Alan Meier is senior executive editor of Home Energy.
The Other Side of the Meter
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Home Energy traditionally reports on innovations on the customer side of the meter--how customers use and conserve energy. We generally ignore events on the utility side--that complex organization which generates, transmits, and distributes energy to homes. [continue reading]
Shrinking Bills on Shrunken Fridges
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Can public housing agencies acquire energy-efficient appliances, and do they really save money? A recent program demonstrates that both answers are yes. [continue reading]
Why Solar Roofs?
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One element of President Clinton's climate change program is installing one million solar collectors on the roofs of American homes. [continue reading]
First Patch on Leaky Electricity
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Last December, after meeting with representatives of the federal Energy Star program, major TV and VCR manufacturers agreed to substantially reduce the energy their new models use when they are "off." [continue reading]
The True Test Is in the Real World
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In this issue of Home Energy, you'll find several articles and news briefs describing scientific studies of the energy performance of various technologies. [continue reading]
Telltales
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A "telltale" reveals or discloses something. On a sailboat, telltales indicate the trim of the sails. In a home, telltales are clues that provide useful information about its energy performance or the quality of its indoor environment. [continue reading]
Duct Tape Redux
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It's been difficult to avoid the media attention in the past few months on the inability of duct tape to seal ducts. [continue reading]
Audio/Visual Goes 1-Watt
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Audio equipment and Digital Video Disks (DVDs) must now reduce the watts they use when turned off to receive Energy Star labels. [continue reading]
January/February 2010: LEDs: Avoiding the CFL Debacle
Alan Meier
The lighting efficacies of LEDs have been rising steadily and are poised to overtake CFLs. Fluorescents and CFLs still outshine LEDs with respect to general applications and cost of light, but LEDs are already superior for some niche applications and offer many new exciting illumination opportunities. Now we need to ensure that the reputation of this new energysaving lighting source won’t be undermined by a tidal wave of shoddy products. Tests for quality, ... [continue reading]
March/April 2010 Editorial: Home Energy Monitors
Alan Meier
Home Energy Monitors, that is, devices that display a home’s energy consumption have been touted as Silicon Valley’s contribution to the national energy conservation effort. A Home Energy Monitor (or HEM) constantly informs the occupants of their home’s electricity and gas consumption, along with conversions to monthly costs and comparisons with previous periods. Some models can (or will) communicate with heating and air conditioning systems. These devices will enable ... [continue reading]
May/June 2010 Editorial: Targeting the High Users
Alan Meier
Photo by Jovan Peric - Fotolia.com Homes with high energy consumption are likely to provide us more opportunities to save energy. If that’s true, then why don’t we see more programs and businesses geared toward the high users? [continue reading]
July/August 2010 Editorial: A Cottage Industry with High Electricity Use
Alan Meier
Can growing marijuana change the way homes use electricity? In rural Humboldt County, in far-northern California, there’s no doubt that it can. Figure 1 tracks average monthly residential electricity use in Humboldt County and in California. Until the mid-1990s, these two values were almost identical. But after 1996, Humboldt County’s electricity use suddenly turned upward. What happened? In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, which legalized the medical use of marijuana. In practice, Proposition 215 ... [continue reading]
November/December 2010 Editorial: Restoring Credibility in the Efficiency Marketplace
Alan Meier
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and nowhere is this adage truer than with the assurance of a manufacturer’s compliance with energy efficiency standards and endorsement programs. If any link is broken in this process, then it is impossible to “haul up” those energy savings for the consumer. The Department of Energy (DOE) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are finally taking actions to repair some of the ... [continue reading]
March/April 2011 Editorial: The Making of an Industry at ACI
Alan Meier
Sometimes it’s only possible to recognize progress by turning around and seeing how far you’ve traveled since the journey began. That’s certainly the case for the energy-conservation industry. Gradually an industry devoted to improving home performance is taking shape. The number of technologies, techniques, and tools dedicated to reducing energy use, improving comfort, and fixing building defects continues to grow. [continue reading]
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