Alan Meier
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Alan Meier
Bio
I am a senior scientist in the Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
My other titles include:
- Adjunct Professor, Environmental Science & Policy Department and Faculty Researcher at the Energy and Efficiency Institute, University of California, Davis.
- Leader, Electronics, Lighting, and Networks Group, Energy Technologies Area
- Founder, Home Energy Magazine
- Four years as a Senior Energy Analyst at the International Energy Agency in Paris
- Consultant and lecturer for the World Bank, Federal Trade Commission, IEA, McKinsey, and others
I study how people and equipment use energy and opportunities to reduce energy consumption. I especially enjoy exploring aspects that are not measured or were overlooked (that's how I discovered standby power). I focus on buildings, equipment and, more recently, transportation. I approach these topics from many directions, including:
- Energy test procedures for appliances (including thermostats, cars and trucks)
- Field measurements of energy use
- Technical potentials for energy savings
- Economics and behavior related to energy consumption
Many people know me for my work on standby power use but my interests are actually much broader, including:
- Technologies to reduce miscellaneous uses of energy in building (including the "Standzero" approach)
- Market failures in the end use of energy – both quantifying and overcoming them
- Designing more effective residential thermostats (which today control ~10% of U.S. energy use)
- Off-test fuel consumption in vehicles
- Saving electricity in a hurry (and gradually)
- Comparisons of laboratory and field measurements of electronics and appliances
- Supply curves of conserved energy
- Real-time display of regional electricity demand and supply
- Teaching concepts of energy use and efficiency
- Passionately avoiding administrative responsibilities
Download PDFS: Most recent CV | Full list of my publications | My most frequently visited paper, "How to Review a Technical Paper"
Education
Awards
ECEEE Summer Study Poster Award - June 1st 2015
Alan Meier received first prize for his poster, titled "Japan’s 6 GW Lunch Break", from the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.
"Unsung Hero" of Energy Efficiency Award - February 22nd 2007
From the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) for his "unerring ability to identify important energy-saving opportunities that are so far ahead of their time...."
Energy Globe Award - February 11th 2002
For An International Energy Agency project to reduce the waste of standby electrical power by common household appliances.