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[Blog] Getting the Lead Out: Earth Day, 2019

We all need somebody to lean on. —Bill Withers. Singer-songwriter, 1938-1985 from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/nav/blog/id/1196

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[Blog] How HPXML Transformed NYSERDA’s Home Performance Program

Since the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® (HPwES) program initiated its HPXML – supported Express Contract workflow in 2015, nearly 8,500 projects have been completed. The approval time for the majority of home performance projects, which before the implementation of Express ... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/nav/blog/id/1192

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[Blog] A Recap of the Largest National Conference in our History - HPC19 is in the Books!

We wrapped up the 2019 National Conference & Trade Show on April 4, 2019, after four full days of workshops, sessions, events, and networking! As many of you have heard, we broke the record for the number of attendees at this year’s event – 1,942 industry professionals from all 50 states plus Washington D.... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/nav/blog/id/1193

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[Blog] Building Performance Association—Live from Chicago, Thursday Edition

Wednesday was another rich day of inspiration and connection. My brain is nearly full. When you read this, I will likely be on the plane flying from Chicago back to Oakland; where I will have some time to digest it all. There are more sessions this morning though if you ... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/nav/blog/id/1191

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[Blog] Building Performance Association—-Live from Chicago

Check out that title! Monday, we were HPC, Tuesday we are a new association made up of three organizations, HPC, Home Energy, and Efficiency First, called the Building Performance Association. It’s been a change a long time coming, but seems like it’s happening all at once. ... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/blog/nav/blog/id/1188

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[Article] Spring 2019 Contributors

Iain Walker “Ventilation and IAQ in New California Homes” Iain hopes readers get that a really good way to have good indoor air quality is to have a ventilation system. And to use it. from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/trends/id/2284

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[Article] Spring 2019 Calendar

April 1–4 2019 HPC National Home Performance Conference & Trade Show April 24–26 Thirty-ninth Utility Energy Forum from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/default/id/2285

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[Article] Ventilation and IAQ in New California Homes

Starting in the mid-2000s, the California Energy Commission funded several research studies (for example, Price, et al., 2007, and Offermann, 2009) that aimed to evaluate the potential indoor air quality (IAQ) impacts associated with envelope air sealing, and the potential to mitigate these through the use of mechanical ventilation systems. These studies found (1) that a majority of the households in new California homes reported not opening windows regularly for ventilation in some seasons, and a substantial minority of households reported not using windows to ventilate during any season; (2) that actual, measured ventilation rates in many homes were below target minimum levels; ... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/indoorairquality/id/2277

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[Article] Perlita House: The First Passive House Building in Los Angeles

A few years after I finished building what I thought was my dream house in France, I discovered the Passive House International (PHI) standard and became very frustrated that I hadn’t known about it earlier. from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/passivehouse/id/2280

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[Article] DOE Weatherization Assistance Program Update

Welcome to this new feature, which will appear regularly in Home Energy. In an ongoing effort to improve communication with the weatherization community, information relevant to DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) will be conveyed to the weatherization community. The feature will include new training resources, recently issued Weatherization Program Notices (WPNs) and WAP Memorandums, and other relevant information . . . in case you missed it. from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/default/id/2282

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[Article] The Energy/Water Nexus

Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over. —Mark Twain When anything is very inexpensive and not at the forefront in our minds, it can go undervalued and be misunderstood. Water falls into this dark hole. It’s not that we are running out of water; we are not. The problem is that the water isn’t always where we need it. The United Nations Environment Program reports that 97.5% of all water on earth is saltwater and 2.5% is freshwater. Of the 2.5% of freshwater, 0.3% is in lakes and rivers, and 30.8% is groundwater, including soil moisture, swamp water, ... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/default/id/2281

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[Article] New Legislation in the House

There is cause for celebration this spring for all players in the home performance industry, as H.R. 1315 was introduced in the 116th Congress on February 27, 2019. New legislation that would support training for home performance contractors was introduced in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing titled, “Clean Energy Infrastructure and the Workforce to Build It.” Chairman Bobby Rush invited Leticia Colon de Mejias to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee. Leticia is Policy Co-Chair of the Home Performance Coalition, now the Building Performance Association, and CEO of the contracting firm Energy ... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/trainingandcert/id/2276

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[Article] Air Sealing with AeroBarrier

In many parts of the country, house envelopes are notoriously leaky, with unintended air infiltration that results in additional space-heating and -cooling equipment loads. While voluntary codes and standards for envelope tightness have existed for decades, only recently have these codes become a requirement. Current manual methods for sealing house leaks, even when diligently applied, can fall short of the ultimate tightness goal, due to unrecognized leakage pathways. from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/buildingenvelope/id/2278

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[Article] Lessons Learned from a Smart Home Demonstration in New York City

While the concept of a smart home may still appear to be confined to the niche market, there now is a wide range of commercially mature, consumer-facing smart home devices that can improve comfort and convenience for a home’s occupants, and that also have the potential to save energy. These products all fall under a broad category of technology known as home energy management systems (HEMS). In recent years, many HEMS products have proven to be cost-effective and useful but the public has been slow to adopt them, especially when compared to the rapid adoption of smartphones, voice ... from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/default/id/2279

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[Article] How Change Comes from Within Home Performance

Nate “House Whisperer” Adams is the owner of Energy Smart Ohio. I caught him in his car on the way to see a new client. Leslie Jackson: The client intake questionnaire on your website is a lesson in home performance contracting. You’d probably love it if every contractor worked the way you do. from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/default/id/2283

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[Article] In Memoriam: Mike Rogers

This past year, the home performance industry lost a dear friend. We pay tribute to one of our most tireless advocates and greatest contributors. The following obituary is from Mike’s wife Karen Sokol and his daughter Sabine. It first appeared in the Vermont online news outlet Seventh Day on December 26, 2018. from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/default/id/2275

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[Article] Editorial: A Letter from the CEO

Dear Friends, Welcome readers and attendees at the 2019 National Home Performance Conference and Trade Show! Have you heard our news? It is with great excitement that we announce the launch of the Building Performance Association! from Home Energy All Feeds http://homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/editorials/id/2274