I love the idea of a hot water utility for ground source heat pumps. But there was no discussion of how heat usage is going to be metered. Are there already heat pumps that can do that metering? It seems to me that in addition to converting gas utilities to heat utilities they also need to merge (or enter data sharing agreements) with electric utilities.
Oh, interesting. It makes a lot more sense that way. Otherwise I don’t see why a gas utility would want to convert its customers to electrically powered heat pumps in exchange for unmetered heat
I think these thermal networks are a bit of a blank canvas, at the moment.
I envision the pilot discussed to be a network of pipes where the water circulates at a depth and volume to where it stays in a fairly tight range of temperature without any external heating or cooling applied. Residential customers are charged a flat monthly fee. I imagine an only slightly more complicated determination of the fee for commercial, maybe based on building volume or square footage - still just a flat fee. Just speculating, though.
I could go on. Like I said - "blank canvas". Keep in mind that heat pumps provide heating *and* cooling. So, tapping into a source of waste heat may benefit the system only seasonally. If the water of the system varies by a few degrees, it's still *drastically* more helpful to the heat pump than outside air.
The cost calculus of electrification (especially in low-income housing) is so tough when switching from natural gas to electric. What would it take to make electricity cheaper than gas?
A followup question. What makes it worthwhile for a developer or landlord to install energy efficient (presumably electric) appliances. These appliances may save money for the renter, but not the landlord.
Perhaps the dangers of natural gas to the users is a reason for developers and landlords to get rid of natural gas to avoid lawsuits.
Despite truth, science, economics and public health being on the side of the energy transition we are losing the information war. Astroturfing, disinformation, bots, you name it are running circles around "us". Any thoughts on how we can, or organizations who are fighting back on this depressing trend?
Recently locally we paid homage to a climate/energy activist who passed away a decade ago. One comment has stuck with me, "He made renewable energy COOL."
Now the forces of delay and denial are trying to make renewable energy, electrification, etc., UNCOOL in a dozen ways. IMHO, many of the "organizations" became decidedly uncool. From the perspective of an old white male privileged nerd. I mean how long do we need to spend on this zoom call talking about your guilt and grief and pronouns and half-acre regenerative gardens while planning to picket a bank. Nobody even gets it. "The bank is causing global heating????"
Gotta change that back. Be proud of bulldozers and pile drivers building solar farms (Bumpah Stickah: Solar Farms Are Farms!) and cranes and whirring blades of 500' tall wind turbines and exploding batteries. Tom Edison's light bulbs burned down a few buildings before the electric code caught up. Wind and solar paying back their embodied emissions in a year or two. How it's great to go from 30% carbon free to 80% carbon free and don't bother me about your 100% nuke that will cost 10 trillion dollars and won't be ready for 10 years and can't be insured by anyone. Trump picks LOSERS! (He hates losing!)
Hey David, I'm a climate newbie who's been learning about this stuff mainly by binging your podcast and Googling all the things I don't understand.
1. Any ur-texts you'd recommend to newcomers? Does it make sense to start listening to Volts from the very beginning, or has enough changed in the interim that reverse-engineering the more recent episodes is smarter?
2. Are you familiar with the "Fellowships" on offer by green jobs-posting sites like Climatebase and Terra.do? I'm now trying to get a job in climate (thanks in large part to Volts, fyi); are they worth ponying up for?
A follow up general Volts philosophy/audience question on this. Do you have people relatively new to climate in mind as an audience for Volts and do you plan on any general primers type content on certain umbrella topics? You’ve certainly written enough regarding this in the past, but maybe not in a such structured way of bringing someone new up to speed on what they should ultimately know on all the pieces of the climate puzzle at a higher level. Where do you sit with this type of content? Is it interesting for you or a pain in the ass? I can imagine it is not so podcast friendly and/or should be attempted in a more written format. Curious to know all your thoughts on the matter!
@Jon - I can’t speak about those 2 websites, but I guess my question would be what does "get a job in climate" mean to you? It depends a lot on your skills and interests. You could be doing anything from installing solar panels, engineering some very specific tech in a cement factory or being a keyboard crusader in a NGO. My sense is you are in the discovery phase, so keep reading and trying things, see what you gravitate to and try to figure out why. Some other links for you: climatesolutions-careers.org/ (started by a fellow Volter Jeff) and collegetoclimate.co I would also recommend scanning through David’s older work on Vox and reading anything that jumps out vox.com/authors/david-roberts
I know that David answered this question on the mailbag but a heads up that the Volts team recently put together a Volts "primer", the release of which is TBD but soon. However, it's more of a "best-of" guide rather than something truly introductory.
Thanks for the reply, Matt! I will for sure check out those links.
I am definitely still in the discovery phase. My career to date has been as a marketing copywriter for tech companies, so something writing/comms/policy adjacent I think makes practical sense.
I'm trying to go for maximum impact... while being realistic about applying to jobs I have a chance at landing.
I feel like a lot of times guests on Volts will say the best thing you can do for the cause is to just raise awareness and help get the national conversation going, so maybe that would be the best use of my time and energy? Like, every episode is so fascinating to me, I can't help but feel there's a huge opportunity to get more people interested in this stuff. Just not sure how I can do that in a way that pays me a living wage.
I know a fair amount of people who've done terra.do or climatebase fellowships. The feedback is mixed. If you want to learn some climate basics, start to establish a network and learn a snippet of the lay of the land, they're not bad places to start. But the fellowships themselves don't have the cache (or training) to get someone directly hired in climate.
The climate sector is hard to break into. Not impossible, but like any sector, it takes time and work and hustle and luck. Volts can absolutely arm you with enough knowledge to be dangerous but depending on where you are in your career, it may make sense to continue on your current path and apply a climate lens to your work. I often say that the non-climate professionals within companies are the most effective advocates and I sincerely believe that. You might want to check out drawdown.org/programs/drawdown-labs/job-function-action-guides and workonclimate.org
Appreciate the follow-up, Samuel! I'm starting a fellowship program with Climate Drift later this month, geared towards mid-career folks trying to transition into climate, so I'm hopeful it'll help. I also have an idea for a clean energy newsletter of my own -- taking a stab at a wide-reaching introductory angle with the goal of turning more people onto talking and caring about these things.
How can we distinguish contractors and companies providing goods which are likely to last for a long time from those which feel a bit scammy? This comes out of your interview with Cory Doctorow, and my examination of heat pumps, and other technologies as a consumer/home owner. Here's a couple examples of heat pump companies and my thoughts.
