Certifying it Twice: High-Performance Home Receives ENERGY STAR® 3 and Green Built Homes Certifications Tom Owens Clients came to us a few years ago in search of someone who could both design and build a home that would be environmentally friendly, energy efficient and structurally durable. They had a...
Article Category: Energy Efficiency Building Science
Boone Guyton: Going for Zero and Beyond
Going for Zero and Beyond: The Journey to -8 HERS Boone Guyton We built our last house with the goal of being net-zero energy. The West Asheville lot is a small 0.08-acre infill lot with great southern exposure. That allowed for both solar photovoltaics and passive solar design on...
Rob Howard: Practical Priorities
Practical Priorities: Asheville Home Serves as High-Performance Prototype Rob Howard Today’s homebuyers have a tendency to focus on creature comforts and prioritize the components of a home that can be seen and touched like paint colors, kitchen cabinets, countertops and bathroom tiles. Especially for those designing and building a...
Cari Barcas: Setting the Course for Clean Energy
Setting the Course for Clean Energy: Blue Horizons Project Empowers Community to Conserve Energy and Preserve Region By Cari Barcas Resulting from a two-year collaboration between local government, business, nonprofit and environmental leaders, the Blue Horizons Project is a comprehensive hub of energy-efficiency programs to empower community members to...
Jonathan Gach: Big-Picture Weatherization
Big-Picture Weatherization: Blue Horizon’s Energy Upgrade Program Jonathan Gach The Asheville area is fortunate to have a variety of organizations on hand locally to help low-income residents face the challenges that can come with owning or renting a home. Eblen Charities’ Energy Assistance program can help families pay for...
Garret K. Woodward: Filling in the Gaps
Filling in the Gaps: Energy Savers Network Helps Low-Income Homes Garret K. Woodward It was the basketball-sized hole in the dining room window that stuck out the most for Alice Wyndham. “It was the second house we worked on. He was a veteran who had cancer. His mother had...
Heath Moody: Train Drain
Train Drain: The Role of Higher Education in Developing a Sustainable Workforce Heath Moody As our workforce faces the challenging mass exodus of baby boomers retiring over the next decade, there exists a unique opportunity to explore solutions that could not only put numerous Americans to work, but also...
Amy Musser: Heat Pump Revolution
Welcome to the Heat Pump Revolution: The Benefits of Variable-Speed Heat Pumps Amy Musser Sometimes the green-building industry evolves quickly, with a product making a quantum leap in efficiency. This is happening in 2018 with variable-speed heat pumps. These have been on the market for a couple of years,...
Ned Ryan Doyle: Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Advanced Metering Infrastructure: The Next Generation of Energy Metering Comes to WNC Ned Ryan Doyle AMI, shorthand for Advanced Metering Infrastructure, is being rolled out in the Western Carolinas this year for Duke Energy customers and is projected to be completed by mid-2019. So, what is AMI? Why does...
Cari Barcas: Reduce What You Can, Offset the Rest
Reduce What You Can, Offset the Rest: Six Ways Local Businesses Can Reduce Their Carbon Footprint Cari Barcas An increasing number of Western North Carolina businesses are doing the right thing for their business and the planet by making moves toward carbon neutrality. As a resource to all community...