November 2010 Blog Posts (43)

My attic hatch insulation kit came in the mail this morning and I am very excited. Excited enough to go into a hot dusty attic to install it over the weekend.

The White House announced this week a new initiative to boost home energy efficiency. This is the culmination of the Recovery Through Retrofit plan, funded through the…

Ice dams in Massachusetts are an ongoing nuisance and are causing extensive damage to soffit cavities, fascia boards, roof sheathing, gutters, and to the most outer portion of living area walls. This ice build-up can absolutely be alleviated, but every house tends to have a different situation as to why this ice dam is there in the first place. First, I'd like to explain how this massive ice mound forms on the most outer edge of your…

By Elisa Wood

A lot of good economic reasons exist to pursue energy efficiency. Still the average person tends not to. This is no surprise. If I cannot see, touch, buy, sell, trade or save efficiency, if it’s invisible, how can I pay it any real attention?

Often on the vanguard, Boston-based Conservation Services Group is working on an…

Another episode of WxTV is ready to view!

http://www.weatherization.org/wxtv28

Ice and snow melt systems are utilized in many applications throughout the state of Massachusetts. Business owners utilize snow and ice melt systems in outdoor malls, parking lots, car washes, walkways, and loading ramps to eliminate the expense of continuous snowplowing, to avoid skidding of vehicles and to prevent slip-and-fall accidents on their property.

As a…

Hello All:

Still learning the ropes here and after I sent this link out to the Marketing Group, discovered I could annoy all members simultaneously with a blog post :-).

Short version summary of subject line:

1) Responsible legislators enact Audit on Demand regulations.

2) Owners of gored oxen howl.

3) Program spins wheels.

Details below:…

I work with two contractors; one is in Denison Texas and the other in Sacramento, CA. …

My infrared camera detects shoddy installation of cellulose insulation in this concealed wall cavity above the door.…

Anyone who's been around me for a while knows that I love numbers. (If you need to know pi to 50 digits, just give me a call.) Well, this article is number 100 in the Energy Vanguard blog. Wow! Even though I prefer odd numbers, I do like the sound of that. It's taken only 2 days less than 8 months to get here, too.

Along the way, I've also learned a thing or two about social media. I've got more than 600 LinkedIn connections, 500+ Twitter followers, and 125 fans of…

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in the next few weeks, old man winter will make his annual appearance once again. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you like winter), with his arrival, snow and cold winds are close to follow.

To prepare for the oncoming winter months, use this time in late fall to find weak areas in your homes thermal shell. (For the sake of clarification, I define “Thermal Shell” as the…

The outcome of the election this weeks makes passage of the Home Star bill in the Senate look, unfortunately, less likely than ever. Rather than invest in efficiency, we seem destined to continue to export energy dollars and/or add to the CO2 blanket we've wrapped our Planet in.…

I know everyone works very hard for their money (in order to pay the bills), but what you don't realize is how much of your hard earned energy dollars are actually slipping right through the cracks of your home. Keeping your home at a comfort level (by conditioning it) can be very costly. I know everyone would like to reduce their energy bills in our freezing winter months and then again, in the summer cooling months? Well, a good place to start would be a professional infrared home-energy…

The biggest question many professionals and consumers alike have about energy monitoring is whether or not it actually works. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently conducted a home electricity use study. This study looked at various factors, one of which was the home energy monitor. They found that using an energy monitor could result in savings of 8-25%. EPRI conducted further research into…

(Cross posted from the http://www.energycircle.com/pro/bloghttp://www.energycircle.com/pro/blog.)…