1. I think Harvest Smart Thermal Battery is likely to work even if Harvest goes out of business and servers are down. Most parts are off the shelf, and, if needed, I can replace the smart pod with an off the shelf product. It may not be smart, but I will still have hot water and heating. And I found a contractor who has worked in this space for a while.
2.. Quilt mini-splits is starting to feel scammy. They want a $500 deposit before setting up a virtual meeting. I paid up. The contractors do not show up in person until day of installation. They didn't even want a video walk through, just a sketch of my small in-law unit. They only use one size heat pump and head. Maybe this makes sense, though other contractors want to use different size head for different size rooms. They could come up with a description of how the system works if Quilt goes out of business. They use sort of off the shelf products, but with enough proprietary stuff that I'm not sure what happens in the future. I was not reassured by promises that the new start up would survive over the long run. A few weeks after the appointment, I logged in to cancel and get a refund. I found out that I had already been cancelled. Somehow, the refund had not been processed. No info on the date of cancellation or who cancelled it. The sales rep is no longer with Quilt. I'm hoping that the refund gets issued this time.
I was excited to see the recent news that Brimstone, a clean cement company, will also be able to produce alumina using the same manufacturing process. This seems consistent to me with something you've talked about extensively before, which is that solving the climate crisis may be easier than we think today from a technology perspective since as we deploy, we will find cheaper solutions in places we didn't necessarily expect.
Is there a term for this kind of cross-industry discovery, and how do you think policymakers can better support that process? It doesn't seem to fit neatly within the existing policy structure, which provides money or regulations to address specific problems.
I'm curious about EV battery safety -what's true currently and what R&D is being done for improvements. During hurricanes there was talk about EVs causing fires from seawater flooding. Now suddenly we're in wildfires on the west coast and EVs are propbably pretty dangerous if not moved by owners. I've been driving an EV since 2019 and can't imagine going back. I'd like to be more informed for discussing current risks, having safety plans, and learning/sharing about the potential for batteries that are less risky.
Tens of thousands of engineers and scientists are beavering away on making them even better. LFP, Na-ion, solid-state... The more volume biz for the incumbent Li-ion, the more R&D on making them better.
Oddly Bloomberg had a post focused on hazards from burning lithium batteries in the LA fires. Others discussed the toxic nightmare of burning pretty much everything from new PFAS coated carpets to PVC pipe to old "encapsulated" lead paint and even the lead batteries in every car.
for a great discussion with an FDNY vet. "Ya don' wanna stand next ta anyting dat's burnin."
These batteries do have one sort of fatal flaw, that the ignition source and flammable material are intermixed. But in the grand scheme of things, have we been hearing about the vast increase in PVC fake wood flooring and the toxic mess if that burns, oh and the microplastics from walking on it, etc.? Nooooo. We hear about every bloody EV fire.
Given the recent rash of fraud from distributed resources (ketchup caddy, voltus, American efficient) how can DER providers rebuild trust with grid operators?
You've spoken before about your fear of climate fascism coming from the right. Do you see Trump's absurd push for Greenland and the Panama canal as possible first steps in that direction?
With 2023 and 2024 the hottest years on record, and with constant high profile climate disasters in the news seemingly every week, it seems like climate change is finally starting to feel "real" to people. Given that the right still has no viable solutions to climate change, do you have any ideas how they might respond to this sudden salience if climate rises higher in people's priorities?
We've all heard how good transmission planning is key for the clean energy transition. Come help us work on transmission policy and planning in the Southeast! We're hiring a Transmission Planning Policy Manager at SACE, a non-profit advocacy org that works across the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and the TVA states. https://www.cleanenergy.org/blog/transmission-policy-manager/
I am a recent graduate with a BA in Environmental Studies & Sustainability. I have about a year’s worth of experience in residential building energy efficiency, mostly doing energy models for Energy Star compliance.
I was in search for some career advice, direction, and entry level opportunities. I have specific interests in the policy and economics side of it all, but open to just about anything. Currently based in Philadelphia. You can reach me at jakeharrispeters@gmail.com Thanks!
I wanted to share a load of Mapping Resources that I've been gathering and just used for a "Hackamapathon" event through Urbanist Shoreline, a very exciting new group that I've been collaborating with. If you're interested in using Maps, DataViz, Simulations and more to Tell Your Story, check out these resource links and the whole slide deck from our first event: (I'll give a heads up here about the next one!) https://bit.ly/hackamap1
Hello Volts community. I have created a pamphlet that I thought I could use to go around my community door knocking and trying to convince people about the glories of home electrification and some info on ways to help them with the transition. I'm an engineer, not a graphic designer, so I know it isn't the prettiest. But if anyone has any pointers on content to include, ways to make it more presentable, or points that you have found to be the most convincing when talking with people to get them to take action... I would love feedback! As soon as the weather warms back up I'll print my pamphlet and head out into the world. Feel free to use this pamphlet. Its tailored to Iowa but I'll post the word version so you can edit. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vxej_RVKRMAcizIh5rZPQqDeb0bLtT8v?usp=drive_link
As part of super insulating the lower level of my home in Kirkland, I am doing a seismic upgrade. I have learned lots technically and about the of seismic insurance and certification that simplifies the process. Contact me to glean what I have learned. You can find me at ken.albinger@gmail.com.
I want to give a huge "thank you" to the Volts team. All the positive info that Volts shares is one of the things keeping me hopeful. I'm a lifelong liberal, and I'm deeply worried about the next four years. But because of Volts I'm learning things that I never would have heard about - thermal energy networks, thermal energy storage, hydro power, Fervo, etc. I love hearing about smart, inventive, and dedicated people working hard to save the planet. Keep up the great work!
That would be a great episode. I work in wind energy and we found a defective trafo in one of our turbines so we ordered a warranty replacement... which arrived 2.5 years later. And thats a relatively small trafo. Imagine a substation size needing to get replaced.
Two good pods w/folks from the actual manufacturers. You are right about "built to spec," and apparently each little and big utility has it's own "spec." Is that really required? I'm sure it's not true that the steel is only from China. It's just limited here, and there are two kinds and there was some confusion about which one would prevail, and that made investing in expanding either risky.
One message from both pods is "Keep ordering transformers! The bigger our backlog, the more likely we are to build/expand factories biggly!"
I'm curious about this as well. I used to procure transformers for my old job, and transformer manufacturers seemed to be just about the most crawlingly slow and "stuck in old ways" industry. Really primitive drawings, long lead times for what's really a mechanically simple device.
Transformers aren't rocket science; they're copper wire, wrapped around laminated iron/steel, and potted in a gravel/resin mix.
