Author Archives: kthomas

BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant for CCHRC and UAF CES
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner January 15th, 2009, Section A3

The latest cold snap in Fairbanks has created some interesting ice formations, particularly around door jams, windows, and roofs. Huge differences between indoor and outdoor temperatures cause poorly sealed homes to act like big chimneys, drawing cold air in through cracks and gaps lower down in a house and pushing warmer, vapor-laden air out the top through roof joints and other openings – a phenomenon called vapor drive. Ice forms wherever super-cold air meets with the relatively warm moist air of our indoor living spaces, whether around front doors or under eaves. One troubling ice formation in my house looks like Béla Lugosi. My cat hisses at its shadow. Continue reading →

BY: Ilya Benesch, Building Educator at CCHRC
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner January 8th, 2009, Section A3

The last few winters were relatively mild. The current cold spell, however, is a reminder to us all that we live in a place that experiences sustained periods of severe temperatures. For most of the winter, our homes become small oases of heat and moisture, floating in a vast desert of extreme cold. And, yes, our climate zone is indeed considered a desert, due to the low amount of annual precipitation we receive. This rather dramatic analogy brings us head-to-head with the laws of physics, which help to explain several of the issues that surface in and around our homes in wintertime. Continue reading →

BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant for CCHRC and UAF CES
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner December 25th, 2008, Section A3

Holiday quiz. What is the Yule Log? (A) A French-inspired pastry. (B) The Great Ashen Fagot of German yore. Or, (C) A film loop of logs burning in a fireplace broadcast on TV. Well, personally, I was thinking of the film. It used to be broadcast on Christmas Eve in the New York City area until the late 1980s. There, within the vacuum of television, the fire burned cleanly in thousands of tenement buildings late into the urban night. No wood to carry, no ashes to scoop. Your fire at home may be warmer, but I doubt it’s more efficient. Continue reading →

BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant for CCHRC and UAF CES
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner December 11th, 2008, Section A3

When I was a kid, Christmas stockings were a leading indicator of what kind of gifts might be waiting under the Christmas tree. Candy? Probably a lean year for mom and dad. Matchbox cars? Might be a whole racetrack set wrapped in one of those boxes. For many families, this year’s holidays will be tight. The upside to this otherwise austere forecast is that energy-saving stocking stuffers are a fun way to save money – without being a (major) Grinch. Continue reading →

BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant at CCHRC
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner November 27th, 2008, Section A3

My shower time is a reprieve from the winter doldrums. I’m a better person for it; I’m more functional and less likely to stay in bed groaning for, say, three or four months. The problem is that my love of hot water costs me a lot of money. My electric 40-gallon hot water tank costs about $40-$50 per month to operate, which is more than half of my total monthly electric bill. Would I save money if I installed a so-called tankless, or on-demand water heater? Continue reading →

BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant at CCHRC
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner November 13th, 2008, Section A3

This is the third of a series of columns exploring how solar energy can be used at home to reduce your energy costs.

A central feature of passive solar design, windows, powerfully affect how your home feels and uses energy. For existing homes, maximizing efficiency generally means installing modern replacement windows that use multiple methods for retaining heat.
Continue reading →