8 Factors in Building Safe Double Stud Wall Cavities With Cellulose On the Passive House in the Real World discussion board… Expert instructor Mike Duclos discusses key factors to building double stud wall cavities (packed with Cellulose) safely Student 1: Hi Everyone, I’m excited to get started! I’m interested in looking into wall… Continue reading “8 Factors in Building Safe Double Stud Wall Cavities With Cellulose”
A Free Strategic Leadership Course for the Sustainable Building Community Join Kathleen O’Brien and amplify your leadership effectiveness today In a series of 20 presentations and interviews recorded in 2014, Kathleen O’Brien shares the strategic leadership model that is at the core of EMERGE programs, along with case studies, and… Continue reading “A Free Strategic Leadership Course for the Sustainable Building Community”
What’s the Difference Between Energy and Heat Recovery Ventilators? On the Mastering Building Science discussion board, Allison A. Bailes III, PhD asks students: What is the difference between an ERV and an HRV? Allison A. Bailes III, PhD: In the homework, I asked, “What is the difference between an… Continue reading “What’s the Difference Between Energy and Heat Recovery Ventilators?”
The Impact of Air Tightness on Ventilation in Passive House Design When many first hear of the Passive House blower door test requirement of 0.6 ACH at 50 Pascals of test pressure, the first thing that comes to mind is the difficulty of designing and executing air barrier details that deliver… Continue reading “The Impact of Air Tightness on Ventilation in Passive House Design”
Learn a NEW Approach to Roof Life Cycle Analysis First published at the RCI 21st International Convention Phoenix, Arizona on March 27, 2006 Equivalent Uniform Annual Cost: A new Approach to Roof Life Cycle Analysis INTRODUCTION: Life Cycle Cost Analysis and It’s Problems Interest in life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) appears… Continue reading “Learn a NEW Approach to Roof Life Cycle Analysis”
Minimize the Energy Your Building Needs with this new Free Tool Download Ann Edminster’s Free Tool ‘Minimize the Energy Your Building Needs (Energy Free: Homes for a Small Planet, Chapter 4)’ This chapter from Edminster’s award-winning, residential zero-energy primer covers key performance issues such as building geometry, enclosure design, comfort strategies and… Continue reading “Minimize the Energy Your Building Needs with this new Free Tool”
The Emerging Importance of Carbon Dioxide for Healthy IAQ Twenty years ago a colleague gave me a portable carbon dioxide (CO2) monitor to use during my training sessions. These sessions were often in small, inadequately ventilated rooms loaded with too many breathing trainees. Tony suggested that I try to… Continue reading “The Emerging Importance of Carbon Dioxide for Healthy IAQ”
Infrared Thermography as a Quality Control Method for Foamed-in-Place Insulation – Injection Method Updated from the original printing in SPIE Vol. 1094 Thermosense XI (1989) Since November of 1985, FOAM-TECH has been utilizing an I.S.I. Model 91 Videotherm Camera to quality control the installation of foamed in-place (injected) polyurethane and polyisocyanurate insulation. Monitoring… Continue reading “Infrared Thermography as a Quality Control Method for Foamed-in-Place Insulation – Injection Method”
Leaders in High Performance Building: The Efficient & Comfortable Spec Home At HeatSpring, we celebrate innovative builders and designers who work to improve the overall quality and performance of public and residential buildings… Our Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway was created for those who have helped plan, design, construct, and/or operate a high performance building. Entrants… Continue reading “Leaders in High Performance Building: The Efficient & Comfortable Spec Home”
Sustainable Building Advisor: Greywater Uses & Project ROI On the Sustainable Building Advisor discussion board… Expert instructor Ann Edminster discusses greywater uses and the often intangible, but very important ‘non-energy’ returns on investments. Student 1: Has anyone heard of greywater solutions for dust mitigation? It is common in construction to… Continue reading “Sustainable Building Advisor: Greywater Uses & Project ROI”
