Whiplash: In Case You Missed the Energy Efficiency News From July 21-25, 2009

Who benefits from monitoring? This week, energy monitoring fell under the microscope.  A regulatory body in France determined that utilities (not consumers) should reap the benefits of consumers managing peak usage, and one Google PowerMeter partner acknowledged that the smart meters upon which Google will rely were designed to meet time-of-use needs, not to supply consumer data, and some devices are not equipped with basic consumer-friendly technology, like the ability to report a power-outage.

Cool... without AC. The New York Times championed a life without AC, pointing out that the benefits range from lower energy usgae to weight loss. There was more suffering involved than necessary from our standpoint, but there can be no doubt that reasons for AC-less living abound and will continue to grow.  We noted a couple of ways to stay cool while joining the wave.

Remodeling magazine touted the benefits of considering energy efficiency when doing home renovations, noting, "If remodelers could figure out how to tweak the cost-benefit maxim – that is, to make more money doing work that delivers the most cost-effective outcomes -- thousands of small remodeling companies might tap deep, sustainable, money-making opportunities in energy-efficient retrofitting."

Yellow Jersey in Monitoring... The on-going battle for the hearts and minds of consumers working to control energy usage (or utilities trying to hold on to cost controls) is growing as competitive as the Tour de France, as Google Powermeter, Microsoft Hohm and others face a well-fueled eMeter, maker of grid management tool, Energy Engage. Emeter secured $32 million in funding this week. Energy Engage, designed to enable users "to understand the relationship between energy consumption, cost and carbon output," is piloting in Washington, D.C. eMeter's funding comes from well-established firm Sequoia Capital, whose funding helped get both Apple and Google on their feet.

Do As I Say... The Department of Energy has failed another energy audit. According to the Inspector General's Report, the Energy Department didn't manage to control heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems during non-working hours that could have cost the DOE more than $11 million. Now would be a good time to mention our tremendous selection of Programmable thermostats...  In fairness, we should note that it is the Bush years that are truly under scrutiny here, and we have high hopes for our new leadership.

Leading with Flare. Kudos to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who punctuated his Facebook page launch with an impressive appearance on late night television, in which he presented Daily Show host Jon Stewart with a Nerds Of America Society t-shirt.  Stewart in turn declared Chu, "the first Cabinet member I've met who seems alive," which seemed, at the time, high praise.

Salmon LED Finally, in the increasingly bizarre tale of our give and take with the animal kingdom, which recently expanded to include moths outfitted with spy equipment, the clever folks at the University of Connecticut have devised a means to use Salmon DNA to create extra long-lived LED bulbs. The new bulbs are predicted to have a wide color range, and to be strong. But can they swim?