Recently I came across a LEED certified house that had cardboard return ducts. They were all inside the building envelope, but it seemed clear to me that they could lead to problems. Even if the home builder or HVAC contractor…
I've been a big advocate of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and its adoption by states. We adopted it here in Georgia last year, and it's now fully in effect, including the requirement for Blower Door and duct…
OK, the title here may be a little extreme, but if you've taken a look at the new chapter on performance testing and scope of work in the HERS Standards, you know what I'm talking about. RESNET just adopted this…
Energy Vanguard has been a Home Energy Rater Training Provider for one year now. We received our accreditation from RESNET in July 2010, and we just finished up our fourth class. As always right after a class, I'm both exhausted…
Well, my first day of the 2011 Building Science Summer Camp, officially called the Fifteenth Annual Westford Symposium on Building Science, has come to an end. It's been a great day up here in Westford, Massachusetts, (right next to Chelmsford,…
The first bit of sleuthing you may need to do here is to figure out what the heck a DET verifier is. Well, we have a new energy code here in Georgia, and the requirement that all new homes (and…
[Guest post by certified HERS Rater Jeffrey Sauls about his experience with the new Georgia energy code requirements for duct tightness testing.] [Guest post by certified HERS Rater Jeffrey Sauls about his experience with the new Georgia energy code requirements…
Sometimes you have to go at something backwards or inside out or sideways. Sometimes you've got to invert the normal thinking. Sometimes you have to invert it once and then invert it again to get something completely different, as Frank…
A couple of months ago, I was reading a discussion in one of the many LinkedIn groups that I belong to and came acros a comment arguing that energy efficiency requirements drive builders out of business. Here's part of what…
It's been hot here in the Atlanta area lately. Just three weeks ago we were wearing jackets with low temperatures in the thirties Fahrenheit, and now we're getting up above our summer design temperature every day. That means that a…