Episode 116 - Human Factors and Energy Experiences with Tucker Perkins

I miss my gas stove. I used to have one in a home I first lived in after moving to Massachusetts. There was something about the click-click-click and then the spark of the flame. Being able to see it and adjust it accordingly based on how much heat I wanted to generate for whatever I was cooking. It felt magically.

Come to think about it, my love for a gas stove may extend back to watching my parents light cigarettes from the flame. I would guess it is a lot harder to light a smoke off an electric stove.  To this day, second-hand smoke makes me think of my childhood.

But I never really gave much thought to how my home is powered. I was pretty shocked when I moved to Boston that I had an oil tank in my basement. Didn’t know that was a thing. Beyond that, I was pretty ambivalent about what provided heat and warming (and flame) to my house, as long as it worked.

That’s why I was so intrigued to talk with Tucker Perkins, who is my guest today on Experience by Design. Tucker is the President and CEO of the Propane Education and Research Council. I didn’t know we even had a Propane Education and Research Council, but it turns out we do. 

As their website states, “PERC was authorized by the U.S. Congress with the passage of the Propane Education and Research Act (PERA), signed into law on Oct. 11, 1996.” Also, “The Propane Education & Research Council is a nonprofit that provides leading propane safety and training programs and invests in research and development of new propane-powered technologies.”

In the energy space, it also turns out that propane is the little kid on the block, and we love an underdog at Experience by Design. 

But like with everything on the podcast, this story is about more than propane. We dig into the larger systems perspective when it comes to energy, safety, and sustainability. We talk about how fire has a primal appeal, and how appliances are products that create pleasure. And we talk about how education is vital to behavioral change and getting people to buy into a new idea and system. 

Ultimately, we need to be fostering critical thinking, coupled with effectively communicating research and knowledge, to get people to make changes in their lives.

Propane Education and Research Council https://propane.com

Tucker Perkins https://www.linkedin.com/in/tucker-perkins-8972a510/

Episode Intro Music - The Tall Pines - “The Key”

Episode Ending Music - Ketsa - ”Dreaming Days”