Hi David, curious if you've looked into the theory of social diffusion of innovation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations). Basically, it says that the adoption of new technologies is primarily a social phenomenon. People buy a new thing after someone they know has bought it, and they can kinda look at it and ask how it works. This is why after one person in a neighborhood gets solar panels, others do too.
With the federal policy likely to be stymied for 4 years, I wonder if more attention should be paid to diffusing clean energy technologies socially. Is anyone deliberately trying to drive adoption this way, and do they have any tips on how to do that? I've had some success convincing friends to put solar panels on their roofs, even though I'm a renter and can't put up panels myself. Similarly, I left my EV with a friend while I was out of town for a week, and I think he's much more likely to get an EV now that he's had a chance to see how smooth and quiet it is and figure out that charging is pretty easy/convenient since he has regular access to an L2 charger, even with a 50+ mile daily commute.
This is well known re solar panels and there is a lot of material online, a search on something like "solar panel neighbor contagion" (without the quotes) will give plenty of info, going back at least 10 years and from several countries.
We had some similar issues with out cattle dog/pitt mix. A couple things worth looking into (apologies if you've already mentioned + tried them):
- The book "Control Unleashed: Reactive to Relaxed" by Leslie McDevitt (https://www.cleanrun.com/product/control_unleashed_book_3_reactive_to_relaxed_ebook/index.cfm) provides a ton of exercises for improving your reactive dog's life. It does take a bit of mental re-framing: asking questions and letting your dog (and their body language) guide the way on walks / in new situations vs "powering through" or trying to give commands when their brain is in fight-flight mode, but proved to be extremely helpful for knowing what to do in a potentially triggering situation with my dog, and gave my dog the ability to "default" to these behaviors on his own.
- I'm not sure if you've mentioned it, but had you looked into medication? It wouldn't be a silver bullet, but paired with training and mental stimulation / physical activity, it can really help.
- To the last point, the behavioral vet we worked with talked about 3 major pillars of behavior management: training, medication, and activity. Obviously doing stuff outdoor sounds stressful for all involved, so finding some indoor enrichment activities could be helpful. One go-to we used was hiding treats in cardboard boxes filled with paper, as well as doing nose-work classes to have him search out certain smells. These were not physically taxing, but wore him out and allowed him to chill out a bit.
I also just want to empathize how tough it is to have a reactive dog, I'm sorry it's been so tough with Abner. Having ideas of what having a dog could be (i.e. going leisurely, social walks) get thrown out the window is brutal. You have to be constantly vigilant with reactive dog, know their body language and triggers, and always be adapting. I think a lot of people (including other dog owners) don't get how much work goes into it and think you're doing something wrong, which is alienating. Wishing you the best of luck in helping Abner.
I've recently started to loan money to some clean energy projects on Climatize. https://www.climatize.earth/. I like that I know the money wouldn't be there without my support. Thought some folks here may be interested to do so also.
I meant to write and mention it; I also have an Aquanta DHW controller. Easy to install and "program." I'm not on any TOU rates, but I know our "grid" peaks at breakfast and dinner and I turn the heater off then. Maybe I'm short of DHW once or twice a year. It's only a 40 gallon standard resistance tank. I see Seattle City Light is planning to roll out TOU rates, supposedly any day now. Always an occasion for progressive-enviro-neo-liberal conflict and angst.
I'd be interested to see some of your recommendations (or your various guests' recommendations) for books to go deeper on the many incredible topics you cover. Maybe a blog post aggregating some of those, or a recurring podcast interview question you ask?
Could you do an episode deep dive on home batteries, vehicle to home, the economics, the tech - DC-coupled vs AC- coupled, etc? At what point does it make sense to go battery vs generator? Are iron air batteries really coming to the residential market? Worth waiting for?
Hi David, I used to live in Seattle and have a lot of old friends there. I posted a note to some on Facebook with your question and got these two recommendations re trainers for highly reactive dogs:
David, if she's available, Meghan Karnes is located between Sequim and Port Angeles and has an excellent reputation with reactive dogs. She does a boot camp with your dog. They are also helping out with the loss of our local humane society's ability to care for dogs, so I'm not sure her availability. https://www.collared-scholar.com/about-us/
Gavin Newsom has announced he wants to do a Marshall Plan 2.0 for Los Angeles to rebuild after the Fire Hurricanes destroying 20,000 homes.
What does that mean? Seems relevant to a lot of volts topics and industry specialists that are guests on the pod.
The Marshall Plan was undergirded by the phenomenal USA logistics The War department assembled during (and maintained after) World War II. The Marshall Plan wasn’t just a success because it was a blank check, it was a success because it put expertise, people and material where they needed to be and pre-met supply until demand was exhausted.
So I wonder what are some logistics that California could start doing to “pre-meet” fire-rebuilding supply until demand is exhausted?
A basic one is appliances. Have California buy =~ 10,000 heat pump water heaters in the most common sizes and then let any rebuilding unit draw from that supply at cost until the supply is drawn down. Theres a lot of benefits to “pre-supply”; One is economies of scale drive prices down, two is prevents price gouging, three it gets a big order in early to prevent future supply chain issues and four it prevents inflation by not impacting the supply and demand of regular appliance sales at retailers from non-rebuilding markets.
Now apply this for every standard home appliance and most importantly: HVAC, Heat Pumps for everyone. Naturally this can applied elsewhere: fireproof steel roofs, solar, home batteries etc. and California could pick some of the best performing options, climate wise.
They could also organize centralized classes and installation training, let every CA licensed installer attend for free and let army COE and national guard and homeowners in too, so every one can get familiar with installing the one or two options available for rebuilding. This is the expertise and people side of Marshall Plan logistics. It also speeds rebuilding because it reduces installation time with standardized options as well as “paradox of choice” issues that delay rebuilding efforts.
No one would have to participate and uptake would be lower with aesthetic appliances (like refrigerators), but these sorts of things are very possible to organize and implement.
Another huge part of a Marshall Plan is debris removal and restoration of base infrastructure. There are going to be thousands of heavy trucks and equipment on every affected street removing tons of debris and scraping toxic top soil. Underground piping from gas to water to sewer are going to have to be inspected and at times replaced in large projects. Electrical potentially could be undergrounded but underground utility service wires carry less power than overhead wires because there is no air-cooling of wires when electrical is undergrounded. so that multiplies the electrical infrastructure needed and how and where that infrastructure might connect to the existing grid infrastructure.
