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tag: green building
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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
Air 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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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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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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Indoor-Air Quality and Ventilation for Homes in Hot-Humid Climates
1 commentThe 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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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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High-Performance Homes Dos & Don'ts: Mark LaLiberte Seminar Notes
2 commentsMark LaLiberte is an amazing building-science teacher. Read my blogging notes from his seminar titled "Building High-Performance Homes Dos & Don'ts," which I attended in Austin, Texas. Remember that this is focused on Texas construction, but there is plenty to learn here for anyone in the U.S.
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Airtight Wall and Roof Sheathing
13 commentsIn the early 1970s, residential builders knew almost nothing about air tightness. Nowadays, there's plenty of data showing why it's so important to air-seal houses.
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All concrete home, 3 stories ICF block construction
All ICF exterior walls, 3 stories! 10,000 heated sq. ft., six car garage, indoor shooting range! Custom wood windows with 12" jams, ZO6 glass. Hers rating of 52!
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Texas Deep-Energy Retrofit Remodel
When you hear about a deep energy retrofit project most people think of the snowy North Eastern US. I can tell you that the strategy for a Northern remodel with energy efficiency in mind is very different that our strategy for Hot/Humid Texas. In this video I'll show you 6 things we are doing to making a dramatic difference in this 1950's slab on grade house's energy bills.
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Flashing A Recessed Window using Liquid Tyvek
1 commentFlashing a recessed window is tricky, this new product from DuPont Tyvek called Fluid Applied (Liquid Tyvek!) makes the process much simpler. In this jobsite video we will take you through the steps to form a water tight, air tight, and vapor permeable window install.
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Hot Water Without Wasting Cold - Metlund D'Mand Pump
How long does it take for your faucet to get hot water? As you wait for that hot water a typical faucet might dump 1-2 gallons of water down the drain. The solution for this problem is a smart circulation pump. Metlund makes a great system to deliver how water to your faucets without waste.
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Sustainable Living Shed in a Midwest Suburb
This shed was built with the intention of serving as many purposes as possible on as small a piece of land as possible. Because we live on a corner lot where it would be very visible, we also...
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Design & Daylight
2 commentsThe first of a two-part introduction to a thematic blog on daylighting strategies used in residential design.
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Smart Design Advice for Hot & Humid Climates (i.e. The South)
Architect Peter Pfeiffer talks about how to utilize smart design for a house in a hot climate zone. His green building advice is practical and following his advice will result in a house that's well designed for the rigors of a hot climate. If you want a comfortable, efficient, durable house and you live in the South then this video will give you tons to think about.
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Off-The-Grid Straw Bale Getaway
1 commentAn architecture firm known for ecologically sensitive design creates an off-the-grid cabin in the woods of California
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The Professor's House
A University of Oregon professor designed her family home to respect its steep, natural setting.
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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
