Jan 30, 2018 | Energy, Energy & Water, Green Home Building/Remodeling, Green Home Living
Insulation sounds like a really boring thing to even think about, but the number one recommendation coming from a home energy audit is almost always that: improving home insulation will decrease your energy bills and provide a more comfortable, less drafty home. But...
Jan 3, 2018 | Energy, Energy & Water, Green Home Building/Remodeling, Green Home Living
What is a Home Energy Audit? Does not sound fun, right? It’s really just a guy (usually it’s a guy – women don’t seem to enter this field very frequently) who is specifically trained and certified to be a residential energy auditor — which means he...
Oct 13, 2017 | Energy, Energy & Water, Green Home Building/Remodeling, Green Home Living
The winters are dark and cold here in Minneapolis, and I had not been not happy with our outdoor lights. They got my attention because we were advised by the police to keep them on all night after a recent burglary. So, in the winter, they are on from about 4:30 pm...
Jul 1, 2017 | Energy, Energy & Water, Green Home Building/Remodeling, Green Home Living, Water
Most people think that going green costs more. Sometimes it does (and in many of those cases, it pays back in a reasonable timeframe). But sometimes, it does not cost more – and in that case, they are really no-brainers. If something does not cost more, but it may...
May 5, 2011 | Energy, LEED Certification
Last week, our Green Rater told me about a “pre-approved” Innovation and Design point for LEED for Homes regarding monitoring our electric, gas and water usage over time. All we have to do is sign up for the Building Performance Partnership through Earth...
Oct 29, 2010 | Energy, Green Home Building/Remodeling
View the video of our solar panels installed. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv5k5Eqz0y4] They were “turned on,” or “grid connected” on October 28, 2010!
Oct 28, 2010 | Energy, Green Home Building/Remodeling
It is t-minus two days until the utility’s electrical inspector comes over and gives us approval to turn ON our solar panels. Just in time for the end of one month of pure sun and a future of short, cloudy days. Do I sound cynical? Burned out might be a...
Sep 27, 2010 | Energy, Green Home Building/Remodeling
This credit, the final one in the Energy & Atmosphere section, is required for both the prescriptive and performance pathways, so we can begin accumulating more points again. The purpose of this credit is to both ensure proper air conditioning performance as...
Sep 23, 2010 | Energy, Green Home Building/Remodeling
This credit, only for the prescriptive pathway (it is modeled in the performance pathway), awards up to ten points for generating electricity on-site through renewable energy sources. It is important to note that passive solar designs must be modeled and can take...
Sep 22, 2010 | Energy, Green Home Building/Remodeling
Household appliances are responsible for 20%-30% of a home’s energy use and about 25% of its indoor water use. Thankfully, we have ENERGY STAR labels for appliances, so I don’t have to look up every different standard of energy efficiency measures for...
Sep 21, 2010 | Energy, Green Home Building/Remodeling
Lighting can account for 5%-15% of a home’s total energy use. Being one of the first to install the new LED (light-emitting diode) recessed can fixtures made by CREE, we were pioneers in this area. The fixtures we chose, LR6 recessed downlights, had just come...
Sep 21, 2010 | Energy, Green Home Building/Remodeling
In line with efficient distribution of hot water and hot water pipe insulation, this credit is the last in this section that awards points for efficient hot water systems. It is only, however, required for the prescriptive pathway (unlike 7.1 and 7.2, which are...
