Perpetual Innovation

Category: telecommuting

  • Solar 2020 and Sustainability: Looking for the Silver Lining

    Kelly Pickerel, Editor in Chief of Solar Power World
    magazine was cautiously optimistic in January when discussing the impact of US
    Import tariffs on the Solar industry and still solar installations were up 14%
    during 2019. She hoped that an even year, 2020, would bode well for solar.
    She concluded her opening letter by the editor in the January
    2020 Trends in Solar     edition of SPW: “Superstitious or not, I’m crossing my
    fingers for a calm, prosperous year in solar. Knock on wood.”
    Wow! Nobody could have envisioned the coronavirus pandemic
    and its impact on all industries including solar. But, the environment is
    taking a breather: Environment
    Wins with Reduced Human Activity    .
    During the Great Recession, Hall (2010) argued that a
    massive opportunity was lost by not by not focusing on sustainability related
    projects and human capital (education). He argued for spending more on specific
    infrastructure: especially energy efficiency and renewables. He liked projects
    that would pay back for decades while reducing our collective human footprint. Federal
    bailout funding should target, long-term, sustainable projects. The destructive
    innovation associated with recessions should allow industries (and companies)
    to fail if they are not sustainable.
    Make no doubt about it, the COVID Recession will be unlike
    anything we have ever seen before. It’s like putting parts of the economy in a
    self-induced coma, while waiting out the passage of the virus. However, waking
    up exactly where we left off is probably not going to happen. So, what’s the
    best way to move forward, and why not try to leverage this sudden break in the
    world’s business-as-usual routine into more permanent action on becoming more
    sustainable.
    Look for SustainZine blogs and articles on video meetings,
    teleschool, online university and telecommuting. We suddenly have reduced our
    carbon footprint worldwide by what, 20%. Not the way we would have liked to
    launch such a massive initiative, but let’s work with the deflection we are
    given.
    People are now at home more than ever, let’s get them to
    start monitoring their carbon footprint. How much are they saving by working,
    schooling and entertaining at home. Imagine someone reducing their carbon
    footprint by 35% in one week? for several weeks? Wouldn’t it be nice measure
    that savings and celebrate the win!? Wouldn’t it be nice to keep measuring the
    reduction in carbon footprint and continue to make incremental moves?
    The savings associated with remote work are huge. Once
    workers who can work remotely get the chance to do so, the genie will be out of
    the bottle. The savings are massive: employer, employee and environment. The
    reduction in carbon footprint immense. Measuring and monitoring the savings
    will justify the future workforce to frequently work remotely.
    For the homeowner, first would be energy efficiency, like
    insulation. Start with an energy audit.
    Then, with the reduced power usage, most homes should move
    to renewable energy (solar).
    Once we see and visualize the gains, it could become habit
    forming. Let’s keep our collective fingers crossed.
    See upcoming articles by Hall about the crazy profitable
    proposition for businesses to go solar, and for homeowners to feel good and
    save money by going solar.
    Mother Earth is our one and only habitable planet. It’s time
    we started taking better care of her. Maybe the coronavirus pandemic will be a
    wake-up call about how serious we all need to be about the health of our planet?
    References
    Hall, E. (2010). Lessons of
    recessions: Sustainability education and jobs may be the answer. Journal of Sustainability and Green
    Management    . Jacksonville, FL: Academic and Business Research Institute.
    Retrieved from: http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10659.pdf

  • Solar Fit 052618 by flaglerbroadcasting Elmer Hall with Bill Gallagher EE & Telework

    Solar Fit 052618 by flaglerbroadcasting | Free Listening on SoundCloud:

