The Basics of Home Electrification In 2020, 26% of U.S. households used electricity as the only source of energy (32.25 million out of 123.53 million homes), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. With new incentives for electrification and renewable energy in the Inflation Reduction… Continue reading “The Basics of Home Electrification”
Heat Pumps 101: How Does a Heat Pump Pull Heat From Cold Outdoor Air? This is the fifth in a series of Heat Pump 101 videos from instructor and author, John Siegenthaler, P.E.. “Natural vs. Artificial Heat Transfer Processes” was the previous lesson in the series. You can enroll in John’s Heat Pump 101… Continue reading “Heat Pumps 101: How Does a Heat Pump Pull Heat From Cold Outdoor Air?”
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”
New Free Webinar: Unconventional Solar Applications While we know solar can be a great way to reduce energy costs for your residence or business, there are so many ways to apply solar technology to projects outside the standard use cases. If you’ve worked in the solar… Continue reading “New Free Webinar: Unconventional Solar Applications”
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”
What the Inflation Reduction Act Could Mean for the HeatSpring Community UPDATE: The Inflation Reduction Act has passed Congress and has signed by President Biden. For many of us working in clean energy and environmental stewardship, hearing that the Inflation Reduction Act passed through the Senate filled us with hope for… Continue reading “What the Inflation Reduction Act Could Mean for the HeatSpring Community”
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”
New Free Course: Introduction to Greywater Systems For many, water scarcity is a fact of life. In fact, 51% of the United States was in drought as of March 2022. The Southwest is facing a particularly severe drought which began in 2000 and has continued ever since. … Continue reading “New Free Course: Introduction to Greywater Systems”
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”
Solar PV & Climate Action Planning in Canada’s Eastern-Most Province This is a story about rural communities finding creative climate solutions. Watch this video and read below to hear how three solar pv projects came together and how they are part of a broader and more ambitious plan. Fundamental Inc.… Continue reading “Solar PV & Climate Action Planning in Canada’s Eastern-Most Province”
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”
Humbly Making an Impact on the Geothermal Industry HeatSpring instructor Ryan Carda doesn’t like to brag about the positive impact he’s had on the geothermal industry. But Brian Hayden, co-founder of HeatSpring, is happy to sing Carda’s praise. “Ryan is the ultimate teacher because he’s so smart and… Continue reading “Humbly Making an Impact on the Geothermal Industry”
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”
Air-to-Water Heat Pump & Ventilation Retrofit: A New Free Course Here’s the story of “Finally Fossil-Fuel Free: Air-to-Water Heat Pump & Ventilation Retrofit“, a new free course presented by Brian Just from the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. His presentation is offered in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Air-to-water… Continue reading “Air-to-Water Heat Pump & Ventilation Retrofit: 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”