More thousands of heavy trucks are probably going to be coming in to prevent mudslides, to restore top soil, rebuild housing and finally rebuild the streets destroyed by the massive debris removal and restoration projects. The palisades will loudly demand wider major streets, and fair enough given the circumstances of last tuesdays evacuation, but many areas could be built with street upgrades that build in bus lanes on major streets and include modern separated bike lanes (protected at intersections not weaving into traffic at intersections as is standard in LA). And rebuilding streets with sidewalks and bulb-out intersections and roundabouts in neighborhood streets etc.
Well the SoCal Santa Ana winds are howling today, so fingers crossed no fires ignite in my area, so far we are lucky to be spared the tragedies so many Angelenos have suffered the past week.
I don't speak for the Newsom crowd, and have been on the outside of the mainstream of thought on the political economy of power systems in our shared Brown^3/Newsom political family.
I speak from my experience starting as Principal Market Design Economist at the Cal ISO from the collapse of the ancillary services markets until shortly before the Real Y2K bug, the failure of the energy markets and attendant bankruptcies. I got myself fired before the rocks all came tumbling down, and that time I absolutely did not toss any pebbles down any unstable slopes. I just talked too much about locational pricing and too little about how our $250/MWh price caps were just what the doctor ordered. Not this doctor.
Newsom's forestry policy, which grew from the initiative of Sierra County, flanked as always by the neighbors of Nevada and Plumas Counties, is unfolding around us, particularly on the Federal lands of the watershed of the North Yuba River.
The Newsom policy was born in Loyalton, in the latter Brown years, in a conversation involving a prominent local rancher, logger, firefighter, and politician, who has never voted for a Democrat in his life.
Supervisor Roen suggested that putting a few million into getting the old 20 MW steam-turbine known locally as the Loyalton Cogen (no steam customer anymore) supported Governor Brown's then-revolutionary carbon targets.
And so carbon economics came to California forerts policy, where spending decision iare increasingly driven by minimizing Expected Net Present Value GHG, measured in Tonnes CO2. In the forestry context, where we are managing a growing carbon sink, this is implemented as maximizing Tonnes Avoided CO2 (TAC).
Those relentless innovators the Californians, with those who walk with us, are now making the jump to the carbon economy.
This jump has been made possible by the recognition, including by smart money, including victims of the Palisades calamity, that forests are an essential, at risk, subject to both stewardship and investment, asset on the balance sheet of the global carbon economy.
The forests in which I live and walk are fortunate indeed to share this great place California with the financial and technical resources of not-just-LA, with our phenomenal working communities.
Heat pumps and solar and wind and everything else are good, in a functioning carbon economy which we have already launched in the forests communities of the Northern Sierra, which we are already sharing with urban counterparties such as our dear friends, neighbors, and colleagues of the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water, an amazing organization which makes me proud of my time in the power industry.
Without drawing you into the social media platform wars, can I ask you to please bridge your Bluesky account to Mastodon/Fediverse so I can follow you from my Mastodon account?
"Bridge your Bluesky account to the fediverse by following @ap.brid.gy on Bluesky".
Come join our team at PowerLines, a new nonprofit organization focused on state PUC reform that we launched last September here on Volts! We have 2 roles posted and live: (1) Partnerships & Policy Associate/Manager and (2) Senior Advisor. Get in on the ground floor of a new org during the most pivotal juncture facing our energy system since its inception. Feel free to email me at charles@powerlines.org with any questions.
>> Well, it turns out he's a nightmare dog. He's very sweet with us at home and generally sweet >> with people, but he is insanely reactive toward other dogs when he is out on a leash.
I assume you have bought him a muzzle. I have a dog with the same issue and boy does he need one.
(Ausie)Tsu, here. With a half-baked thoughts about characterizing the balance between generation and use in a given geography. (Sub station?).
We don't know the balance. Don't know how to measure behind-the-meter, and still we talk of Building new transition/distribution. Anyone interested in building the system that is able to claim: said suburb is generating 80pc of the power it uses/ generate?
I'm becoming obsessed about Level 2 V2H charging. Now that I've replaced my fossil gas FAU with a heat pump & bought a used VW ID4, my 10-panel solar system (4,200kW) is somewhat under-sized. So I'm hoping that when my VW ID4 software gets updated in May to Version 3.5, I might be able to get a V2H charger, allowing me to use stored energy in the vehicle battery during the peak rate 3 pm - 12 pm hours, then recharge the VW battery during low-rate 12 pm to 3 pm hours, as usual. I haven't had a utility power outage since 2017, so i can't justify spending $10k on a stationary storage battery. Any expert comments appreciated.
I empathize with you on Abner. Our one year old Boomer is a delightful dog, with such intense separation anxiety that he has figured out how to escape the house to come find us on multiple occasions, somehow not getting hit by a car, yet. I hate having to crate him every time we leave for 5 minutes, but he can open door handles and flip deadbolts. He’s such a hard dog to love!
David, Abner may be reactive with other dogs because he is with you. Try taking him to some woods and running him off leash and then try a large dog park at a quiet time. You may find he is different when on his own and will start to take his place in the pack. He may be alpha, so ….. Worth a try. I would suggest Maymoor Dog Park Redmond. It is large and has river access. Ken
--- MAILBAG QUESTIONS ---
I love the idea of a hot water utility for ground source heat pumps. But there was no discussion of how heat usage is going to be metered. Are there already heat pumps that can do that metering? It seems to me that in addition to converting gas utilities to heat utilities they also need to merge (or enter data sharing agreements) with electric utilities.
I get the general point, but for the pilot project in question Eversource IS the electric (as well as gas) utility.
Oh, interesting. It makes a lot more sense that way. Otherwise I don’t see why a gas utility would want to convert its customers to electrically powered heat pumps in exchange for unmetered heat
Btu meters exist and are used on projects with district thermal energy, including several I’ve worked on.
I think these thermal networks are a bit of a blank canvas, at the moment.
I envision the pilot discussed to be a network of pipes where the water circulates at a depth and volume to where it stays in a fairly tight range of temperature without any external heating or cooling applied. Residential customers are charged a flat monthly fee. I imagine an only slightly more complicated determination of the fee for commercial, maybe based on building volume or square footage - still just a flat fee. Just speculating, though.
I could go on. Like I said - "blank canvas". Keep in mind that heat pumps provide heating *and* cooling. So, tapping into a source of waste heat may benefit the system only seasonally. If the water of the system varies by a few degrees, it's still *drastically* more helpful to the heat pump than outside air.
The cost calculus of electrification (especially in low-income housing) is so tough when switching from natural gas to electric. What would it take to make electricity cheaper than gas?
A followup question. What makes it worthwhile for a developer or landlord to install energy efficient (presumably electric) appliances. These appliances may save money for the renter, but not the landlord.