    Folks,

    Give a listen to my May 26th appearance on the Solar-Fit radio show with host Bill Gallagher, “Solar Fit Renewable Energy Show” on channel 106.3 FM WNZF News Radio. (Elmer Hall on 05/26/18). You can also find the show, and past shows, archived at Solar-Fit:  https://solar-fit.com/solar-fit-renewable-energy-show/
    It is a fun and informative show. I talked about our collective missed opportunities in energy efficiencies (EE) in buildings and telecommuting (Sustainable Remote Work centers). I like the idea of Negawatt, the Watt of electricity that is never used, so it is never produced. A similar idea is the Negagallon of gas, the gallon of gas never used because you avoided driving (like telecommuting).
    There are surprisingly huge savings from both building efficiencies (Negawatts) and teleworking (Negagallons).  These are both win-win-win ideas that Bob Hinkelman – a partner and coauthor (2017, 2018) – and I have worked on and have amazing potential.
    • EE in buildings. Our estimates are that the savings from energy efficiency in buildings
      could save about $300B in the US each year with the “change in your pocket” (things like programable thermostats, LEDs, smart meters, caulk and duct tape), i.e., stuff that has a payback immediately or within one year. (See Alliance to Save Energy for great tips.) For new construction, a greener building can have 80% lower operating costs and be healthier, while costing within 10% of more traditional construction costs.
      EE TIP. Do an energy audit – usually provided by your local power company (frequently for free) – to evaluate current usage and best places
      to start conserving energy.
      EE TIP2. First take your energy use down through energy efficiency, thereby reducing dramatically the energy requirements when evaluating the next steps toward a zero-carbon footprint like solar, wind and geothermal.
    • Remote Work Center for telework. At Strategic Business Planning Company, we have done a lot of work related to the concept of telecommuting and providing workers the easy ability to work from home or from a work-center that is very close to home. Based on Lister and Harnish
      numbers from 2010, we estimate the total savings from just 10% of the commuters who drive along to teleworking would result in about $357B in savings per year (113M x 10% = 11.3M * $31,600 = $357B).  In 3 years, that would be more than $1.1T in savings. Or, with 30% of the drive-alones switching to telecommuting, that would be $1.1T in savings each, and every, year. That is a perpetuity of savings. (At 5% interest, a perpetuity of $1.1T represents $21.4T net
      present value terms ­– more than the entire annual US Gross Domestic Product in 2018.)
      Telework  TIP. Selectively pilot teleworking from home and log the time, distance, and productivity.
    In both building EE and telework, it is important to monitor and measure result. It is especially important to monitor the many benefits of the Negawatt and the Negagallon that don’t immediately show up in dollar savings. Allocating the financial savings is a nice way to fully enjoy the direct savings as well.
    • Smart Savings and disposable Income. Savings of energy, say $100, is worth much more than the equivalent of income. An individual would need 30% to 50% more in salary (say $130 in gross income or $150 dollars for the employer) to equate to the same amount of disposable income. For a business with 10% net income, it would require about $1,000 increase in sales to equate to $100 increase in disposable cash. This is a perpetuity of savings (or a commitment to the increased sales indefinitely).
      $TIP. Log the results and put the savings into a separate account or fund. The $100 per month that would have gone to utilities could, for example, be automatically posted to an IRA account, potentially amplifying it by your tax rate. Or, use the savings to help pay for a Solar PV system.
      $TIP2. The 30% Federal Tax credit for energy efficiency for individuals makes the investment in new energy efficient appliances and renewable energy very attractive, usually with a 3- to 9-year payback (and life-time present value is often double your investment).       
    The remote work center concept we have been working on, we call E3 because of the win-win-win savings to the employer, employee and environment. Many companies already have a telecommuting option for employees who can work from home, but most companies don’t appreciate all the benefits. Many managers still have the mindset that they want to see your smiling face at work at 8am, no matter how many hours in traffic it takes for you to get there. About 50% to 60% of the current
    commuters should be able to telework once a week or more. This utilizes current technology and does not require any government “help”.
    In all cases of efficiency, we want to measure and record the savings. With consolidated reporting, the savings can be reported to the individual company, while aggregated statistics would be provided by city, region and state. Both the estimates of costs savings for reduced travel and CO2 (CO2 equivalent) savings will be gathered. The carbon savings could, potentially, be sold as carbon
    credits (like in California) or utilized by the company for its own internal costing structure in Corporate Social Responsibility reporting.
    The total costs of commuting are 25 to 30 times more than the costs associated with gas. The lost hours, the stress, the likelihood of getting into accidents, etc., make the complete costs more like $35,000 to $40,000 for a single telecommuter. In 2010, based on significant available research, Kate Lister and Tom Harnish (2010) estimated that the cost savings to the employer were about $21,400 for a full-time telecommuter. The big costs are recruiting, hiring and training a replacement worker when the current employee quits because of the commute, or gets disabled from an accident because of the additional hours per week in traffic. Lister estimated only about $8,000 for the employee, including gas; but we believe it is much more – probably $10,000 to $15,000 – because we focus
    on drive-alone commuters (and include costs that are reasonable, but not included in the 2010 Lister study). The environmental savings are less than $2,000 per telecommuter by Lister, but we estimate that number could be much higher, like $5,000 to $10,000, when considering the big externality costs.
    All things considered, the savings from a full-time-equivalent teleworker could be $40,000 to $50,000 per year. The savings to the employer, employee and environment are massive.

    Individually, we are missing big opportunities every day. Put those savings together for everyone, and it makes a world of difference.

