Energy Vanguard Blog
Working with Non-Green Trade Contractors in Building a Green Home
Ten years ago, I was in the throes of building a green home an hour outside Atlanta, Georgia. (Well, truthfully, I was in the throes of depression because my dad had just died, but that's another story.) In the process of building the house, I had to work with a lot of trade contractors. Some were good. Some were bad. None had any experience with green building. And I learned a lot.
Not every contractor works out
Take my situation with plumbers....
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If You Think Thermostat Setbacks Don’t Save Energy, You’re Wrong!
Recently I ran a guest post here in the Energy Vanguard Blog by Ted Kidd, who argued against thermostat setbacks, saying they don't save energy anymore. His reasons were flawed and his car analogy misleading. Setting back your thermostat when you're away or at night definitely can save energy (depending on a few factors, as noted below). Although he said a lot and said it forcefully, Kidd is dead wrong on this issue. Two simple and definitive reasons...
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The Metric System Is for Lovers—A Valentine’s Day Manifesto
What better time than Valentine's Day to make a pitch for going to the system of units that the vast majority of the world uses. No, really, I'm dead serious. Here's my reasoning (and you know how good I am at this kind of sideways thinking).
First, I drive my wife wild — a good thing for Valentine's Day, right? — whenever I tell her the temperature in degrees Celsius! (Unfortunately, that's wild with frustration, but it should still...
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Who Knew the Stack Effect Could Be So Controversial?
Last week I wrote a little article about the stack effect to explain that the flow of air and heat is upward in winter but downward in summer. Turns out, the stack effect is a hot topic. My article here has gotten 25 comments so far. When I posted it to the RESNET BPI group on LinkedIn, it got another 22 comments. And John Brooks started a stack effect discussion over at Green Building Advisor that has 61 comments as I write. Based on all this discussion,...
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This Winter Is 37% Warmer than 2010-11 (by Heating Degree Days)
Last week was Groundhog Day, and my question that day was, How can Punxatawney Phil (the weather predicting groundhog) or General Beauregard (his Southern counterpart) say anything at all about more winter when we haven't really had a winter at all? Yes, it's been quite warm this winter, especially in comparison to last year. So I thought I'd check to see just how much warmer it's been.
First of all, looking at the number of Heating...
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