I'm from the government and I'm here to help you....

The affect that ARRA and other "stimulus" money has had on the energy engineering industry has been positive in the fact that a lot of energy audits are being done.  But it has been a disaster in the fact that those energy audits have mostly been a waste of money.

Unfortunately, once a customer has spent money (whether it is their money, or "free" money) and felt burned by the actual CRAP that it bought, it is very hard to get them to invest in energy engineering ever again.

Many of the large blocks of money (called "Block Grants") were given to people with good intentions, but no experience in buying energy engineering services.  They don't know what they are asking for when they repeat the words "ASHRAE Level 2 audit", etc.  They don't know what information is needed in the RFP for a reputable engineer to put a reputable price together.  They don't know what the engineering qualifications are that would meet those needs (that they don't know).  And, they don't know what a good report looks like. 

However, the size of the Block Grant is published so all the Business Development Managers (salesmen) know exactly what their commission will be. 

At this stage of the process the Block Grant manager cares what he gets, knows how much he can spend, and doesn't know exactly what he has asked for.  At this stage the BDMs know how much he can spend, doesn't care what has been asked for, and doesn't care what he gets.  The only common ground is the dollars.  And the only two players involved are not the ones that have to do the work.

This is like dropping a zebra carcass in front of a pack of hyenas and asking them for an autopsy.  The result is unrecognizable.  But the hyenas don't care because they have all eaten their fill.

So by the time that an engineer gets involved the scope, price, AND delivery date has already been promised.  It is too late.  The resulting work is understaffed by under-qualified staff and very rushed.  The resulting work is usually just boilerplate dribble cut-and-pasted by people who aren't qualified to recognize that a lot of it doesn't make sense.

There are several things that are lost here.  One: the original tax-payer's money that got wasted on crappy work.  Two: the opportunity to have real energy engineering done that will lead to real energy savings.  Three: the customer thinks that all energy engineering sucks and is a waste of time and money.  Four: since this particular Block Grant manager will never have the opportunity to do this ever again, there will not be another chance where he can take what he learned from this experience and do it better.

To all you dedicated energy engineers out there: I hope we all survive this "help" from the government and can get back to doing real energy engineering soon.

Rich

Who Am I? What Am I Doing Here?

I remember those words from Admiral James Stockdale.  In case you don't remember, he was Ross Perot's running mate.  A complete unknown in the political world.  Those were his opening words in his first Vice-Presidential debate.  I, for one, loved it!  Right to the heart, no BS.  He continued his debate style in exactly the same way and they lost miserably.  Whether you agreed with them or not, they spoke what they thought was the truth without hesitation.  And, they sure looked like they were having fun.

I have had the word "Energy" in my professional job title since 1982 when I took my first corporate energy manager job.  Before that, as an industrial plant engineer (starting in 1976), energy was an important part of my job description.

My first involvement with solar (thermal) design was also in 1976.  Back then (after what was called "the second oil shock") solar was going to save the world.  All we needed was more government support to get it on its feet.  Fast-forward 35 years: solar is going to save the world.  All we need is more government support to get it on its feet.

So be ready; I am old and cynical.  I am also, I hope, a skeptical optimist.  I really WANT these new gadgets to work.  But I have dealt with so many snake oil salesmen in my three-plus decades in this business that you really have to convince me.

I have degrees in both mechanical and electrical engineering.  But don't let that intimidate you.  I got them by going to night school for six years.  Primarily because the only lottery that I have ever won is the Draft Lottery.  When I got off of active duty in the Navy, I was married and had a growing family.  During the day I was a full-time industrial plant engineer.

I want to share my experiences past and present.  I will discuss some really good ideas and expose snake oil.  I really love being smart with energy consumption.  As far as I'm concerned; being green means saving money.  Saving money by using energy wisely almost always produces environmental and other benefits that are good for everybody.  It is a very satisfying arena to work in!

I hope that this can become somewhat of a dialog.  So please let me know what you think.

Remember: You can never save more energy than shutting it off.

Rich