Alan Meier

An Instructive Breeze from Ceiling Fans

Author: Alan Meier

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July 01, 1999

It may come as a surprise that there are more than 150 million ceiling fans in the United States. In Florida alone, the best estimate is 30 million. Nobody knows how much electricity ceiling fans use, but in warm climates (like Florida) a home's ceiling fan energy use may equal that of its refrigerator. [continue reading]

Editorial: The Bumpy Road to Net Zero Energy

Author: Alan Meier

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July 01, 2011

It’s easy to lose the longer perspective when we are involved in day-to-day efforts to save energy. That’s why I want to focus on a single home—Danny Parker’... [continue reading]

Editorial: Celebrating Early Adopters of Energy Efficiency

Author: Alan Meier

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September 01, 2011

It's easy to dismiss the Energy Adopters' activities as unrealistic for broad application, but how often do we see those actions become commonplace a decade later? [continue reading]

Editorial: Social Media in the Energy Efficiency Cashbox and Toolbox

Author: Alan Meier

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November 02, 2011

Isn't our cover cute? I hope you think so, but I also hope you realize that the mosaic tells a powerful story: electronic media, and social media in particular, are now a crucial part ... [continue reading]

Editorial: Measuring Matters

Author: Alan Meier

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January 01, 2012

Perhaps the greatest challenge to promoting energy efficiency is that you can’t see it. People understand electricity produced from a PV collector on the roof, and a kWh meter can easily report precisely ... [continue reading]

Editorial: Folk Labels and Home Energy

Author: Alan Meier

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February 29, 2012

You’ve almost certainly seen them: a yellow Post-it on the thermostat or a brief note scribbled near the water heater controls, or perhaps a dog-eared card taped to the clothes washer. These are ... [continue reading]

Editorial: Reflections on ACI

Author: Alan Meier

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April 20, 2012

An industry's health is sometimes measured by the enthusiasm of its trade shows. Arguably, ACI is not a trade show, but it certainly is a bellwether for the home performance industry. And it rocked. By ... [continue reading]

Editorial: Why Japan's Electricity Crisis Matters

Author: Alan Meier

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June 29, 2012

You may not read about it on the front page of the newspapers, but Japan is undergoing a second electricity crisis. The first took place last spring and summer after the Fukushima earthquake, tsunami, and ... [continue reading]