"Even better is that he is claiming a 25% reduction in the home's energy bill - not heating bill, but the energy bill. The sad thing is people still buy these kind of claims.
"
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Tom Barrett
- Male
- Chico, CA
- United States
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Tom Barrett's Groups
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Multifamily Buildings
117 members
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Best Practices (Resident…
254 members
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Weatherization
138 members
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Energy Efficient Design
64 members
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Trainers and Mentors
118 members
Tom Barrett's Page
Latest Activity
Tom Barrett replied to Jennifer Rupnow's discussion Crawlspace Vapor Barrier: Install Correction and Future Guidance in the group Best Practices (Residential)"Sounds like your "BPI" Contractor installed a dust barrier not a vapor barrier. The barrier needs to be completely sealed with 9 - 12 inch overlaps, on the sheets. The idea is to prevent moisture from passing upward into the house and…"
Tom Barrett replied to allen p tanner's discussion The end of profits for Auditors/raters"I hate using "perfect storm" analogies so I will anyway - it is a perfect storm - more people are trained and ready to do something to save energy but the credit market that fueled house construction and rehabs has dried up, more people…"
Tom Barrett replied to allen p tanner's discussion The end of profits for Auditors/raters"I've been in the energy efficiency field since 1978 and have spent thousands of hours training folks. Up until a couple years ago there were only a handful of energy instructors around most of us have survived every uptick and downturn in the…"
Tom Barrett replied to Dmitri A Martin's discussion Ambient Combustable Gas"I stuck my gas leak detector under my armpit to hold while I was doing something and it went off. Think I should soap this area to confirm that I have a leak there?"
Tom Barrett replied to Gordon Smith's discussion Duct Cleaning? Good value or a waste of money?"I've never found any studies that say that duct cleaning has been shown to save energy or improve health or provide any benefit. Cleaning and servicing the blower fan will save energy, cleaning the ducts as an energy measure won't. If it…"
Tom Barrett replied to Norm Bourassa's discussion Retrofit Programs, Codes and Market experiences in the group Multifamily Buildings"How about designing a MF program in which tenants in master-metered units get a rebate from the owner/landlord based on how much they save the building, as a condition of the energy assistance program? That would provide an incentive for everyone…"
Tom Barrett replied to Norm Bourassa's discussion Retrofit Programs, Codes and Market experiences in the group Multifamily Buildings"So when the utility bill does down the tenants rent goes down, right? Has anyone ever seen this happen? So it is a one way street that always benefits the landlord!"
Tom Barrett joined Norm Bourassa's group
Multifamily Buildings
For too long there has been relatively little EE focus on multifamily, but some new programs have recently started. This group gives us a venue to share our experiences on cost effective audit & retrofit strategies and analysis tool needs.See More
Tom Barrett replied to Evan Mills's discussion How's the water? Managing energy use in Pools."George, you'd have to talk to a Pentair rep. A Pentair rep checked out the pool I was dealing with. I'm not sure what tests he did as I wasn't there the day he showed up, but he found out that the drain return was mostly clogged and…"
Tom Barrett replied to Evan Mills's discussion How's the water? Managing energy use in Pools."A couple reasons - first, the Pentair dealer/installer wouldn't install it the way it was as it would work right. He said that older pools (installed in 1976) aren't plumbed properly for the variable speed systems. More flow at lower…"
Tom Barrett commented on Chris Kaiser's blog post Why the incandescent deserves its death"CFLs and LEDs need to go back to the old days of having a replaceable lamp and a separate ballast. When we first started installing the ol' PL lamps, the ballast was a separate component and when the lamp burned out it was replaced. The current…"
Tom Barrett replied to Kyle Brown's discussion Estimating Commercial Building Hot Water Use"Before you suggest to a client to spend real money a really expensive measure that you have to guessimate actual water use or use expert information (ASHRAE or ASPE manuals) you might want to put a flow meter on the hot water side and measure actual…"
Tom Barrett commented on Chris Kaiser's blog post Beware of Power Factor Correction products!"Thanks for posting that. If these were such great energy savings devices they'd be installed on the products we buy - refrigerators would come with them. Utilities would be providing them or rebating them. They'd even be available in…"
Tom Barrett replied to Joel Greenberg's discussion The Truth About Windows? in the group Weatherization"There are a lot of things about windows that need to be considered before you replace them. If you are looking for a quick payback, immediate savings, you won't get it with windows. Paybacks are on the order of 20 - 30 years (depending on costs…"
Profile Information
- Company
- TA Barrett
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- Energy conservation and efficiency, renewables, sustainable design and planning
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 2:47pm on February 15, 2011,
Diane Chojnowski said… Hi Tom,
Welcome to Home Energy Pros! Feel free to join the conversation in the Forum and Groups. And share your energy efficiency photos, videos and upcoming events. If you're blogging about home performance, this is the place for you!
Thanks!
Diane, HEP Moderator
Home Energy Pros
Home Energy Pros was founded by the developers of Home Energy Saver Pro (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and brought to you in partnership with Home Energy magazine.
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southernelevations posted a blog postRaising Homes with House Raising Contractors
Home Raising, being essential for low lying areas, it is a fun detail. Providing geographical…See More
Dennis Heidner commented on Macie Melendez's blog post Passive Proponent—Q&A with Brandon Weiss"Don't forget Build America program from…"
John Wes joined James Sayers's group
Marketing Energy Efficiency
Sharing ideas, tools and examples of promoting energy efficiency to consumersSee More
John Wes joined Tom White's group
Weatherization
Share your concerns and successes as a weatherization professional, or information for this…See More
John Wes joined James Sayers's group
Social Media and Energy Efficiency
Tell us how you reach customers, contractors and others using online social media.See More
John Wes joined allen p tanner's group
Energy Auditing Equipment for Sale, Trade or to Purchase
Discuss the pros and cons of the equipment you are interested in prior to purchase. Post equipment…See More
Greg Whitchurch commented on Macie Melendez's blog post Passive Proponent—Q&A with Brandon Weiss"Timothy,
For a start, you could…"
Greg Traster posted a blog postThe Benefits Of Using Energy Star Shingles
In the harsh economic climate, saving money is of interest to everyone. Here is one method that you…See More
Mark Richardson commented on Mark Richardson's group Renewable Energy"Thanks Everblue,
I am proud to say that I have also recently achieved the NABCEP Certified PV…"
peter chang replied to peter chang's discussion Electrical system data loggers"Thanks, this is proving very fruitful. I have a lot to learn but this will get me started in the…"
Sandra K. Adomatis, SRA posted a blog postThree WWWs to completing the Appraisal Institute’s Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum
The Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum is a form used to standardize the reporting of…See More
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