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tag: green building
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Water Heater that's also an AC! ATI66 Heat Pump Water Heater Review
I like Heat Pump Water Heaters, they heat water and they throw off cool & dehumidified air! Seems like the perfect product to have inside our Hot Texas homes. See my full review of the AirGenerate ATI 66 gallon HPWH.
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Renovated mid-century fireplace
Rather than demolish and recreate a new fireplace, the existing brickwork was repointed to minimize the vertical grout joints. The brickwork was then painted with a two tone paint scheme, using a...
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Masonry woodstove with pizza oven
In our new passive solar home designed by Sunplans, the masonry woodstove is a primary heat source. With just one or two burns a day, it radiates heat efficiently for 24 hours. An added bonus is the...
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Tankless vs Tank vs HPWH - 10 Year Costs Estimates - Large Custom Home
4 commentsMost large custom homes that I've seen are relatively in-efficient in their hot water strategy. Many homes above 5000sf have 2+ 75 gal tank water heaters with a circulation pump. I thought this 7000sf home I'm about to break ground on would be a good case study on what some more efficient water heaters might cost over a 10 year period. This is some geeky stuffy...Enjoy! -Matt Risinger
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Home Energy-Efficiency Upgrades for Beginners
Advice for homeowners: Inspect your house for these common energy problems to get a better idea on where your money is best spent
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A Shortcut for Air-Sealing Houses
Researchers who developed a method of sealing leaky air ducts set their sights on a whole-house treatment that should make it easier for builders to make tight houses
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The "Lexus" HVAC system - Variable Refrigerant Flow Technology
1 commentAir Conditioners are sized for the Hottest day of the year. This results in rather uncomfortable AC about 70% of the time, as well as electric bills that are needlessly high. Enter Variable Refrigerant Flow Technology. This allows your AC to run at any capacity from 15% up to 100%. Join me for a system overview
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How to Sell a Green House
2 commentsIf you want to market a green house successfully, one real-estate expert suggests dropping ambiguous wording and "sell the steak, not the sizzle."
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Shedding Light on LEDs: Why They'll Own the Future
Each spike in energy prices hastens the end of incandescent bulbs. What lighting technology will replace them? The smart money is on LEDs.
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Southern HVAC Best Practice Videos
This is my collection of my 9 best HVAC related videos. Most will be relevant no matter your climate but many speak specifically to best practice for the Southern US.
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Retrofitting a USB Charger/Receptacle Combo
4 commentsReplacing a standard duplex receptacle with a USB charger/receptacle combo speeds recharging and gets more use out of an outlet.
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U.S. Green Building Council Marks 20th Birthday
The creator of the LEED for Homes rating system underscores its influence on building worldwide, but critics complain the system fails to measure energy consumption and is more about winning points than better performance.
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Ventilation Strategies for Houses in the Hot-Humid South: Good/Better/Best
Build tight, ventilate right. I learned that from building science guru Mark LaLiberte. But what is the right way to ventilate a house in Texas (or anywhere in the hot/humid South)? I'll give you my recommendations for three strategies.
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The True Tale of a One-Tree House
1 commentNancy longed to build an in-law cottage but could never quite make the numbers work. Then one wild, dark night, good fortune arrived with a crash.
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Indoor-Air Quality and Ventilation for Homes in Hot-Humid Climates
2 commentsThe weather in the Southern United States poses a unique challenge to the issues of ventilation and indoor-air quality. Here are my opinions and suggestions on how to address these issues if you are building or remodeling in the South.
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HUD to require green-building compliance in hurricane zone
In allocating $5.4 billion in recovery funds to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy, HUD will require compliance with a green- building standard but doesn't specify which one to use
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Nest Review - Builder Perspective
3 commentsThe Nest thermostat has a ton of buzz, but is it worth the price? In this review you'll hear my perspective as a builder.
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Building Energy 13: Old Hippies Conspire to Save the World
After a visit to the annual conference and trade show of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, editor-at-large Kevin Ireton reports on the business of energy-efficient home building, deep-energy retrofits, and more
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How to Do Everything: The Energy Nerd's Greatest Hits
1 commentIf you plan to design, build, or remodel an energy efficient house, Energy Nerd Martin Holladay's collection of how-to articles is a must-read
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A Conversation with Tedd Benson About the Road from Fine Carpenter to Fine Businessman
2 commentsTedd Benson, one of the most celebrated homebuilders in America, has been a leader in reintroducing the art of timber framing, and has continued to develop it using modern technology to create structures of lasting beauty and high efficiency. He also built a successful business, stalwart enough to sail through the Great Recession and expand. I recently had the opportunity talk with Tedd Benson and learn about his background, his business, and his plans for the future.
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How to Paint Fiber-Cement Siding
Painter Jim Lacey shares some tips for caulking and painting fiber-cement siding. read more
