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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

GHG and NG

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff One Comment
E Source reported last week that green house gas (GHG) emissions are falling fast in this country, as shown in the chart nearby.  Emissions tanked with the economy in 2009, and as I recall, the summer of 2009 was also cool, resulting in lower electricity sales.  Even so, when adjusted for economic output, GHGs are falling fast. The reason for this is rather obvious if one follows the electricity market.  It is much easier to get a natural gas power plant approved for construction as compared to a coal-fired plant.  I have not done the analysis myself, but it is reported…
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Nationalize EE – Boooo!

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government, Utility Stuff 2 Comments
The widget world of energy efficiency is governed by the Technical Resource Manual, or TRM.  A technical resource manual includes energy calculations requiring baselines and efficient equipment specifications, hours of use, and duty cycles.  It also includes cost differences for baseline and efficient equipment.  Costs and savings from TRMs are used across the board for mass market, and even in some cases large, far too large in my opinion, equipment. Technical resource manuals may be held at the state level, which may apply to all programs/utilities in the state, or at the utility level.  Some in our industry are advocating…
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Bling not Required

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Rant fans are getting a break this week.  This post exemplifies a smashing success in energy efficiency and is a bit of a spinoff on capitalizing energy efficiency as I discussed in Facility Management, Taliban Style and Better than Doritos. The story begins with a board meeting for the Iowa Association for Energy Efficiency.  BTW, this is the least expensive, far and away, greatest-benefit-per-dollar-invested energy efficiency organization in the country. The board meeting was at an apartment complex, Sun Prairie, in West Des Moines or thereabouts.  As I pulled in with 134F heat at 9:30 AM, I was thinking, “Is…
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Billy Bob, Evaluation Virgin

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Retrocommissioning (RCx), Utility Stuff No Comments
It has been a while since I’ve written anything about programs, so here it goes.  Program evaluation provides about half our business, and much of that is verifying gross savings estimates, which are simply the original program-claimed savings.  Verifying custom projects, those that don’t fall into mass categories like light bulbs and air conditioners, are generally more interesting, at least from an energy analysis perspective.  Findings from the field can be follical (new word derived from folly) for any type of measure. Implementers of custom efficiency programs, especially implementers not accustomed to the evaluation process, can be especially entertaining.  In…
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Watering the Atmosphere

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Sustainability No Comments
Last week Wisconsin’s Governor Walker pronounced drought emergencies for 40-plus counties in the land of cheese.  I’m not sure what that means other than the obvious fact that it is dry and it’s been hotter than bejeezus for quite some time, with the peak being the week of Independence Day. A “blocking” high pressure system was parked in the middle of the country.  High pressure systems result in sinking air, the opposite of low pressure systems where surface air rises to cold altitudes causing clouds and rain.  Sinking air results in no clouds and heat of compression.  Heat of compression…
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Vacation Truths

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Warning: Reader shall defend and hold harmless the author, company, shareholders, allies, certain family members and relatives, pets, social, medical, behavioral counselors, and anyone else the author chooses against any and all losses including, but not limited to, attorney fees, fame, surname, lock changing, key making, therapy, alternate travel and lodging costs, doghouse rental, and any costs or damages of any and every natural, supernatural, paranormal nature and kind whatsoever, which may result due to poor judgment, dumb luck, brilliance, negligence, ignorance, knowledge, visions, memories, premonitions, and dreams by reader and retaliation by spouse, partner, significant other, family (up, down…
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Independence, Finally

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government, Investments, Uncategorized No Comments
Here is some good news in my view.  Despite nearly 40 years of political claptrap to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, technology from the private sector, not cockamamie pie in the sky, physics-defying dumb ideas will deliver it.  That is, unless of course Washington snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, which it is 100% capable of doing. I went looking for data on our dependence on foreign oil since the first oil shocks of the 1970s.  There is one significant dip in the import percentage Figure 1 and that is due to (1) a deep recession in the early…
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Progress?

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
I was becoming concerned this week at rant time, Sunday morning, 9:00 AM.  We had our company picnic the day before on an overcast and nearly perfect day in cheese land.  Sunday was similar.  There were orioles, grosbeaks, yellow finches, house finches, ruby throated hummingbirds, downy woodpeckers, red breasted woodpeckers, cardinals, nuthatches, chickadees and other customers freeloading on our smorgasbord of bird offerings.  But then while reviewing my sources, one of which is the Google energy efficiency updates, emailed promptly at 4:51 PM CDT everyday, I came across this cheery piece.  There’s the topic of the week. It started out…
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Universal Widgetitis

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
As blasted in this blog many times, most recently in Widgetman, humans almost always have their priorities far out of whack.  With EE for example, facility owners should probably establish marshal law to ensure lights are shut off overnight in their office buildings before they start adding photovoltaic panels.  But then, I guess, to the casual observer (schlep) one can see how green the building is during the day, but at night when the building is lit like the headlamp of an oncoming train when no one is there, the wonderful PV panels cannot be seen and nobody pays attention…
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Intelligencize This

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Last week ACEEE produced a webinar, “Intelligent Efficiency”.  I was late to the party but as I came online, an ACEEE guy, Neal Elliott was talking and the topic was intriguing – system-wide, holistic, intelligent efficiency.  I thought, hmm, maybe somebody read this entire series of rants and was possibly preaching from the gospels of the obvious. Next up was a guy from Schneider Electric and he gave a boring advertisement of – Schneider Electric.  Next was a guy from Johnson Controls to talk about what else – the Empire State building.  The  Empire State Building EE overhaul has been…
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