Perhaps the dangers of natural gas to the users is a reason for developers and landlords to get rid of natural gas to avoid lawsuits.
Despite truth, science, economics and public health being on the side of the energy transition we are losing the information war. Astroturfing, disinformation, bots, you name it are running circles around "us". Any thoughts on how we can, or organizations who are fighting back on this depressing trend?
Form groups to address it.
Recently locally we paid homage to a climate/energy activist who passed away a decade ago. One comment has stuck with me, "He made renewable energy COOL."
Now the forces of delay and denial are trying to make renewable energy, electrification, etc., UNCOOL in a dozen ways. IMHO, many of the "organizations" became decidedly uncool. From the perspective of an old white male privileged nerd. I mean how long do we need to spend on this zoom call talking about your guilt and grief and pronouns and half-acre regenerative gardens while planning to picket a bank. Nobody even gets it. "The bank is causing global heating????"
Gotta change that back. Be proud of bulldozers and pile drivers building solar farms (Bumpah Stickah: Solar Farms Are Farms!) and cranes and whirring blades of 500' tall wind turbines and exploding batteries. Tom Edison's light bulbs burned down a few buildings before the electric code caught up. Wind and solar paying back their embodied emissions in a year or two. How it's great to go from 30% carbon free to 80% carbon free and don't bother me about your 100% nuke that will cost 10 trillion dollars and won't be ready for 10 years and can't be insured by anyone. Trump picks LOSERS! (He hates losing!)
Hey David, I'm a climate newbie who's been learning about this stuff mainly by binging your podcast and Googling all the things I don't understand.
1. Any ur-texts you'd recommend to newcomers? Does it make sense to start listening to Volts from the very beginning, or has enough changed in the interim that reverse-engineering the more recent episodes is smarter?
2. Are you familiar with the "Fellowships" on offer by green jobs-posting sites like Climatebase and Terra.do? I'm now trying to get a job in climate (thanks in large part to Volts, fyi); are they worth ponying up for?
A follow up general Volts philosophy/audience question on this. Do you have people relatively new to climate in mind as an audience for Volts and do you plan on any general primers type content on certain umbrella topics? You’ve certainly written enough regarding this in the past, but maybe not in a such structured way of bringing someone new up to speed on what they should ultimately know on all the pieces of the climate puzzle at a higher level. Where do you sit with this type of content? Is it interesting for you or a pain in the ass? I can imagine it is not so podcast friendly and/or should be attempted in a more written format. Curious to know all your thoughts on the matter!
@Jon - I can’t speak about those 2 websites, but I guess my question would be what does "get a job in climate" mean to you? It depends a lot on your skills and interests. You could be doing anything from installing solar panels, engineering some very specific tech in a cement factory or being a keyboard crusader in a NGO. My sense is you are in the discovery phase, so keep reading and trying things, see what you gravitate to and try to figure out why. Some other links for you: climatesolutions-careers.org/ (started by a fellow Volter Jeff) and collegetoclimate.co I would also recommend scanning through David’s older work on Vox and reading anything that jumps out vox.com/authors/david-roberts
I know that David answered this question on the mailbag but a heads up that the Volts team recently put together a Volts "primer", the release of which is TBD but soon. However, it's more of a "best-of" guide rather than something truly introductory.
Thanks for the reply, Matt! I will for sure check out those links.
I am definitely still in the discovery phase. My career to date has been as a marketing copywriter for tech companies, so something writing/comms/policy adjacent I think makes practical sense.
I'm trying to go for maximum impact... while being realistic about applying to jobs I have a chance at landing.
I feel like a lot of times guests on Volts will say the best thing you can do for the cause is to just raise awareness and help get the national conversation going, so maybe that would be the best use of my time and energy? Like, every episode is so fascinating to me, I can't help but feel there's a huge opportunity to get more people interested in this stuff. Just not sure how I can do that in a way that pays me a living wage.
I know a fair amount of people who've done terra.do or climatebase fellowships. The feedback is mixed. If you want to learn some climate basics, start to establish a network and learn a snippet of the lay of the land, they're not bad places to start. But the fellowships themselves don't have the cache (or training) to get someone directly hired in climate.
The climate sector is hard to break into. Not impossible, but like any sector, it takes time and work and hustle and luck. Volts can absolutely arm you with enough knowledge to be dangerous but depending on where you are in your career, it may make sense to continue on your current path and apply a climate lens to your work. I often say that the non-climate professionals within companies are the most effective advocates and I sincerely believe that. You might want to check out drawdown.org/programs/drawdown-labs/job-function-action-guides and workonclimate.org
Appreciate the follow-up, Samuel! I'm starting a fellowship program with Climate Drift later this month, geared towards mid-career folks trying to transition into climate, so I'm hopeful it'll help. I also have an idea for a clean energy newsletter of my own -- taking a stab at a wide-reaching introductory angle with the goal of turning more people onto talking and caring about these things.
I'd check out Reimagine Appalachia for their job notices. The pay is fairly low in a lot of postings.
How can we distinguish contractors and companies providing goods which are likely to last for a long time from those which feel a bit scammy? This comes out of your interview with Cory Doctorow, and my examination of heat pumps, and other technologies as a consumer/home owner. Here's a couple examples of heat pump companies and my thoughts.
1. I think Harvest Smart Thermal Battery is likely to work even if Harvest goes out of business and servers are down. Most parts are off the shelf, and, if needed, I can replace the smart pod with an off the shelf product. It may not be smart, but I will still have hot water and heating. And I found a contractor who has worked in this space for a while.
2.. Quilt mini-splits is starting to feel scammy. They want a $500 deposit before setting up a virtual meeting. I paid up. The contractors do not show up in person until day of installation. They didn't even want a video walk through, just a sketch of my small in-law unit. They only use one size heat pump and head. Maybe this makes sense, though other contractors want to use different size head for different size rooms. They could come up with a description of how the system works if Quilt goes out of business. They use sort of off the shelf products, but with enough proprietary stuff that I'm not sure what happens in the future. I was not reassured by promises that the new start up would survive over the long run. A few weeks after the appointment, I logged in to cancel and get a refund. I found out that I had already been cancelled. Somehow, the refund had not been processed. No info on the date of cancellation or who cancelled it. The sales rep is no longer with Quilt. I'm hoping that the refund gets issued this time.
It is possible that the Quilt representative is no longer with Quilt because the California rebates ran out last Friday.
It is possible that the business model was unsustainable for other reasons
I was excited to see the recent news that Brimstone, a clean cement company, will also be able to produce alumina using the same manufacturing process. This seems consistent to me with something you've talked about extensively before, which is that solving the climate crisis may be easier than we think today from a technology perspective since as we deploy, we will find cheaper solutions in places we didn't necessarily expect.
