by srmi | Sep 12, 2014 | Energy News
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...
by srmi | May 27, 2014 | Energy News
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...
by srmi | Oct 14, 2013 | Energy News
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....
by srmi | Sep 17, 2013 | Energy News
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...
by srmi | Aug 18, 2013 | Energy News
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...