Energizing the Workforce: Planning Equity for 2020
As it is officially 2020, resolutions are being drafted, optimism is at its peak, and offices are being filled with employees who may be overly exhausted from holiday festivities. While it may be an oddly chaotic time for many, this is also a time to set goals for the year. Whether that is personally or professionally, there is no better time than now. As you are thinking about what you want to achieve in this new decade, I highly encourage you to step out of the box and think of resolutions or goals that you may not have considered before today.
One of these goals can be how to better improve equity in your professional space. Whether you are employed by a local government, a utility, a university, a nonprofit, or you are a student exploring the Energy Industry, we can all benefit from choosing to embed equity into professional practices.
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Technology Tuesday: Everyday Appliances
Let’s talk about energy saving in everyday appliances.
Your clothes dryer is, not only, a significant energy user in the average home, but it is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficiency standards for clothes dryers have been slow-walked because manufacturers generally offset the higher cost of increasingly more efficient clothes washers with the low cost of clothes dryers because these two items are most commonly purchased together in pairs. Therefore, the industry has made efforts to keep clothes dryer costs down.
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SJVCEO is starting off 2020 STRONG!
Towards the end of 2019 I started getting really annoyed by everyone saying , ‘oh thank goodness 2019 is over’ or, ‘I can finally rest’. No. No you can’t….
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Technology Tuesday: Economizers
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and are ready and eager to jump in and save some money. A great way to kick off the new year is to talk about how to save money and energy with equipment you probably already have:
Economizers!
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SJVCEO is here to bring you ALL of the holiday spirit!
There are a few things you should know about Team SJVCEO: we love data, serving rural areas, Disneyland, and Christmas. It’s possible this was each of us as the clock ticked over on November 1st…
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Technology Tuesday: Magnetic Refrigeration
This week, I would like to talk about a technology that has been around for quite awhile but has not, until recently, been introduced to the commercial market. I am talking about magnetic refrigeration and we are beginning to see it appear in commercial refrigerators and in air conditioning units. It is still a somewhat novel idea, however, the benefits to magnetic refrigeration may prove to be a solution to the many issues with gas-compression refrigeration.
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Breaking News! SJVCEO is on Spotify and we want to gas you up!
Good lord, was there ever a better day than November 13, 2019? I should say when my kid was born, which sure, I’m super happy he’s here, but really that day was pretty miserable. But 11/13/19? That was golden. Why? Well, we can’t quite share all the reasons why just yet, but it was good news, on top of good news, on top of good news. And it was Rochelle’s birthday, so there was just so much happening, and I had ZERO CHILL all day.
Really, on our debut mix I just wanted to convey that feeling of euphoria we were sharing as a team. And not just from the constant breaking good news, but how we as a team just kept faming the fires via our group text. Y’all it was a good day!
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Technology Tuesday: Next-Gen Insulation
There are many ways to save energy around your office space that you can’t see. One of the most important of those items is insulation. Insulation is very often out-of-sight and out-of-mind, but its impact can be huge!
There are numerous types of insulation out there: batts, rolls, concrete block, foam board, loose-fill, and blown-in insulation. One of the more recent technologies is Icynene foam insulation; also referred to as next generation insulation.
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Technology Tuesday: Window Shading
If you are looking for additional ways to save BIG on energy efficiency in your office space. Consider window shades.
Window shades save energy by blocking heat from entering the space in the summer which reduces cooling load. They can also save money by reducing the amount of heat loss in the winter through the windows. They actually add to the R-value of the window so, think of them as additional insulation. The amount of savings possible with this measure depends on the specific type of window shading and its application.
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Energizing the Workforce: Licensing, Legislation, and Life After Prison
When we are getting into the details about the various marginalized groups that are affected when it comes to entering the workforce, specifically related to EE, I want to focus on one group in particular. Individuals that have been previously incarcerated or hold a criminal background are part of a massive movement in our country and must tackle thousands of barriers to reintegrate themselves into society. When it comes to the discussion of the criminal justice system, one goal always remains constant, reduce recidivism. However, if we do not want people going back to jail or prison, we need to proactively work on reducing the barriers that exist for these individuals.
The Washington Post published an incredibly fascinating article about the journey of a handful of individuals who are/were incarcerated and are now navigating life beyond confinement. With anecdotal evidence, statistical data, and in-person interviews, readers were invited into the world of Rhode Island residents, Meko Lincoln, Jorge Henriquez, and Partaja Spann-Taylor, all of whom hold a criminal record. 2 of the 3 individuals mentioned above went through in-depth stories of their lives touching on drug addiction, incarceration, and poverty. Post incarceration life has been filled with countless accomplishments for both of them including the completion of rehabilitation programs and being employed at recovery centers.
