Not Fade Away

A version of this article appears in the Winter 2019 issue of Home Energy Magazine.

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Home Energy is moving out of its office of ten years in Berkeley, California. Still maintaining the same high standard for truth that has kept this publication in print for—gasp!—35 years, our editorial staff will work from their homes. Moving this magazine is like striking a stage production. Packing it up is a history lesson in building science.

At first, the magazine was called Energy Auditor and Retrofitter (1984–88). From embossed letterhead and typed memos to e-mail signatures, Jim Gunshinan, our editor has watched and adjusted to it all for the last nearly 20 years.

In addition to the regular issues, we published special issues, each of which focused on a specific topic. For example, we published “Water/Energy” in 2007 and “Preparing for Hurricanes” in 2006, in response to Hurricane Katrina the year before. Home Energy also published two editions of a book called No Regrets Remodeling (1997 and 2013).

Archiving the magazines, it’s easy to see the arc of the publication over these thirty-five years. Issue 1.1 (Oct/Nov 1984) is still pertinent today. While the designs, colors, logos, and personnel have changed, one thing has remained constant, and that’s humor. From cartoon illustrations to the “What Were They Thinking” column, each issue is seasoned with levity and fun. When you have your ducks in a row, you can afford to put sunglasses on them. As any number of building scientists who present successfully will tell you, humor keeps your audience on their toes, attentive and waiting for the next joke to drop. Here’s to another 35 years, of reporting on building science at its best.

Leslie Jackson is the associate editor of Home Energy.

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