Introducing Heat Pumps

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An air-source heat pump is like a window air conditioner: Running one way, it cools, running the other, it heats. When outside air is cold enough, electric resistance heaters kick in. Most air source heat pumps work better in moderate climates than cold ones, although there are specialized models for cold areas.

I used to think that electric heating should be avoided at all cost. After all, most of our electricity is produced from highly polluting and greenhouse-gas- spewing coal power plants or from nuclear power plants with their own, quite different, risks.

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The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

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EBN reported last October on a California law requiring annual energy-use reporting for all nonresidential buildings. (Commercial owners will have to disclose energy use starting in 2010.) How far behind is a national law? Last week, a 648-page draft was released of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) bill by House Representatives Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Edward J.
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82 Tons of Earthquake: Straw House Gets The Shakes

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On March 27, a shake-table simulation of twice the ground acceleration of the '94 Northridge CA earthquake was run in the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation's Large Structures Laboratory at the University of Nevada on a full-scale model of a strawbale housing unit developed in the wake of the devastating 2005 Kashmir 7.6 magnitude quake that killed nearly 100,000 people and left over three million homeless in Pakistan.
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Something (Bioaccumulative) in the Water

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"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the first-ever nationwide report this morning on the level of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) found in U.S. coastal areas and the Great Lakes. The report contradicts earlier surveys that suggested PBDEs, chemicals commonly used as flame retardants in commercial goods since the 1970s but in large part discontinued because of health concerns, were found in only a few U.S.
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Radiant-Floor Heating

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Occasionally I wonder if I have some sort of masochistic streak--somehow enjoying the grief I get when bursting people's favorite bubbles. I'll brace myself for such a response to this column, when I point out why radiant-floor heating systems don't make sense for new, energy-efficient houses.

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Senior Housing Renovation in Richmond, Virginia

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Randolph Place is a 50-unit senior housing community in the heart of Randolph, a historic Richmond neighborhood. The building, constructed in 1896 and added onto in 1946, was originally a neighborhood public school. Several current residents attended school in the building where they now live. After several years of vacancy the building was converted from a school into senior housing in 1986. The existing unit floor plans remained the same and current residents were able to stay in the building, as the renovations were done a few at a time. The building envelope was repaired and upgraded.
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Using Thermostats

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I get a lot of questions about energy--from relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. I think the most common question is about thermostats and whether it makes sense to lower the temperature of your house at night or when you aren't home.

"Doesn't it take more energy to warm the house back up," some ask?

"Do setback or programmable thermostats really save energy?"

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Reductio ad absurdum

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I recently went through the scoring tool on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) green building website www.nahbgreen.org. The tool lets you get a good idea how your project would rate according to the National Green Building Standard (EBN, March 2009), and to plan adjustments in the design and construction process to do better.
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