What is energy efficiency? That sounds like a pretty simple question. But it’s not.

Defining efficiency used to be pretty straightforward: weatherize, upgrade equipment and lighting, use a bit of social science to cut consumption. But now efficiency is becoming just as much about shaping demand in real-time to support distributed energy. And that’s shaping how it gets defined, implemented and tracked.

A number of factors — the rise of new consumer tech in the home, bundled distributed energy offerings, a shifting demand curve due to PV, improvements to data collection, and the “electrify everything" movement — are coming together to change efficiency's role on the grid. We'll discuss this changing paradigm in our first segment.

Then, we'll move to electrification. Why are heat pumps suddenly getting so much attention? And how can they help meet efficiency and decarbonization goals?

Finally, we'll end with an update on how global power brokers are thinking about energy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Katherine comes to us from the event.

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Read along with us:

  • Twitter thread of efficiency resources suggested by listeners
  • ACEEE: Snapshot of Energy Efficiency Performance Incentives for Electric Utilities
  • Nexant: The Need for a Holistic Electrification Strategy
  • GTM: Electric Heating Accelerates the Push for Deep Decarbonization, but Cost Remains an Issue
  • GTM: Electric Heat Pumps Can Slash Heating Emissions by More Than Half in California Homes
  • Strategen Consulting: Is the "Duck Curve" Eroding the Value of Energy Efficiency?

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