Why Doesn’t Heat Flow Backwards?
Ah, the meaning of the Second Law of Thermodynamics! I might as well ask, What is the meaning of life? It's a fascinating question and one that we can approach from a lot of different angles. Since this is a…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
US Green Building Council to Require All-Glass LEED Homes
New houses certified in the LEED for Homes program will be required to have 100% windows in all above-grade walls once the new 2012 update is approved by US Green Building Council (USGBC) members this summer. The LEED certification program…
Quick Review of the 2012 Affordable Comfort Conference
I returned home last night from the 2012 Affordable Comfort National Conference, exhausted and exhilirated after three days hanging out with 1700 of my closest friends in the home performance industry. Here's a quick review based on what I heard…
Thermal Comfort: Everyone Wants It but Few Know the ASHRAE Standard
GUEST POST: As the Affordable Comfort conference kicks off today, it's appropriate to take a look at what comfort is and how we construct buildings to have the best shot at getting it. Robert Bean is an engineer in Calgary…
How Much Air Leakage in Your Home Is Too Much?
Whether you want to build a new home or fix an old one, the way to ensure that you get the best performance is to do the building envelope right. That means installing the right amount of insulation and installing…
How to Sheathe an Attic Kneewall — And How Not to
Yesterday I was doing a home energy rating for quality assurance in Augusta, Georgia, and the house I was in had a bonus room. Bonus rooms are often the least comfortable room in a house, and the main reason is…
GUEST POST: Spray Foam, Infrared Cameras, & the New Big Holes
After reading an article by Joe Lstiburek titled Just Right and Airtight, I got to thinking about what we've been spending a lot of time on lately, and that is what we call the “New Big Holes.” Of the 350+…
Rare Grade I Fiberglass Batt Insulation Sighting
One of the great benefits of going out into the field to do quality assurance and training for HERS raters is that I get to see what's going on in new construction. Last week I visited HERS raters in Nashville,…
A Net Zero Energy Home in Rural Tennessee
On my thousand-mile quality assurance road trip last week, I visited a house that was designed to produce more energy than it uses, making it a net zero energy home. You can take any house all the way to net…
The ACI Home Energy Leadership Summit – Big Thinking for Our Industry
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…