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Chris Higgins

@cahiggins.bsky.social
940 followers 238 following 489 posts

Supporting Electric Load Growth. Building Policy. Helping homes & buildings improve, Heat Pumps, Passive House, CHBA Net Zero, & better building code.+ EV's, Civil Service, & a Safer City.

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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 21h
Not yet. We are in a middle unit townhouse with a good south west exposure. Heating mode soon though I am sure.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
You don't need to retrofit your envelope before you get off gas. I put a heat pump in my 1908 home to replace gas and it works great. cleantechnica.com/2026/10/04/s...
cleantechnica.com
Ireland’s Heat Study Adds More Evidence Against The Fabric First Trap - CleanTechnica
Ireland’s National Heat Study adds another independent line of evidence that deep retrofit should not automatically precede heat-pump installation.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Wow. This would be an awesome program to have in Vancouver to make tricker treating safer!
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
That's cool, your day job deals with V2X? My work is split between Distribution Design and City Planning. Electrical servicing has been a focus lately..
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I have to learn how we do it in other areas of the city. Downtown there's a plaza and when the city redid it they put in 30 amp 240 volt outlets and the food truck owners put their own padlock on it and they pay a fixed price for the connection. It completely eliminated generators in that area.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
At the farmers market. I see an opportunity for low cost power for vendors. All the stalls with generators were in one area and that area already has significant power available via overhead. It would be quite low cost to provide a kiosk that could be utilized for vendors. Less noise. Less exhaust.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I talked with one sensor company. Chemical makeup is important, esp with the friction heat. "Rubber" has so many additives and we don't know what they all do in the environment
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
We did a literature review as part of Vienna house. Steel systems produce more particulate, but rubber produces more chemically diverse particulate. But just looking at pm 2.5, steel produces more. I wanted to sensor Vienna house with outdoor air quality sensors, but $ diverted to PH. A worthy shift
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Umbrella? Shumbrella! Looking at those infrared cluster patio heaters. Could be electric or could be gas. I have seen quite a few electric in Toronto. Given Quebec has such cheap electricity (thank you Newfoundland) I bet there would be some electric set ups there too
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Is there a "Darkness is coming" brew that we can pick up to work to bring back the sunshine by say... Mid winter?
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Reposted by Chris Higgins
Ember @ember-energy.org · 16/09/2026
For decades, China followed the fossil-heavy development taken by other industrialised economies. But since the 2010s, China’s economy has been increasingly lockstep with electricity consumption – while fossil-fuel use flattens. ember-energy.org/lat...
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Here comes offensively cheap solar! arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026...
arstechnica.com
"Offensively cheap": Solar power is looking up
Chinese-made panels on rooftops across the world are changing the facts of life for big utilities.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
100%
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
In eight of 11 industrial sectors in China— including textiles, food, pharmaceuticals, and machinery — fossil fuel use has already peaked. www.yahoo.com/news/science...
yahoo.com
Chinese Industry Is Starting to Wean Off Fossil Fuels
By several measures, Chinese industry is becoming less dependent on fossil fuels, according to a new analysis.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Heat Pumps FTW! oilprice.com/Energy/Energ...
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
It is delicious
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
How China became the world's first ElectroState
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Bromptonymous 🇨🇦 @bromptonymous.ca · 09/09/2026
Victoria’s bike share is already exceeding Vancouver’s per capita in … checks notes … its first month. Protected bike lanes and reasonably dense development are the secret sauce to an effective bike transport system.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It was quite sad to see. The board should have been a check but they were not cooperative people. They gave the members (the owners) no chance to salvage things. The board failed in their duty.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I worked at MEC office 7yrs. CEO David Labistour led a failed strategy of rebrand (remove the mountain), go wide with merch (think yoga & front country) & open many smaller stores. All failures and ate into the member capital and retained earnings. Board failed, selling out from under the members.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Are you in Vancouver?
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Blake Shaffer 🇨🇦 @blakeshaffer.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
static.klipy.com
Bugs Bunny in Canada at Tim Hortons
ALT: Bugs Bunny in Canada at Tim Hortons
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Looking at a heat pump hot water system for 123 homes using the Waterdrop Sanden co2 system. The efficiency of hot water delivery is incredible. COP of upto 5!
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I am looking for publications that might be interested in a piece talking about (a project where we developed) a language to map how Vancouver is changing as we adopt greater electrification and green infrastructure. Any suggestion of publications welcome.
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Reposted by Chris Higgins
Rebecca Bollwitt @miss604.com · 19/08/2026
Leading up to the civic election this fall, @museumofvan.bsky.social will hosts Austerity Tours to highlight the problems, risks and missed opportunities museums typically hide from view. The aim is to make voters understand the risks austerity pose to irreplaceable cultural heritage.
miss604.com
Austerity Tours Offered by Museum of Vancouver
Museum of Vancouver will hosts Austerity Tours to highlight the problems, risks and missed opportunities museums typically hide from view.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
static.klipy.com
Right to Jail Meme
ALT: Right to Jail Meme
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Cool that they custom cut it to your length. That is an improvement over the other systems I have seen.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The issue I see with the refrigerant line sets on DIY is not kinks but loops. The lines come in a one size fits all and the homeowner loops the extra. Lubricant travels via the refrigerant line sets but the loops stop it. The loops lead to premature equipment failure.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A range of opinions exist. I enjoy the dialogue between the parties.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
VPPs are great, I agree!
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
They are popular in Scandinavian countries. I agree.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
People have a range of views. The skill is on creating a policy that has close to universal support..
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Vancouver is trying some midea installs. The fact that they are cold climate plug and play is great.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Looks like a great option in a sunny local!
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The window units are great as they are mono block, so no lines to install badly. Would love to see some installations enabling a switch off gas locally!
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I have some caution around DIY heat pumps. In Vancouver I have yet to see one installed well. Usually the refrigerant lines are done poorly.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Someone I recently met at work sent it to me. People are thankfully listening to you!
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
What I would put forward is ridership was low when YVR had a 2 bus system. When the train was built, it really changed the game. Travel is up but parking and taxi demand are down.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Who is the smartest person in the heat pump world when it comes to growing the market? @energysmartwv.bsky.social is at or near the top. I have stolen many a great idea from him. Listen to him in "A simple fix that could unlock the heat pump market" www.latitudemedia.com/news/open-ci...
latitudemedia.com
A simple fix that could unlock the heat pump market
Is the key to home decarbonization cheaper and simpler than we thought?
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
How do you figure that? In Vancouver having visitors arriving, catching the train downtown to their conference while not creating traffic has been very positive for the city.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Connecting to the airport via the train was not planned? Wild. How could that not be a priority?
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Seth Klein @sethdklein.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Excellent piece by @andreawoo.bsky.social on the many costs of wildfire, particular to our health: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
theglobeandmail.com
The metrics that reveal the human cost of a wildfire season
Calculations should include health effects and socioeconomic costs, researchers say
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Ottawa Transit feels so poorly run compared to Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. You can feel the airport run was an afterthought.
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BIV News @bivnews.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
dlvr.it
OneCity wants to make it 'easier, faster, cheaper' to start a business in Vancouver
Mayoral candidate William Azaroff: 'There are so many Vancouverites with dreams, drive and ambition. They just don't have the seed capital to get started, and we're going to close that gap.'
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
How was the food?
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
It will be interesting to see if it goes ahead or if we get closer to the current Quebec weighted deal expiring. With the explosion in hype of data centers, I wonder if Newfoundland could use the electricity directly if they could get data center interest.
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
In Vancouver if the bins (garbage, recycling, compost) are not placed in the right area (to close to utility pole, bike lane, or other bins) then the City puts a sticker on it that advises next time this happens it won't be picked up. When it happens again, it does not get picked up. Seems to work
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Chris Higgins @cahiggins.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Nice to see this deflector on a new Mitsubishi condenser in a tight retrofit of a townhouse. My first time seeing a deflector on a residential installation. Design and installation by Combined Comfort System on an existing 100A service with a peak load of 39.5A (using hourly data from smart meter).
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I'm not the first person to say this, but the bike industry in the U.S. is really missing a huge opportunity by not aggressively defending and promoting e-bikes. I think this is largely the result of it being an industry built on recreational cycling and not transit riding.
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