Is there a term for this kind of cross-industry discovery, and how do you think policymakers can better support that process? It doesn't seem to fit neatly within the existing policy structure, which provides money or regulations to address specific problems.
I'm curious about EV battery safety -what's true currently and what R&D is being done for improvements. During hurricanes there was talk about EVs causing fires from seawater flooding. Now suddenly we're in wildfires on the west coast and EVs are propbably pretty dangerous if not moved by owners. I've been driving an EV since 2019 and can't imagine going back. I'd like to be more informed for discussing current risks, having safety plans, and learning/sharing about the potential for batteries that are less risky.
Actual data:
https://www.dekra.com/en/electric-vehicle-fires-how-often-do-they-really-occur/
Tens of thousands of engineers and scientists are beavering away on making them even better. LFP, Na-ion, solid-state... The more volume biz for the incumbent Li-ion, the more R&D on making them better.
Oddly Bloomberg had a post focused on hazards from burning lithium batteries in the LA fires. Others discussed the toxic nightmare of burning pretty much everything from new PFAS coated carpets to PVC pipe to old "encapsulated" lead paint and even the lead batteries in every car.
Check out https://www.woodmac.com/podcasts/the-interchange-recharged/how-can-the-industry-improve-battery-storage-fire-safety/
for a great discussion with an FDNY vet. "Ya don' wanna stand next ta anyting dat's burnin."
These batteries do have one sort of fatal flaw, that the ignition source and flammable material are intermixed. But in the grand scheme of things, have we been hearing about the vast increase in PVC fake wood flooring and the toxic mess if that burns, oh and the microplastics from walking on it, etc.? Nooooo. We hear about every bloody EV fire.
Given the recent rash of fraud from distributed resources (ketchup caddy, voltus, American efficient) how can DER providers rebuild trust with grid operators?
You've spoken before about your fear of climate fascism coming from the right. Do you see Trump's absurd push for Greenland and the Panama canal as possible first steps in that direction?
With 2023 and 2024 the hottest years on record, and with constant high profile climate disasters in the news seemingly every week, it seems like climate change is finally starting to feel "real" to people. Given that the right still has no viable solutions to climate change, do you have any ideas how they might respond to this sudden salience if climate rises higher in people's priorities?
Would you interview Trump or any of his administration? What would you ask?
--- CLIMATE JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES ---
We've all heard how good transmission planning is key for the clean energy transition. Come help us work on transmission policy and planning in the Southeast! We're hiring a Transmission Planning Policy Manager at SACE, a non-profit advocacy org that works across the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and the TVA states. https://www.cleanenergy.org/blog/transmission-policy-manager/
Hey all,
I am a recent graduate with a BA in Environmental Studies & Sustainability. I have about a year’s worth of experience in residential building energy efficiency, mostly doing energy models for Energy Star compliance.
I was in search for some career advice, direction, and entry level opportunities. I have specific interests in the policy and economics side of it all, but open to just about anything. Currently based in Philadelphia. You can reach me at jakeharrispeters@gmail.com Thanks!
--- SHARE WORK, ASK FOR HELP, FIND COLLABORATORS ---
I wanted to share a load of Mapping Resources that I've been gathering and just used for a "Hackamapathon" event through Urbanist Shoreline, a very exciting new group that I've been collaborating with. If you're interested in using Maps, DataViz, Simulations and more to Tell Your Story, check out these resource links and the whole slide deck from our first event: (I'll give a heads up here about the next one!) https://bit.ly/hackamap1
If there’s a list for these events I’d love to be added! Sounds fascinating. majemc@gmail.com
Hello Volts community. I have created a pamphlet that I thought I could use to go around my community door knocking and trying to convince people about the glories of home electrification and some info on ways to help them with the transition. I'm an engineer, not a graphic designer, so I know it isn't the prettiest. But if anyone has any pointers on content to include, ways to make it more presentable, or points that you have found to be the most convincing when talking with people to get them to take action... I would love feedback! As soon as the weather warms back up I'll print my pamphlet and head out into the world. Feel free to use this pamphlet. Its tailored to Iowa but I'll post the word version so you can edit. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vxej_RVKRMAcizIh5rZPQqDeb0bLtT8v?usp=drive_link
As part of super insulating the lower level of my home in Kirkland, I am doing a seismic upgrade. I have learned lots technically and about the of seismic insurance and certification that simplifies the process. Contact me to glean what I have learned. You can find me at ken.albinger@gmail.com.
--- CLIMATE EVENTS & MEETUPS ---
--- EVERYTHING ELSE ---
I want to give a huge "thank you" to the Volts team. All the positive info that Volts shares is one of the things keeping me hopeful. I'm a lifelong liberal, and I'm deeply worried about the next four years. But because of Volts I'm learning things that I never would have heard about - thermal energy networks, thermal energy storage, hydro power, Fervo, etc. I love hearing about smart, inventive, and dedicated people working hard to save the planet. Keep up the great work!
I wonder if there is an episode in the works specifically about the transformer supply chain?
I am under the impression that:
- there are *years* of transformers on back order
- a lot of transformers are built to spec
- a necessary grade of steel is only produced in China
I think a lot of good work and progress is set up to be stifled by this situation.
Thanks.
That would be a great episode. I work in wind energy and we found a defective trafo in one of our turbines so we ordered a warranty replacement... which arrived 2.5 years later. And thats a relatively small trafo. Imagine a substation size needing to get replaced.
Two good pods w/folks from the actual manufacturers. You are right about "built to spec," and apparently each little and big utility has it's own "spec." Is that really required? I'm sure it's not true that the steel is only from China. It's just limited here, and there are two kinds and there was some confusion about which one would prevail, and that made investing in expanding either risky.
One message from both pods is "Keep ordering transformers! The bigger our backlog, the more likely we are to build/expand factories biggly!"
https://www.woodmac.com/podcasts/the-energy-gang/trouble-with-transformers/
w/ Travis Edmonds, the Head of Supply Chain Management for North American Transformers at Hitachi Energy
https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/catalyst-understanding-the-electric-transformer-shortage/
w/ Tim Mills, CEO at transformer manufacturer ERMCO
I'm curious about this as well. I used to procure transformers for my old job, and transformer manufacturers seemed to be just about the most crawlingly slow and "stuck in old ways" industry. Really primitive drawings, long lead times for what's really a mechanically simple device.
Transformers aren't rocket science; they're copper wire, wrapped around laminated iron/steel, and potted in a gravel/resin mix.
