Energy Efficiency Building Science Archives

Geoffrey Barton: Designing for Density: Green Affordable Homes at East Haven Apartments

Designing for Density: Green Affordable Homes at East Haven Apartments Geoffrey Barton [caption id="attachment_5065" align="alignright" width="460"] East Haven Apartments contains a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments in two four-story L-shaped buildings that enclose a large courtyard. Photos courtesy of Mountain Housing Opportunities.[/caption] When designing any building, and particularly...

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John Senechal: Gray Rock Inn: The Evolution From Historic Boarding House to Affordable Housing

Gray Rock Inn: The Evolution From Historic Boarding House to Affordable Housing John Senechal In 2001, I took on a rehab project that featured energy retrofits, historic restoration, and affordable housing. At the time, the building at 100 Biltmore Ave. was falling apart and needed a lot of TLC. ...

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Emily Boyd: Net-Zero House, Below Zero HERS: Recent Project Sets New Green Built Homes Record

Net-Zero House, Below Zero HERS: Recent Project Sets New Green Built Homes Record Emily Boyd Becky Wood and Carol Kemp came to us several years ago with the goal of relocating from Seattle to build a new net-zero house in the Asheville area that would support electric vehicles, have privacy...

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Small-Scale Residential Housing: Infill Housing, ADUs and Tiny Homes

Small-Scale Residential Housing: Infill Housing, ADUs and Tiny Homes Joe Archibald Often when people think about sustainable building, they think about material sourcing, location of the building on the property, renewable energy sources and the other more common metrics. Just as important a factor, however, is where the building...

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Staying on Course: Blue Horizons Project’s Impact on Community-Wide Energy Efficiency

Staying on Course: Blue Horizons Project’s Impact on Community-Wide Energy Efficiency Cari Barcas In a single year since its launch, the local Blue Horizons Project energy-efficiency campaign has improved the lives of hundreds of area residents by helping to make their homes more affordable, durable and healthy. These efforts...

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Regenerative Design: Green Built Homes Certification Evolves with Updated Checklist

Regenerative Design: Green Built Homes Certification Evolves with Updated Checklist Cari Barcas Green Built Homes is updating its statewide certification program this year to incentivize builders to incorporate elements of regenerative design in their projects. Formerly known as NC Healthy Built Homes, the Green Built Homes program has certified...

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A Net-Zero Adventure: Setting New Records

A Net-Zero Adventure: Setting New Records Raymond Thompson There are many ways to link in to the green revolution. A person can focus on energy consumption, human rights, individual health, environmental protection or a little bit of everything at once, but it is generally driven by a calling in...

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Learning New Tricks: Lessons from WNC’s First DOE Zero Energy Ready Home

Learning New Tricks: Lessons from WNC’s First DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Leigha Dickens The Department of Energy wants builders to up their game. Though it’s worth celebrating the energy savings achieved by the DOE’s ENERGY STAR® Homes program (said to be 20 percent), it’s possible to build homes...

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Aspiring to Zero Carbon: First Net-Zero Home Certified in Green Path Commons

Aspiring to Zero Carbon: First Net-Zero Home Certified in Green Path Commons Don Nicholson Can we build a zero-carbon-footprint neighborhood? It’s a challenge. We are attempting this at Green Path Commons in West Asheville. The neighborhood will have seven net-zero homes; the first is at 9 N. Belgium Lane....

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Bridging Sustainable and Social Gaps: Earth Care, Fair Share and People Care at Echo Hills Cottages

Bridging Sustainable and Social Gaps: Earth Care, Fair Share and People Care at Echo Hills Cottages Garret K. Woodward When Ron Czecholinski and his wife moved to Asheville in 2010, he had one goal in mind: to create a sustainable development that truly focused on the meaning of the...

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