Featured Blog Posts (378)

     Once a month or so Marie and I have dinner with a group of old friends, all of whom happen to be particularly interested in theater and other creative arts. The subject of architecture in general and Frank Lloyd Wright in particular popped up during one such recent gathering over Indian food.  Our friends burbled enthusiastically about their past visits to various Wright buildings and how beautiful they are. 

     I got into trouble when…

Below is an article I wrote on the Mapawatt Blog.  I thought I would share it here on Home Energy Pros as well.  Are you preparing your home for an electric car?

As my electric Porsche…

The title of this blog might strike you as kind of weird, especially this week. After all, the Electric Power Research Institute made the news with a study showing that smart grid is going to be far bigger than we first thought.

Smart grid in simplest terms brings to the electrical grid the digital intelligence of computers and the Internet. Just seven years ago EPRI expected smartening the grid to cost $165 billion.  But its new…

First off, there is no law actually calling for the death of the incandescent.  The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 actually states…

In my last four HVAC Design jobs, I've specified ductless mini-split heat pumps. I have four more such jobs underway now.

Why mini-splits?

• Efficiency (up to 26 SEER)
• Variable Refrigerant…

My recent visit to Savannah for the USGBC's green product expo charged up my historic preservation bug and got me to thinking about how to apply building science to historic buildings.

Most of us that have ever lived in, owned, or even just visited a historic home…

Few countries have been dealt such a tragic combination of natural and manmade disasters as Japan. The part of the disaster that I understand is the shortage of electricity. I wrote a book, Saving Electricity in a Hurry, in 2005 while working at the International Energy Agency.¹ In the book, I explained the measures that a government must take in order to quickly reduce electricity demand while protecting…

I interviewed architect Chris Laumer-Giddens, of Energy Vanguard, on the company's new integrated design-build / home-performance model last week. I'm reposting the interview here, with Chris's permission. -- Leah Thayer, daily5Remodel…

We all go through transitions in our lives.  One of the biggest is choosing or changing a profession.  As I mentioned in previous entries, my background for the previous 9 years was doing class action and warranty inspections on residential building products.  This meant I became keenly…

In 1997, I helped my parents design and build their home. Early in the construction process, I had suggested that the house be built 25 feet back from where we originally had it planned, and that the fireplace be moved to the back side of the living room. We had already put the stakes in the ground and were ready to start digging for…

What makes a Green Home green? Is it the bamboo floors? Maybe it’s the low-e windows or the extra insulation in the walls? What about a high efficiency heating and cooling system? Or maybe it's a plaque by your front door that says, “I'm Green!”?

How about all of the above and then…

I was forwarded an email that originated from the Energy Star Heat Island group.  This was something I was not aware of.  I have changed the font to red for the main point of my own comments below the quoted part of the email.

"This call will provide an overview of the revised requirements for ENERGY STAR labeling of roofing products. The focus will be on the certification and verification processes. Beginning January 2011, labeling requires third- party…

This week’s energy news looks bad for the United States – at first glance. The nation has slipped to second behind China in clean energy investment. Moreover, five of the G-20 nations have surpassed the US for clean energy investment relative to size of economy.

But look at little deeper into the report, “Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race,”  and you’ll see that the US did not slide in all forms of…

Hey, HERS raters, what if I told you that you could get the volume of a multi-pitched roof for all of your home energy…

I have to agree with the Tea Party; the US government should not choose the light bulbs I use in my home.  And fortunately, it does not.

Yet that’s the spin being pushed by those who want to roll back federal lighting performance standards. An odd mythology is developing around the standards.

Opponents claim that the…