Energy Archives - The Handbuilt City

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The Future Is Electric. Mostly. But It’s Complicated.

July 14, 2021July 14, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments air source heat pump, beneficial electrification, biogas, decarbonisation, decarbonization, e3, electric resistance heating, electrification, electrification with fuel backup, heat pump, high decarbonized methane, high electrification, larry hogan, maryland commission on climate change, mccc, mini-split, power grid, synthetic methane

Decarbonization is the buzzword du jour in the sustainability movement. Will it make everything more expensive? Maybe– but there are a few caveats to that.

Energy Utilities

Solar Power and EV’s, If Your Local Grid Is Up For The Challenge

July 1, 2021July 1, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments anacostia, anacostia river, community solar, DC, DERs, distributed, distributed energy resources, distributed generation, distribution losses, district of columbia, exelon, feeder lines, local power grid, microgrid, photovoltaics, power grid, power grid capacity, rooftop PV, rooftop solar, solar power, solar thermal, solar united neighbors, transmission losses, utilities, ward 7, ward 8, Washington DC

Power grids are complex things. Understanding the local grid capacity– as visualized by one mapping tool- can help us plan for things like rooftop solar or electric vehicle adoption.

Climate Energy

Bye, Coal-icia! Consumers Energy Advances Decarbonization Goals

June 23, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments campbell, clean coal, CMS, coal, coal power, coal power plant, coal retirement, Consumers Energy, decarbonization, demand response, DTE Energy, economic dispatch, essexville, fossil fuels, IRP, jackson, jackson michigan, karn, ludington, ludington pumped storage, merit order, mid-merit, noneconomic dispatch, retirement of fossil fuels, the war on coal, utility planning, west michigan

Jackson, Michigan-based Consumers Energy (NYSE: CMS) made a groundbreaking announcement in a press conference this morning that it is ditching

Business & Economics Finance Politics Finance Energy

You’ve Heard Of Socially Responsible Investing. Now Get Ready For… Socially Irresponsible Investing?!

June 14, 2021June 14, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 2ndvote, candace owens, christianity, conservative christianity, doge, doge to the moon, dogecoin to the moon, ETF, evangelicalism, exchange-traded fund, jacki daily, jason isaac, jeanine pirro, judge jeanine, markets, stock market, stocks, stonk, stonks, texas, texas public policy foundation, tppf

A new conservative investment fund seeks to invest in “socially conservative” products, identifying a market of interested, “un-woke” investors. The only problem? Well, turns out the most profitable companies are all actually pretty socially liberal.

Energy Utilities

Time-Of-Use Pricing Is Coming. Here’s How To Make Sure You’re Ready.

June 11, 2021June 11, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments air conditioning, blackout, blackouts, brownout, climate change, energy, energy efficiency, energy waste reduction, ERCOT, extreme temperatures, heat pump, heat pumps, kilowatt-hours, kwh, peak, peak demand, peak demand surcharge, power grid, power grids, seals & crofts, summer, summer breeze, texas blackouts, time-of-use pricing, utilities

Time-of-use pricing is (most likely) coming to a utility near you, if it hasn’t arrived already. Here’s what you need to know.

Energy Efficiency Home Improvement & DIY Energy

Summer Breeze: Heat Pumps, Mini-Splits, and the Magic of Thermodynamics

June 10, 2021June 16, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments ac inverter, air conditioning, air source heat pump, alpine home air, amazon, ampacity, beneficial electrification, blueridge, blueridge mini-split, boiler replacement, bosch, bosch appliances, carnot cycle, cooling, DIY, electric vehicles, electrification, electrification of buildings, energy efficiency, heat pump, heat pumps, heating, home energy, home improvement, home rehab, home renovation, HSPF, HVAC, inverter, manual d, manual j, mini split, mini-split, mitsubishi, mr. slim, power grid, refrigeration, Renovation, residential energy, SEER, split system, split system heat pump, statistics, thermal comfort

Mini-splits are the coolest new thing. Literally. Here is a guide to how to figure out how to navigate the sea of product options based on a simple calculation.

Business & Economics Mobility Energy Automotive

EV Charging Networks: Drive Infrastructure, Not Just Cars

June 8, 2021June 7, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments acquisition, ampacity, battery storage, chevrolet bolt, chevrolet volt, distributed energy resources, distributed generation, electric grid, electric panel, EV chargers at home, EV charging infrastructure, ev charging networks, general motors, GM, grid storage, insourcing, level 1 charger, level 2 charger, level 3 charger, li-ion, lithium-ion battery, load center, outsourcing, photovoltaics, power grid, public ev charger, public ev charging networks, rick waggoner, rooftop solar, utility-scale battery storage, utility-scale solar, v2g, vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-grid connectivity, who killed the electric car

A few weeks ago, I had a chat with some folks from A Major Automaker, one of the Big Two-And-A-Half,

Business & Economics Energy Utilities

In Pursuit of Exelonce, Perhaps To Exel-Twice

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments exelon, pepco

Nat’s new job!

Culture & Language Energy Infrastructure

American Meltdown: The Popular Imagination of Energy Disasters

April 20, 2021April 20, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments apocalypse, chernobyl, city of quartz, cold war, disaster, disaster movies, don delillo, ecology of fear, Mike Davis, mutually assured mass destruction, postapocalyptic, soviet union, susan sontag, the imagination of disaster, white noise

Disasters plague systems that are designed or lauded as “too big to fail.” And, according to the wealth of cinema on the subject, we love to see it.

Energy Efficiency Policy Energy Utilities

“Electrification Is Not Enough For Decarbonization” – Consumers Energy

April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments building decarbonization, carbon transition, decarbonization, demand response, demand-response, distributed generation, electrical grid, electrification, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy transition, energy waste reduction, EWR, Gretchen Whitmer, just transition, michigan, michigan public service commission, MPSC, photovoltaics, policies, policy, pv, rooftop solar, solar panels, state of michigan, utilities, utility, utility infrastructure, utility policy

A new workgroup seeks to address some questions about the future of infrastructure in a state that continues to lag in regulatory and technical innovation.

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