Energy Star tax creditsGeneral
Mom, I love you. We will all miss Hennie. She really loved her years in San Diego. Here is a scene from 2006 when we visited Balboa Park’s historic Vivarium. (is that what they call it?) She loved the year round greenery of the Pacific coast. She is in a much better place now — [...]
I am concerned about a terrible Lack of Confidence in our economy and society: We must keep our heads high and continue to strive. The terrible danger is fear. Fear is paralyzing. I have spent many hours this month getting criticized and rejected for trying to get ‘er done. In times of economic hardship, its [...]
A repeat/revisiting of The DEC 16, 2007 Blog entry. This one bears repeating because in this difficult economy, it is important to keep a perspective on the teamwork necessary to execute and implement a building. Building design and construction requires cooperation between a dozen or more actors. There is an architect designing the overall building. [...]
Continue reading about Coordinating differing disciplines: Commitment and accountability?
I have been paying too much all my life for hearing aids. The pair I bought in 2007 through a licensed dispenser in Pennsylvania cost me $3600. I had suspected and now I know that the quality of the electronics inside these hearing aids isn’t much better than the components in your typical hand held [...]
“Imagine the Creator as a stand up comedian – and at once the world becomes explicable.” -H. L. Mencken
Here is an exciting example of green design filled with good ideas. This LEED certified home in Arlington is also an beautiful example of how a lower carbon footprint looks and how utility bills can be lowered to almost nothing. Is it ironic that the house is listed for $1.175 million but the utilities are [...]
I have been seeing more and more use of a dramatically different but simple solution to the age old problem of how to best construct a crawl space. Years ago, I decided that they were evil, but I seem to end up with them in so many buildings that I work on. There are better [...]
Continue reading about Crawl Spaces and Moisture – lets get them separated
Recently, I have been using a slew of various web sites to research real estate listings. Most real estate web sites sport tools such as active maps that activate displays on a list on same page. There are two kinds of these. 1. Mouseover links on the map highlight individual properties on an “active list” [...]
Continue reading about Web sites for searching real estate listings
Misinformation again. Its enough to make you want to take up arms. Some real estate and energy efficiency professionals have called into question the credibility of a study paid for by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, on the economics of high energy performance in commercial offices. The study focussed on the average 4 [...]
Continue reading about So-called commercial building energy experts confuse the issue
I like BIM software. I admit it, I think it is very cool to be able to design directly in a virtual 3 dimensional environment. I also care deeply about high building performance. I hate poor performance. I have worked all my career to make good designs as energy efficient as possible. Recapturing heat and [...]
Continue reading about Saving Time to Design Green Building Systems
HVAC DATA model from LBNL
BetterBricks.com
Database of Energy and $ Incentives
From Horsepower to Hearpower, Part 1: The Foundations of Power and Energy
Oil Industry started (Drake's well in PA)
The Energy Collective
Architecture 2030
Jerry Yudelson
