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Much Light, Little Heat Efficiency

Energy efficiency in the U.S. is much light and little heat — literally. Government policy pays a great deal of attention to saving electricity, but focuses little on the thermal energy we waste. “Policy is electricity-centric in the U.S. Unless you are making kilowatts, the most efficient investments are off the radar,” sa

Understanding Manufacturing Economics for Grid-scale Energy Storage

I have a new favorite word â€” aggregation. At the risk of sounding like a reporter, I'm going to summarize a pre-holiday news story you might have missed but need to know about.

Smart Grid Initiatives Address Cyber Security, Renewable Energy Intermittency

Securitizing renewable energy networks from cyber-attacks is not complicated by their oft-cited operational headache of intermittency, but rather by their separation from a utility's control system, said smart grid executives at the Gridwise Global Forum in Washington, DC in early November. Though renewable intermittency adds to the challenge of stabilizing a grid, the forum revealed new evidence of real-world smart grid load shifting that continues to chip away at the tired argument that renewable energy cannot successfully integrate into a legacy grid.

Three Jokers in the Energy Deck

This is the era of Big Oil. Could the next be the era of Big Efficiency? A new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy suggests the possibility. Re-invented with today’s smart energy technologies, energy efficiency could displace 40 to 60 percent of our total energy needs by the year 2050, according to The Long-Te

When We Struggle, We Learn

If there was one key takeaway from the most recent RenewableEnergyWorld.com and Solar Power-gen webcast it was that the year ahead will be difficult for large-scale solar power development due to poor access to capital, an uncertain policy landscape, the pending trade case against China and module prices that are too low to support a healthy indust

Electric Vehicles: No House of Cards

Once again, John Petersen has gone too far with his petrol-head arguments against Electric Vehicles (EVs.)

Tackling the Renewable Energy Transmission Tiger - Is There Hope? Is There Help?

Building transmission to accommodate utility-scale renewable energy generation in the U.S. is seen as essential by much of the renewable energy industry. But can it be justified? Doing so will necessarily involve constructing some of the longest stretches of wire ever undertaken in this country. Much of the best wind and solar resource is located quite distant from the load. Ultimately, thousands of miles of huge power lines will have to be built. It is not illogical to ask whether investment in such massive infrastructure "costs too much and provides too little." It is also not illogical to answer "no," not if the value proposition is laid out appropriately and a well crafted policy and regulatory approach can be established that effectively addresses the issues.

Energy Storage: Four Break Out Stocks and a Short Circuit

On December 16th I wrote: "My favorites for a strong 2012 include AONE, MXWL, AXPW.OB, ZBB, JCI, ENS, ACPW and XIDE. They all merit serious attention from investors who want exposure to the energy storage sector." Since then four of my favorites have bottomed and turned sharply higher while the Pride of Palo Alto endures a short circuit. The following table compares today's closing prices with the December 16th closing prices for those five companies.

U.S. Beats Expectations Saving Energy

Americans tend to beat themselves up over their imperfections. We eat too much, watch too much TV and owe China too much money. Despite all of our sloth, we can feel good about one area: our progress saving energy. A report issued this week by the Institute for Electric Efficiency found that we saved enough electricity to power almost 10

Can We Achieve a "Smart Home" Future?

The concept of the smart grid continues to mystify both utilities and consumers alike. Is it cost-effective? What is the best method for deployment? Is the public ready for it? Do we actually need it?

A Cleantech VC Unconvinced of Man-made Climate Change

Go ahead -- call me a hypocrite. I claim to be a cleantech venture capitalist yet I tell you here and now that I am not convinced of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change (aka global warming). And I will audaciously tell you that my convictions on climate change in no way run contrary to my strong belief in the need for a cleantech revolution.

On-bill Financing: Why Isn't Everybody Doing It?

If someone told me they could improve the efficiency of my computer so that it operates quicker, at no extra cost to me, I can’t imagine I’d turn them away. Yet, the energy efficiency industry offers a similar option for homes and businesses and at least so far, consumers aren’t flocking to the programs. On-bill financing gives c

Baby Steps in Climate Negotiations are Still Steps in the Right Direction

I wasn’t able to attend the [frustrating] climate change talks in Durban, South Africa this year, although I would have loved to. South Africa is an incredible place to visit. I say the talks are frustrating because they always seem to go the same way. The European nations and some smaller countries attend the meeting armed with serious data

Fixing People, Not Just Buildings

Electric utilities operated under a rarified business model for decades. Their customers were captive so they rarely had to think about what motivated them to buy. New government energy efficiency mandates have changed that, and done so with an ironic twist. Now utilities must figure how to get their customers to refrain from buying. It’s no

Renewable Energy Groups Seek 1603 Extension; Analysts Offer Hope for Life After the Grant

This week more than 750 large companies, small businesses and organizations sent a letter to Congress calling for a one-year extension of the Department of Treasury's Section 1603 Program.