    See – well, listen, actually – to my Solar-Fit Renewable Energy radio show: Elmer Hall on 05/26/18. What do you think?
    You will find other great episodes on Solar-Fit Renewable Energy Radio!:-)
    References
    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2018). Perpetual Innovation™: A guide to strategic planning, patent commercialization and enduring competitive advantage, Version 4.0. Morrisville, NC: LuLu Press. ISBN: 978-1-387-31010-4 Retrieved from: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/SBPlan
    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2017). Perpetual Innovation™: Patent primer 4.0:
    Patents, the great equalizer of our time! An overview of intellectual property
    for inventors and entrepreneurs.      Morrisville, NC: LuLu Press.  ISBN:
    978-1-387-07026-8 Retrieved from:     http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/SBPlan [Amazon v4.0e  ASIN: B074JJCDHG Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JJCDHG ] 
    Lister, K. & Harnish, T. (2010, May). Workshifting benefits: The bottom line. Retrieved from http://www.workshifting.com

    Specific Radio Show of Elmer Hall: https://soundcloud.com/flaglerbroadcasting/solar-fit-052618
    The radio show archives: https://solar-fit.com/solar-fit-renewable-energy-show/

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  • Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace. – The Washington Post

    Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace. – The Washington Post:

    This is a great article about the “open air” cubicle farm for workers. Or “fish bowl” for employees.

    Telecommuting would help this work better. If someone has a real deadline and real work that needs to be done, they could work at home. Try to schedule meetings priority days so people who need to meet can all be on campus on specific days of the week (or month).

    Productivity will go up. Huge amounts of savings will occur for everyone, and employees will be a whole lot happier. Wait until we really hit full employment and watch the fish start to migrate to better working conditions. (Economists used to think that 6% was full employment, now 5%. Moving past full employment tends to produce wage inflation as the only available human resources can be obtained by enticing talent from a friendly competitor.)

    Teleworking might save the fishbowl, but it seems likely that the fishbowl has cracks.

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  • 2015 hottest year, by a mile

    Sadly, 2015 was really hot. Record hot. And it set a record for breaking the record (set last year in 2014).
    Ouch, ouch and double ouch!.
    This was a wicked El Nino year. Only an El Nino year last century competes with the hottest 14 years this century. Apparently, the follow through from El Nino starting in 2015 should leave 2016 as a rather hot year.
    One of the best summations on the subject came from NPR. Or Global Warming in Wikipedia, where you will find the best, most current, information on sustainability in the world.
    Starting in 2014, we had half of the months as record hottest months. 2015 had most of the months being the hottest on record; 10 months in 2015 matched or exceeded all time recorded history records! (Ask when we last had a record COLD year, or even a record COLD month, and you will get goose bumps!)
    Fortunately — finally — most of the people in the US are finally coming around to the fact the we do, in fact, have global warming. See blog here.
    As CO2 blasted past 400 ppm in 2015, we have only just begun this journey into uncharted territory. And, CO2 can be expected to persist in the atmosphere for about 100 years.
    It took the earth 50 to 500 million years to store up the coal and oil we seem determined to burn up in about 2 centuries. And in the process we are releasing mass quantities of carbon into earth’s ecosystem that has been happily sequestered, like diamonds in the rough, for 100 million years or more.
    We at SustainZine, propose actions that we all could take immediately. Within a day or so, we all could have taken energy efficiency actions on our homes, businesses and churches. Wa-la… Save energy, save money, save the environment (a little for each of us). A perpetuity of savings.
    Telecommuting/telework is a wonderful place to start with businesses. Huge savings of energy, time and life. A perpetuity of savings if the non-drive to work, continues to work.
    And there are many things like this that we can do without the “help” of government.
    Education, likewise, is critical for us all to start making more informed decisions. There are easy things that we all should be doing, right here, right now. We also need to be continually aware of the BIG factors, so that they are in the forefront of our future decisions and actions.
    Business as usual is something we need to continually question. That’s what got us into this situation. Unconscious decisions are still decisions.
    A business without a sustainability plan, does not really have a business plan.
    2016 seems like a year when sustainability will start to gain firm footing in the US. Each of us can start by save a watt and save a gallon.

  • Coming to a Couch Near You: A New Wave of Telecommuting

    Coming to a Couch Near You: A New Wave of Telecommuting:


    Very cool discussion about Telecommuting. And Traffic. 


    I just saw stats on the worst commutes in America. (several different ways to slice n dice it). One stat was the average person spends a bout a week per year (38 hours) in traffic. I have no idea where Mr Average lives, cause the rest of us used to ring up that many commuting hours in 2 to 4 weeks. An hour to work each way will clock you in at 40 hours within a given month. 


    But don’t move to DC or LA or SF or hour time in traffic meter will max out!


    Before the recession there were 4 or 5 Metros in Florida that were in the top 10 for worst commutes in the USofA. Now all I find (2011) is Miami with #22 and Tampa with 39.

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