ABOUT TE
Tailored Enthalpy is a design consultancy that excels at solving thermal design problems. While I take on a broad range of thermal projects, large and small, I specialize in driving factories to decarbonize through thermal energy efficiency. I work primarily at the conceptual or preliminary design level, producing robust models and innovative heating and cooling designs. I then work alongside an EPC firm or facilities team to support them while we translate those designs into construction documents and ultimately a fully commissioned project.
I have found that typical design firms are not pushing the boundaries of high-efficiency design because they stick to routine, copy-paste designs. They fail to view the factory itself as a product, with many systems that must operate in concert to achieve the greatest efficiency. The factories that support our modern world have yet to adopt a transformational change in energy use due a lack of creativity and a fear of capital expenditure. But the energy and cost savings enabled by innovative design can be so significant that it can pay for itself in just a few years.
My unique approach to thermal design achieves radically more efficient systems. I tackle problems with only the limitations of physics as a constraint. I generate new solutions to longstanding problems that cannot be solved by an incremental improvement methodology. By breaking problems down to first principles, I have conceived of and developed novel solutions that deviate from industry norms, but achieve better performance, higher efficiency, and lower cost than established solutions.
ABOUT ME
I’m Jacob Miller, the owner and principal at Tailored Enthalpy. I have a passion for solving large scale thermal problems in an effort to combat climate change. While I have a strong background in mechanical design, my expertise lies in system-level problem solving, particularly in large-scale thermal systems. I challenge traditional design with novel approaches that drive down costs and increase efficiency. I use a physics-based first principles approach to understand real constraints and identify unusual and innovative solutions.
Prior to starting Tailored Enthalpy, I worked at several engineering companies from General Electric to Tesla. My experience has been a combination of mechanical, thermal-fluid, HVAC, and system design. I’ve designed small components for jet engines, built laboratory prototypes for novel HVAC systems, and invented a new type of air conditioner.
Now, at Tailored Enthalpy, I’m leveraging this past experience to provide clients with innovative solutions to thermal problems.
Two notable examples reflect my first-principles approach in systems both big and small. As the CTO of M2 Thermal Solutions LLC, I conceived of tan ultra-low energy consuming air conditioner that uses no refrigerants. In 2019, this concept air conditioner placed as a finalist in the Global Cooling Prize challenge. I've built on the learnings from GCP to develop a brand-new concept, and co-founded Zephyr to develop and commercialize a compressor-free, refrigerant-free AC that cuts energy use in half or more. The technology is under development and has been recently recognized by the Department of Homeland Security and ARPA-E.
On the larger scale, I designed a highly customized 80 MWp chilled water plant for the Tesla Gigafactory Nevada site. The plant was tailored to leverage the unique Reno-area climate in order to dramatically reduce energy and water consumption as compared to a standard thermal plant. I fit together an innovative system design to reduce costs and save energy, and built a ground-up model to simulate hourly performance of the plant under normal and extreme conditions.
What's in a name?
Enthalpy is a useful state property in defining a thermodynamic system. It measures the internal energy and the product of pressure and volume. Measuring the change in enthalpy of a system is a method of tracking the energy transfer into and out of that system, particularly in the form of heat. So, Tailored Enthalpy is just an elegant way of saying “custom heat management!”
Tailored Enthalpy's Design Process
Definition
Defining the what and, importantly, the why of the problem to be solved
Discovery
Process details, synergies from adjacent systems
Deep dive
Physical system modeling, sensitivity analysis, techno-economic assessment
Design
Innovative, first of kind solutions leveraging modeling and analysis
DEPLOY
Work alongside construction team to ensure design philosophy is met