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March 2013

Industrial Energy Efficiency – Stay Out of the Ditch

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment
To win people over and get them to join your cause, it is best to not clobber them over the head as the beginning of this article for the top five measures for industrial energy efficiency does.  The first paragraph reads like a senator’s stump speech with selective facts that deliver a distorted message.  To wit, “the United States ranks first in energy wastefulness among developed nations”.  Presumably, China is not a developed nation.  Moreover, is waste measured in energy consumption, waste, or either of those per unit of economic output? The next statement is that industry is responsible for 30%…
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Energy Efficiency Mandates – And Geese

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Last week this commentary regarding energy efficiency mandates from the Heritage Foundation showed up in my Google news feed, and it made for an interesting read.  I hold the same view when it comes to shoving products down the gullets of people like the goose in preparation of foie gras, a disgusting practice.  That is not a way to make friends for desired lasting results.  E.g., we’re going to unplug the water cooler to save energy and you will like the warm water.  Besides, the feng shui will improve and bring better karma because that cold stuff throws your system…
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Michaels Energy Poised to Better Serve Utilities in Minneapolis/St. Paul

By News, Uncategorized No Comments
Michaels Energy Poised to Better Serve Utilities in Minneapolis/St. Paul La Crosse, WI - March 13, 2013 - Michaels Energy has made another strategic move to better serve utilities and other clients by opening an office in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  The fifth location of Michaels Energy opened for business last month at 2233 N. Hamline Ave., Suite 605, in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The metro area is home to four Michaels staff consisting of three engineers and a communications specialist. "Opening an office in the Twin Cities area allows us to be more responsive and flexible when working with our…
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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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Efficient Driving Tips – Karma for Birders

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment
One of the things we do on this blog is provide information you won’t find anywhere else, easily anyway.  In this post, you will find efficient driving tips, information and/or policy suggestions not published anywhere else; I promise.  Well, the WWW is quite large so you may find it all in a week or two of searching, but I will do my best.Let me prove this from the jump with an analysis of how much energy a typical driver burns up in their brake pads every year.  To wit (see image to the left): There.  The average driver wastes 20…
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