Alan Meier is senior executive editor of Home Energy.
Editorial: Now We Know the Value of Energy Star
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The elections overshadowed a press release by Energy Star announcing a settlement with LG, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of appliances and consumer electronics. That’s a pity because the settlement ... [continue reading]
Editorial: How Private Should Utility Bills Be?
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The cover of this issue depicts extraordinarily useful information: the homes whose attics are inadequately insulated. British residents can go onto the Web and find their homes—or their neighbors’ homes—to ... [continue reading]
Editorial: Saving Home Energy After the Stimulus
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The residential energy business is scurrying around trying to digest the billions of dollars thrown at us to weatherize and reduce the energy use of our country’s homes. Few of us, even ... [continue reading]
Editorial: After Weatherization - Career Paths in Energy Efficiency
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The government’s breathtaking investments in energy efficiency—and notably in weatherization—are creating a boom in the industry. If all goes according to plan, hundreds of thousands of new people will ... [continue reading]
Editorial: Home Energy's New Compilation of Articles
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I am pleased to announce the availability of a compilation of Home Energy articles from 2000–2008. It’s available as a CD and costs only $75. These articles capture the state of the art in ... [continue reading]
Editorial: Mandatory Retrofits Prior to Sale - Nationwide
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If we accept the national—and local—goals of large reductions in energy use in order to mitigate climate change, how will these be accomplished? One approach is to include the costs ... [continue reading]
Editorial: LEDs: Avoiding the CFL Debacle
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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 ... [continue reading]
March/April 2010 Editorial: Home Energy Monitors
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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) ... [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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