SubscribeI’ve been lazy over the holidays, maybe from too much eating. I was planning on commenting these links in more depth but have come to realize that it just isn’t going to happen. So here are some of the links that have been lingering in my reader that I feel I must clean out before [...]
DemandSideSolutions
energy issues in the built environment
Tag: residential
Housing Market Prospects
I don’t generally follow the housing market too closely, but it’s good to stay up on what’s going on. Those who are in the home performance contracting business need a stable, if not growing, housing market. If people aren’t confident in their house as an investment with strong resale potential they probably aren’t going to [...]
Doris vs. Goliath?
The Wall Street Journal recently relayed the message that green consulting is currently the hot small business sector. Shortly after Doris Ikle posted her successful business tale regarding CMC Energy Services at Home Energy Pros. She writes:
Federal and state governments are deploying billions of dollars in an unprecedented push to weatherize America’s existing [...]
More Big Box Moves
GreenTech recently reported that Home Depot is starting to sell networked programmable thermostats. This is good news and an example of Home Depot’s continued efforts to market home performance to the masses. The product has basic functionality:
The thermostat’s website, which is free, and requisite iPhone app, are both simple to use. The interface is [...]
Building Science – The Scourge of Creative Homebuilding?
In the December/January edition of Fine Homebuilding there is an article about trim details (gated). Within it I came across this comment:
As building science matures, it’s getting harder and harder to build a house, let alone build one that has personality and a unique sense of character.
Wow. I’ll admit that as research delivers better ways [...]
Home Depot Enters the Home Performance Market
Home Depot and RESNET signed an MOU on November 18th, the relationship is described here:
Home Depot will have a national workforce to be trained and certified to be RESNET Home Energy Survey Professionals.
Home Depot will have its associated contractors to be trained and designated as RESNET EnergySmart Contactors
Home Depot will market energy assessments and upgrades [...]
Random (Useful) Links
Weather data translation.
Hourly output viewer. Very useful when viewing hourly simulation results from multiple outputs and designs.
HPXML. A potentially powerful data standard. Important to remember…
HPXML is not intended to be a complete or final representation of all Home Performance data — on the contrary, it is a small set that will be extended.
…but what data [...]
Finally, a label…er…score
The big news today is that VP Biden and Secretary Chu announced the DOE’s new program called the Home Energy Score:
This is not really news, it’s been a long time coming, but now it’s official and in the public realm. It is a big deal, however, as the VP noted during his press conference today [...]
Link Exchange
New Energy Legislative Landscape: I’ve commented before about the uncertain legislative landscape. It will likely continue for a number of years. This will put pressure on energy professionals to innovate business models that don’t rely on a carbon price. Let’s all get to work.
LEED Reporting: I want 20 years of data (and commented on data [...]
Code Changes
The ICC has approved changes to the energy conservation code that represent a significant improvement over 2006 version, a 30% improvement to be more precise. This is a big deal, and not just for the future building stock.
Code making is a political process and decisions are not always made based on science, logic, etc… All [...]