energy efficiency Archives - The Handbuilt City

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.

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.

Sustainability Manufacturing

Port Angeles CRTC: Giving New Flight to Aircraft Scrap

March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 Vishva Nalamalapu 0 Comments advanced manufacturing and composite technology, aerospace, aircraft manufacturing, aircraft recycling, boeing, boeing 777, boeing 787, building materials, carbon dioxide, clad, cladding, CLT, composites, composites recycling technology center, CRTC, CRTC port angeles, energy efficiency, energy-efficient, green building, green building materials, manufacturing, nicole wright, olympic mountains, olympic peninsula, peninsula college, pennies for quarters, pickleball, pickleball paddle, port angeles washington, recycled building materials, recycling, repurposing, sequim, sustainable building, sustainable construction, tiny home, tiny house, veterans housing, vishva nalamalapu, washington state, waste

In Port Angeles, Washington, Vishva Nalamalapu hangs out at the Composite Recycling Technology Center, or CRTC, with Michigan transplant Nicole Wright, to learn about all of the cool stuff they are manufacturing from aerospace industry scrap.

Energy Efficiency Sustainability Energy Housing

In Search Of Cheap, Scalable Solutions For Grid Resiliency

February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments AGM battery, air conditioning, air source heat pump, battery storage, carnot cycle, electric reliability council of texas, elon musk, energy efficiency, ERCOT, ERCOT texas, heat pump, home battery storage, li-ion battery, lithium-ion battery, lone star, market transformation, mini-split, mitsubishi, mr. slim, off-grid, power grid, powerwall, reduce energy bills, save money on energy, sorcery, split system heat pump, Tesla, tesla powerwall, texas, texas interconnection, texas power grid, texas storm, texas winter storm, thermodynamics

The extreme weather event affecting about two thirds of the United States right now suggests the need for small-scale interventions that can be scaled over an entire market.

Canada Energy Environment

Let The Sun Shine In, Alberta: Beyond Oil in a Biden Administration

February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments alberta, athabasca, athabasca oil sands, calgary stampede, energy economy, energy efficiency, energy sector, jason kenney, naheed nenshi, natural gas, oil, oil & gas, oil drilling, progressive conservatives, rachel notley, tar sands, wildrose, wildrose party

The election of Joe Biden, whose opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline has riled Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, provides us with some opportunities to think about the future of the province’s economy, which has long been dependent upon oil extraction.

Business & Economics Energy Efficiency Culture & Language

James Brown Feels Good (About Weatherization)

January 15, 2021January 15, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments ACH50, air leakage testing, ben dueweke, blower door, branding, building envelope, depressurization, energy efficiency, energy justice, funk, funky, funky president, get up offa that thing, i feel good, i got you, james brown, Kevin McNeely, make it funky, manometer, marketing, mcneely building group, minneapolis blower door, pressurization, RESNET, retrotec, retrotec blower door, sex machine, usgbc, walker-miller energy services

One of the weirder things I’ve come across in the past year– apart from Soviet Cookiemonster, our second-most viewed post

Energy Efficiency Policy Energy

Detroit’s Green Task Force Looks Toward Benchmarking, PACE, Energy Codes

December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 2030 district, bali kumar, ben dueweke, bob bedzyk, city of detroit sustainability office, connie lilley, detroit city council, detroit council, detroit public schools, ecologic institute, EcoWorks, elise matz, energy, energy benchmarking, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy waste reduction, energystar, Joel Howrani-Heeres, josh musicant, kendal kuneman, latia leonard, max gruenig, michal helman, michigan public service commission, POCACITO, policy, randy hargraves, Regulation, scott benson, utilities, utility policy, walker-miller, walker-miller energy services

The Energy Waste Reduction Committee of the Detroit Green Task Force met yesterday morning to talk shop for the last

Energy Efficiency Home Improvement & DIY Construction Energy

DIY Energy Tips: Insulating Boiler Pipe

December 7, 2020December 10, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments boiler, boiler loop, boilers, comfort, DIY, DIY energy, DIY energy projects, DIY projects, energy, energy efficiency, energy savings, fiberglass, home comfort, home improvement, home renovation, hot water boiler, hydronic, hydronics, infrared, insulating boiler pipe, insulation, manifold, mineral wool, pipe insulation, pipe wrap, radiant barrier, radiant heat, reduce utility bill, Renovation, rockwool, roxul, steam boiler, thermal, thermal comfort, water boiler, water heating, winter

Got a boiler? Insulate your pipes to save you some bucks.

Policy Poverty Utilities

Facing A Crisis of COVID, Evictions, and Utility Shutoffs

December 1, 2020December 1, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments CARES, covid, COVID19, energy audits, energy efficiency, energy insecurity, energy poverty, eviction defense, eviction diversion, evictions, housing insecurity, legal aid, maureen taylor, michigan, michigan welfare rights organization, Poverty, PUA, public utilities, UCHC, united community housing coalition, utility, utility bills, utility policy, weatherization

COVID19 is exposing a particularly ugly nexus between energy insecurity and housing insecurity, referred to in a few separate presentations at a recent workgroup meeting of the Michigan Public Service Commission.

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