If you've ever had to dive into the details of the green building and energy efficiency programs for homes, you've experienced the operational definition of the word 'complexity,' along with a bit of 'confusion,' too, I'm sure. I know I…
I was checking some REM/Rate files for our HERS raters yesterday, mostly submitted for ENERGY STAR homes. I've come to expect Manual J heating and cooling load calculations submitted along with the files to be less than perfect. Mostly, I…
In my last four HVAC Design jobs, I've specified ductless mini-split heat pumps. I have four more such jobs underway now. In my last four HVAC Design jobs, I've specified ductless mini-split heat pumps. I have four more such jobs…
Do you have floor joists in your crawl space that look like the one to the left? In case you can't tell how bad it really is, just click on it to see a bigger version. When you do, you'll…
Last week, (EVER rater and Green Curmudgeon) Carl Seville and I took a trip up to Suwannee, Georgia to visit the Mitsubishi HVAC facility and learn more about their ductless heat pumps. I've mentioned here before that when I get…
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. My recent visit to Savannah for the USGBC's green…
My two sisters-in-law have been in town the past few days, and one of them needs to get an energy audit for the home she and her husband recently bought in Seattle. I gave her a recommendation for a company…
On Twitter yesterday, I saw this from my Ohio Twitter buddy Josh Lloyd: On Twitter yesterday, I saw this from my Ohio Twitter buddy Josh Lloyd: I wrote about energy conservation versus energy efficiency last year and showed how things…
I haven't done a LetsBlogOff post in a while, but when I saw the topic for today's blogoff, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist, so here goes. I haven't done a LetsBlogOff post in a while, but when…
So, I was out on a field test with a new HERS rater the other day, and we took a look up in the attic. The scuttle hole is right next to the closet where the natural gas water heater…