How to Opt out of PSPS outages
How to easily opt out of PSPS events and cut your power bills
Author Archive for: Doug
About Doug Poffinbarger
Doug is a green building and clean energy expert. He has a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from California State University. He is a Certified Energy Manager, Certified Lighting Efficiency Professional, Certified Energy Auditor, Certified Motor Efficiency Expert and Fellow with the Association of Energy Engineers. He is also a licensed General Contractor with the State of California and LEED AP with the US Green Building Council. He has published articles on curbing fossil fuels and has patents pending.
Entries by Doug Poffinbarger
Free Money for Schools
Did your school miss out on the Prop 39 gravy train? Here’s the next best thing. 3fficient has secured access to federally backed, ZERO interest loans for energy saving upgrades engineered and implemented by 3fficient. Each district is eligible for a cap of $3 million dollars for energy projects. Here’s the catch: Applications must be […]
Are micro grids the answer to climate change?
Wildfires in California are tragic and incredibly expensive. Many lives lost. Property and homes lost. Livelihoods lost. Sensitive habitat and wildlife lost. At well over $9 Billion, damages from the 2018 wildfires in Northern California were financially devastating. The cause for many, as it turns out, traces directly to the largest utility in the country, […]
Tax Depreciation
The printed IRS tax manual is literally more than 73,000 pages. IRS agents and their teams can’t even keep up with tax changes let alone the volumes of code. That’s why CPAs are more like general practitioners and need to rely on specialists to help maximize savings. One such opportunity for maximizing savings is with […]
Grid (un)reliability
US utilities have traditionally been known for high reliability, but all that is changing. Fast. With power lines causing some of the biggest fires in US history, utilities are learning to cope with the risk by simply switching power off to large areas when it gets windy. With wildfires consistently getting bigger and more frequent, […]
Are the days of ICE numbered?
Today, one of the biggest automakers on the planet and the company accredited with developing the mass production assembly line has announced they will be aggressively moving to electrifying their vehicles. This is significant because Ford Motors reiterated that they were going to halt production of most cars in the US – in favor of […]
Solar Lease vs PPA
What’s the difference between a solar lease and a solar PPA? In short. Not much. These days it’s mostly just the name, but here’s the skinny. Solar PPA: In a Power purchase agreement, you are agreeing to buy the power – whether you need it or not. A third party is financing and building the […]
Rising Seas from Melting Ice Caps
OK carbon emitters and deniers, you’ve ignored the warnings and now you are getting the results. Cities like Norfolk and Miami as well as the military are planning on building sea walls, raising buildings and fortifying themselves, but they’re in a long race with a relentless rising tide that is picking up speed. If you’re in […]
Urban Wind Making a Comeback?
About 2 years ago, I got a call from a local homeowner asking if we could help troubleshoot why his turbine was not generating electricity. I said we typically work on commercial only, but he was very frustrated and seemed to be a genuinely nice person – and local. So, I agreed to see if […]
How does a lotus leaf protect your car?
Something everyone on the planet has first hand experience with is cars. With harsh weather, sunshine, road salts and other chemicals being thrown at your vehicle, literally at breakneck speeds, protecting the paint and underlying metal is a big challenge. Once the clear coat or paint starts eroding, your expensive vehicle starts looking bad. Or […]
GAO: Climate change now costing U.S. billions
Climate Changes cost US Tax payers dearly. Could it exceed spending on military?
Managing Energy Costs in Grocery Stores
Energy costs can account for up to 15 percent of a grocery store’s operating budget. The US average was roughly $4/SF in 2015. For example, a 40,000 square foot store might spend $160,000 a year just for electricity. Because grocery stores’ profit margins are so thin
How to plug those (energy) holes in your building
Taking an infrared thermograph of an air conditioned building in the daytime, can be quite alarming. Infrared thermography is the same technology in night vision goggles used by military special forces. It reveals the infrared light spectrum or “heat signature” of objects. On buildings, it reveals variations in heat flow. The more heat flow the brighter the image. […]
How to cut $21 Billion a year in healthcare costs
When I was a kid, a lot more people smoked. But they usually knew that it was bad for you and smelly. When they asked my parents if they would mind if they smoked, My dad would simply say, “go right ahead – but don’t exhale”. It seems a lot of city dwellers are getting fed […]
What we do
3fficient makes the built environment more efficient, productive and sustainable with international award winning retrofits, micro grids and intelligent automation.
Over $1 Billion saved (and counting).
3fficient
3784 Mission Ave, Suite 148
Oceanside, CA, 92058 USA
(760) 999-0073
info@3fficient.com
Office Hours
Mo-Fr: 8:00-16:30
Sa-Su: closed
Recent Projects
Skull Valley Band of Goshute IndiansSeptember 19, 2019 - 11:42 pm
SDG&EOctober 22, 2018 - 10:47 pm
Southern California EdisonOctober 22, 2018 - 8:14 pm