Builders install a variety of products on the exterior of foundations, above-grade walls, and roofs as water-resistive barriers (WRBs), required by the International Residential Code (IRC). Water-resistive barriers are also called weather-resistant barriers, but the...
The Act and Its Downfall First off what is the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014? The bill contains 4 parts. Title I establishes a voluntary, market-driven approach to aligning the interests of commercial building owners and their tenants to reduce energy...
For new energy-efficient homes and superinsulated retrofits, I prefer steel siding to wood, fiber-cement, and vinyl siding. Wood cracks and cups, hail can destroy vinyl, and fiber cement is heavy and needs painted. Steel is lightweight, easy to cut, and recyclable....
John Krigger has practiced home performance and energy efficiency for more than 30 years. Over that time he’s collected a lot of research papers and articles.. We were doing some house cleaning recently and came across some of these older articles and papers in...
Irrational Exuberance about Heat Pumps The Passive House and Net-Zero movements have spawned some irrational exuberance about heat pumps. When you build a home that requires less than 5 BTU/hr per square foot of floor space, you can often heat and cool it with...