Article Category: Energy Efficiency Building Science

Tom Owens: Certifying it Twice

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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