March 2014 - Michaels Energy

Mar 31

Industrial Efficiency – Beyond the Librarian

By Jeff Ihnen Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant One Comment

Sometimes I go into writing a rant with a blank slate. I’m not fired up about anything. It’s true. Then I reach for a report in my pile and start to read the executive summary. The ideas start falling off the shelf into my cart. This week’s post is actually sponsored by the Department of Energy: Industrial Energy Efficiency: Designing Effective State Programs for the Industrial Sector (I think they could use some help with pithier titles). A few weeks back, I wrote about nonsensical reasons industrial customers want to opt out of energy efficiency programs. That was specifically in…

Mar 24

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Customer Engagement – Beyond Beaver Pelts

By Jeff Ihnen Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments

Last week I discussed behavior programs but in the larger sense, the fact that energy efficiency programs have traditionally treated people like animals. They are treated like animals because they are essentially tricked into buying energy efficient appliances and doohickeys in exchange for cash rewards. With some program exceptions, like custom efficiency and retrocommissioning, customers are not provided with information to make informed decisions. Technology and innovation move much faster outside the utility program space. For example, nearly all credit cards provide some sort of cash back or other perks that can be equated to dollars. I leverage my “free”…

Mar 24

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Michaels Energy Celebrates 30 Years of Business!

By Liz Haworth News, Uncategorized No Comments

Michaels Energy Celebrates 30 Years of Business! La Crosse, WI - March 24, 2014 - Michaels Energy is celebrating 30 years of business this week! Since its founding in 1984, Michaels has maximized cost effective energy savings for efficiency programs, facilities, and processes through both energy efficiency and building system design services. Michaels' dedication to this mission and its clients has led to the success the firm sees today. "Our success and longevity is the result of the hard work of a lot of people, and our dedication to proactively meeting our clients' needs," said company President, Dave Waffenschmidt. In…

Mar 18

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It’s the System, Not the Widget

By Michaels Energy Briefs

Energy efficient systems can be thought of in the same way if deep savings and cost-effective long-term solutions are desired. Let’s compare the profile of a winning team to an industrial refrigerated warehouse.

Mar 17

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Behavior Programs – Woof!

By Jeff Ihnen Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments

I always like it when things converge to demonstrate points I make, after I make them. Back in August, based on an article that consumers don’t trust savings from home energy audits, I said one reason for this is our industry has treated consumers and customers, in general, like animals. Boiled down in simplest terms, customers get a “dumb” award for implementing some type of energy efficient measure. A dumb award is something you give animals to do tricks or to get them to do what you want them to do. They don’t know why. All they know is, if…

Mar 10

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Energy Efficiency Challenge – A Felonious Case of Acne

By Jeff Ihnen Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments

Last week I read AESP Board Chair, Sara Van de Grift’s monthly letter/email to AESPers (if you are not a subscriber, get with it: aesp.org). She describes diminishing opportunities for energy efficiency due to the industry’s addiction to widget-based programs {my phrase), but that there are still opportunities with homes and commercial and industrial facilities operation, and of course a few widgets here and there, like the Nest thermostat. She ends by asking, “Are you up to the challenge” ?Hell yeah! I’m also thinking that capturing savings isn’t the challenge in my view. The challenge is convincing stakeholders, particularly governors…

Mar 06

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Custom Production Savings

By Michaels Energy Briefs

Production changes can be made for multiple reasons, including increasing production capacity, mitigating bottlenecks, reducing waste or scrap, reduced maintenance, or regulatory compliance.

Mar 03

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Decoupling – A Love Story

By Jeff Ihnen Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff 2 Comments

Perhaps I am naïve, but to be more effective it seems interveners would do well to understand motives of profit-driven enterprises and their customers. Consider, for example, this recent article in Midwest Energy News lamenting CenterPoint Energy’s withdrawal from decoupling. You may recall a post I made eons ago where I described the perverse impact of decoupling on prices for consumers. Allow me to recap. Utilities have fixed cost of hardware and labor to deliver energy to customers – poles, wires, pipes, transformers, compressors, trucks, etc. This stuff makes up the rate base and fixed cost of energy delivery. They…

Industrial Efficiency – Beyond the Librarian

Customer Engagement – Beyond Beaver Pelts

Michaels Energy Celebrates 30 Years of Business!

It’s the System, Not the Widget

Behavior Programs – Woof!

Energy Efficiency Challenge – A Felonious Case of Acne

Custom Production Savings

Decoupling – A Love Story

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