Energy Vanguard Blog

Spray foam insulation is an air barrier. When you use it instead of the fluffy stuff (fiberglass, cellulose, cotton), a house will be more airtight. That's good.

I flunked my first physics exam in college. Yep. I got a 57% on it. I felt horrible about it because I was a physics major. Despite my dismal start to college physics, however, I did go on to get a doctorate in the field. The secret was figuring out for myself what millions of Chinese people learn from an early age. Here's how it happened.

Every business has slow periods. New businesses often have plenty of non-billable time, when the owner(s) and employees can work on things that help ensure success but that are often difficult to find time for once the jobs start rolling in. How you use those slow periods can make the difference between a business that goes on to have great success or one that flops.

A couple of years ago, my friend Steve Byers of Energy Logic wrote an article about how to get the most out of your conference experience. In it, he included a link to a paper titled 15 Tips from Keith Ferrazzi: Conference Commando (pdf), which I believe every conference goer should read. With the RESNET conference coming up next week and many more following throughout the year (Building Energy, Greenprints, ACI, SIPA, Building Science Summer Camp, EEBA, GreenBuild...), you need to be as prepared as the Energy Avenger (see video below).

I've been going to the RESNET conference at the beginning of each year since 2009. I also went in 2004, and I can tell you that it's a great learning and networking opportunity if you're in the home energy industry. Are you on the fence about coming to the RESNET conference this year? Are you not on the fence but just haven't registered yet? Even if neither of those apply, see my list below and you may find a reason that you hadn't considered.

A magician doesn't reveal his secrets, right? So why do those of us who blog and tweet successfully keep telling everyone else not only that they need to jump on the bandwagon but also how to do it. I've written a few articles here about blogging and social media and shown graphs of our tremendous growth in website traffic. But should you really bother? Do you need a blog? Is using social media mandatory?

Halloween can be a lot of fun. Well, let me soften that a bit - Halloween can be fun if you don't stuck doing an energy audit of a haunted house, as I did one year. If you're in the home performance business, you'll never lack for materials to make a costume. This year, my friend Doug invited me and my wife to his annual Halloween party, and the theme was the Milky Way galaxy. Well, I thought, I'm sure I can throw something together that looks alien-like.

Last month, the Today Show ran a little sting to see if HVAC contractors would do the right thing when brought to a home to diagnose an air conditioner problem that they'd set up. As it turned out, 6 out of 6 contractors presented bills that were too high, adding in charges for parts that didn't need replacing and in one case, even trying to charge to replace a part that that air conditioner didn't have.

The ACI Home Energy Leadership Summit is an event sorely needed in our industry. Most of us focus almost entirely on understanding building science and figuring out the best home energy improvement measures or assessment techniques, but stepping back and looking at the big picture is critical. Tied to the ACI national conference, this summit is the place where that happens.

Did you make it to Austin last week for the RESNET Conference? Did you catch the presentation that I did with Peter Troast of Energy Circle? Whether you did or you didn't, now you can download the pdf version of the presentation. In it you'll find out: