March 31, 2016
The time between your solar energy system being installed and when you can turn the system on is the hardest waiting period for any new solar owner. Your system is there, ready and willing to produce clean energy for you, but you can’t power it up until the utility says okay. So what is it… Read the entire post »
March 4, 2015
Originally published in New Hampshire Business Review on Feb. 6, 2015. Re-printed with permission. Renewable portfolio standards requiring greater use of renewable energy sources do not “cost ratepayers billions of dollars throughout New England,” as Marc Brown wrote in “Cost to ratepayers pile up, but who’s listening?” in the Dec. 12-25 issue of New Hampshire Business… Read the entire post »
May 31, 2011
I recently had an energy audit done by a company who shall remain nameless (their service after the audit has been embarrassing). Despite their post-visit incompetence, I did learn a few things, and I started a project to evaluate where my energy goes. Here’s a quick summary* [graphic no longer available]: First: Yes I am… Read the entire post »
April 9, 2011
Back in the fall of 2010, my son Russell was looking for a science fair project. He wanted to enter the regional HS science fair competition. After discussing several ideas, he remembered a web page we discussed about getting heat from decomposing material. I first learned of the idea from one of my solar customers.… Read the entire post »
April 1, 2011
Now that we have a solar hot water system, I’ve been computing the contribution to the water heating load. My house is at 42.5 degrees latitude in eastern Massachusetts. My solar panels are tilted at 45 degrees and the roof azimuth is 250 degrees (south is 180 degrees, southwest is 225 degrees, west is 270… Read the entire post »
March 26, 2011
On or about January 7, 2011 my Solar Hot Water (SHW) system was activated. The system consists of three 4′ x 7′ flat-plate solar collectors and an electric backup, 120-gallon water storage tank with a single heat exchanger. The panels are located on the southwest roof of my home. The tank is in the basement.… Read the entire post »
March 18, 2011
I am in an unusual position. I actually know something about what’s going on in Japan at the Fukushima reactors. I have a BS and MS in Nuclear Engineering and, in a prior life, I worked as a Nuclear Engineer doing reactor physics calculations for some the nuclear power plants in the New England area.… Read the entire post »
I started writing The Energy Miser in 2011 because I like to analyze energy issues and pontificate about my findings. Got a topic you want me to cover? Let me know.