Leaders in High Performance Building: Zero Fossil Fuels & Zero Net Energy At HeatSpring, we celebrate innovative builders and designers who work to improve the overall quality and performance of public and residential buildings… Our Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway was created for those who have helped plan, design, construct, and/or operate a high performance building. Entrants… Continue reading “Leaders in High Performance Building: Zero Fossil Fuels & Zero Net Energy”
Design Interventions for a Healthy & Happy Workplace Are you happy at work? Kirsten Ritchie, Director of Sustainable Design at Gensler, identifies 10 key health and happiness attributes prevalent in the workplace that affect personal productivity and, ultimately, the fiscal bottom line of a business. Kirsten provides suggestions for… Continue reading “Design Interventions for a Healthy & Happy Workplace”
Air, Thermal, Vapor & Water Control Layers in Wall Assembly On the Mastering Building Science discussion board… Allison A. Bailes III, Ph.D. answers student questions about air, thermal, vapor and water control layers in wall assembly. Student 1: I’m going to repeat what’s been said about the control layers in my… Continue reading “Air, Thermal, Vapor & Water Control Layers in Wall Assembly”
Leaders in High Performance Building: Best Green Energy Efficient Custom Home of 2015 At HeatSpring, we celebrate innovative builders and designers who work to improve the overall quality and performance of public and residential buildings… Our Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway was created for those who have helped plan, design, construct, and/or operate a high performance building. Entrants… Continue reading “Leaders in High Performance Building: Best Green Energy Efficient Custom Home of 2015”
Leaders in High Performance Building: Foam Insulation for Slab On Grade At HeatSpring, we celebrate innovative builders and designers who work to improve the overall quality and performance of public and residential buildings… Our Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway was created for those who have helped plan, design, construct, and/or operate a high performance building. Entrants… Continue reading “Leaders in High Performance Building: Foam Insulation for Slab On Grade”
Two New Free Lectures on Healthier Homes and Buildings Enroll in Two New Free Lectures on Healthier Homes and Buildings Carbon Monoxide: What We Do Not Know Can Hurt Us‘ and ‘Green, Healthy & Profitable Buildings and Homes‘ In his free ‘Carbon Monoxide: What We Do Not Know Can Hurt… Continue reading “Two New Free Lectures on Healthier Homes and Buildings”
Free Lectures: The Greenest Urban Building in the U.S. & The Largest HVAC Experiment Enroll in Two New FREE Sustainable Building Advisor Lectures “The Greenest Urban Building in the United States” & “The World’s Largest Side-by-Side HVAC Experiment” The Greenest Urban Building in the United States Remi Tan of KMD Stevens describes the San… Continue reading “Free Lectures: The Greenest Urban Building in the U.S. & The Largest HVAC Experiment”
Free Lecture: ‘Real Zero’ Net Energy Homes Enroll in ‘Real Zero‘ today! In this free lecture, Bruce King discusses the faults of our current home construction elements and the industry shift toward “net zero” buildings. During the lecture, King addresses questions that often arise in the green building… Continue reading “Free Lecture: ‘Real Zero’ Net Energy Homes”
Leaders in High Performance Building: Addition & Full Gut Renovation At HeatSpring, we celebrate innovative builders and designers who work to improve the overall quality and performance of public and residential buildings… Our Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway was created for those who have helped plan, design, construct, and/or operate a high performance building. Entrants… Continue reading “Leaders in High Performance Building: Addition & Full Gut Renovation”
Robert Bean on Fluid-Based System Concerns in HVAC Engineering On the Integrated HVAC Engineering Discussion Board… Robert Bean discusses losing boiler efficiency, vs. losing radiator efficiency, cycling a boiler to maintain average temperature in a system, using 3 way mixing valve (instead of a circulator) to control the temperature of the on the load… Continue reading “Robert Bean on Fluid-Based System Concerns in HVAC Engineering”