Can top energy performance be achieved by combining fairly standard windows with really good storm windows or even a second set of prime windows? A low-e storm window at my colleague Peter Yost's house in Brattleboro. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Peter Yost

We’ve run the numbers from our quiz on toxic chemicals in building products, and we all have some explaining to do. Put down your #2 pencils and listen up!
LED lighting keeps on improving as yet another record efficacy is announced. Cree's new XLamp XP-G2 LED chip delivers up to 165 lumens per watt. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Cree
Understanding the options with room air conditioners, central air conditioners, and heat pumps. The outdoor unit of a Daikin mini-split air-source heat pump in Putney, Vermont. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

Green Globes may have come out slightly ahead in a recent “alignment” report, but support for LEED is strong in the building industry.

When you use tape to seal a seam or flash a sill, you need peel-and-stick performance—not “stick-and-peel.”

by Peter Yost

This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.

Take our quiz to find out how much you really know about VOCs, lead, toxic flame retardants, and other common hazards in building materials.
A look at the fascinating history and operation of refrigerant-cycle air conditioners. Fedders room air 5,000 Btu/hour room conditioner. Click on image to enlarge.

Passive solar design features have helped define what energy-efficient buildings look like. Have newer design practices left them behind?

Passive solar design features have helped define what energy-efficient buildings look like. Have newer design practices left them behind?
Simple strategies to keep cool without the use of mechanical air conditioning.

Furniture constantly touches our skin and can emit VOCs directly into our breathing zones. These five steps will help you make safer, greener choices.
My quest for a greener lawn mowing option. Black & Deckers 36-volt battery-powered electric mower. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Black & Decker

Any sealant can perform well in the right application, but knowing which to pick for your job is another thing. Our guide to sealants and how to use them.

by Peter Yost

This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.

Photo: DAP

Blower-door testing of the nearly complete Brattleboro Food Co-op building shows it to be remarkably tight.
Chemical and plastics trade groups claim the federal government should stop using LEED. BuildingGreen separates the facts from the fabrications.