New Free Webinar Announcement: Home Assessments for Decarbonization Electrification of existing homes is a hot trend, and rightfully so with all the latest incentives for residences and businesses to transition to electric. Anyone working in the retrofit field is likely – sooner or later – to be asked… Continue reading “New Free Webinar Announcement: Home Assessments for Decarbonization”
eQUEST vs. OpenStudio Is eQUEST or OpenStudio better for running energy models? That was the question from a student this week. Here’s how they framed it: “I’m interested in gaining a qualification in building energy modeling, to perform my firm’s energy rating building… Continue reading “eQUEST vs. OpenStudio”
Resources for the Building Science Generalist Looking for some new books or opportunities to build your knowledge base in zero energy buildings? Marc Rosenbaum, instructor of How to Think About Energy in Buildings course, shares his ideas for expanding your knowledge in the field of building… Continue reading “Resources for the Building Science Generalist”
Advice for Launching a Diverse Building Science Career It’s no accident that HeatSpring instructor Marc Rosenbaum knows quite a bit about virtually all facets of the building science industry. When he began his career nearly 40 years ago, the industry and collective knowledge surrounding it didn’t exist yet.… Continue reading “Advice for Launching a Diverse Building Science Career”
Why the World Needs Building Science Generalists When HeatSpring instructor Marc Rosenbaum began his work in building science over 40 years ago, there wasn’t a whole industry surrounding it. There wasn’t research to reference or frameworks to follow. Marc and his generation of peers essentially invented the… Continue reading “Why the World Needs Building Science Generalists”
We Need an Installation Standard for Ventilation Buildings are getting tighter to save energy while COVID is drawing attention to the importance of proper ventilation. How much ventilation is needed? For residential buildings, there’s a widely accepted standard. ASHRAE 62.2 “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in… Continue reading “We Need an Installation Standard for Ventilation”
Climate Change and COVID Crisis Boost Interest in Ventilation The Covid-19 crisis and climate change are boosting interest in ventilation and in training that helps people calculate the amount of ventilation needed in a home or building, says HeatSpring instructor Rick Karg. Karg, who teaches ASHRAE 62.2 Ventilation for… Continue reading “Climate Change and COVID Crisis Boost Interest in Ventilation”
David J. Goldstein Awarded Genius Grant for Multifamily HVAC Solution Please join us in congratulating David J. Goldstein, the first Genius Grant award recipient for 2021. David is an engineer and an entrepreneur. He has self-funded the development of a new HVAC solution that has potential to make multifamily housing… Continue reading “David J. Goldstein Awarded Genius Grant for Multifamily HVAC Solution”
Storing Embodied Carbon in Buildings to Address Climate Change More and more, green builders and architects are looking to reduce embodied carbon, and when possible, store it in buildings, says Marc Rosenbaum, instructor of HeatSpring’s Zero Net Energy Buildings course. “We’re changing our view from net zero energy buildings… Continue reading “Storing Embodied Carbon in Buildings to Address Climate Change”
To Electrify or Not To Electrify? – a new free course Should we be trying to electrify everything? To help answer that question, we’re excited to present, “To Electrify or Not To Electrify?” a new free course taught by Robb Aldrich and Nicole Ceci from Steven Winter Associates. Their presentation is offered… Continue reading “To Electrify or Not To Electrify? – a new free course”
Hempcrete 101: A New Free Course Here’s the story of “Hempcrete 101“, a new free course presented by Tom Rossmassler, Alex Sparrow, Bruce Friedman, and Jennifer Martin, offered in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. In this presentation we will take a deep dive into… Continue reading “Hempcrete 101: A New Free Course”
Scalable (Near-Zero Energy) Multifamily Retrofits: A Case Study Here’s the backstory on “Scalable Multifamily Retrofits“, a new free course presented by Chris Benedict, Margo Valdes, and Ian Shapiro, offered in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Energiesprong and practitioners selected by RetrofitNY are developing standardized and scalable… Continue reading “Scalable (Near-Zero Energy) Multifamily Retrofits: A Case Study”
Unvented Roofs Without Spray Foam: A New Free Course Here’s the backstory on “Unvented Roofs Without Spray Foam“, a new free course taught by Kohta Ueno and offered in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and Building Science Corporation: Back in 2016, the Building Science Corporation team started… Continue reading “Unvented Roofs Without Spray Foam: A New Free Course”
Are Heat Pumps a Form of Renewable Energy? It’s common for policymakers to argue that heat pumps are not a form of renewable energy, says John Siegenthaler, instructor of HeatSpring’s Application of Air-to-Water Heat Pumps for Hydronic Heating & Cooling course. In response to such claims, he argues… Continue reading “Are Heat Pumps a Form of Renewable Energy?”
Comfortable, Resilient Net-Zero Buildings Aren’t Just Residential Hampshire College’s R.W. Kern Center achieved zero net energy building status due to its passive solar orientation, high levels of insulation, airtight envelope and triple glazed windows. The building also includes air source heat pumps, and a 118-kW rooftop solar… Continue reading “Comfortable, Resilient Net-Zero Buildings Aren’t Just Residential”
Zero Net Energy Buildings with Marc Rosenbaum is Back! I am so excited to announce that renowned Zero Net Energy (ZNE) expert Marc Rosenbaum is back with a newly updated version of his best selling Zero Net Energy Buildings course. It has been a long hiatus since our last… Continue reading “Zero Net Energy Buildings with Marc Rosenbaum is Back!”
Help Choose the Solar District Cup 2020 Industry Choice Winner We are excited to invite all HeatSpring students, instructors, and members of our community to participate in the selection of the Industry Choice winner of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup 2020 Competition Event on Monday April 27th from… Continue reading “Help Choose the Solar District Cup 2020 Industry Choice Winner”
Energy Modeling with the Latest Update to ASHRAE’s Standards The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has implemented a new update that will ultimately make energy modeling simpler, says Chris Schaffner, instructor for HeatSpring’s Energy Modeling in eQUEST course. ASHRAE’s standard 90.1, which covers energy codes,… Continue reading “Energy Modeling with the Latest Update to ASHRAE’s Standards”
More Cities and Towns Calling for Energy Modeling to Address Climate Change With the federal government’s lack of movement on climate change, more cities and towns are stepping up and focusing on ways to address climate change, says Chris Schaffner, instructor for HeatSpring’s Energy Modeling in eQUEST course. That means that the… Continue reading “More Cities and Towns Calling for Energy Modeling to Address Climate Change”
Free Webcast January 6th – Guide to Buying a Drone for Your Business Picking a Drone: Job Performance vs. Cost is a new free course for companies that want to use drones for their business. The unbiased, free guide was developed by Keven Gambold exclusively for HeatSpring customers and will launch on January… Continue reading “Free Webcast January 6th – Guide to Buying a Drone for Your Business”