California First is a statewide program adopted earlier this year in Sacramento allowing property owners to participate in the state’s AB811 program, providing financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrade to their properties. California First is an example of a Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE program. Here are some of the basics of how [...]
Archive for March, 2010
What comes to mind when you think of energy efficiency?
It’s also important to keep in mind that energy efficiency isn’t about giving up things like comfort and convenience. It’s about getting more out of the resources we already use. We can enjoy a comfortable, well-lit home while being energy efficient and saving money too.
There have been a lot of marketing dollars spent promoting the advantages of tankless water heaters, but little attention given to the issues that could reduce those advantages. In the last couple of posts in this series, we examined a number of important issues any homeowner needs to weigh before deciding to replace their existing [...]
In the last post we examined tha actual efficiencies of tankless waterheaters apart from the industry claims. We discussed the high upfront cost against the actual savings in dollars. A couple of other issues to keep in mind if considering going tankless: “Cold Water Sandwich” Imagine a common situation we have all experienced. You turn [...]
Tankless or on-demand waterheaters have been enjoying a rising popularity for a number of years now. During my years of custom homebuilding they were considered a must have feature for a number of reasons. They are purported to save energy over a standard storage type waterheater because you aren’t paying for the standbuy losses of heating a tank [...]
2009 may well go down in the record books as one of the economically worst in recent memory. Venture capitol investing and IPOs fell to their lowest levels in over 10 years. Governments around the globe scrambled to implement stimulus programs to shore up their crumbling economies and try to create jobs to counter rising [...]
In an earlier post we calculated the minimum whole building ventilation requirements for a 2000 sf home under the 2008 Title 24. What are our options for controlling the ventilation system? It depends on the type of ventilation system we have selected. If it as simple as using a bathroom exhaust fan as our continuous [...]
Solar Power Inc. of Roseville a manufacturer and installer of commercial, industrial and residential PV solar systems has recieved $24.7 million in Stimulus funding. Founded in 2005, Solar Power has installed numerous PV solar systems including the largest PV system in the state of Georgia at the Mannheim DRIVE Center a 165,000 square foot auto [...]
Simply put, yes it can. Traditionally, wood framed structures supplied needed ventilation and moisture control by infiltration through the building’s shell. This worked well except there was a trade off: excessive heat loss and cold drafts. Even with the addition of insulation, excessive air infiltration across fiberglass batts renders them ineffective at preventing heat loss. Fast forward a few years. In [...]
Before I weigh in on the question of windows and energy efficiency, let me first say that there are plenty of great reasons to upgrade your windows. Aesthetics would be high on the list, along with improved function and definitely resale value. It’s a no-brainer that all things being equal, you would choose house A [...]
