The Energy Show

Barry Cinnamon

Every week Barry hosts The Energy Show, a 30 minute informative talk show that covers a broad variety of energy related topics spanning technology, economics, policy, and politics that are shaping the future of how we generate and consume electricity, along with practical money-saving tips on ways to reduce your home and business energy consumption.

  1. Humans Needed When Batteries Break

    JAN 28

    Humans Needed When Batteries Break

    This week on The Energy Show, we’re talking about solar + battery systems not just the equipment, but the customer service and troubleshooting that keeps these systems performing year after year. Traditional “solar-only” systems can be wonderfully simple and reliable. But when you add batteries (plus transfer switches, CTs, load management, apps, and firmware), you also add more moving parts and that means it’s helpful to know what’s normal, what’s fixable, and what’s worth upgrading. Barry is joined by the Cinnamon Energy Systems service team Frank Teague, Lucas Cordero, Lily Cinnamon, and Yvette Res for a practical, real-world conversation on what we see in the field and what homeowners can do to stay ahead of issues. In this episode: • Why batteries add complexity (hardware + software + communication) • The truth about warranties (what’s covered and what usually isn’t) • The most common “no production” scenario: it’s often monitoring/communication • Why we often recommend waiting 48-72 hours before assuming the worst • Firmware updates: why they matter and why they can be tricky • Roof leaks, critters, and prevention tips • When older systems (15+ years) may be better replaced than “patched” • Cleaning + shade + winter production: what “normal” looks like seasonally • VPPs + battery calibration cycles: why batteries sometimes discharge unexpectedly Like, Comment & Subscribe Today!

    1 hr
  2. AI Is Breaking the Grid — And Your Wallet — Barry’s Simple Solution 

    12/02/2025

    AI Is Breaking the Grid — And Your Wallet — Barry’s Simple Solution 

    On this week's Energy Show we’re tackling one of the biggest challenges in America’s energy future: powering the exploding growth of AI data centers without causing electric rates to skyrocket even more. And without waiting 5-10 years for utilities to build new power plants and long distance transmission lines. Here’s how: instead of building giant power plants hundreds of miles away, we can install new power capacity much closer to the data centers themselves — on the rooftops of homes, businesses, warehouses, and public buildings. Think about it: Thousands of rooftop and battery power plants can be deployed around every data center in 1-2 years, not the 10+ years it takes to build a utility power plant and long distance transmission lines.These rooftop power plants connect to the same local distribution grid that the data centers use. No need to keep old coal power plants running, re-incarnate old nuclear plants, or build new natural gas and nuclear power plantsData center owners are willing to pay big bucks for power, and are more than willing to get clean power quickly from local rooftopsHomes and businesses with these new rooftop power plants will see their electricity bills decline.It’s a win-win for everyone, except maybe your local utility — who will fight to their last lawyer to defend their archaic monopoly. This data center power needs to be on the grid fast. PJM, the Mid-Atlantic grid operator recently announced that "No more large data centers can be constructed unless they can be reliably served." Tune in to this week’s Energy Show for a simple, fast and cost-effective way to meet data center energy needs while at the same time reducing electricity rates.

    14 min
4.4
out of 5
57 Ratings

About

Every week Barry hosts The Energy Show, a 30 minute informative talk show that covers a broad variety of energy related topics spanning technology, economics, policy, and politics that are shaping the future of how we generate and consume electricity, along with practical money-saving tips on ways to reduce your home and business energy consumption.

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