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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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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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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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3 Reasons to Choose Spray Foam Insulation for a Remodel
Remodeling presents special challenges for the insulation choices. In this 1 minute video I'll show you the three reason's I almost always choose spray foam insulation for my remodel projects.
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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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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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A New Roof is an Opportunity to Add More Insulation
A homeowner in Baltimore needs to replace the built-up asphalt roof on his house, and wonders how to insulate it effectively at the same time
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What's the Best Way to Install Rainscreen Siding?
1 commentA builder planning a new house plans to include a rainscreen, an exterior detail that separates the sheathing from the finish cladding with furring strips. He'd like to install the furring horizontally instead of in the more typical vertical orientation. Is that a problem?
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Should Rafters be Encapsulated by Spray-Foam?
2 commentsEven experts continue to be confused about the permissible thickness of foam insulation sprayed onto the underside of a roof deck
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Weighing the Merits of Spray-Foam Insulation
1 commentA homeowner looking to upgrade the insulation in his 90-year-old Cape is thinking about contracting for spray-in foam. But he's got conflicting advice from installers and wonders whether closed-cell or open-cell foam is the way to go.
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Does Super-Insulation Make Sense in New Orleans?
3 commentsA winning design for an energy-efficient house in the Deep South sparks a conversation on whether high R-values can make a house harder to cool.
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Can an Unvented Cathedral Ceiling be Insulated with Dense-Pack Rock Wool?
A homeowner building a house in Massachusetts asks for advice on insulating a cathedral ceiling
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Choosing the Best High Performance Wall System
Planning a house for a cold climate, a builder weighs the merits of double 2x4 stud walls vs. 2x6 walls with exterior rigid foam insulation.
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Researching Retrofit Technology in the Northwest
Using two identical, side-by-side homes as their laboratory, DOE researchers aim to measure the effectiveness of a variety of energy efficiency improvements
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Taking Aim at California's Low-Carbon Target
As the state prepares to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels over the next 38 years, scientists predict a mostly electric future
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Russia's First "Active House" Gets a Test Drive
A Danish solar-panel company teams up with a Russian developer to build a home designed to showcase net-zero-energy performance
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How to Build a 'Perfect Wall'
3 commentsAdding rigid foam insulation to the outside of the building reduces thermal bridging. Choosing the right insulation for the wall cavity is another question altogether
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Lawmaker Targets DOE's Weatherization Program
3 commentsIt's all part of Representative Chuck Fleischmann’s campaign to stop "green initiative abuse"
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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
