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Jun 05
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Lily

Evaluating Custom Efficiency – The 4D Dysfunction Report

By Energy Rant One Comment
A disturbing trend with custom efficiency is sweeping the industry, and guess what, I’m going to rant all over it like black on my little spazoid Labrador, Lily, aka, Blacky. Michaels is packed to the rafters with engineers who know a thing or two about energy, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluids – all the building blocks of being an expert in custom efficiency. We know this because our job candidates get an eclectic, off-the-wall quiz when we interview them. Candidates have to leave their props and crutches on the table or in their pockets, exposing only their brain and how…
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Mar 17
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Energy Storage v Storing Energy’s Benefits

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Utility Stuff 4 Comments
As we march along with the nation’s rather massive build-out of renewable energy resources, questions emerge for how to fill the gaps when the sun sets and the wind stops blowing – i.e., when it’s nice to be outdoors, especially in the summer.  So there you have it – turn off the lights, grab a drink and go out on the deck to hang out with your friends and family.  Now there is a behavior program to get behind!  Patent underway.  Unfortunately, the discussion is focused on energy storage rather than “quality time”, a term that predates “work-life balance”. Once…
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May 13
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STEM & Energy Efficiency – Begin with the End in Mind

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
It is awfully unfortunate that “begin with the end in mind” has been beaten to a cliché, because it is SO applicable to everything.  In recent years, I have seen about 5,200 articles, blogs, emails, newscasts, gum wrappers, and fortune cookie messages that promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).  Perhaps I was a complete dork when I was a high school senior deciding what major to pursue in college, but it came down to three factors: what am I good at, what is the demand for the profession, and what is the pay for the gig? Begin: Amusing, Worthwhile,…
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Mar 11
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Energy Efficiency Professionals – FIFA V NFL

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment
I remind and inform people from time to time that my career in this industry consists of three distinct eras.  In the first era, lasting about five years, I was running, climbing, crawling, and digging around in commercial and industrial facilities for comprehensive energy assessments and studies.  This included gobs of energy analyses, simulations, and fairly complex cost estimating.  The second era included essentially mentoring others to do the same, plus reviewing thousands of calculations and hundreds of reports.  The third includes business development, program development, implementation, and evaluation – with a much grander view of the industry.  In the…
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Nov 26
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Baselining Hype Away

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
It was the summer of 2001, the year of the shark.  Sharks were attacking humans all over the world like crazy.  It was also the summer of the Gary Condit scandal.  Never heard of Gary Condit?  He was a congressman from California who had an affair with an intern, and the intern went missing.  Look at the guy.  Wouldn’t you like to buy a used car from, or have your daughter work for this guy? The outcomes were as follows: in August, The Wall Street Journal had reported, in a nonchalant manor, that the number of worldwide shark attacks were…
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Sep 24
Love0

Lessons from Panhandling

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
According to this article from Inc., the ten most important factors for employee satisfaction are: Purpose – to make a difference Goals for sense of purpose Responsibility Autonomy Flexibility Attention Opportunity for innovation Open mindedness Transparency A year before finishing my Bachelor’s degree, I joined the Nuclear Navy.  Nothing could be better.  I was getting paid a decent salary for my last year of school.  Getting up at 4:00 AM, marching, chanting, calisthenics, etc.: not required.  No uniforms.  And get this: I found that I had earned 30 days of vacation while attending my last year of school!  After graduation,…
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Jul 16
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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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May 14
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Ballad of Willie Widget Man

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
As I created Widget Man last week I couldn’t get Elton John’s Rocket Man out of my head, so naturally I started to think parody.  A warm up may be good to get your rhythm. Willie Widget Man goes sumpin ike iss: They set my goals so high, I cried Two percent, holy crap! Why they gotta be high as a kite like that? I miss the fruit so low, I miss old code It’s not easy for me now It’s such a mindless rite And I think it’s gonna be a damn hard time No light bulbs anywhere for…
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Feb 20
Love0

America to Construction Guy – Drop Dead

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government, Renewable Energy, Sustainability No Comments
Remember the old kooks who thought they knew better, gave you stupid rules, and warned you about things you would come to regret because you ignored them?  They were your parents.  If you are old enough, maybe a parent yourself, or maybe not, you should realize that OMG!  I’ve turned into my parents!  It’s wisdom through experience and in particular from making mistakes and failure. As a supervisor, one thing I learned, and is unfortunately a fact of life, is that you have to let staff make their own mistakes because no matter how many times you tell people not…
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Feb 13
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Paint by Numbers EE

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
True or false: It’s easier to teach Pablo Picasso how to paint a house than it is to make a house painter into a Picasso-grade painter/artist.  For the answer, keep reading. I was sitting in a session at last week’s AESP conference sipping my weak overpriced Starbucks when I almost sprayed a mouthful on the bystanders sitting in front of me.  Not one, but two guys opined that it is easier to teach, for example, a refrigeration expert retrocommissioning than it is to teach a retrocommissioning/energy expert efficient refrigeration.  Allow me to demonstrate with an example, a true story. A…
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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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