by Jeff Ihnen | Sep 29, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
Last week, I mentioned that having a diversified fleet of power generating plants is a smart strategy for any utility; specifically, diversity by fuel source. The recent natural gas bonanza cut loose with the perfection of hydraulic fracturing and mind-blowing...
by Jeff Ihnen | Sep 15, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
Readers of this blog may think I’m a cynical, frumpy coot because I’m frequently noting the negative aspects of approaches, programs, technologies, and evaluation. I feel obligated to do it because I’m a licensed professional engineer in half a dozen, or so, states. ...
by Jeff Ihnen | Aug 25, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
I spent last week at ACEEE’s Summer Study for Buildings, and one topic area I maximumly followed was energy codes and code compliance. In past years, I would rank codes and standards second to the bottom, just above lighting for my priorities. The reason for my...
by Jeff Ihnen | Aug 11, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
This week’s post is brought to you by AESP’s 2014 Summer Conference, which went off last week in San Francisco. I was speaking with a lifelong esteemed consultant from the Bay Area during the opening reception, and his disclosure was that regulators in a certain...
by Jeff Ihnen | Aug 4, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
When consumers are considering the purchase of an electric vehicle, what are they thinking? Good question. I would be thinking, how can I fully utilize it and what are the limitations? The limitation nearly anyone would consider include the limited driving range. ...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jul 28, 2014 | Energy Rant
As readers of this blog are sure to know, electricity consumption growth has leveled out and essentially disappeared in recent years. This is celebrated, but I say, beware of what you wish for – kind of like winning the lottery. It may seem wonderful until reality and...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jul 21, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
I’ve written dozens of proposals, and I’ve read dozens and dozens of requests for proposals from all sorts of entities including states, local governments, private corporations, and of course, utilities. With this comes scope of work requested, required proposal...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jul 7, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
If we are to get serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we must put down the mud balls, enjoy some sacred-cow burgers, burn the little boxes in which we confine ourselves, and maybe have a little counseling about that boogeyman under the bed. This post first...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jun 23, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
Let’s skip the energy supply side this week and talk about thermostats used for cooling. Let’s broaden the discussion to include both programmable thermostats and “smart” or “learning” thermostats. The Nest falls into the latter group. Speaking for the Nest, which I...
by Jeff Ihnen | Jun 9, 2014 | Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant
Easy peasy lemon squeezy, to repeat a phrase of one rant fan a while back – that describes carbon slayers’ victory laps in the past couple years. I am talking about the natural gas boom introduced by the development to near perfection of the hydraulic fracturing and...
