A magazine by any other name would smell as sweet. (My sincerest apology to William Shakespeare.)

That’s a little over the top. But the point is, even though Home Energy will undergo the second name change in its history—it was called Energy Auditor and Retrofitter at its inception in 1984 and a few years later became Home Energy—it’s still the same magazine that many of you have come to know and trust.

Starting with the Spring 2020 issue, our name will be Building Performance Journal. This aligns us more closely with the association of which we are a part, the Building Performance Association (BPA).

Note, we don’t have “Home” in our name anymore. We will not abandon our primary subject, homes of every kind, but the name change leaves open the possibility that we will someday in the future cover efficient, healthy, comfortable, and affordable small commercial buildings as well as homes.

We’ve been trying to keep up with the trends in publishing over the past few decades. From now on, we’ll focus more on the digital version of the magazine, while still offering the print version to those who want it. It hasn’t been easy for any print-focused publications, and many have closed. I like my Kindle, and I can even download books from the library onto the e-reader. But many of us, like me, still love the feel of paper and the ability to read without the need for a computer, phone, or any other electronic device.

Take a look at Leslie Jackson’s “Back Porch” article in the Winter issue for another take on the big changes happening at the magazine. Leslie coordinated our physical move out of our Berkeley office. (All the magazine staff will be working remotely from now on, and meeting in person periodically.) For us it was a sad goodbye. We love the old renovated building where we’ve worked for the last decade, and there is a dog park right next to the building where we could give our pets a run or in another way get a periodic “dog fix.” But now I don’t have to face the Bay Area traffic during work hours and can stay in my jammies until noon if I want to. At least until we start doing podcasts from home.

Jim Gunshinan

Senior Editor

Home Energy Magazine, soon to be Building Performance Journal.

If you have an article idea you want to discuss, an outline, or even a rough draft, please let us know by sending an e-mail to content@building-performance.org.