Today we're running a guest post by Chris Kaiser of Mapawatt.com. I met Chris recently because we're both blogging from the great city of Atlanta, and our blogs complement each other well. Here at Energy Vanguard, we focus mainly on…
Yesterday I wrote about whether or not HERS rater training is a scam. In the forum where I saw a rater venting about his experience, there were pages and pages of comments, and another complaint that emerged in the thread…
I did a search the other day on the term “HERS rater test scam” because I got to thinking about a forum I’d run across a while back. Someone who took the HERS rater class was ranting about RESNET and…
I like to go to Waffle House. Over the past few years, it seems, I've gone so often that I even order my breakfast in their special code: "Triple scramble wheat plate," which translates to three scrambled eggs, whole wheat…
Do you know how most HVAC contractors charge for installing HVAC systems, especially in the case of new home construction? By the ton of installed air conditioning capacity. If you've read any of my previous articles about Manual J and…
Yesterday was an exciting day at Energy Vanguard. Chris and I worked really hard in May to finish up and submit our application for Energy Vanguard to become a HERS rater training provider, and yesterday the answer arrived. RESNET informed…
"Making something beautiful is one of the most sustainable things you can do." - Sarah Susanka, Author of The Not So Big House. "Making something beautiful is one of the most sustainable things you can do." - Sarah Susanka, Author of The…
It's a pretty safe bet that the vast majority of air conditioners are oversized. ACCA developed its Manual J protocol for heating and cooling load calculations to help HVAC contractors put in correctly sized equipment, but there are a couple…
Spray foam insulation is a great product. Homes insulated with it can be some of the most efficient and comfortable homes built. I've been in plenty of these homes and can tell you that a typical spray foam insulated house…
My dissertation in grad school was called "Flat or Lumpy." (Of course, it had the requisite incomprehensibility in the subtitle, with words like 'heteroepitaxy.') Those two words in the title, which cut to the heart of what my surface physics…