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.…
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)
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…
It's Friday afternoon and time for some fun, so let's take a look at the four types of duct leakage. It's Friday afternoon and time for some fun, so let's take a look at the four types of duct leakage.…
You can turn electricity into heat at an efficiency of 100%! Every kilowatt-hour of electricity in turns into one kilowatt-hour of heat out. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it? The truth, however, is that electric resistance heat (toasters, baseboard heaters,…
1. If you want to save energy, the first thing you should do is weatherstrip your doors and caulk your windows. Not true. Your house has much bigger holes than those. 2. I live in the South (or another warm…
I'm one of those rare people who actually likes to go into crawl spaces. I strap on my knee pads, put on my head lamp, grab my camera, and go have fun. Well, perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit, but I…
I've analyzed and improved the energy efficiency of numerous homes. The starting point is, of course, the analysis because you want to put your efforts—and your dollars—where they're going to generate the best results. I've analyzed and improved the energy…
Well, at least don't insulate your attic until you’ve sealed the air leaks. Most attics have a lot of holes where attic air can get into the house, or conditioned air can be lost to the attic. Don’t you just…
In 2005, my friend Scott from Pennsylvania (well, really from Toronto but living in PA) visited me in Georgia. I was enveloped in the world of peak oil at that time and showed him an article that postulated that when…