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July/August 2010 Editorial: A Cottage Industry with High Electricity Use
Alan Meier
Can growing marijuana change the way homes use electricity? In rural Humboldt County, in far-northern California, there’s no doubt that it can. Figure 1 tracks average monthly residential electricity use in Humboldt County and in California. Until the mid-1990s, these two values were almost identical. But after 1996, Humboldt County’s electricity use suddenly turned upward. What happened? In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, which legalized the medical use of marijuana. In practice, Proposition 215 ... [continue reading]
May/June 2010 Editorial: Targeting the High Users
Alan Meier
Photo by Jovan Peric - Fotolia.com Homes with high energy consumption are likely to provide us more opportunities to save energy. If that’s true, then why don’t we see more programs and businesses geared toward the high users? [continue reading]
2010 Home Energy Guide to Training Programs Online
Leslie Jackson
Home Energy magazine’s Annual Training Guide for Home Performance Professionals--published in past years in print and as a downloadable PDF on our Web site--is now perpetual. And searchable. Every two years, we have published a resource of training programs in the United States and Canada, connecting trainers to students. Last year, the Guide went from a list with a short description of each trainer organization and its offerings, to a grid, showing the ... [continue reading]
Green Building: Surprising Lessons Learned
Leslie Jackson
The nice thing about TED talks is that they are efficiently presented, compressing information into a few stimulating moments. [continue reading]
Sqeezing More Energy From the Sun
Jim Gunshinan
Scientists are figuring out how to squeeze more electricity out of photovoltaic (PV) panels. PV panels take the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity. The sun’s energy is abundant, but in order for solar electricity to compete with cheaper forms of electricity, such as that produced from highly polluting coal-fired power plants, PV panels have to be more efficient. And they need to be cheaper. Higher efficiency gets you more ... [continue reading]
What Went Wrong in Haiti?
Jim Gunshinan
Like a lot of people, I’ve been thinking about the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti, seeing images of collapsed buildings and dead people on the news and in the newspapers. I wonder why less than a hundred people in the Bay Area died in the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, and perhaps as many as 200,000 have died from the earthquake last month in Haiti. The Transamerica Building in downtown San Francisco swayed about ... [continue reading]
March/April 2010 Editorial: Home Energy Monitors
Alan Meier
Home Energy Monitors, that is, devices that display a home’s energy consumption have been touted as Silicon Valley’s contribution to the national energy conservation effort. A Home Energy Monitor (or HEM) constantly informs the occupants of their home’s electricity and gas consumption, along with conversions to monthly costs and comparisons with previous periods. Some models can (or will) communicate with heating and air conditioning systems. These devices will enable ... [continue reading]
Response, Recovery, Rebuild
Leslie Jackson
The three R's after any disaster are: Response, Recovery & Rebuild. Response is the first few days, as rescue workers try their best and aid begins arriving. Recovery is the next few weeks, as aid gets out into the field, roads get cleared, water and electricity is restored, sewers are fixed, and temporary accommodation built. But the biggest challenge is the long rebuild which can take months and years, and usually takes place when the world's ... [continue reading]
Interview: Living in Place with Larry Taff
Leslie Jackson
Larry Taff heads TZ of Madison, Inc., a long-time family business that performs remodels on homes with a much needed twist. His excellent designs and up-to-date knowledge of residential energy efficiency help aging people whose requirements are changing stay in their homes longer. TZ of Madison won also won the NARI of Madison Contractor of the Year Award for the Universal Design category for the 2nd year in a row. Larry will be speaking at ... [continue reading]
Concrete Home: To Insulate or Outsulate?
Leslie Jackson
Yesterday, we got a letter from Martha: "We are in Texas. We have an all concrete home made of blocks and concrete roof. How can we insulate it? The home is about 2000 sq ft. And we cannot get it warm or cool enough with a new 5-ton central AC unit. Please help. [continue reading]
