Max Rohr

Max Rohr is a graduate of the University of Utah and manager of REHAU Academy in Leesburg, Virginia. He has worked in installation, sales and marketing in the hydronics and solar industries since 1998 and writes this column in his personal capacity. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the company he works for. He can be reached at max.rohr@mac.com and on Twitter @maxjrohr.

Articles

ARTICLES

Alternative Energy

Bringing Green Out of The Ground

Will the parks of the future be vertical?

August 7, 2019

Max Rohr

Accommodating population growth challenges us to create more buildings without completely zeroing out the beneficial plant life that is crucial for our health.

Alternative Energy

Preventing a National Landmark from Crumbling

Concrete thermal cooling helped cure the cement used at the Hoover Dam.

July 8, 2019

Max Rohr

Radiant cooling is a great way to deal with sensible cooling loads in high-performance building design. However, one of the biggest radiant cooling projects in the history of the United States had an entirely different purpose.

Alternative Energy

A Thawing Problem

Clean water is just one more item mountaineers contend with while scaling 29,029 feet.

June 4, 2019

Max Rohr

Many places on the planet are in desperate need of sanitation infrastructure. One place, in particular, is visited by some of the wealthiest people on earth, often for only a couple months a year.

Alternative Energy

Before the Flood

How can plumbers and municipalities help?

May 7, 2019

Max Rohr

The extended plumbing and water management community should play a bigger role in the direction of federal, state and local flood preparedness.

Alternative Energy

Megacity Transportation

Are motor scooters the solution or the problem?

April 3, 2019

Max Rohr

While scooters may be fuel-efficient, the high PM2.5 emissions may outweigh the high mpg average in these large cities.

Alternative Energy

What Did That Cost?

The energy consumption fog.

March 4, 2019

Max Rohr

How many of us are even looking at, let alone analyzing our monthly energy bills? This obscured cost of energy is one of the reasons why the United States uses so much of it.

Alternative Energy

High-Flow Conditions

Two government projects are moving a lot of water.

January 5, 2019

Max Rohr

“How much water would it take to do that?” This question is the basis of two notable government-sponsored experiments conducted in 2018. Water was the chosen substance to reconstruct the beaches of the Grand Canyon and keep a rocket platform cool.

Alternative Energy

The Curious Case of Florida

Our perspective on climate change is like seeing your kitchen on fire and arguing about what caused the fire and the cost of using an extinguisher, while your house burns down.

December 5, 2018

Max Rohr

Florida is an interesting place at an interesting time in history.

Alternative Energy

The Green New Deal

A brief history of energy-efficiency platforms.

November 6, 2018

Max Rohr

The Green New Deal phrase is credited to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. In 2007, he wrote an article introducing the idea: “The New Deal was not built on a magic bullet but on a broad range of programs and industrial projects to revitalize America. Ditto for an energy New Deal.