Energy Efficient Windows: How We Got Here

The rise of windows occured with the development of fixed and enclosed houses. They were traditionally seen as wide openings on the walls that let in natural light in the morning, decorated with animal skins to regulate airflow and daylighting. Over the centuries, though, the features of windows evolved, transforming into the more versatile and energy-efficient varieties we have today.

You’ve probably…

Attend Online--Earn CEUs!

The Maine Indoor Air Quality Council’s (MIAQC) IAQ & Energy 2019 Conference takes place on Oct 31 – Nov 1 in Portland, ME. There’s still time to register to attend either in-person or online and save!…

Healthy Indoors Show - Ellen Tohn interview - May 13, 2018 from Healthy Indoors on Vimeo.

Ellen Tohn was a keynote presenter at the IAQ & Energy 2018…

A Special Offer for the Indoor Environmental & Building Performance Industry’s ONLY Live In-person/Online Event! The Maine Indoor Air Quality Council (MIAQC) has again partnered with Healthy Indoors Magazine to live-stream multiple sessions from MIAQC’s Annual Conference.–the ONLY hybrid In-Person/Online event in the…

Bob Krell has joined the staff of the Building Performance Association to serve as Publisher of Home Energy Magazine. He will be stewarding a new direction for the publication as it becomes the journal for BPA members.

Krell was the co-founder of IAQNET, LLC in 2013, and serves as the publisher of its…

The Energy Department recognizes the value that data standards and systems bring to the world of building energy efficiency. As such, its Building Technologies Office (BTO) has helped fund a variety of…

We all need somebody to lean on. —Bill Withers. Singer-songwriter, 1938-1985

Happy Earth Day 2019! According to the…

There is cause for celebration this week not just for the Home Performance Coalition, (HPC) but for all players in the home performance industry, as H.R. 1315 was introduced to the 116th Congress. 

The Clean Energy Infrastructure and the Workforce to Build It…

It’s amazing how many energy efficiency conferences and workshops have surfaced recently. Sometimes it seems like the dissemination and sharing of EE information has become a standalone industry. These events are often are often sponsored by large corporate donors and may have hundreds of attendees. Frequently they are week-long events with multiple “tracks” of…

Sean Armstrong is the Managing Principal of Redwood Energy, one of the nation’s leading ZNE design firms and an Efficiency First California board member. His argument for electrification is based on his extensive experience in multifamily housing. 

The conventional wisdom is that when it comes to home heating, gas is cheap. So why is the trend toward building all-electric homes accelerating?

It turns out…

Air conditioners are the essential bastions of cool breezes when the mercury skyrockets and the hot summer sun begins to bake down on…

In all the discussions about how to best save energy and power the future, people sometimes forget that the clean energy system of tomorrow will be built not on spreadsheets or by some fancy computer modeling tool, but by hardworking crews in the field. These folks often don’t get enough credit for what they do. But as those of us who’ve run businesses dedicated to…

WE NEED TO TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY

When it comes to energy, society is at a crossroads. Our existing supplies are heavily based on fossil fuels, a limited and dirty solution. There is no question that we must transition to a cleaner and more sustainable future. Fortunately, there are alternatives to the current system, but we need to be realistic about…

This Changes Everything!

IAQ & Energy 2018 is the industry’s first hybrid Live In-person/Online event! We’re taking the MIAQC’s 19th annual regional conference to new levels, with an expanded group of presentations from leading industry experts, the option to attend either…

It’s a common practice to try to encourage or change behavior with incentives. Parents do it all the time. Have you ever agreed to do something for the reward that was promised upon completion? Finished your dinner so you could have ice cream? Or as Pink Floyd famously sang “how can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat?”

INCENTIVES ARE NOT…

We’re taking a departure from the goings on at the state capital and will instead focus on some events that are occurring across the state of California.

The landscape for energy efficiency incentive programs in California is changing. Late last year, a program in Southern California announced a funding cap for the year 2018. The program implementers…

There is some debate among scholars over when humans first learned to control fire. A large body of evidence suggests people have been using it for around 600,000 years, but recent discoveries have pushed the date back to as far as 1 million years ago. Regardless of when exactly it started, there is no question that controlling fire has changed the course of human…

Building Tighter Homes with Gasketed Framing

If you follow our blog, you know that we talk quite a bit about building science. In fact, we wrote a primer on how builders can use building science to produce more durable, comfortable, and energy-efficient homes. We also share…

Having a good way to measure efficiency is valuable to the home performance industry for many reasons. Easy to obtain, low cost, accurate savings data can be used to better educate consumers, close sales and help crews use their time more effectively when installing upgrades. Accurate data enables rebate programs to maximize every dollar spent on incentives. Good data…

Undergoing a renovation in search of energy efficiency would chill some people to the bone. Not us, we were ready to plan and enact some changes on an outdated bathroom. Follow along and let us hear some of your tips and renovation stories in the comments. 

Wether the implications are that of energy saving for the wealth of the planet, or like…