I believe that the 2011Tohoku earthquake changed our seasonality forever. I know that most folks would rather say that Climate change causes earthquakes and Tsunamis, but I think that roughly, the chicken hatched an egg that became a chicken. The 2011Tohoku earthquake had such extreme magnitude that it shifted the earth’s axis by estimates of…
Month: March 2013
Smart Grid: new technology can improve power reliability and efficiency
In prior articles, I discussed what the Smart Grid is and how it is finally getting smarter in the middle of the grid. For further developments in this area, read on below. The main impact to the multi-family housing industry is that as the electricity grid becomes more efficient with less waste, it has the…
Visit a national Energy Lab
I recently visited the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, CO near Denver. The US Dept of Energy has several such laboratories and research centers spread throughout the country. Most of them welcome visitors during normal business hours. For a full listing, click here and then scroll down to the “Labs & Technology Centers” section….
Emerging green tech: Pumped-storage hydroelectricity. What was old is new again.
Hydroelectric power is the use of falling water to generate electricity. One form of this technology is Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH). “In a pumped storage facility, water is pumped during off-peak demand periods from a reservoir at a lower elevation for storage in a reservoir at a higher elevation. Electricity is then generated during peak demand…
The Smart Grid is finally getting smarter in the middle
In the last few years, much of the focus on the Smart Grid has been on customer premise equipment (CPE) such as Smart Appliances, Smart Meters, Smart Thermostats that provide real time alerts and pricing to consumers. Utilities all over the USA have been offering rebates on this equipment, which is well cataloged at www.DsireUsa.org….