Wood Burning Fireplace: Energy Efficiency Loser.
by Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com, and the eNewsletter, the Energy Spy Insider
People can have a Love-hate relationship with their wood burning fireplace. There is a lot of loving and hating going on right about now, because cooler weather has come and there are about 35 million fireplaces in the U.S. Whether we are hanging the Christmas stockings with care or trying…
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Added by Don Ames on November 6, 2011 at 9:50pm —
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- Dollars and Cents
At the beginning of a home energy audit, I make it a habit to ask the homeowner if I can see their…
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Added by Don Ames on October 30, 2011 at 9:30pm —
4 Comments
If a double pane window is better than a single pane window, should I use triple pane windows?
By Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com
- retrofit…
Added by Don Ames on October 26, 2011 at 9:30pm —
4 Comments
Should I be using triple pane windows for my retrofit project?
If a double pane window is better than a single pane window, should I use triple pane windows?
By Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com…
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Added by Don Ames on October 26, 2011 at 9:30pm —
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Household Energy Consumption and Successful Energy Education
by Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com
- behavior choices
Two homes…
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Added by Don Ames on October 23, 2011 at 8:00pm —
7 Comments
Energy Auditors: A Professional on a Mission to Save Energy
by Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com,
Hopefully, most people that become Doctors, want to be Doctors. If someone is going to go digging around in my belly, I want them to enjoy what they're doing and not wish they were out leading a group of fisherman on a flounder trip.
I feel the same way about Energy Auditors, anyone that is going to test my…
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Added by Don Ames on October 18, 2011 at 10:00pm —
2 Comments
“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
-Chinese proverb
Let’s say you own a waterfront business that invests the time and resources to teach that man or woman to fish. You routinely offer “Fishing 101” classes. Your…
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Added by Melissa Baldridge on October 18, 2011 at 8:30pm —
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Energy Retrofits and Priorities for Energy Efficiency
by Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com
- energy efficiency
Nothing worse than saving…
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Added by Don Ames on October 15, 2011 at 9:30am —
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Are Energy Saving Retrofits Cost-Effective?
by Don Ames
- weatherization program
Government and Utility based programs that offer weatherization and other energy saving…
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Added by Don Ames on October 10, 2011 at 1:00pm —
5 Comments
Straw-bale houses have come a long way since Midwestern homesteaders used to stack sod on the Great Plains and call it home. More recently, 20th century straw-bale builders were either crunchy, granola types hand-crafting their own über-green homes, or affluent greenies seeking to create off-grid trophy houses, budgets be damned. In all cases, though, straw-bale has been the preserve of the one-off – designed and built one at a time. Until now.
One…
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Added by Melissa Baldridge on September 14, 2011 at 10:51am —
1 Comment
So the price of gas is hovering near $4.00 a gallon again. Have you noticed a change in your driving habits? More people are choosing to stay home over driving long distances for vacation. They’re also combining trips to multiple locations to get more things done all at once and if they forget to stop at one,…
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Added by Jon LaMonte on July 25, 2011 at 5:51pm —
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By Alan Meier
It’s easy to lose the longer perspective when we are involved in day-to-day efforts to save energy. That’s why I want to focus on a single home—Danny Parker’s house in Florida—to illustrate the bumpy road to zero energy use. The figure on the right shows 21 years of electricity use, along with many of the major events in Danny’s household. (Follow the green…
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Added by Home Energy Magazine on July 11, 2011 at 12:30pm —
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If you can afford it, go for an Energy Star rated appliance. You'll save in energy costs in the long run and if you ever decide to sell your home, it may have greater appeal.
Energy efficient appliances are of great interest to home buyers. First and foremost, these appliances save energy, which translates into lower utility bills.
Additionally, eco-friendly buyers appreciate the efforts made by the seller.
For More…
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Added by Tampa Real Estate on May 5, 2011 at 2:41pm —
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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…
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Added by Chris Laumer-Giddens on April 11, 2011 at 8:02am —
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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…
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Added by Hal Skinner on April 6, 2011 at 5:00pm —
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The Bay Area and our neighbor to the north, Portland, Oregon, have had a friendly competition over which of us is the greenest state. Portland scored big points by providing proof positive that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) a.k.a. the Stimulus Bill, has created good paying, permanent jobs in the new, greener economy.
The
Energy Efficiency and Community Block Grant (EECBG) program, which targets…
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Added by Jim Gunshinan on April 1, 2011 at 2:15pm —
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How Oil Pointed the Way to Home Energy Savings
Don Ames
When the oil fields began to be developed in places like North Dakota, manpower was an immediate need. Manpower was needed in remote places where the oil was hiding and having enough ready housing was a problem. The cheapest and quickest solution was manufactured housing. Pull it in, set it up, and your done.
Manufactured home communities began to sprout up over…
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Added by Don Ames on March 25, 2011 at 3:21pm —
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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…
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Added by Chris Laumer-Giddens on March 21, 2011 at 4:30am —
5 Comments
As my good friend Rana Belshe says. Let's not forget that the people who live in houses are the ones who are in charge of how the house loses and gains energy and how the appliances and HVAC use energy. People are the key and heart of gettin' it done!
Added by A. Tamasin Sterner on March 7, 2011 at 9:54am —
3 Comments
I am composing this blog post on a computer that was likely assembled in a factory that runs on electricity made from coal. The aluminum for the case and other parts of the computer probably came from a smelter powered by natural gas. The electricity powering the computer here in California could come from a combination…
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Added by Jim Gunshinan on February 10, 2011 at 3:30pm —
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