AESP National Conference Recap – A Thought Leadership Effort

Karys Arisohn, Zondits staff, 4/28/2023 New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinctive music, Creole cuisine, unique dialects, and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The National AESP Conference was celebrated a week after Fat Tuesday, Feb. 27- March 2 at the Marriott on Canal Street in the historic heart of the city, a … Read more

Utility Bill Triage & Standby Rates

Matt Arisohn, Zondits guest, 4/25/2023 Matt Arisohn is the President at Next Energy World, LLC where he works with commercial customers to obtain higher energy efficiency levels, install clean energy systems, and reduce costs. This article has been edited from a blog entry posted by Matt, https://new-sustainability.com/f/utility-bill-triage-standby-rates. During this past winter, electric and natural gas … Read more

Zondits Exclusive: An Interview With the Owner of the ‘Take a Nap’ Store

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 4/1/2023 Zondits was recently in Florida covering a national clean energy conference when we learned that the retailer Take a Nap (TAN) was stockpiling gas cook stoves in anticipation of federal government restrictions. For reasons that will become clear, TAN operates much like a speakeasy, but Zondits had a line on … Read more

Ask the Expert: Smart Panels

Mark D’Antonio, Zondits staff, 3/1/2023 Zondits spoke with Mark D’Antonio, an industry expert in clean technology approaches to decarbonizing the built environment. I’m in the process of designing a net zero home with solar, battery storage, electric appliances, and heat pumps for heating and hot water. I will also have an EV charger system. I … Read more

“With today’s proposals, we’re building on a decades-long effort with industry to ensure tomorrow’s appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money.”

Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said, “With today’s proposals, we’re building on a decades-long effort with industry to ensure tomorrow’s appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money. Over the last 40 years, at the direction of Congress, DOE has worked to promote innovation, improve consumers’ options, and raise efficiency standards for household appliances without … Read more

Heat Pumps – The Market in the Northeast Heats Up in Two Ways

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 2/21/2023 “The battle has just begun. Stay tuned.” What’s that about? The 2024 election? Spy balloons? Vaccines? Heck no, it’s about how we choose to heat our homes. That statement comes from a consultant with the National Oilheat Research Alliance. There is a battle brewing over the growing heat pump market … Read more

U.S. Production of Solar PV Panels Get a Booster Shot

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 1/26/2023 The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is helping to expand the production of photovoltaic (PV) panels in the U.S. and ease the tariff-related tensions regarding the growth of solar electric energy worldwide. The South Korean PV manufacturer Qcells has announced a $2.5 billion expansion of their facility in Georgia … Read more

DOE’s EV Impact Tool Calculates Net Emissions Impacts for Each State

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 12/22/2022 If you have been researching EVs, you have likely seen numerous articles, including some on Zondits, covering the national and global emissions impacts of replacing gasoline-powered cars with EVs. That’s useful information for sure. But we know that the impact is partly driven by the electrical generation mix in the … Read more

Cryptocurrency Ethereum Reportedly Cuts Energy Usage by 99%

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 12/6/2022 Cryptocurrency has long been criticized for the outsized energy usage involved in mining new coins and verifying transactions. But now CNBC and other news outlets are reporting that one of the largest cryptocurrency operations, Ethereum, has adopted new algorithms that dramatically decrease energy consumption. The revised system for minting new … Read more

Is Spatial Analysis the Path to Energy Equity?

Lindsay Keane, Zondits guest, 11/4/2022 Lowering energy costs and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in hard-to-reach (HTR) communities are key goals of the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill includes $9 billion for consumer home energy rebate programs, $60 billion for environmental justice (EJ) initiatives in underserved communities, and consumer tax credits for … Read more