Energy Docs

06/26/2019

When it comes to ducting, “right sized for the environment” is key.

The first thing to know about the velocity of air moving through ducts is that the slower you get the air moving, the better it is for air flow. That was the main point of my last article. In fact, the title asked the question, "Is Low Velocity Bad for Air Flow in Ducts?” And the answer was that, ...

04/29/2019

The lab results are "in" on the Sanden heat pump water heater on the Redding ZNE #1 home.

PG&E’s code readiness subprogram collects data on energy efficiency measures and technologies that will support more robust advocacy in future code cycles rulemakings as well as inform vo

04/23/2019

The key to air filtration performance is designing for deeper and larger filters that are able to trap smaller, harmful particles.

Last August I began a series of articles on filtration and indoor air quality. You can find the list of them at the bottom of this article but let's do a quick review here: We spend a lot of our time in buildings. A lot of indoor pollutants are generated in the kitchen and not removed by the range h...

04/17/2019

Home Performance 101: Creating a virtually imperceptible interior environment.

Community S03E06

04/17/2019

Carlyn McClelland went to college, but here's what she'd do differently.

04/14/2019

Everything a young person should know about becoming a framer ;-)

We work hard, we laugh hard.....At Carpentry Contractors our elite teams of skilled carpenters work safely to proficiently serve our customer. But we're also...

01/14/2019

Sharing this short slide deck for those who want to better understand moist-air calculations. :-)

Shared with Dropbox

12/11/2018

Naughty kids don’t get home performance. ;-)

12/02/2018

Summary of a dozen reasons to build High Performance Zero Net Energy Homes

12/02/2018

Sustainability is reason #12 of why investing a dollar into a High Performance Home (HPH) cannot be compared using a payback equation to a dollar spent on solar and conventional construction.

By using integrated project design and delivery, HPHs are built efficiently and with minimum use of resources because the goals of all the players are brought into alignment with that of the project, forming an efficient construction team. Planning, meetings and homework are front loaded, meaning the project starts slow but is executed with minimal waste of both time and resources.

The end result is a home that was crafted by workers that are empowered with the performance targets and design intent, such that they are able to eliminate construction errors and optimize performance details before they become permanent features.

Frequent features of HPHs are advanced framing and recycled insulation due to sustainability goals of lowering the total embodied energy within structures. By careful design and engineering practices, the percentage of thermally bridging wood that creates the structural enclosure can be reduced by 1/2 to 2/3 from normal- meaning 2 to 3 HPH enclosures can be framed with the wood from a single conventional new home. And the result isn’t a weaker home, rather one that is optimized for both strength and longevity.

So now you can see a dozen reasons why it’s silly to think that a dollar spent on adding PV to a home is somehow equivalent for comparison to a dollar invested into efficiency and performance.

I hope you have enjoyed the 12 days of High Performance as much as I have. Thanks for being a part of it.