The ENERGY STAR homes program has grown tremendously since it was introduced in the mid 1990s. In the initial program, version 1 of the guidelines, most homes were certified through a home energy rating and a single inspection that occurred…
This week I read and commented on Avoiding the Global Warming Impact of Insulation by Alex Wilson" target="_blank">Avoiding the Global Warming Impact of Insulation by Alex Wilson over at Green Building Advisor. I'd avoided the article for a while since…
Matt Simmons died this week. It's a huge loss for the peak oil community, as he had great knowledge and understanding of the big picture of global oil production, especially in Saudi Arabia. Matt Simmons died this week. It's a…
There's been a lively discussion going on in the RESNET/BPI group on LinkedIn. I posted my article about how infiltration occurs at the surface, not in the volume, and it's generated some good comments. In that article, I said we…
At the gym the other night, I was thinking about a tweet I'd seen the day before: "@EFL_Guy 'Air leaks through surfaces not volume" Joe Lstiburek.'" I'd been meaning to blog about this for a while, so, during my workout,…
I'm not at Building Science Summer Camp this week. In case you haven't heard, the event, formally called the Westford Symposium on Building Science, is by invitation only. And I didn't get an invitation. Not that I would have gone…
Last night down at the Brick Store Pub, I ran into someone I know from the gym, and, as it turns out, he lives on Drexel Avenue. Naturally, I asked, 'Do you know Mike Barcik?' Of course, he did. Everyone,…
Yesterday I went to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for a meeting of the State Codes Advisory Committee (SCAC). Wait, wait, don't leave yet! I promise there's good stuff in here. Yesterday I went to the Georgia Department…
Yesterday I gave some general advice about how to choose a HERS rater training class, and one of suggestions I made was to contact former students of each HERS training provider you're considering. Testimonials in the trainer's marketing materials may…
In the past couple of years, the number of organizations offering some kind of training or certification for home energy auditors or home energy raters has grown rapidly. As I've discussed here before, some energy auditor certifications are scams, and…