Why America Will Still Win the Solar Race

As I have said before, there is deliberate bearishness about solar power, much of it coming from the fossil fuel industries. They ignore solar economics. Install a capital good now and money comes out day-after-day, year-after-year, literally for decades. Regardless of the current price of grid electricity you will, in time, pay for that c

Predictions for Cleantech in 2012

It’s December again (how did that happen!?) and our annual time for reflection here at Kachan & Co. So as we close out 2011, let’s look towards what the new year may have in store for cleantech. There are eggshells across the sector for 2012. Global economic uncertainty is leaving some skeptical about the chances for emerging clean

New Direction for That Federal Agency Whose Name I Can't Remember

The U.S. Department of Energy’s reputation is now enshrined as the agency that Republican presidential contender Rick Perry wants to dismantle – if only he could remember its name. But a recent report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences offers a different direction for the federal agency, one that may not make it more memorab

Will President Obama Send Green Marines to Darwin?

President Barack Obama was in Australia this week and upset China and Indonesia with the annoucement of an increased miliary presence in this country, including 2500 US Marines to train and provision equipment in Darwin. When the U.S. Marine Corp establish themselves a new home in Darwin, they will bring some seriously green equipment and ideas to

Zero Touch Energy Audit: Will It Change the Game?

What new energy efficiency technologies will change the game? I’d like to use this space on occasion to explore that question and get your feedback on companies that I profile. This week’s company is FirstFuel Software, which appears it could make the conventional energy building audit go the way of the buggy whip. FirstFuel

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Welcome to StoveNet!

What is StoveNet, you ask? StoveNet is a global community made up of those who keep themselves warm by using methods that may be considered "non-typical" by today's standards. Whether you love the flicker of a modern wood stove, or the warm glow of a coal burner, we're the community for you. If you've ever slept on the couch at night so that you could easily reload your stove in the morning you'll find good company here.

StoveNet was born of a single idea that intially wasn't community oriented. As an engineer by trade, I am a very analytical individual. During the latter part of 2008, I was working on a process improvement project at work. For those not familiar with Six Sigma, it is a methodology that relies on statistical analysis for determining root problem causes, as well as determining future actions. Somewhere along the line the idea that drove the creation of StoveNet was this: why not try and apply statistical analysis to burning? Inherently we all do this to an extent, whether we are measuring burn time, wood usage, etc, but nobody to my knowledge has done this in a very scientific manner.

The goal of StoveNet is to build a community of members who can have fun, share ideas and experiences, and ultimately become better at their chosen method of heating. I hope to help this mission by using my engineering and statistical analysis skills to analyze the experiences of our members, eventually (hopefully!) being able to scientifically answer the questions that people have about burning and stoves.

Imagine, today if somebody asks, "what stove should I buy?" they will probably be prompted for a few additional pieces of information, such as "what size is your house, how is your insulation, and what is your climate like." This additional information helps, but the response is entirely dependent on the experiences of the person answering the question. Now, what if, through research, we are able to answer this question scientifically? What if in a few clicks and some additional information the answer becomes: "I would recommend the Jotul Oslo for your 2000 square feet, your good insulation, your moderate climate, and your hardwood fuel source. In addition, based on what community members have reported, you have a 90% chance of this stove heating your house to 72 degrees when the temperature outside is 18 degrees. Given an outside temperature of -5 degrees, your probability of heating your house to 72 degrees slips to 38%."

As far fetched as it may sound, this is possible, and that is the ultimate mission of StoveNet. I'm calling this research project "StoveStats," and with your help as a community we can make this happen. StoveStats has not officially launched, since my first priority was to get the community up and running, but stay tuned, because it's coming soon!

Welcome again, and enjoy all that StoveNet has to offer. See you on the Forum.

Chris
StoveNet Founder

StoveNet History:

March 23, 2009 - StoveNet goes public.

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