January 2012 Blog Posts (33)

UK Passivhaus Design Competition 2012

If you decide to construct your home or are planning to remodel an existing home, you have many options. A big choice to make is whether or not to insulate with old or new concepts. A huge chunk of homeowners use fiberglass insulation and do quite well with it. If you are looking for more efficiency, than read on, because there is a better way. foam insulation is a modern marvel and holds many benefits including efficiency, easy to install and lower lifetime cost. Let me dive in and get more…

The Tortilla, The Kitchen Fan and The Energy Auditor

So, I was getting ready for my morning bike ride to the coast and decided I needed some calories. Part of my choice was some tortillas. I placed them in the toaster oven and went about my morning. This included drinking my morning coffee and checking my email.

Mmm what is that smell? I had inadvertently put the…

by Don Ames,   www.detectenergy.com

Please read the article and catch the screen cast at the end of the article.

Earlier in the week, I spoke about construction flaws and how builders have a tendency to build energy waste right into the structure of a home. The contractors really don't mean too, we all understand that, but , never-the-less, poor construction design, short cut methods, and lack…

Americans tend to beat themselves up over their imperfections. We eat too much, watch too much TV and owe China too much money. Despite all of our sloth, we can feel good about one area: our progress saving energy.

A report issued this week by the Institute for Electric Efficiency found that we saved enough electricity to power almost 10 million homes in 2010 (about 112 MWh). That’s 21…

So you have decided you want to earn or become a LEED AP. There is just one small issue, unless you have or are working on a LEED project, just how are you supposed to gain the experience & show documented involvement on a project registered or certified for LEED? (AKA a letter of attestation) As some well know, finding or being able to gain the needed project experience can be a rare opportunity. Fortunately though, the chances for many looking in have an opportunity through a…

by Don Ames,  www.detectenergy.com

Construction flaws waste energy, reduce comfort, and encourage building deterioration. A little knowledge about construction methods can help you locate and correct these flaws. Let's face it, homes were not created equal, homes are the result of a hundred hands belonging to fifty different people that will never live in the house, but, never-the-less, have great influence…

I don’t believe this is an industry specific issue but we do seem to have an excess of acronyms. 

For example we have RESNET, HERS, BPI, LEED, CSG, ACCI, ANSI, OSHA, WISHA, OMG, & LMAO! 

Confused yet?  No – then let’s try these on for size… ACH50, ACHNAT, SIPS, DMHP, HP, WH, HVAC, CFM, ELA, SLA and IECC, MEC, ASHRAE but don’t forget NYC! 

BTW can you name EPA, HERC, OSB, PVC, ABS, BD, DB, MDF, MDO, SEER, HSPF, HRV’s, ERV’s, DOE, NGBS, BIA, PV, UV, UVA, UVL, DHW, IAQ,…

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/04/seen-at-11-assistance-is-available-to-help-offset-high-heating-costs/

http://ase.org/efficiencynews/congress-passes-fy-2012-appropriations-limits-funding-energy-efficiency

passivhaus schools

Perhaps the greatest challenge to promoting energy efficiency is that you can’t see it. People understand electricity produced from a PV collector on the roof, and a kWh meter can easily report precisely how much energy was generated. But with more-efficient products, savings cannot be directly measured; instead, one must reckon the difference between a real and a hypothetical situation. This complexity creates a lingering uncertainty whether the promised savings did or did not actually…

2011 was a challenging year for the operators of the Texas electricity grid.  2012, however, isn’t likely to be any easier. This according to ERCOT who holds the responsibility of insuring the reliability of the Texas grid. There are a large number of power plants that are scheduled to be decommissioned over the…