OK, HERS raters, here's a question for you: Have you done ratings on homes that have duct systems in encapsulated crawl spaces? If the duct system didn't qualify for the RESNET exemption from testing (ducts 100% inside the building envelope…
Here's the thing. If you have anything to do with houses (home builder, remodeler, HERS rater, trade contractor, homeowner...), you probably ought to understand these three fundamental principles of air movement. Then you'll have a better chance of knowing how…
It kills me when I see homes getting their windows replaced. No, I'm not referring to the FTC's recent slamming of the window industry for their overblown claims of energy savings. I'm talking about how a large number of window…
Let's get back to the Pretty Good House concept now. Last month I wrote part 1, called What Would a "Pretty Good House" Look Like? There I discussed mainly the design, building envelope, and heating and cooling systems. Here I'll…
I'm talking about the hole the plumbers cut for the bathtub drain. If you have a bathtub sitting on a floor over an space like a vented crawl space or unconditioned basement, this hole allows air to move freely between…
Whether you want to build a new home or fix an old one, the way to ensure that you get the best performance is to do the building envelope right. That means installing the right amount of insulation and installing…
After reading an article by Joe Lstiburek titled Just Right and Airtight, I got to thinking about what we've been spending a lot of time on lately, and that is what we call the “New Big Holes.” Of the 350+…
On my thousand-mile quality assurance road trip last week, I visited a house that was designed to produce more energy than it uses, making it a net zero energy home. You can take any house all the way to net…
What is it about Maine? Some of my favorite people in the home energy pro community live there. We just signed up our first HERS Rater from the state (Diane Milliken of Horizon Residential Energy Services). Now, some folks there…
The Passive House Institute of the US (PHIUS) had a real presence at the RESNET conference this week. I felt it even before I got on the plane to Austin last Saturday, as I met John Semmelhack of Think Little…