To summarize home efficiency simply, Beth Buczynski of Earth Techling writes that efficient is better than not and more efficient is likewise better than less efficient. To that end, the Zero Home may be the best home there is. The Zero Home is a single-family smart home which is the first to be certified as […]

The greenest insulation yet may be on the horizon. It’s natural, involves no hydrocarbons, yields almost no toxic waste, and takes very little energy to create. Not only that, it will improve the quality of indoor air and can be grown. This new insulation is mushroom insulation. It is being pioneered by Eben Bayer and […]

When an HVAC unit breaks down in most houses, the occupants call a technician and that technician in turn focuses on getting the air conditioning back on as quickly as possible. The problem is, there are generally deeper problems in the home that contribute to why the HVAC unit broke down in the first place […]

Tyvek housewrap was invented in 1955 by Dupont and commercialized in 1967, but was still new enough a product and idea in the early 80’s that representatives from DuPont found it necessary to send representatives to the New England Builder journal to get the message about their product out. The product, the Tyvek housewrap, was […]

Last summer, Dr. Max Sherman reported in a presentation for the Building America Technical Update meeting that, “ASHRAE 62 is the only national consensus standard document there is. Follow 62.2. Resistance is futile.” It is a bold statement, and one that has been dug up for articles pertaining to the “battle” on residential ventilation. Sherman […]

  When the subject of insulated rooflines rather than vented attics comes up, one concern is the house’s shingles. Roofing companies claim that shingle lifetime is reduced drastically when the shingles are unable to conduct heat from the sun downwards. The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) addressed this subject in a review on the need […]

For many locations, summer means high temperatures and often high humidity. Some places, like Death Valley, which has been forecasted for temperatures near a world record high, have hotter summers than others, but whatever summer looks like in your area of the country, chances are good than an air conditioning system is an important part […]

Dave Gauthier, president of Vantem Panels, a structural insulated panels (SIPs) manufacturing company in Brattleboro, Vermont, has created a product called “SmartHomze,” which are kits for high performance house shells that can be assembled for about $150 per square foot, as compared to the $200-250 average for other high-performance housing. SmarHomze kits have five sizes […]

The newest version of the USGBC’s LEED (United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system has gone through months of debate and an atypical amount of public comment periods, but has finally been approved by a ballot vote of USGB members with 86 percent in favor of a […]

The Mount Sinai School of Medicine recently released a study which found that a small group of residents in a LEED-certified building who were also educated on ways to avoid asthma triggers reported drastically reduced asthma symptoms. The building was the Melrose Commons V, which is an affordable housing development in the South Bronx certified […]