Home Energy articles from September 2004

Home Energy archives from September 2004

Hubbert's peak.(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... This issue--or one very close to it--will be arriving in your hands at about the same time as world oil production will have reached its peak and will have begun to decline. M. King Hubbert first made this prediction of oil production's decline...

Insulation choices.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... What is your opinion of using adhesive-mixed, blown-in cellulose insulation for new construction in northern Wisconsin, where it gets dang cold? Is this superior to adhesive-mixed, blown-in fiberglass insulation? What are the relative fire...

When ducts don't blow.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... I have never had strong air flow from my ducts since buying my house five years ago. I could put a piece of tissue paper on most of them and it would not budge. I know there has to be a disconnected duct(s) somewhere in the house. I just had a...

Steamed Victorian.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... I have an 1850 Victorian house with no wall insulation. Is it economical to convert from steam heat to a hot water system using existing radiators? I live in upstate New York, and the heat costs are killing me. I have done heat loss...

Farmhouse renovation.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... We are renovating a 1910 two-story farmhouse-style home in Oakland. On the advice of our first (and now former) contractor, we took off the plaster to the studs with the intention of adding insulation on the outside walls (as well as rewiring...

Variable wall cavities.(Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... I want to use spray foam insulation on the interior walls of a residential home. The walls are brick veneer over 4-inch cinder block. The block is coated on the inside with a black tarlike material to prevent moisture from wicking into the...

Erratum.(Letters)(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2004... The photos on p. 29 in the article "The Chicago Green Bungalow Project" (July/August '04), should be credited to Paul Knight.

The latest on steel stud walls.(House Doc)
September 1, 2004... Q. We are interested in building our own home in Northern California, just east of Sacramento. It is our understanding that steel-framed homes are considered more energy efficient than wood-framed homes. What do you think? --Northern...

What were they thinking?(House Doc)(Community Action of Northeast Indiana's Weatherization)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... This photograph was taken by Community Action of Northeast Indiana's Weatherization Inspector Mike Slater on a recent home inspection. If you have trouble discerning what the photo depicts, you'll notice that the water heater is common vented...

RESNET now offers insurance opportunity.(Raters)
September 1, 2004... With the attention given in the mass media to mold problems in buildings and the coverage of costly litigation regarding mold and indoor air quality over the past few years, more than a few contractors have thought long and hard about insurance...

Alaska ices conference hosting.(Conferences)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Alaska Building Science Network held its ninth annual meeting in Seward on June 18 and 19. It was well attended and the weather was outstanding. A great series of lectures was presented over the two-day conference with numerous national and...

Environmental education starts in the dorm room.(Appliances)
September 1, 2004... More colleges are investing in energy-efficient products and practices on their campuses--not only because it makes environmental sense, but because it makes economic sense as well. Through methods such as student awareness campaigns, appliance...

Creative uses of fluorescent lighting; energy-efficient fluorescent lighting need no longer play second fiddle to incandescents.(Lighting)
September 1, 2004... Researchers and public policy advocates have long known that fluorescent fighting saves energy and reduces atmospheric pollution, but public acceptance of this technology has been slow to grow. Many people still hold negative impressions about...

After the flood--there's hope; homes that are damaged by flooding can be repaired and made more durable.(Renovations)
September 1, 2004... Flooding is a fact of life that results in more damage to buildings throughout the United States than any other single natural cause. Residential buildings are especially hard hit during floods; the lives of the residents are disrupted and...

Modern evaporative coolers; not all evaporative coolers are created equal. Modern machines operate more efficiently and with much less fuss than the old swamp coolers did.(HVAC)
September 1, 2004... Dave Emmitt owns Direct Drive Service, a company in Colorado that specializes in efficient low-mass boilers--and high-efficiency evaporative coolers. We're not talking swamp coolers on the roof of a mobile home; Emmitt's staff install coolers...

A new wave hits California swimming pools: operating pool pumps for longer periods at slower flow rates can adequately filter the water while cutting the energy use in half.
September 1, 2004... A commonly held view in the pool and spa industry is that since September 11, 2001, homeowners have reduced their spending on vacation travel and are putting the hard-earned dollars that they would have spent on airfare and motels into their...

Hey, where's the hot water? In many ways, new homes may be experiencing the best of times. But for their hot water distribution systems it can be the worst of times.(Hot Water)
September 1, 2004... It is 6 am on a workday. Picture yourself standing before the master bath lavatory in your brand-new home with the faucet on full getting ready to shave. Minutes pass as you await the arrival of hot water to help you awake and ease the shave....

Remodeling a business.(Field Notes; Hughesco Incorporated)
September 1, 2004... It would be hard to imagine a more ardent, outspoken proponent of home performance principles than Darin Hughes, president of Hughesco, Incorporated, in Amherst, New York. "We don't guess," Hughes says succinctly. He's describing the process...

New CD valuable tool for home professionals.(New and Notable)(Video Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... A new three-CD set, Building Better Homes, is an interactive training program that demonstrates the whole-house systems approach to building and remodeling. Narrated by Mark La-Liberte, a nationally recognized building specialist and trainer,...

Insulation innovation.(New and Notable)(Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik)(Neopor)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Neopor, a foam insulation manufactured by Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik (BASF), is both thinner and heftier than its conventional polystyrene predecessor, Styropor. Neopor utilizes tiny flakes of graphite that reflect heat radiation, making...

Nothing subpar about submetering.(New and Notable)(The Wellspring Company)(Aqura submetering system)(Sowell Group)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Submetering, the practice of billing apartment residents at a rate proportional to usage, is gaining popularity with residents and apartment owners alike. Houston apartment developer Sowell Group installed submetering in one of its...

Tempting homeowners to improve energy efficiency.(New and Notable)(Certified Performance 4 program)(California Association of Real Estate Appraisers)(Uniform Residential Appraisal Report)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Southern California Edison customers now have an added incentive to improve their homes' energy efficiency. Since 1999, the Certified Performance 4 program has been providing free energy audits and discounted energy upgrades to homes built...

Calendar.(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... September 15-18 HVAC COMFORTECH 2004, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact: Marge Dietrich, Contracting Business magazine, Penton Media Building, 1300 E 9th St., Cleveland, OH 44114-1503. Tel: (216)931-9550; Web site: www.hvaccomfortech.com. ...