Comments on: Clean company alert: Climate Energy http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/02/01/clean-company-alert-climate-energy/ Trends, happenings and innovations in the clean technology market Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:28:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anonymous http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/02/01/clean-company-alert-climate-energy/comment-page-1/#comment-961 Anonymous Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:02:00 +0000 http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/02/01/clean-company-alert-climate-energy/#comment-961 The bottom line is that each year in the US 4 million home heating appliances are replaced. What are the current options for homeowners who are doing the replacing? In most cases they call their local HVAC contractor and get whatever the lowest bid appliance is. With this combined heat and power alternative, at the very worst case they will be utilizing the natural gas, which they are going to burn anyway, at the highest efficiency currently possible in home heating. It would be great if we could wake up tomorrow morning with solar panels and windmills on every roof, but that's not the reality we are facing. It was Voltaire who said, "The best is the enemy of the good." We need to start by finding ways that average people can make a difference, and 25% IS a big difference. It's equivalent to trading your SUV for a hybrid. Do you think that's a bad idea also? The bottom line is that each year in the US 4 million home heating appliances are replaced. What are the current options for homeowners who are doing the replacing? In most cases they call their local HVAC contractor and get whatever the lowest bid appliance is.

With this combined heat and power alternative, at the very worst case they will be utilizing the natural gas, which they are going to burn anyway, at the highest efficiency currently possible in home heating.

It would be great if we could wake up tomorrow morning with solar panels and windmills on every roof, but that’s not the reality we are facing.

It was Voltaire who said, “The best is the enemy of the good.” We need to start by finding ways that average people can make a difference, and 25% IS a big difference. It’s equivalent to trading your SUV for a hybrid. Do you think that’s a bad idea also?

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/02/01/clean-company-alert-climate-energy/comment-page-1/#comment-960 Anonymous Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:12:00 +0000 http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/02/01/clean-company-alert-climate-energy/#comment-960 Good point, particularly with the release of the UN climate report today. We do need to aim higher. Good point, particularly with the release of the UN climate report today. We do need to aim higher.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/02/01/clean-company-alert-climate-energy/comment-page-1/#comment-959 Anonymous Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:02:00 +0000 http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/02/01/clean-company-alert-climate-energy/#comment-959 Two years ago I loved the idea of a 25% reduction in greenhouse emmissions. Today it's increasingly clear that this improvement is too little, too late. Does it really make sense to be investing in good but inadequate infrastructure that will be with us for a long time? For residences, it's much better to focus your investment on the building envelope. In Germany, they've manage to find a 90% solution that's perfectly affordable, using intelligent passive solar design with a well-tailored supplemental heating unit. I'm not sure that a CHP unit could be made to efficiently be integrated with that. In view of this, my thinking is that a CHP which proposes only a 25% reduction is a bit of a dead end. Two years ago I loved the idea of a 25% reduction in greenhouse emmissions. Today it’s increasingly clear that this improvement is too little, too late. Does it really make sense to be investing in good but inadequate infrastructure that will be with us for a long time?
For residences, it’s much better to focus your investment on the building envelope. In Germany, they’ve manage to find a 90% solution that’s perfectly affordable, using intelligent passive solar design with a well-tailored supplemental heating unit. I’m not sure that a CHP unit could be made to efficiently be integrated with that. In view of this, my thinking is that a CHP which proposes only a 25% reduction is a bit of a dead end.

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