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efficiency

Gozer the Disruptor: Replace or Be Replaced

By Energy Rant One Comment
This Rant post is propelled by AESP goers. Several colleagues and I attended AESP’s summer conference for technology in Toronto last week. We landed numerous positive comments about this blog; some from people I don’t know or never met. I greatly appreciate these comments. They keep me fueled to keep pumping these out. These comments, along with the opening plenary, Embracing Disruptive Innovation, and my participation on AESP’s Board of Directors, pour the foundation for this post. But first, the antitrust clause: the following nutty views reflect those of the author only, and not those of AESP, Michaels Energy, or…
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Valuing ENERGY STAR in Trump’s Budget

By Energy Rant No Comments
I think nearly everyone reading this knows Trump’s budget blueprint calls for eliminating the popular ENERGY STAR® program. This is an enormous topic, so let’s dive in and see where Jeff takes us. Absurdities I have no idea what Trump is thinking – that eliminating this program will do anything for profligate, runaway, candy-for-all federal spending. The Huffy Post and NPR both claim the program costs about $50 million a year to administer. I could not confirm this with a conservative news source, in 15 minutes of precious research time. Perhaps the reason is the budget cut is so absurdly…
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Design in Series; Operate in Parallel

By Energy Rant No Comments
Last week we revealed the five priorities of saving energy: Shut it off Slow it down, set it back (temperature, etc.) Reduce waste Retrofit or replace with efficient equipment Don’t be stupid Speaking of don’t be stupid, if you didn’t read last week’s post… In this case, “don’t be stupid”, is not easy – like telling a fighter pilot or neurosurgeon not to be stupid. But this is why I write. If it were easy, everyone would do it, and I wouldn’t have a job. Baby Steps To recap last week’s post, energy used for processes including refrigeration, air conditioning,…
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climate change

Climate Change II – Join ‘em, then Beat ‘em

By Energy Rant No Comments
A common stereotype of engineers is that they were tinkerers as children. They like to tear things apart to see how they work, build things, and fix things. Not me. I was regularly egged on by my parents as a superior mathematician. Indeed, math was natural for me through three semesters of calculus plus differential equations in college. A few other things led me to the miraculous position I have today: a how and what-if mentality, a hard-wired instinct for resource preservation, and relentless identification of flaws and potential/probable improvements. Add to these things a cold demeanor toward facts and…
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renewables

Efficiency v Renewables; Stability v Instability

By Energy Rant One Comment
It’s about time I got back to my stack of research reports, and I have a good one this week to write about: Distributed Generation: Cleaner, Cheaper, Stronger, by the Pew Charitable Trusts, October 2015. First off, let’s compare brilliant efficiency versus sexy renewable supply resources. I think it may have been Bill LeBlanc of E Source who suggested instead of cash rewards for efficiency, we give customers faux solar panels to put on their roofs. People understand renewable supply while they have some combination of not understanding or trusting efficiency; nor do blower door test results make for great…
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Voter Support for Efficiency = Metal to the Pedal, Thing to the Floor

By Energy Rant One Comment
It may be that I pay more attention compared to several years ago, but there seems to be a lot of churn in energy efficiency policy today. Some states, particularly those with a short track record in efficiency, are getting squeamish or have backed off. These include Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Michigan. With excess capacity, we have utilities, and in some cases their political (money) support against intervenors, and that is a fairly weak position for efficiency in some states, including some of those just listed. There is nothing better for our industry than the need to build power plants…
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Efficiency by Wi Fi – and Other Tricks

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment
The old cliché, “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it”, may be coming to energy efficiency portfolios everywhere.  It may be an unstoppable juggernaut that our industry will have little control over (pun alert).  Instead, it will drive implementers into ambulance chasing and drive evaluators whacky.  What is it?  Controls, especially Wi-Fi consumer control systems. Millenials, bear with me as I write like an old man, but I will avoid discussions of snow, hills, and walking to school (if you’re over 40 and from the Midwest, you know what I mean). 1970s: AM radio, broadcast…
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Best Practice Hamburger Helper

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment
The phrase that always has me reaching for a complimentary bag that can be found in the seat pocket in front of you on an airplane is “Best Practice”.  Are you following “best practice”?  Are you familiar with “best practice”?  Will you use “best practice”?  No. No. And no. Define best practice, anyway. What does it mean?  It’s something someone with many letters in their title block, who was paid a princely fee to declare, “This is the way it ought to be done”. Let’s examine a few deep thoughts on this concept. “Best practice” infers this is the best…
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Opting to Make Money

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Investments, Utility Stuff No Comments
In many states that are relatively new to energy efficiency, legislators often cave to large energy users and allow them to opt out of programs because hey, they use a ton of energy and therefore, OBVIOUSLY to any moron, they control and manage these costs as well as any dunce could.  Why should they throw money at a program that won’t help them? Come to think of it, programs available to these large users in many places are dysfunctional, poorly conceived, and not thought through from the perspective of the customer, so I can see their point to some extent. …
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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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