Are You Being Responsible with Numbers?
Numbers. We deal with them all the time. They come at us from all directions. We believe them. Or we don't. We throw them out and expect others to believe us. Those of us who work in the field of…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
Amazon to Use Server Farm Waste Heat for Office Heating
This morning in my ASHRAE newsletter, I saw an interesting story about a cool thing Amazon.com is planning to do with heat. Amazon, in case you didn't know, is a heavy user of computers. Not only do their run their…
RESNET Changes Training Policy with Interpretation
The RESNET board of directors last week issued Formal Interpretation 2014-04 (pdf). If you're on RESNET's mailing list, you may not have noticed this one come through on 24 September because they send out so many emails, but it's an…
On the Edge: The North American Passive House Conference
The 9th annual North American Passive House Conference happened two weeks ago in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) has been holding this conference every year since 2006, and it just keeps getting…
An Energy Recovery Ventilator Is NOT a Dehumidifier
A common misconception about the energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is that it's good for humid climates because it helps to dehumidify a home. It's usually the better choice for a humid climate when you're trying to decide between an ERV…
All Over the Map — The Imprecision of 24 California HERS Ratings
A home energy rating is supposed to tell you how energy efficient your home is. A certified home energy rater goes to the home and collects all the data relevant to energy consumption in the home (well, all the data…
This Thermostat Setting Can Cost You Money and Make You Sick
I've been experimenting with my family lately. Or is it, experimenting on my family? In either case, I've got the data to confirm something I wrote in a 2011 article. But before I tell you what I did, first let…
My Big Fat Oversized Air Conditioner
Back in 2009, I had a new air conditioner installed our condo. The previous one was an ancient 25 years old and barely limping along. It wasn't cooling much, and the summer electric bills had risen. So, I did a…
Why Is RESNET Limiting Its Options for Improvement?
In case you haven't heard, last year RESNET created a task force to look at ways to improve the consistency of results among certified home energy raters (aka HERS raters). One week ago, executive director Steve Baden sent an email…
Moisture and the Quirkiness of OSB
Oriented strand board (OSB) gets blamed for a lot of problems that are really the fault of the designers and builders. Part of the problem, of course, is the perrenial confusion between correlation and causality. OSB hit the market as…