iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Good idea! Unfortunately, heat pumps don't always save money, due to the "spark gap". Monthly fees can make electrification pencil despite a high spark gap in some cases, but significant reform is required to get off gas by 2050. substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

Canadian Building Electrification Economics

Why Canada Needs Ground Source Heat Pumps

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

A Descendants' Bank: The Key to a Global Green New Deal open.substack.com/pub/etfire/p...

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

The Falcon Curve: Efficient electrification keeps grid costs lower and electricity affordable open.substack.com/pub/etfire/p...

open.substack.com

The Falcon Curve

Efficient electrification, while expensive up front, keeps electricity prices lower

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The Spark Gap: Homes in many states wouldn't save money by electrifying with an air source heat pump open.substack.com/pub/etfire/p...

open.substack.com

The Spark Gap

An economic challenge to building electrification

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Canadian Building Electrification Economics: Why Canada Needs Government Provided Ground Source Heat Pumps substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

Canadian Building Electrification Economics

Why Canada Needs Ground Source Heat Pumps

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Heat Pumps for All? got the math wrong. Electrification of buildings in the United States and Canada is a massive economic challenge. open.substack.com/pub/etfire/p...

open.substack.com

"Heat Pumps for All?" got the math wrong

Errors in NREL & LBNL analysis of electrification lead to overly optimistic conclusions

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

In positive building science news, I recently learned about the SWERV. What a cool system! Back when I was in a tiny house, I had the Lunos E2, which wasn't sufficient to keep CO2 levels under 1000, and then upgraded to the Panasonic Intelli-Balance. swervair.com apparently keeps CO2 under 1000.

swervair.com

SWERV Window ERV | Ventilation Without Renovation

Breathe fresh filtered air without losing comfort. SWERV is a renter friendly window ERV that lowers CO2 and installs in minutes.

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Reposted by Elliot Firestone

Center for Climate Integrity @climateintegrity.org · 20/07/2026

NEW: Big Oil and Gas created the myth that natural gas is "clean" — despite knowing the health and climate harms of methane decades earlier than previously reported. A major CCI investigation exposes how the gas industry deceived the public and policymakers into believing gas is a climate solution.

climateintegrity.org

The Fraud of “Clean” Natural Gas | Center for Climate Integrity

How Big Oil and Gas Created the Myth that Natural Gas is a Climate Solution

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Drill, Baby, Drill!—for Thermal Energy: I mostly agree with this report, although the GSHP COPs are unrealistically high: COPs are 3.5-6 for both individual GSHPs and TENs in most cases. www.sightline.org/2026/07/15/d...

sightline.org

Drill, Baby, Drill!—for Thermal Energy | Sightline Institute

How ground-source heat pumps and thermal energy networks can ease Cascadia’s grid crunch.

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Reposted by Elliot Firestone

Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 10/07/2026

I've been working for nearly four years on modeling managed decommissioning strategies for natural gas distribution pipelines as neighborhoods electrify. I still wouldn't say I've wrapped my head around all the nuances, although some themes are clear. This is a really fantastic story on the topic.

commonwealthbeacon.org

Ten communities in Massachusetts went ‘fossil fuel free.’ Then utilities spent $100M on natural gas infrastructure there.

As these municipalities are quickly finding out, moving off gas for new buildings doesn’t preclude the utilities from needing to spend tens of millions of dollars each year upgrading the existing gas ...

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Ian @iansmcleod.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

AC Discourse Attempt: In many heating dominant climates, AC energy usage is almost trivial vs. heat. Attached: last 4 years of heat pump energy usage for our fully electrified, 130 year old, insulation retrofitted Chicago home. (CC: @johnsmillie42.bsky.social who I believe has similar data) 1/n

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Reposted by Elliot Firestone

Prof. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 28/06/2026

How much does normalcy bias affect media reporting? Here is a chart of global sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) from 1982 to 2026 with the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 omitted. As of June 27th, global SSTs have set 26 daily record highs in a row. Media? Is there anybody out there?

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Reposted by Elliot Firestone

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Many people are sharing this tour de force but you should follow @themadstone.bsky.social and check out her thread for additional background. Also follow @amywestervelt.bsky.social and @katieworth.bsky.social.

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

does it occur to any other magic: the gathering fans that billionaires and AI companies essentially wish for us to become phyrexian? #mtg #magic #magicthegathering

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Elliot Firestone @descendantsbank.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

@rewiringamerica.bsky.social's most recent policy paper, Homegrown Energy, is deeply flawed. Overly optimistic assumptions about soft cost reductions and math that depends on gas companies helping building owners pay for solar isn't helpful. youtu.be/cljLVCdFZQI

youtu.be

Rewiring America Critique

YouTube video by Elliot Firestone

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