I would love this too but I think trade secrets keeps this from being an interesting discussion
Hi David, curious if you've looked into the theory of social diffusion of innovation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations). Basically, it says that the adoption of new technologies is primarily a social phenomenon. People buy a new thing after someone they know has bought it, and they can kinda look at it and ask how it works. This is why after one person in a neighborhood gets solar panels, others do too.
With the federal policy likely to be stymied for 4 years, I wonder if more attention should be paid to diffusing clean energy technologies socially. Is anyone deliberately trying to drive adoption this way, and do they have any tips on how to do that? I've had some success convincing friends to put solar panels on their roofs, even though I'm a renter and can't put up panels myself. Similarly, I left my EV with a friend while I was out of town for a week, and I think he's much more likely to get an EV now that he's had a chance to see how smooth and quiet it is and figure out that charging is pretty easy/convenient since he has regular access to an L2 charger, even with a 50+ mile daily commute.
This is well known re solar panels and there is a lot of material online, a search on something like "solar panel neighbor contagion" (without the quotes) will give plenty of info, going back at least 10 years and from several countries.
I also found this post on X :) https://x.com/drvolts/status/1734692141417574807
We had some similar issues with out cattle dog/pitt mix. A couple things worth looking into (apologies if you've already mentioned + tried them):
- The book "Control Unleashed: Reactive to Relaxed" by Leslie McDevitt (https://www.cleanrun.com/product/control_unleashed_book_3_reactive_to_relaxed_ebook/index.cfm) provides a ton of exercises for improving your reactive dog's life. It does take a bit of mental re-framing: asking questions and letting your dog (and their body language) guide the way on walks / in new situations vs "powering through" or trying to give commands when their brain is in fight-flight mode, but proved to be extremely helpful for knowing what to do in a potentially triggering situation with my dog, and gave my dog the ability to "default" to these behaviors on his own.
- I'm not sure if you've mentioned it, but had you looked into medication? It wouldn't be a silver bullet, but paired with training and mental stimulation / physical activity, it can really help.
- To the last point, the behavioral vet we worked with talked about 3 major pillars of behavior management: training, medication, and activity. Obviously doing stuff outdoor sounds stressful for all involved, so finding some indoor enrichment activities could be helpful. One go-to we used was hiding treats in cardboard boxes filled with paper, as well as doing nose-work classes to have him search out certain smells. These were not physically taxing, but wore him out and allowed him to chill out a bit.
I also just want to empathize how tough it is to have a reactive dog, I'm sorry it's been so tough with Abner. Having ideas of what having a dog could be (i.e. going leisurely, social walks) get thrown out the window is brutal. You have to be constantly vigilant with reactive dog, know their body language and triggers, and always be adapting. I think a lot of people (including other dog owners) don't get how much work goes into it and think you're doing something wrong, which is alienating. Wishing you the best of luck in helping Abner.
I've recently started to loan money to some clean energy projects on Climatize. https://www.climatize.earth/. I like that I know the money wouldn't be there without my support. Thought some folks here may be interested to do so also.
*this is not financial advice*
I meant to write and mention it; I also have an Aquanta DHW controller. Easy to install and "program." I'm not on any TOU rates, but I know our "grid" peaks at breakfast and dinner and I turn the heater off then. Maybe I'm short of DHW once or twice a year. It's only a 40 gallon standard resistance tank. I see Seattle City Light is planning to roll out TOU rates, supposedly any day now. Always an occasion for progressive-enviro-neo-liberal conflict and angst.
I'd be interested to see some of your recommendations (or your various guests' recommendations) for books to go deeper on the many incredible topics you cover. Maybe a blog post aggregating some of those, or a recurring podcast interview question you ask?
Could you do an episode deep dive on home batteries, vehicle to home, the economics, the tech - DC-coupled vs AC- coupled, etc? At what point does it make sense to go battery vs generator? Are iron air batteries really coming to the residential market? Worth waiting for?
Hi David, I used to live in Seattle and have a lot of old friends there. I posted a note to some on Facebook with your question and got these two recommendations re trainers for highly reactive dogs:
A specific place, West Seattle Wonder Dogs: https://westseattlewonderdogs.com/
A site that lists a LOT of Seattle / Western Washington trainers who work with reactive dogs: https://www.sniffspot.com/blog/dog-trainers/seattle-wa
Hope those are helpful!
David, if she's available, Meghan Karnes is located between Sequim and Port Angeles and has an excellent reputation with reactive dogs. She does a boot camp with your dog. They are also helping out with the loss of our local humane society's ability to care for dogs, so I'm not sure her availability. https://www.collared-scholar.com/about-us/
We have a reactive dog, too. It's so challenging.
Gavin Newsom has announced he wants to do a Marshall Plan 2.0 for Los Angeles to rebuild after the Fire Hurricanes destroying 20,000 homes.
What does that mean? Seems relevant to a lot of volts topics and industry specialists that are guests on the pod.
The Marshall Plan was undergirded by the phenomenal USA logistics The War department assembled during (and maintained after) World War II. The Marshall Plan wasn’t just a success because it was a blank check, it was a success because it put expertise, people and material where they needed to be and pre-met supply until demand was exhausted.
So I wonder what are some logistics that California could start doing to “pre-meet” fire-rebuilding supply until demand is exhausted?
A basic one is appliances. Have California buy =~ 10,000 heat pump water heaters in the most common sizes and then let any rebuilding unit draw from that supply at cost until the supply is drawn down. Theres a lot of benefits to “pre-supply”; One is economies of scale drive prices down, two is prevents price gouging, three it gets a big order in early to prevent future supply chain issues and four it prevents inflation by not impacting the supply and demand of regular appliance sales at retailers from non-rebuilding markets.
Now apply this for every standard home appliance and most importantly: HVAC, Heat Pumps for everyone. Naturally this can applied elsewhere: fireproof steel roofs, solar, home batteries etc. and California could pick some of the best performing options, climate wise.
They could also organize centralized classes and installation training, let every CA licensed installer attend for free and let army COE and national guard and homeowners in too, so every one can get familiar with installing the one or two options available for rebuilding. This is the expertise and people side of Marshall Plan logistics. It also speeds rebuilding because it reduces installation time with standardized options as well as “paradox of choice” issues that delay rebuilding efforts.
No one would have to participate and uptake would be lower with aesthetic appliances (like refrigerators), but these sorts of things are very possible to organize and implement.
