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4 Steps to Buy Clean Renewable Electricity for the Same Price as Dirty Electricity
June 2, 2017Have you considered getting solar panels for your home or one of Tesla’s new solar roofs? Going renewable is sexy! Solar is not right for everybody, though. If you have lots of trees in your yard, you rent, or you’re planning to move in the next 5-10 years, it probably doesn’t make sense. Bummer. Never fear! […]
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Changing Halogen Track and IKEA Lighting to LED Bulbs (GU4, GU5.3, MR16 base)
February 7, 2017If you have a few track lighting fixtures or IKEA light fixtures that use small halogen bulbs, there are finally decent to good LED replacements that use about 1/10th the energy but still make nice light. Here is the story of changing them and how much energy they saved. I’ve changed all of the bulbs […]
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EUI Calculator: Is your home fit or fat?
December 20, 2016Our calculator will let you know if your house is efficient or an energy hog. Grab a recent electric bill and heating bill. Look for annual usage on the bills. You also need to know the approximate square footage for your home. This is your EUI, or Energy Use Intensity, in kBTU/square foot/year.
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My Wife: I HATE Air Conditioning
August 22, 2016My wife seriously can’t stand air conditioning. It makes her desperately cold. It’s Women’s Winter. Meanwhile, I’m overheated. It’s a classic battle in homes and businesses everywhere. There is a solution!
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Which Indoor Air Quality Monitors Are Best And Why
June 15, 2016Updated 11/20/17 as noted. We’ve all seen the studies: Our Indoor Air Quality is terrible! It’s KILLING MILLIONS!! The problem with these studies is that if you’re like me you thought; “great, another scare tactic.” Or “it’s really only a problem in Asia.” Or of course, “Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) may be a problem in […]
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Habitat House Part 4 – HVAC Planning and Design
May 19, 2016It’s time to break some rules. Here’s how we came up with the heating and cooling system for the Habitat for Humanity Deep Energy Retrofit in Ravenna Ohio. We’re going to challenge some assumptions!
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Habitat House Part 3 – Planning to Solve Problems
May 19, 2016Mold, moisture, a dead furnace, and a shaky foundation. Those are some of the challenges for The Deep Energy Retrofit of a Habitat for Humanity home near Cleveland Ohio. Here’s the story of figuring them out.
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My Air Quality Stinks – But Now We Can Measure It – Porch Paint, VOCs, and Ventilation
April 20, 2016New consumer indoor air quality (IAQ) monitors give us insight into what we breathe. In the case of painting our front porch, it wasn’t good. Chemical pollutants galore. I compare the different IAQ device reactions to this event. Some come up short.
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Habitat House Part 2 – The Energy Audit
April 3, 2016Part 2 of the series on the Deep Energy Retrofit of a Habitat for Humanity house in Ravenna Ohio. This one focuses on the energy audit and what we found examining the house. We have some serious work to do!
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Habitat House Part 1 – Principles, Budget and Priorities
April 2, 2016We’re doing a Deep Energy Retrofit on a Habitat for Humanity house. That’s a tough challenge! It’s going all electric, no gas. This is the first in the series about the project.
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Can Mistbox Lower Cooling Bills? Not So Fast.
September 1, 2015Quick fixes for comfort and energy bills like the MistBox are tempting. There is a lot more to the story, though. Before you buy one, read this.
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Why Gas Water Heaters Suck – A Comparison
July 2, 2015Natural gas water heaters have a major problem few are aware of. Here’s the skinny and what to choose instead.
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