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Energy Efficiency

Recording Heat Loss at the House With Infrared Thermal Camera

Posted by Charley Cormany, EFCA Executive Director It’s human nature — everyone wants to find that magic “silver bullet” that will solve all their problems. It’s no different in the energy efficiency space, where the industry is constantly looking to find the latest and greatest technology or product that will fix everything. But while we have a lot of innovative solutions, from the simple (smart thermostats) to the complex (hydronic space heating paired with solar thermal collectors), the thing they

goal action plan graphic

Heating and cooling replacements are often done upon failure. When this happens, the primary concern is to restore service, leading to decisions that have long-term impacts. Here are a couple…

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Biden at climate summit

President Biden has already made it clear that combating climate change is a centerpiece of his administration’s agenda. Biden has reached an agreement with China and 40 other world leaders…

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House between two houses which are on fire graphic

Having the proper knowledge and guidelines to a clean future is crucial now, as we continually see the impacts fossil fuels make to our climate. There are many tools and efficient steps everyone can…

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Powerlines at sunset

Cal ISO, California’s independent system operator, employs several strategies to help prevent rolling blackouts. Energy Efficiency has long played a critical role in grid management, and will continue to for…

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CO2 emissions down graphic

Posted by Charley Cormany, EFCA Executive Director Over the past 50 years, energy efficiency has played a critical role in California. The state’s aggressive efforts to reduce energy consumption, triggered by the oil crisis in the 1970s, has paid off. The results speak for themselves. Appliance standards, building codes, and efficiency rebate programs have worked collectively to reduce consumption. As a result, over the past four decades per capita energy use in California has stayed flat, even as the state’s

Person using computer during Covid graphic

Posted by Charley Cormany, EFCA Executive Director A little over five years ago, I took on the position of executive director at Efficiency First California. It was a challenging time. I was taking over an organization that had been shrinking in size and was basically in a holding pattern, fighting for survival. My predecessor, our interim ED, had done his best to downsize and streamline the organization. He had already made some of the hard decisions, such as letting some staff go and shifting

Infrared image of house

Posted by Charley Cormany, EFCA Executive Director If you ask tradespeople or contractors about how and why they perform a specific task they do regularly in a certain way–like hanging HVAC ducts up high on the rafters in the attic–you usually get one of two responses: Lots of people will fall back on their training or early experience: “I learned to do it this way when I worked for _______ (fill in the blank), and I have done it like that ever since.” Others justify their methods

Wildfires and powerlines

Posted by Charley Cormany, EFCA Executive Director Once again, California has been challenged by devasting and deadly wildfires ripping across the state. The Kincade fire raged out of control in Northern California, and multiple fires were burning in Southern California. All of the wildfires have one thing in common: plenty of dry fuel created by millions of dead trees after four years of drought. This year, PG&E decided to try a new approach to minimize damages from these fierce firestorms

Change vs chance image

Posted by Charley Cormany, EFCA Executive Director There is no doubt the electrification trend is taking hold in California. As reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) becomes the most important goal for energy policy, it makes sense to shift end uses of energy away from the limited resource of fossil fuels to the electric grid. Recently, the increase in renewable generation has quickly made electricity our least impactful energy source, and the grid will continue to get cleaner over time. The transportation

Efficiency First California

918 1st St. W
Sonoma, CA 95476

916-384-0324 info@efficiencyfirstca.org

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