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Monthly Archives

December 2012

Refrigerator Sitcoms and Lethal Toaster Ovens

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 3 Comments
I’ve read enough energy-saving tip lists to fill a Webster’s dictionary.  In this rant, I dissect some common ones, some uncommon ones, and provide some myself. Cook with small appliances – toaster oven, slow cooker, electric skillet:  I would strongly advise against a toaster oven because (1) using it to make toast wastes energy – a “slice” toaster evenly toasts bread with coils in the closest proximity possible minimizing wasted heat, (2) my experience with toaster ovens for baking things like quick bread is that they burn.  The temperature and coil proximity (ironically) is too close to what is cooking,…
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Taxman, Yeah, I’m the Tax Man

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment
Thank you American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy for clearing the decks to talk about tax policy and energy efficiency – enabling me with its Three Tax Reforms to Encourage Modernization of the Manufacturing Sector. Allow me to divulge some truths about our confiscation, er I mean, federal tax policies.  In five words: small business gets the shaft.  Small businesses earn their profits in the US and they are pass-through entities, the profits from which are taxed at the owners’ personal tax rates far above typical effective corporate tax rates.  The IRS extracts a pound of flesh for every…
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Diet Soda and the Triple Bypass

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Last week I took a survey by AESP as they are gathering a pulse on where hacks like me think the trends are heading.  This coincided with last week’s rant regarding the end of lighting, and I essentially gave AESP a special edition rant in the survey, for free!  Unfortunately, I didn’t save my responses so I will just redo them.In my responses, I used parallels between energy efficiency and diet and health.  They are amazingly comparable.  Much of energy efficiency is akin to diet soda and low-fat ice cream.  The masses assume that, like doing a lighting retrofit, consuming diet…
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Michaels Engineering & Michaels Energy have rebranded!

By News, Uncategorized No Comments
Michaels Engineering & Michaels Energy have rebranded! Michaels Engineering & Michaels Energy have rebranded as Michaels Energy!  New look.  Same great services! What does this mean for our clients? Michaels Engineering has provided energy-related services under the Michaels Energy name for the past two years. Energy efficiency has always been an integral part of all the services we provide, so we've decided to officially change the name of the whole company, including our Design Division, to Michaels Energy. And while we're at it, we're making a clean sweep and updating our logo too. What does this mean for you? Well,…
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The End of Lighting

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 4 Comments
Believe it or not, I did not have a rant topic in mind going into Saturday morning – my rant writing time.  But the fog burned off quickly as a topic came into view – one that arose during the prior week.  Incidentally, I once heard a “meteorologist” instructor say he always scolded his students for saying fog “burns” off.  Instead, they should say the fog lifted.  What?  Fog is suspended water droplets, not vapor.  Water vapor in air, or as steam, is invisible.  When fog “burns off,” it changes from visible water droplets to invisible vapor, so while “burn…
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Dude- Cheap Cookies

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Taking a suggestion from an anonymous rant reader , I purchased and have been reading a book called Predictably Irrational.  Figuring out peoples’ decision-making process is my job – to win proposals, design programs that people want, and how to attract and keep the best workforce.  Process evaluation of EE programs contributes a great deal to this as well. Now, I ask you to find a calm state of mind, such as lying in bed on Saturday morning.  Relax.  Hang with me till I explain this.  For worse and better, engineers are more rational than non-engineers.  Why?  Because they like…
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