My name is Jay Stein and I write about the technologies we use to turn energy into the amenities we want, like comfortable buildings, fresh food, and information services. I’m mainly interested in the overlap between these technologies, public policy, investment opportunities, and climate change. I was affiliated with E Source for 27 years and during that time I participated in a management buyout of the company. Currently, I’m an independent consultant living in Boulder, Colorado.
Getting a heat pump? Put a surge protector on it.
We protect computers by plugging them into electrical surge protectors. Contemporary heat pumps are essentially computers hooked up to compressors and fan motors. Why don’t we protect them from surges also? In 2013, when Diana Lane and her husband Yonatan Malin bought…
New Technology May Get Home Humidity Under Control
High indoor humidity threatens our health and building structures. A new technology enables air conditioners to effectively dehumidify using off-the-shelf equipment, with little additional cost or energy consumption.
Refrigerants Will Be a Big Deal in 2025
The refrigerant that charged up air conditioners and heat pumps for the last 15 years is going away in 2025, and replaced by two new more climate-friendly ones. Whether you’re buying a new system, or you want to help battle the misinformation and confusion that’s li…
What Clean Energy Supporters Need to Know About AI
Artificial intelligence consumes a lot of energy, but history suggests that with concerted effort by industry and government, it won’t wreck the electric grid, or cause calamitous amounts of carbon dioxide to be emitted.
Wait! Propane is the heat pump refrigerant of the future?
Charging heat pumps and air conditioners with propane refrigerant can help mitigate climate change and other environmental problems. That may seem scary, as propane is highly flammable, but with advanced technology we can use it safely.
Lessons Learned From Smoke Season 2023 About Protecting Indoor Air Quality
When the smoke from Canadian wildfires spread through much of North America during the summer of 2023, it gave rise to an important question: How do you keep indoor air fresh when the outdoor air is polluted?
When will we get the heat pump thermostats we need?
We want dual-fuel heating systems—electric heat pumps combined with gas furnaces for backup—to minimize our carbon footprints and utility bills. Currently, no one makes thermostats that would enable these systems to do these things, but if governments and…
Big Changes Afoot for Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are becoming more efficient, less expensive, and more climate friendly. Understanding the legislation and regulations driving these changes is vital for consumers, policy wonks, investors, and electrification advocates. There’s a perfect storm going on in…
Replacing a central air conditioner? Get a heat pump instead.
Every day in the US, homeowners replace thousands of central air conditioners. They’d save money and reduce climate emissions if they replaced them with heat pumps. I’ve got a 20-year old air conditioner and when it fails, which will likely be soon, I’m going to…