energy waste reduction Archives - The Handbuilt City

edgewood-dc-rowhouses-mixed-income-housing-units-efficiency

Energy Burden: How To Measure? How To Reduce?

September 10, 2021September 10, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments air source heat pump, analytics, CDD, census, census tracts, cooling climate, cooling degree days, decarbonization, EIA, energy, energy efficiency, energy poverty, energy waste reduction, federal poverty line, first energy, HDD, heat pumps, heating climate, heating degree days, LMI, low to moderate income, low-income, metrics, mini-split, pepco, potomac edison, potomac electric power company, program evaluation, red states, reducing energy burden, Rust Belt, smeco, statistics, Tony Reames, urban energy justice lab, utilities, wgl

Measuring energy burden is relatively straightforward. Figuring out how to create robust metrics for it, though– and how to address it- is much more challenging.

Energy Efficiency Urban Planning Poverty Affordable housing Energy

MDHHS and LIHEAP: We’ll Pay For Fossil Fuels. Weatherization, Not So Much.

September 2, 2021September 2, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments Brad Banks, cardi b, CMS energy, coal, coal power, Consumers Energy, DTE, DTE Energy, EE&C, energy efficiency, energy efficiency & conservation, energy waste reduction, fossil fuels, fossil gas, Gretchen Whitmer, LIHEAP, LMI, low to moderate income, low-income, maddy kamalay, michigan, michigan department of health and human services, michigan public service commission, MPSC, Nat Zorach, natural gas, the war on coal, WAP, weatherization assistance program, why is DTE so bad

At an MPSC workgroup meeting this morning on Energy Waste Reduction specifically for the low to moderate income (LMI) market

power-distribution-lines-utility-windsor-ontario

Policy Energy Midwest Utilities

Better Utility Regulation: How We Can Get Out Of This Mess

August 16, 2021September 14, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 2021 detroit floods, CFPB, challenge coastal chauvinism, climate change, CMS, coal, Consumers Energy, detroit floods, DTE, DTE Energy, EIA, energy information administration, energy waste reduction, EWR, extreme weather, investor-owned utilities, IOU, IOUs, maryland, michigan utility regulation, MPSC, municipalization, on-bill financing, PG&E, rainfall, Regulation, regulatory innovation, rulemaking process, SAIDI, SAIDI-MED, SAIFI, SNAP!, utilities

Too much regulation restricts innovation. But too little regulation does the same, and this is what we see in the crumbling infrastructure of Michigan, where regulators are asleep at the wheel in the name of a “business-friendly regulatory” environment that, as it turns out, is neither terribly regulatory nor terribly business-friendly.

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 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.

Business & Economics Culture & Language Environment

100 Corporations Produce 71% of Carbon Emissions. But Who Buys Their Products?

March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments air quality, air quality index, ambassador bridge, aqi, car inspections, car ownership, carbon, carbon footprint, cars, climate change, conservation, consumption, energy waste reduction, exxonmobil, garbage, incinerator, mobility justice, mobility poverty, MPSC, municipal solid waste, pollution, recycling, recycling bin, refuse, Regulation, resources, saudi aramco, single-stream recycling, solid waste, transportation justice, transportation poverty, trash, vehicles, waste

LIVING IN SOUTHWEST DETROIT, A STONE’S THROW FROM THE AMBASSADOR BRIDGE, I AM ACCUSTOMED to having to wipe off the

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

Glazed Over: Donald Trump’s Tiny Windows Conspiracy

October 23, 2020October 27, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments Donald Trump, energy, energy efficiency, energy waste reduction, glazing, green new deal, home rehab, home renovation, home repair, insulation, windows

US President Donald Trump’s claims that Democrats want to make the windows smaller in everyone’s houses were, while baseless, not the craziest thing he’s ever said. Glazing, energy, and you!

Energy Efficiency Construction

New Client Who Dis

August 17, 2020August 16, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments ASHRAE, BPI, building code, building envelope, climate action plan, climate change, detroit climate action collaborative, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, energy auditing, energy audits, energy code, energy efficiency, energy waste reduction, energystar, eric douglas, hers, Kevin McNeely, Kimberly Hill Knott, LEED, RESNET

Handbuilt’s newest client is energy building guru Kevin McNeely, who works on energy audits and architectural energy consulting services around the Midwest.

Energy Efficiency

Lansing Field Trip: Michigan Public Service Commission

December 5, 2019December 6, 2019 Nat Zorach 0 Comments Brianna Parker, Brittany Turner, Detroit, EcoWorks, EGLE, energy efficiency, energy waste reduction, Gretchen Whitmer, Joel Howrani-Heeres, Justin Schott, lansing, MDHHS, MEEFA, michigan, Tim Skrotzki

Today marked my quarterly pilgrimage to the great center of Mitten-power, that is, Lansing, Michigan. I go up every few