Archive of posts tagged insulate
Is Your House Leaky?
Have you ever felt drafty in some rooms in your house? The draft can be coming through some hidden gaps or holes in your house. Most homes have gaps and holes in the ceiling, floors and exterior walls that let a lot of cold air into the house in the winter and warm air in […]
How I Came To Love Wool Carpet
Here is a microscopic picture of a wool fiber. The burrs keep it from staining and keep it looking beautiful for 25 years. As a designer I love it for how it feels in a home. It actually creates negative ions, just like if you put a waterfall in a room. Also the colors in […]
Selecting High Performance Windows
There are over 100 million homes and approximately 20 billion square feet of clear glass residential windows in the U.S. Most of these homes are more than 30 years old, and as a result, the market is growing for replacement windows with energy efficient insulating glass units (IGUs). High performance options are now readily available […]
Easy Steps to Reduce Energy Use before Renewables
Distributed renewable generation systems such as solar electric and solar hot water systems are great ways to get clean energy. The price of these systems, in particular solar electric systems, has come down in prices so much in recent years that homeowners may want to consider installing them. While the energy generated is clean, the […]
Weingarten House at San Benancio – Energy Conservation without Sacrifice
“Freezing in the dark”, is how Ronald Reagan characterized energy conservation. I’ve been thinking about energy matters for about thirty years now and don’t think conservation must mean sacrifice. One goal with this house was to demonstrate that it’s possible to meet the current challenge of sustainability and do better than we have done in […]
How to Choose Energy Efficient Appliances
Energy efficient appliances can offer energy and money savings. While it may not be economical to replace a piece of appliance, when the appliance is reaching the end of useful life or when new appliances are purchased during a remodel, choosing an energy efficient model is the perfect time. The energy efficient model may cost […]
Insulation
Insulation should be applied in: Attic, or roof if there is no attic Crawlspace External facing walls Around ventilation ducts (to at least R-8) Insulation should be applied after careful air sealing to close off all places for air leakage. Except for closed cell foam which acts like a sealant, most insulation materials allow air […]
Saving Water with an On Demand Recirculation Pump
Everyone knows the frustration in waiting for the hot water to come out of the faucet in the morning. Because a single hot water tank is often placed in one end of the house such as the garage and the bathrooms are situated at the opposite end, it is not unusual to have to wait […]