Spotlight Article:
Trailer Treasure—Affordable Housing, Green Living, Community, Income in an Unlikely Place
The American dream of homeownership for all is not particularly healthy these days. Housing prices in some areas have already returned to pre-Great Recession (2006) levels. According to the Trulia real estate website, the median price ...
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IQ+ Report: Irvine Home Builders Get Smarter
In April 1997, the city of Irvine, California, launched a voluntary program to improve the energy efficiency of new homes built in this planned Orange County community (see "Improving Ducts in Southern California," HE Nov/Dec '97, p. 11). [continue reading]
Production Home Sets New Standard
Ryan Homes of New York recently built a prototype single-family home that sets a new standard for affordable, energy- and resource-efficient buildings-and has the data to prove [continue reading]
Civano: Green Development at Work
Civano is a new 820-acre, 2,800-home, mixed-use neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona, currently under construction with the goal of creating a sustainable community using green building techniques. [continue reading]
Building for Better Breathing
When my family and I had our home built here in North Carolina, good ventilation and air filtration were top priorities because my daughter has problems with allergies and asthma. [continue reading]
Energy Stars Shine on Manufactured Homes
It was only a matter of time before Energy Star labels spread from mass-produced home appliances to mass-produced homes--a green logo stuck inside the front window that tells people that the home is at least 30% more efficient than one that just barely complies with the Model Energy Code (MEC). [continue reading]
Foam Forms Bring Concrete Results
Sales of insulating concrete forms (ICFs) are growing over 50% per year, and last year an estimated 4,000 houses were built with ICFs. [continue reading]
ICFs and HERS: Guaranteed Performance, Easy Financing
For the last 10 years, Reward Wall Systems, a manufacturer of insulating concrete forms (ICFs) in Omaha, Nebraska, has offered an energy guarantee: their ICFs save homeowners 70% on heating and cooling compared to the 1992 Model Energy Code (MEC), or Reward pays 110% of the difference in energy costs. [continue reading]
Efficient Plans Run Into Reality
In the summer of 1996, I signed on the dotted line and set in motion the construction of my dream home. This was not my first experience with home ownership, but it was my first time having a home built. [continue reading]
Building Performance Journal Editors
Our Blog Has Moved
Thanks for your interest in contributing a blog to the Building Performance Journal (formerly Home Energy magazine). We’re ...
Jim Gunshinan
Is Energy Efficiency an American Value?
Energy efficiency is good for the economy, good for families, good for workers, and good for the environment.
