The Secrets of Liars — How to Detect an Internet Solar Energy Scam
All I was trying to do was find some football scores on Yahoo the other day when I saw it. I don't go looking for this stuff, and when I do see it, I try to ignore it. But this…
solar energy
4 Ways to Define Net Zero Energy Use in Buildings
ASHRAE† is meeting in Denver this week, and my friend Robert Bean, the mastermind behind the Healthy Heating website, tweeted the other day that they're going on a tour of NREL's new net zero energy building. I'd love to go—both…
NIST Takes on the Net Zero Energy Home Challenge
When you think of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), do you think of atomic clocks and hunks of metal that serve as standards of mass and length? Or do you think of cutting edge research in net…
Innovative Net Zero — Appalachian State’s Solar Decathlon House
Twelve years ago, I discovered the Solar Decathlon. I was a new physics professor at a small university in Georgia, and I'd received a packet from the US Department of Energy describing the competition. It was set to have its…
Dr. Joe Lstiburek Surprises Passive House Conference Attendees
At the Passive House Conference in Denver this past week, Dr. Joe Lstiburek gave the keynote address at the opening plenary (or plenum, as Henry Gifford would say) session. His words, clever as always, added some nice historical perspective to…
A 20 Year Old Energy Efficient House Goes to Net Zero in Florida
Steve Larson, a builder and home energy rater in Florida, recently sent me an email with his energy bills for February through July of this year. When you subtract out the monthly service charges, he paid only $5.35 for electricity…
What Are the Best Green Building Products?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what's the greenest product of all? You can find lists of the best green building products all over the web, and many sites update them annually. When looking for hot green building products, you have…
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the HERS Index
A lot of home builders and homeowners are getting certified home energy ratings to find out how efficient their homes are. There's also a lot of buzz about HERS ratings, with builders looking at them as a tool for marketing…
Don’t Let Your Attic Suck – Power Attic Ventilators Are a Bad Idea
Trade shows can be both educational and infuriating, and there’s one product I see at a lot of trade shows that fits easily into the latter category - power attic ventilators. The variety of this device that’s been popular lately…
Living with the Sun – Building Science in a Broader Context
I like the Sun! It's what got me interested in building science, actually. Growing up in the '70s, I heard a lot of talk about the environment, our energy problems, and solar energy. I didn't really do much with that…