Myth: A House Needs to Breathe
Have you heard that one before, that you shouldn't seal up your house too tightly because a house needs to breathe? It's a common myth, but that's all it is - a myth. Houses do NOT need to breathe. People…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
EEM Update – My Friend Perry’s New Home
At the end of last month, I wrote about the house my friend Perry is buying with an EEM (Energy Efficient Mortgage). This is just a quick update about the project. The home energy rater finished up the rating, and,…
Little Shop of Duct Design Horrors
And now for a little Friday fun, here's one of my favorite duct design failures. I call it Stumpy. What's happened here is that the contractor who retrofitted the duct system just cut this one off mid-run. The problem is…
Energy Efficiency Versus Energy Conservation
I recall a lot of talk in the early ‘90s about the ‘peace dividend’ and how we’d spend it. This new term entered our lexicon because of the fall of the Soviet Union and the supposed billions of dollars that…
An Oversized Cooling System Isn’t Always a Bad Thing
I know, I know. If you've had a HERS rater class or any education in residential building science, the alarms are going off in your head right now - WAANNNHHHHH WAANNNHHHHH WAANNNHHHHH! Please, let me explain. I know, I know.…
Home Energy Rater Training – A New Approach
What images come to mind for you when I say 'home energy rater class'? The word class (or classroom), as used here, usually evokes images of desks in neat rows, with students attentively looking at the teacher standing in the…
Is Building a Green Home Better Than Renovating an Old Home?
I love TED talks! Today I discovered this one, thanks to Gary Smith of Energy Rated Homes of Mississippi. I love TED talks! Today I discovered this one, thanks to Gary Smith of Energy Rated Homes of Mississippi. In this…
The Problem of Pirates and Home Energy Audits
Yesterday I bought a Flip Video UltraHD camcorder, so you'll be seeing some videos appear on the Energy Vanguard website soon. As a matter of fact, I'm heading out to Carrollton this morning to tape Jason Payne of Structured Energies…
Georgia Energy Code Pushes the Envelope…Literally
Beginning 1 January 2011, the new Georgia state energy code will require Blower Door testing for all new single family homes. This is amazing progress! As far as I know, Georgia is the first state to go this far with…
![This House Is A Perfect Candidate For An Energy Efficient Mortgage [Photo By Energy Vanguard]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/eem-perfect-candidate-energy-efficient-mortgage.jpeg)
A Perfect Candidate for an EEM
Today I visited my friend Perry, who's buying a hundred year old house and wanted some advice on what he could do to improve it. My first thought, of course, was that he should buy the house with an EEM…