June 2012 Blog Posts (19)

The fourth in our series of spotlighted Century Club contractors is Todd Russo, President of REEIS, a retrofit company with offices in both Arizona and California. Working with the Foundation for Senior Living and the Arizona Public Service Department, REEIS earned the Century Club Award for 2011 by completing energy efficiency improvements to 854 homes. Here's how they did it.…

In 2011, Halco earned DOE and EPA's Century Club Award by improving the energy efficiency of 278 homes, more than doubling their Home Performance with Energy Star work in 2010, which was 121 homes. Working with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) program, Halco was not just able to improve energy efficiency in the area, but they did so with…

Another Century Club Award-winner this year is Hutchinson Plumbing Heating Cooling. Working with the New Jersey State's Clean Energy Program, Hutchinson completed 431 jobs in 2011 that improved the energy efficiency of homes through the Home Performance with Energy Star Program. We had a chance to talk about this year's success with owner Fred Hutchinson. Here's his business profile and thoughts on the future.…

Reposted from i.e., the Center for Energy and Environment's Innovation Exchange blog -- http://mncee.org/Innovation-Exchange/ie/

Like many other energy audit programs, CEE has begun to integrate smart phones and tablets into home energy audits. These devices will soon be essential pieces of the home energy auditor's tool kit. Their advantages include data collection and…

Ever since the adoption of the 2009 International Residential Energy Conservation Code (IECC), duct sealing efforts have been tested using the total leakage or leakage to outdoors methods.  It really is amazing how much duct gains effect the operation of your equipment and the comfort of your customer.  The missing part of "duct testing" appears to be how well the ducts are insulated.  Sure, you are required to use R-8 insulation on supply ductwork when located outside the building envelope,…

It (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) is superior to the larger book in two important ways. First, it is somewhat cheaper than the Encyclopedia Galactica. Second, it has the words “DON’T PANIC” inscribed in large, friendly letters on its cover.

—“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Douglas Adams

If there were any book in my library that deserves that “Don’t…

Every year EPA and DOE recognize members of the home performance industry with the Century Club Award. The award goes to companies that improved the energy efficiency of more than 100 homes in a single year through the Home Performance with Energy Star program.

As we know, behind every successful efficiency program, there is a team of hard-working contractors. This year, we got a chance to speak to some of the contractors that participated in local programs to achieve these…

DETROIT (WWJ) - Just ahead of the official start of summer (June 20), Metro Detroit is expecting a couple of days with near record-high temperatures.

“By dinner time Tuesday, 6 p.m., we’re still looking at 91 degrees in Metro Detroit with high humidity levels,” he said.

We have record heat coming for the next couple days around Metro Detroit. Air conditioners will be on full blast and people will be roasting in their 2^nd story bedrooms at night.…

 -Draw blinds, shades, drapes – Close window dressings to block the sunlight during the hottest part of the day, especially on south and west-facing windows. 



· Adjust the thermostat – Adjusting your thermostat a few degrees can lead to big savings on your bill. The Grid recommends a setting of 78 degrees or higher. Remember to keep the air flowing freely by replacing air filters. 



· Use programmable thermostats – Use of programmable…

Reposted from i.e., the Center for Energy and Environment's Innovation Exchange blog -- http://mncee.org/Innovation-Exchange/ie/

 “Providing consumers with easy access to data on their energy consumption can help give them the tools they need to make informed decisions about their energy use. Developing applications and services to help consumers understand and control their energy…

Reposted from the Energy Circle blog -- http://www.energycircle.com/blog.

We hear from residential energy efficiency pros around the country that spring and summer are particularly challenging times for their…

All homeowners are energy users. It is anticipated that if every household in America used only one incandescent light bulb, they would still be able to match the energy output of one whole nuclear power plant. Certainly, each family utilizes a lot more than just one  lamp , so you could imagine  the amount of energy that is needed just to illuminate  the house. But there is something  you can do about  this. You can start with appliances with low work load to reduce  the electric energy…

  When completing your site survey for Manual J Load Calculations, significant time can (or should) be spent identifying window values.  Did you know that most windows these days come with an NFRC rating, a tag located in the window jam that you can reference on NFRC.org? This identification number can tell you important details like window coatings, u-value, light transmittance, air leakage, and solar heat gain coefficients (SHGC).  Not identifying the correct values can sway your load…

Reposted from i.e., the Center for Energy and Environment's Innovation Exchange blog -- http://mncee.org/Innovation-Exchange/ie/

Author Note: Here's
 a link to the original post on
 Energy Auditing Blog.

Besides the obvious answer - MORE (but you knew that just based on your heating bills, didn't you?), how much insulation do you need? There are loads of different standards from Energy Star to PassivHaus to your dad ("about this much" ... holds hands…

Alabama’s Governor Bentley recently signed into law House Bill 278 to help crack down on metal theft in the state.  This bill establishes new requirements for the sale of scrap metal and brings stiffer penalties for metal thieves.  Sellers of scrap metal must now be photographed, provide a copy of a personal identification card, and give information…

By now you may have heard about drive-by energy audits. But have you heard of drive-by energy audits performed on entire cities at the same time? Say hello to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company, Essess. Essess (pronounced like “recess” without the “r”) has recently entered the home performance scene, and they’re making a lot of noise. In just a couple of weeks, we here at Home Energy received multiple emails from friends and partners in the industry…

How do you know if  should upgrade your air-conditioner to a heat-pump and create a dual-source application during replacement this Summer?  I personally always prefer the option of multiple fuel sources, particularly since energy prices have been all over the place during the last decade.  Fortunately, based on average energy prices, there is some simple math to figure out if an aggressive assessment should be made for a dual-source heat pump application, based on equations from ACCA's…