Home Energy articles from March 2002

Home Energy archives from March 2002

Pssst! want to buy an Energy Star label? (Editorial).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... I had the impeccably bad timing to commit myself to several major trips this past autumn. The most distant one was to Beijing, People's Republic of China. An acquaintance remarked that my November 10 departure from Beijing was a good idea...

Elemental choices. (Letters).
March 1, 2002... My small family is able to live comfortably with less hot water on hand, so I want to disconnect one of my water heater's elements. Is it preferable to disconnect the lower element, on the assumption that the tank delivers hot water from the...

Divine questioning. (Letters).
March 1, 2002... We just had a high-efficiency forced air furnace installed. We noticed that the installers snaked a clear drainage tube from the unit to a utility sink next to our laundry machines. We use this sink for any number of tasks, from beer brewing to...

A challenge to our readers. (Letters).
March 1, 2002... My family and I have experienced a lot of problems with soot (ghosting) in our house. We replaced all our curtains twice. We've installed a new refrigerator and a new kitchen floor. We've washed the walls and had them painted, put new...

Soot source. (Diagnostics).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Q: I inspected a home today that's having a problem with a talc-like substance especially on registers and grilles. The homeowner said that it looked pink; to me it was light gray or white. They had another company install a self-contained gas...

What's in the on-line toolbox? (Software/Web).(online home energy sites)
March 1, 2002... Q: Previous columns have focused on a lot of tools that need to be run on a PC as stand-alone programs, but when are you going to cover tools that can be accessed on the Internet, and give us some opinions on how well they work? -- Net...

How much do you pack into walls? (Renovation).(insulation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Several weeks ago, a friend and I spent an hour talking about insulation. The funny thing was that in the whole time we did not say a word about R-values. Rather, we spoke entirely about some of the ancillary features of certain insulation...

Weatherization training opportunities expand. (Weatherization).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Look for some expertly weatherized houses in the Southeast, as South Carolina's new Weatherization Center for Excellence commence its training certificate program. With the establishment of the Columbia center, there will now be ten training...

Californians take on energy crisis. (Utilities).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Northern Californians reacted to the energy crisis last year by taking to the appliance stores in record numbers. For the first time in 15 years, customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) bought sufficient numbers of energy-efficient...

New handbook breaks the mold. (IAQ).(mold and fungi prevention)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... There are approximately 17 million Americas with asthma, and up to 30% of them are sensitive to molds and fungal allergens. To help address this problem, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published a handbook on mold remediation and...

The latest in hot shots: infrared cameras are becoming affordable tools for building performance professionals. (Diagnostics).(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Infrared thermography is a proven tool that has been used for building diagnostics for a number of years (see "Selecting an Infrared Imaging System," HE July/Aug '93, p. 37). There is simply no better way to locate and diagnose problems with...

Dry notes from the underground: research shows that homeowners invite mold growth and serious health risks with a finished basement that has moisture problems. (IAQ).(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Some basements are dry, usable living spaces--whether by design, or simply as a result of the climate or water table. Others--and this may be the majority with older houses--have significant moisture problems. Finishing or adding insulation to...

Moisture problems in manufactured housing: manufactured homes are affordable to many. A study points the way to making them healthy by dealing with moisture problems. (New Construction)(Cover Story).(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... For the millions of people living in manufactured homes, the relatively low cost of these homes should not automatically imply low energy efficiency and poor indoor air quality (IAQ). In 2000, one out of six new single-family housing starts was...

Allergy relief in humid climates: dust mites are a problem in new homes in humid climates. What keeps them away? (IAQ).(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... The increasing incidence of allergy and asthma, particularly among children, is a worldwide concern. About 20% of the general population suffer from allergies, and about 5% suffer from asthma. Among children the percentage of allergy sufferers...

Flow control gains in accuracy: a new flow meter is easier to use than a Duct Blaster, and more accurate than the temperature rise method. (Diagnostics).(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... The air flow rate through residential air handlers is an important measurement for a variety of reasons. One of the most important uses of this measurement is in assessing the adequacy of flow across a heat pump or air conditioning coil....

Pocket-sized auditing: with today's computer devices and operating systems, weatherization and energy audits are getting a whole lot easier. (Weatherization).
March 1, 2002... Any auditor who has lugged a 7+ lb. laptop into the field can understand the basic appeal of a handheld computing device. In addition to their lighter weight, handhelds have other significant advantages over laptops. They cost far less and can...

More than just patching holes. (Field Notes).(home energy planning)
March 1, 2002... When I started working ten months ago as a weatherization coordinator for the Community Action Program of Evansville (CAPE), in southern Indiana, it was just a job, and not a very well-paying one, either. But when I started learning about...

High-Performance Photovoltaic. (News & Reviews).(Department of Energy website)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... DOE's High-Performance Photovoltaic Project has a new Web site sure to be useful to anyone interested in cutting-edge research on solar electric technologies, www.nrel.gov/highperformancepv/. The project encourages research to improve the...

Wood certification. (News & Reviews).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The Certified Forest Products Council has a new wood database at www.certifiedwood.org. The products are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). This tool enables Internet users to search for any type of forest product in the FSC...

Incentives for renewable energy. (News & Reviews).(Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE, on the Internet at www.dsireusa.org) has been updated and improved to make it more informative and user-friendly. The revamped database provides a wealth of information on...

What's really important? (News & Reviews).(energy efficient appliances)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... U.S. consumers rank energy efficiency as their primary consideration when purchasing new home appliances, according to a new study by Madison-based Primen, an energy market-intelligence company. According to the study, three-fourths of...

Solar systems play integral role. (News & Reviews).(new houses)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Builders of new houses are moving to include solar electric power in a number of their California developments. While some builders shuddered when news of impending changes in California's Title 24 energy code hit the streets, Beazer...

New performance requirements for Energy Star windows, doors, skylights. (News & Reviews).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... DOE issued new energy performance criteria for Energy Star windows, doors, and skylights, effective January 1, 2002. Retailers have a six-month transition period in which they may continue to utilize existing labels and marketing materials. The...

Texas reduces mold growth insurance. (News & Reviews).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The Texas Department of Insurance has restructured the state's residential property policies on mold-related insurance coverage in order to avoid a crisis in residential property insurance availability and affordability. The order retains...

Solar exceeds demand. (News & Reviews).(solar panels)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... According to an article in the December 17,2001, Sacramento Bee, so many Sacramento area residents have requested solar panels for their rooftops that officials with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) must discontinue a popular...

CFLs capture California. (News & Reviews).(compact fluorescent lamps)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Energy Star compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have captured a higher marketshare in California than ever in the 20 year history of energy efficiency programs. The growth is due in part to the Instant Discount Retailer Program by California...

Land of the Rising Sun. (News & Reviews).(residential solar batteries)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Kobe Steel of Japan will supply Misawa Homes, a major builder, with residential solar battery modules, and will invest 1 billion yen (approximately $7.5 million) to build a production line with annual capacity of 10 MW. The residential market...

Calendar.(energy conservation events)
March 1, 2002... March 20-23 Building Energy 2002 Conference, Medford, Massachusetts. Contact: Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, 50 Miles St., Greenfield, MA 01301. Tel: (413)774-6051; Web site: www.nesea.org. March 24-26 ...