Another huge part of a Marshall Plan is debris removal and restoration of base infrastructure. There are going to be thousands of heavy trucks and equipment on every affected street removing tons of debris and scraping toxic top soil. Underground piping from gas to water to sewer are going to have to be inspected and at times replaced in large projects. Electrical potentially could be undergrounded but underground utility service wires carry less power than overhead wires because there is no air-cooling of wires when electrical is undergrounded. so that multiplies the electrical infrastructure needed and how and where that infrastructure might connect to the existing grid infrastructure.
More thousands of heavy trucks are probably going to be coming in to prevent mudslides, to restore top soil, rebuild housing and finally rebuild the streets destroyed by the massive debris removal and restoration projects. The palisades will loudly demand wider major streets, and fair enough given the circumstances of last tuesdays evacuation, but many areas could be built with street upgrades that build in bus lanes on major streets and include modern separated bike lanes (protected at intersections not weaving into traffic at intersections as is standard in LA). And rebuilding streets with sidewalks and bulb-out intersections and roundabouts in neighborhood streets etc.
Well the SoCal Santa Ana winds are howling today, so fingers crossed no fires ignite in my area, so far we are lucky to be spared the tragedies so many Angelenos have suffered the past week.
I don't speak for the Newsom crowd, and have been on the outside of the mainstream of thought on the political economy of power systems in our shared Brown^3/Newsom political family.
I speak from my experience starting as Principal Market Design Economist at the Cal ISO from the collapse of the ancillary services markets until shortly before the Real Y2K bug, the failure of the energy markets and attendant bankruptcies. I got myself fired before the rocks all came tumbling down, and that time I absolutely did not toss any pebbles down any unstable slopes. I just talked too much about locational pricing and too little about how our $250/MWh price caps were just what the doctor ordered. Not this doctor.
Newsom's forestry policy, which grew from the initiative of Sierra County, flanked as always by the neighbors of Nevada and Plumas Counties, is unfolding around us, particularly on the Federal lands of the watershed of the North Yuba River.
The Newsom policy was born in Loyalton, in the latter Brown years, in a conversation involving a prominent local rancher, logger, firefighter, and politician, who has never voted for a Democrat in his life.
Supervisor Roen suggested that putting a few million into getting the old 20 MW steam-turbine known locally as the Loyalton Cogen (no steam customer anymore) supported Governor Brown's then-revolutionary carbon targets.
And so carbon economics came to California forerts policy, where spending decision iare increasingly driven by minimizing Expected Net Present Value GHG, measured in Tonnes CO2. In the forestry context, where we are managing a growing carbon sink, this is implemented as maximizing Tonnes Avoided CO2 (TAC).
Those relentless innovators the Californians, with those who walk with us, are now making the jump to the carbon economy.
This jump has been made possible by the recognition, including by smart money, including victims of the Palisades calamity, that forests are an essential, at risk, subject to both stewardship and investment, asset on the balance sheet of the global carbon economy.
The forests in which I live and walk are fortunate indeed to share this great place California with the financial and technical resources of not-just-LA, with our phenomenal working communities.
Heat pumps and solar and wind and everything else are good, in a functioning carbon economy which we have already launched in the forests communities of the Northern Sierra, which we are already sharing with urban counterparties such as our dear friends, neighbors, and colleagues of the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water, an amazing organization which makes me proud of my time in the power industry.
David,
Without drawing you into the social media platform wars, can I ask you to please bridge your Bluesky account to Mastodon/Fediverse so I can follow you from my Mastodon account?
"Bridge your Bluesky account to the fediverse by following @ap.brid.gy on Bluesky".
https://fed.brid.gy/ has more info on bridging.
Thanks - Joe
Come join our team at PowerLines, a new nonprofit organization focused on state PUC reform that we launched last September here on Volts! We have 2 roles posted and live: (1) Partnerships & Policy Associate/Manager and (2) Senior Advisor. Get in on the ground floor of a new org during the most pivotal juncture facing our energy system since its inception. Feel free to email me at charles@powerlines.org with any questions.
https://powerlines.org/careers/
I am delighted to draw your attention to a set of publications released today by a group of commercial fishermen from Alaska, the West Coast, and New England focused on catalyzing a transition to a low-carbon fishing fleet. At a time of shifting political priorities, this work shows that climate leadership can come from all corners, and calls upon government to take its cue from those most affected. For a dose of inspiration during these dark days, click here: https://www.fisheryfriendlyclimateaction.org/blog/press-release-a-transition-to-a-low-carbon-fishing-fleet-community-led-reports-chart-a-course-for-a-hard-to-decarbonize-sector
>> Well, it turns out he's a nightmare dog. He's very sweet with us at home and generally sweet >> with people, but he is insanely reactive toward other dogs when he is out on a leash.
I assume you have bought him a muzzle. I have a dog with the same issue and boy does he need one.
Rewiring America https://homes.rewiringamerica.org/ was advertising on Facebook. Do I want to share my information with them?
(Ausie)Tsu, here. With a half-baked thoughts about characterizing the balance between generation and use in a given geography. (Sub station?).
We don't know the balance. Don't know how to measure behind-the-meter, and still we talk of Building new transition/distribution. Anyone interested in building the system that is able to claim: said suburb is generating 80pc of the power it uses/ generate?
Everything Else:
I'm becoming obsessed about Level 2 V2H charging. Now that I've replaced my fossil gas FAU with a heat pump & bought a used VW ID4, my 10-panel solar system (4,200kW) is somewhat under-sized. So I'm hoping that when my VW ID4 software gets updated in May to Version 3.5, I might be able to get a V2H charger, allowing me to use stored energy in the vehicle battery during the peak rate 3 pm - 12 pm hours, then recharge the VW battery during low-rate 12 pm to 3 pm hours, as usual. I haven't had a utility power outage since 2017, so i can't justify spending $10k on a stationary storage battery. Any expert comments appreciated.
If / when you figure this out, please share the info with others
I empathize with you on Abner. Our one year old Boomer is a delightful dog, with such intense separation anxiety that he has figured out how to escape the house to come find us on multiple occasions, somehow not getting hit by a car, yet. I hate having to crate him every time we leave for 5 minutes, but he can open door handles and flip deadbolts. He’s such a hard dog to love!
I'm so sorry about Abner. The gentle leader restrains my hellbaby, but he's only 20 lbs.
David, Abner may be reactive with other dogs because he is with you. Try taking him to some woods and running him off leash and then try a large dog park at a quiet time. You may find he is different when on his own and will start to take his place in the pack. He may be alpha, so ….. Worth a try. I would suggest Maymoor Dog Park Redmond. It is large and has river access. Ken
Please don't let a known aggressive dog off its leash in a public place. I'm not sure why you'd suggest that.