CaliforniaGeo 7-2-18 All renewable energy sources aren’t created equal, sometimes even the most popular ones.  Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences once we understand what renewable really means. A renewable resource is something that doesn’t run out, ever.  Our sun, the center of our solar system is the main source of all […]

CaliforniaGeo 6-21-18 (Happy solstice!) What’s the most efficient thermal technology for space heating, cooling, and water heating?  It’s a geothermal (or ground source) heat pump (GHP).  Long ago recognized  by the EPA as holding this title, the heat source’s / heat sink’s thermal energy available to a GHP is free, renewable, sustainable, and available everywhere […]

CaliforniaGeo 6-20-18 Market reality is continuing to shred the policy defenses of certain industries and government officials as renewables continue to chew into domains previously considered sacrosanct.  In the chart above, an acronym titled LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) is used to compare solar photovoltaic generation with nuclear generation. Costs are dropping- As explained by […]

CaliforniaGeo 8-15-17  An Operational Roadmap- The importance of recognized standards in every organized business or industry is the only way to ensure that outcomes fall into what we would refer to as norms, or acceptable performance.  Consistent results are what matters.  The U.S. Public Health Service Telegraphic Code of 1915, (shown at right), made the […]

CaliforniaGeo 8-5-17 A growing army of citizens, institutions, corporations, governments and cities (on multiple continents) are fighting climate change.  Their efforts grow from previously planned commitments to the Paris Accord of December, 2015.  Many of these soldiers have accelerated their efforts as an antidote to the Trump Administration’s official U.S. withdrawal from scheduled efforts.  The U.S. […]

CaliforniaGeo 8-3-17 Worn out infrastructure? Struggling with an HVAC system composed of various technologies of ages up to 25 years in their main municipal headquarters building, the City of Fort Collins, Colorado installed a complete geothermal heat pump retrofit.  The new system will provide a carbonless heating and  efficient cooling system for over twice that […]

State Supreme Court says auction of carbon credits is constitutional Sacramento Bee 6-29-17 BY DALE KASLER dkasler@sacbee.com Californians pay more for gasoline and other goods to finance the state’s war on climate change. The state Supreme Court decided Wednesday they’ll continue paying for at least three more years. The court declined to hear a lawsuit […]

CaliforniaGeo 6-25-17 Short-term learning has exploded in the last 25 years.  Conferences still exist, but tighter budgets for business related learning and renewal has been met with targeted seminars.  It’s get in, get it, and get out.  It’s like E. Scrooge meets Cliff Notes.  Seminars have been joined by the Internet-based webinar.  Distance, overnight stays […]

CaliforniaGeo 6-20-17 [This study was conducted by Oklahoma State University’s Jeffrey Spitler and Laura Southard.  Data processing was overseen by Xiaobing Liu of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.] A major retrofit project to the U.S. headquarters building in Atlanta, GA for the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers was envisioned as a “split system” but […]

An Important “Proof-of-Concept” Project in Valley Stream NY taps flow from a water main for thermal exchange CaliforniaGeo 6-14-17 [This important HVAC retrofit at the William L. Buck Elementary School in Nassau County took on the first-cost issue of needing a ground heat exchanger for geo heat pumps head-on. Bosch Thermotechnology Corp.’s Business Development Manager […]