by Michaels Energy | Apr 5, 2023 | The Big Why
In case you haven’t heard, heat pumps are a thing now. As their efficiency and performance in cold climates continue to improve, heat pumps have become the backbone of energy efficiency and decarbonization efforts and are a focal point of the Inflation Reduction Act....
by Jeff Ihnen | Apr 3, 2023 | Energy Rant
My passion is applying the right technology in the right place and at the right time for maximum effectiveness. Not coincidently, that is precisely Michaels Energy’s purpose for existence: minimizing waste and maximizing value. Last week I wrote about the gargantuan...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 28, 2023 | Energy Rant, Featured Energy Rant
Washington Post headline last week: “World is on brink of catastrophic warming, U.N. climate change report says.” Wolf! Wolf! People aren’t serious about decarb, and this post will prove it, but I provide ways to get it done. Is Solar Plus Storage Competitive? Solar...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 21, 2023 | Energy Rant
Although, or maybe because Michaels Energy has provided research and evaluation services for about 25 years, I’ve been a consistent critic of evaluation, measurement, and verification (EMV), and I’ll tell you why in several chapters. Chapter 1 Resource Acquisition...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 13, 2023 | Energy Rant
One of the nasty results of the Covid lockdowns was the meteoric growth of electric bikes. I thought, great. Let’s take the only means of exercise for some people and power it with a battery and motor to take away physical propulsion via the human body. Would you like...
by Michaels Energy | Mar 8, 2023 | The Big Why
Recently, I saw news of a study from USC that found the relatively low level of adoption of electric vehicles in California was already resulting in improved air quality and health outcomes. Based on real-world data, the study found that for every 20 EVs added to a...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 7, 2023 | Energy Rant
General Russel Honoré delivered the closing plenary from last week’s AESP Annual Conference. He humorously but effectively preached to the choir about climate change mitigation. I will take one sub-topic he mentioned, food waste, and run with that this week. I may...
by Jessica Wagner | Mar 7, 2023 | Videos & Webinars
At the AESP Annual Conference, Michaels Energy unveiled a new solution to improve grid resilience, reduce risk, and better meet energy demands: Thermal Energy Storage (TES). Learn how TES can tackle issues like the dreaded duck curve, grid instability, and volatility...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 28, 2023 | Energy Rant
Last week I mentioned genuine intelligence over artificial happy-talk intelligence. Want to know what the latter looks like? See this Forbes article in which data solves all problems, including heating and cooling buildings. “There is an opportunity to build the...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 21, 2023 | Energy Rant
I think the bots troll the Rant because as soon as I report something, here comes a related article. The latest occurrence featured Energy Central, which republished an article from The Washington Times, which referenced an article from The New York Times (talk about...