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Energizing the Workforce: Expanding the Scope
The CEWD released a “2018 State of the Energy Workforce” Report that is full of viable information surrounding our industry and the various components where we are integral to the domestic workforce. The CEWD highlights 4 different elements for workforce planning: business planning, workforce analytics, execution and metrics, and finally, workforce development (CEWD, 2018). These are all key factors to our industry that will lay the foundation for the future. The authors and contributors of this report offer a five questions breakdown that targets where, what, and how we can address the workforce issues that are currently at play. The WD portion of their report was created to address and tackle these questions:
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Energizing the Workforce: Standards of the Future
Workforce, Education, and Training (WE&T) is not something that is new to Energy Efficiency. Whether they are put out by utility companies in CA or by the CPUC, workforce programs are an imperative portion of the EE industry. Per the CPUC’s Energy Efficiency Report from May 2018, the WE&T Program is not only integral to the California Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan but also aims to support energy savings targets put out by Investor Owned Utilities across California. Historically speaking, “the CPUC first provided guidance to the IOUs regarding Workforce Education and Training activities in the 2010-2012 program cycle.” This Strategic Plan explained that “by 2020, California’s workforce is trained and fully engaged to provide the human capital necessary to achieve California’s economic energy efficiency and demand-side management potential.”
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Energizing the Workforce: Essential Empowerment
As we have seen, there are many inequalities that exist within this industry however the one that often gains the most traction is the gender gap. As mentioned in a previous post, 24% of our sector is employed by women which is less than a quarter of roughly 2.2 million employees. Writing as a female who is relatively “new” to this industry, those numbers were still shocking. After some intense investigating (thanks Google), I discovered that there are countless collaboratives and initiatives that are promoting gender equality in Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency.
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Energizing the Workforce: Workforce Woes
Digging deep into work force trends, issues, or outliers can be described as a daunting task by some. I strongly suggest that uncovering the foundational expectations or standards in our industry, can only aid in our ability to positively change our sector. Let’s start this conversation with demographics or characteristics of the Energy Efficiency sector of the entire industry.
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Energizing the Workforce - Tackling Barriers
The Energy Industry is a large beacon of opportunity for people looking to enter the American work force. From the variety of fields that exist to the life changing work being done to help our planet, this industry is paving the way for positive change. The United States Department of Energy conducted a study that took a deep dive into the energy industry and reported that over 6 million people are employed by this industry. They then provide a breakdown of this number by state. Within California, there were a total of 427,614 Traditional Energy workers employed within the Energy Sector. You can find the specific breakdown here. Furthermore, California had an additional 301,348 jobs in Energy Efficiency alone! Combine the two and there are almost 3 quarters of 1 million people in CA employed by our industry. Pretty awesome right?
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Technology Tuesdays
When was the last time you discussed variable frequency drives (VFDs)?
VFDs can save tremendous amounts of energy and they are useful in many different applications. First, VFDs have many different names. While there may be some slight functional differences between them, for the most part, they do the same thing. Below are some common names for VFDs:
· Variable-frequency drive (VFD)
· Adjustable-frequency drive (AFD)
· Variable-voltage/variable-frequency (VVVF) drive
· Variable speed drive
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Technology Tuesday
Wish that you could somehow shift most of your cooling energy load to off-peak hours?
Time-of-use rate changes are coming soon and the hottest part of the day (4 pm – 6 pm) will become the most expensive time to use your air conditioner.
It may be time to consider an ice storage air conditioner.
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Considering an EV? Here's what you should know before you buy
Deciding to buy or lease an electric vehicle (EV) is a big decision. Not only are EVs a pricey investment, but also charging stations are less ubiquitous than gas stations.
The good news is that there are plenty of rebates, resources and new charging stations for San Joaquin Valley residents than ever before.
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Technology Tuesdays
This week, I would like to continue a conversation I began in my last post. As I stated before, according to Southern California Edison, lighting can account for as much as 39% of your electricity load.
SO… it makes sense to be IN CONTROL of your lighting and utilizing lighting controls is the best way to accomplish that.
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Clean your Easter Egg Dyeing Routine
Easter is right around the corner and if your family makes an activity out of egg dyeing, you’re probably starting to think about your color palate.
Most artificial dyes you buy at the store are perfectly safe, containing food-grade dyes. However, if you, like me, prefer to know exactly what is going on your eggs, you can make your own beautiful dyes using fruits, vegetables and spices.
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