My dissertation in grad school was called "Flat or Lumpy." (Of course, it had the requisite incomprehensibility in the subtitle, with words like 'heteroepitaxy.') Those two words in the title, which cut to the heart of what my surface physics…
Yesterday, I heard a law student tell a story about some advice she gave to her friend about a recent break up. Her friend was having trouble letting go, and instead of saying something simple like, "you need to move…
My grandmother was 'cold-natured,' which meant she was more often too cold than too hot. My grandfather could sweat just by thinking about going outside on a summer day in Louisiana (where summer lasts for 5 months). Yet they lived…
A few weeks ago, my uncle, John, called me up and asked if I could design the house where he and his future wife would spend the rest of their lives. Like many people, he wants to save money on…
At the end of last month, I wrote about the house my friend Perry is buying with an EEM (Energy Efficient Mortgage). This is just a quick update about the project. The home energy rater finished up the rating, and,…
![This House Is A Perfect Candidate For An Energy Efficient Mortgage [Photo By Energy Vanguard]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/eem-perfect-candidate-energy-efficient-mortgage.jpeg)
Today I visited my friend Perry, who's buying a hundred year old house and wanted some advice on what he could do to improve it. My first thought, of course, was that he should buy the house with an EEM…
As a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Provider, I check the home energy ratings that my raters do. Recently one of the EVER raters, Jason Payne of Structured Energies, completed a rating project for a homeowner who was financing home…
I'm one of those rare people who actually likes to go into crawl spaces. I strap on my knee pads, put on my head lamp, grab my camera, and go have fun. Well, perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit, but I…
Well, at least don't insulate your attic until you’ve sealed the air leaks. Most attics have a lot of holes where attic air can get into the house, or conditioned air can be lost to the attic. Don’t you just…