Tag Archives: Retrofit

Alaska energy rebate program very popular

From the Anchorage Daily News on Tuesday, September 30, 2008:

With a fresh infusion of $60 million into the state’s Home Energy Rebate Program, thousands of Alaska homeowners are clamoring to receive home-improvement rebate checks worth as much as $10,000, creating an unprecedented backlog and leaving many people frustrated and stressed with the process to get a piece of the big state giveaway.

In response, the state’s Alaska Housing Finance Corp. has hired more staff and plans to step in to help with the scramble, while local contractors continue to work overtime.

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Alaska energy rebate program warming homes

From the Anchorage Daily News on Sunday, September 28, 2008:

Teri Hansen is tired of shivering in her own home.

“Each winter it gets colder and colder and the bills go higher and higher. And it’s just not comfortable,” she said. “It’s actually cold. We wear sweaters, sweatshirts, bundle up, and our house is still about 66, 67 degrees. People come over and they are freezing.”

And so when Hansen, who lives in South Anchorage with her husband and two teenage daughters, first heard about the state’s Home Energy Rebate program three months ago, she decided to act fast to take advantage of the up to $10,000 giveaway. Like many people applying for the rebate, she feels lucky to have gotten in when she did. Thousands of others are still waiting to hear from the much-sought-after home energy raters, who have been besieged with requests for inspections.

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Seattle home put to the energy efficiency test

From the Wall Street Journal, Thursday, September 18, 2008:

Eager to lessen our carbon footprint and plan a responsible remodel, we undertook four so-called “energy audits” on our 1966 Seattle home, which has a finished 1,100-square-foot main floor and a partially finished 1,100-square-foot basement. We wanted to learn both how to improve the finished portion of our home and how best to add insulation and factor energy efficiency into an eventual basement remodel.

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A greener home

The first of a two-part series, “A Greener Future”, from the LA Times, September 14, 2008:

Innovations in designing green chemicals are emerging in nearly every U.S. industry, from plastics and pesticides to toys and nail polish. Some manufacturers of cosmetics, household cleaners and other consumer products are leading the charge, while others are lagging behind.

For decades, many manufacturers used the most powerful weapons in their chemical arsenals, with scant attention to where they wound up or what they might have been doing to people or the planet.

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Understanding Your Crawl Space

BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner September 18th, 2008, Section A3

Crawl spaces are one of those areas in the house that tend to get neglected. The old adage “Out of sight out of mind” might apply here. Unfortunately, this also means that crawl space problems can go unnoticed until they progress into more expensive structural or health-related issues. The crawl space can also present a significant energy drain on a home if not insulated properly.
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How green is your bamboo flooring?

From slate.com, retrieved September 16, 2008:

… bamboo’s environmental edge can evaporate if the stuff is heedlessly grown. Given the recent vogue for bamboo among Western consumers, producers in Asia (specifically China’s Hunan Province) have been aggressive with their planting, often at the expense of old woodlands and their attendant ecosystems. To goose their yields, these plantations employ plenty of fertilizers and pesticides, thereby negating one of bamboo’s primary advantages. And when the bamboo is converted into planks, the factories often use glues with high levels of formaldehyde, which can have serious health consequences for consumers (particularly those with asthma or severe allegies). Reading the label usually can’t shed much light on these concerns. 

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An HRV System Overview

BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner September 11th, 2008, Section A3

Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) systems are a relative newcomer to the cold climate construction scene, yet have become almost indispensible in today’s super-insulated, air tight homes. They are also becoming an increasingly common element in the current weatherization and insulation retrofitting trend. As older homes are undergoing energy facelifts, and becoming tighter and better insulated, they are also facing the same indoor air quality challenges one would see in new construction. In this article I am hoping to provide a basic understanding of how HRV’s work, their applications, and their advantages.
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White roofs could help counteract climate change

From the Los Angeles Times, September 10, 2008:

Builders have known for decades that white roofs reflect the sun’s rays and lower the cost of air conditioning. But now scientists say they have quantified a new benefit: slowing global warming.

If the 100 biggest cities in the world installed white roofs and changed their pavement to more reflective materials — say, concrete instead of asphalt-based material — the global cooling effect would be massive, according to data released Tuesday at California’s annual Climate Change Research Conference in Sacramento.

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Energy Savings Pays

BY: John Davies, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner August 21st, 2008, Section A3

Is your head swimming with all the talk about energy costs, weatherization, and energy rebates? Are you looking for a good, comprehensive source of information that explains the basics of energy use in your home and what steps you can take to save energy? If so, I recommend the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings published by New Society Publishers for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Continue reading →