measurement” as a “cottage industry of consultants  running around figuring out what light bulbs end up in what rooms and what their average hours of use will be. They compile this info, run it through a bunch of formulas and computer programs.”  The evaluation of Northwestern Energy’s programs resulted in them being ordered by the PSC to refund ratepayers $3 million of cost recovery.  My first point is he should be grateful that someone pointed this out.  However, his solution, state-run programs,…
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Dec 23
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Showrooming – Not for Energy Efficiency

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
A few weeks ago, a reader of this post commented that she often doled out free advice regarding energy efficiency at parties – er, at parties she doled out free advice re energy efficiency. Which reminds me, if I’m in a room of non-geeks, you know, normal people, and describe what I do, suddenly they need another drink or a trip to the lady’s room. For this objective, being a veterinarian would be far more beneficial. But back to the comment of free advice, my response was, “Don’t be showroomed.” I would bet that the word showroom, as a verb,…
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Dec 16
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Home Heating – Blofeld Bald Head Would Blush

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
There are certain energy efficiency claims that, for an energy nerd, would appear as a spaceship flying onto the radar screen a la James Bond, You Only Live Twice. The hair on the back of the neck starts to twitch – know what I’m sayin’? When I saw this headline – 6 Energy-Saving Portable Electric Space Heaters - cue the SPECTRE spaceship eating spaceships coming on the screen and closing fast.  But first, the author of this article talks about wasteful fireplaces. I guess, yes, if it’s a big 1950s walk-in fireplace, but these are fighting words. I have never…
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Dec 09
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Energy Efficiency Potential and the Low Hanging Disease

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 4 Comments
When I first started working at Michaels, still in my 20s, my workdays usually ended around 5:15, and since I was allergic to rolling out of bed before 6:00 AM, I would run after work in La Crosse.  I started running the trails of Hixon Forest, a very nice park on the edge of town with steep traverses and varying terrain that was sometimes easy on joints and in other places treacherous.  One night I tripped on a tree root that protruded from the surface of the trail.  I did a face plant and got something between a scratch and…
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Dec 02
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The Ultimate Consumer Behavioral Program?

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
With a long weekend to prepare this rant, I'm taking a bit of a house cleaning approach and it's fitting because this week I'm talking about residential energy efficiency programs. Residential programs are certainly not something Michaels plans to get into but we do occasionally get involved with some residential program evaluation. If you know anything about residential programs you've heard of Opower. Their flagship product is the home energy report, which includes mailed reports to virtually all residential customers. The report compares participants to neighbors and against themselves last year or the month before. The mailers include energy saving…
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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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