By Chris Posted on March 3rd, 2010 in
Building Envelope ,
Solar
We humans are needy people. We want cars and nice clothes and good beer and flashy jewelry. But we only need water, food, and shelter to survive. If you live in a single family home the shelter part is probably provided by a roof with shingles. This is good news for Dow Chemical, who … continue reading
By Chris Posted on February 22nd, 2010 in
Building Envelope ,
Conservation
Horalby's LEED Gold home
Last week I had a reader reach out and say they really liked a blog post. She also shared with me her experience with building a green home and the fact they were working to achieve LEED Gold status for their home. Lorraine and Judd Horbaly are building their dream home … continue reading
By Chris Posted on January 14th, 2010 in
Building Envelope ,
Conservation ,
Education ,
Monitoring
Blower Door Test
A key step to understanding how you use energy in your home is doing a home energy audit. An energy audit usually means you walk through your home and analyze all the systems that impact how you use energy. There are two ways to approach a home energy audit: finding a professional … continue reading
By Chris Posted on January 10th, 2010 in
Building Envelope ,
Conservation
I can’t believe it took me this long to learn about Jetson Green, but thankfully I have and I was able to see their list of 62 Innovative Green Homes of 2009. It is an extremely comprehensive list of the green homes they have covered over the last year. I appreciated the fact … continue reading
By Chris Posted on May 17th, 2009 in
Building Envelope
How's this Window doing?
It’s often hard to look through windows and see more than what’s outside. You can see light coming in, but it’s hard to see the ultra-violet radiation that is heating up your home or heat that is already in your home escaping through the glass. But just as insulation … continue reading
By Chris Posted on April 8th, 2009 in
Building Envelope
pink itchy stuff
One of the most important parts of your building envelope is your home’s insulation. Insulation is like the blanket that keeps your home warm in the winter, and it is the shell of the cooler that keeps your home cool in the summer. Most newer homes are built to higher … continue reading
By Chris Posted on March 5th, 2009 in
Building Envelope
Building Envelope basically refers to the materials that make up your house. The floors, walls, windows, doors, attic, basement, etc. I’m also going to include home orientation and exterior items that impact your energy/water usage in this category.
As you should know by now (if you’ve become a Mapawatt Blog fan!), you … continue reading
By Chris Posted on February 17th, 2009 in
Building Envelope ,
Conservation ,
Global
Explaining the Earth Ship and how it can help the third … continue reading
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