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Monthly Archives

January 2014

Nest Thermostat – A Bird in the Hand

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 4 Comments
Six or seven years ago, without knowing more about the Nest thermostat, I would have commented something to the effect that, “It’s a stupid thermostat.  How brilliant could it possibly be?”  Once I got my hands on an iPhone, I could see what the deserved hype was about.  I expected something similar from Nest since it was developed by a former Apple guy, who I later found out led the development of the first 18 generations of the iPod and 3 generations of the iPhone.  I wanted to try the Nest out myself because: (1) I’m a stage 5 energy…
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Utility Reference RIP – Thank You Litigious Loser

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff No Comments
In case you are new to this blog, or somehow haven't noticed, I tread where no mortals tread, through the valley of the shadow of death.  I discuss the all important bowels of the industry, and this week I have the crown jewel of a very unfortunate reality that is counterproductive and really harmful to the industry.  In fact, it is not only harmful to the industry, it is crippling the entire society.  Whoa!  Ok, what is it?  It is political correctness and our society of hyper-litigious losers.  We can't find or use utility references - people who will give…
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Wind Chill – Baah – In Yo Face

By Energy Rant, Uncategorized No Comments
We just experienced the longest and coldest snap of winter weather in many years.  Here in southwest Wisconsin, the element that made this snap different from any I can remember since I’ve lived here for the past 18 years was the combination of wind and cold temperatures for an extended period of time.  And of course that means wind chill.  Some people think wind chill is a bunch of malarkey.  I think they all live south of the Mason Dixon line.  Having grown up in wind ally, Minnesota, I have a tremendous respect for the forces of nature: winter cold,…
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Photovoltaic (PV) Electricity Generation: A Melange of (my) Gibberish

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
I don’t know much about renewable energy in the form of photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation, other than its efficiency is about 10% from solar radiation to electricity.  I’ve collected a mélange of articles that each seem to have interesting, if not humorous, short stories. First we have the Crips and Bloods of political adversaries; liberal groups like the Sierra Club recruiting Tea Partiers to promote rooftop PV installations in the arenas of politics, regulatory agencies, and with utilities.  The punch line: Promoting PV is good for competition.  Pause for a laugh break. Ok. A couple regulatory issues were being considered…
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