Our house cost a lot more than I would have liked, but many of the ideas used in it could be implemented more affordably.
While a heat-pump water heater will save significant energy on a year-round basis, be aware that in a cold climate the net performance (water heating plus space heating) will drop in the winter.
We chose a heat pump water heater for our new house, and as I've recently discussed here, there are a lot of reasons why you might be doing the same.
Why we opted for electric water heating over a solar water heater.
As we build more energy-efficient houses, particularly when we go to extremes with insulation and air tightness, as with Passive House projects, water heating becomes a larger and larger share of overall energy consumption (see Solar Thermal Hot Water, Heating, and Cooling).
Air sealing and other energy retrofits in our homes can raise or lower radon levels. The only way to know is to test.
This blog post first appeared on GreenBuildingAdvisor.com.
Two studies indicate some benefits to using insulated vinyl siding, but more data is needed to win over this skeptic.
Predicting performance and rationally selecting window coverings—from awnings to films to cellular shades—is incredibly challenging, but real help is on the way.
There is a lot of interest in just how much (and at how low a price point) window coverings can improve building thermal performance.
Zehnder’s state-of-the-art HRV will provide years of service in providing fresh air with very low energy consumption.
How a green home really “breathes.”
One of the features in our new house that I’m most excited about barely raises an eyebrow with some of our visitors: the ventilation system. I believe we have the highest-efficiency heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) on the market—or at least it’s right up there near the top.
Why ventilate?
Storing high-level nuclear waste in a mountain or salt bed will always face an uphill battle.
