September 2nd, 2010
See all posts by: Bill Klotz 
At one time or another, most homeowners have probably experienced a hot bonus room, a moisture problem, or air leaking in (or out) near doors and windows. These are some of the issues I’m looking for when I go into a home to figure out the best ways to improve its comfort and energy efficiency. There are a lot of things I take into account and some useful gadgets at my disposal. The one tool in my bag of tricks that is both indispensable and raises the most eyebrows from homeowners is the blower door. Simply put, a blower door measures the total amount of air leaking into or out of any house (or commercial building), and it is often the most important piece of equipment that we use.
Since we get so many questions about it every time we take it out of the bag, we thought we’d offer a quick overview and video demonstration here on our blog for anyone interested. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: air leakage, blower door, home performance
Posted in Energy Efficiency, High Performance Buildings | 1 Comment »
August 26th, 2010
See all posts by: Rachel Della Valle 
When people think of efficiency programs, they are often considering ways to reduce electricity or natural gas bills; water efficiency can sort of become an afterthought. Unless there’s a drought like the Southeast had a couple of years ago, the topic of conserving water has sometimes fallen under the radar — but it shouldn’t! Water is one of the most important resources we have, and if people can save money and conserve water at the same time, it’s a win-win situation. With WaterSense, a new home certification program developed and implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s now easier for builders and prospective new home buyers to build or live in a home that uses water more efficiently.
With this post, I’ll explain the WaterSense program and clarify how builders can take advantage of this program to conserve resources and differentiate their homes. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: water efficiency, WaterSense
Posted in High Performance Buildings | No Comments »
August 19th, 2010
When I first joined the team at Southern Energy Management, I figured that a company specializing in sustainable energy would have a recycling program. I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how seriously we take things here, though. Recycling at SEM is viewed as an integral part of the triple bottom line business model of people, planet and profit. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: compost, recycling, triple bottom line, vermiculture
Posted in Triple Bottom Line | 1 Comment »
August 12th, 2010
See all posts by: Meghan McDermott 
Over the last decade, according to the EPA, some 9,000 Energy Star partners in the commercial marketplace have offset more carbon dioxide emissions than it would take to power 60-million homes. That’s a big deal — and adds up to roughly 120-million tons of CO2. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: blower door, energy star, energy star commercial
Posted in Energy Efficiency, High Performance Buildings | No Comments »
August 4th, 2010
See all posts by: Scott Hoover 
Since 2006, builders wanting an Energy Star qualified home have been following a set of rules commonly referred to as “Energy Star 2.0.” This April, Energy Star announced Energy Star 3.0, changes to the qualification process for new construction that had a lot of builders scrambling to figure out exactly what the implications will be. In general, the altered requirements will make for more efficient homes and a higher standard for builders to meet. That may not make some people happy at first, but I think it really protects the Energy Star name and bolsters its reputation for builders who want to distinguish themselves and provide more efficient homes for home buyers. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: energy star, Energy Star 3.0, HERS index
Posted in Energy Efficiency, High Performance Buildings | No Comments »
July 28th, 2010
See all posts by: David Boynton 
There’s an immense amount of interest out there from folks who want to go the “Do it yourself” solar route for electricity and hot water heating (for the difference between these two types of solar technologies, check out an earlier blog post by Graham Alexander).
I understand why: it looks deceptively simple to throw some panels on the roof and hook them up. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: DIY solar, do it yourself solar
Posted in Solar | 2 Comments »
July 22nd, 2010
See all posts by: Bob Kingery 
The price of solar panels is slowly coming down, and we hear a lot of people say they’re in “wait and see” mode, wondering just how much the financials are going to change for the average solar photovoltaic system in the coming months and years.
But if people want to take the PV plunge, frankly they don’t gain much by waiting. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: panel prices, PV, solar
Posted in Industry Insights, Solar | No Comments »
July 15th, 2010
As part of my new job as a writer and multimedia specialist at SEM, I’m getting a crash course in all sorts of sustainability issues. For this post, I thought I’d take you along as I learn a little more about some of the energy efficiency and green building choices that builders are making nowadays. Jamie Hager, an SEM green building specialist, was the perfect tutor, and she was kind enough to sit down with me and go through some of the most common options. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: energy star, green building, LEED, NAHBGreen
Posted in Energy Efficiency, High Performance Buildings | 2 Comments »
July 8th, 2010
See all posts by: Graham Alexander 
A lot of people get excited about the idea of going solar, but aren’t completely sure what their options may be. There are many ways to tap into the sun’s energy, and in this post, we’re going to break down the key differences between two of the most common solar technologies:
1. solar thermal systems, which use sunlight to heat water;
2. and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which convert the sun’s energy into electricity.
These two solar technologies are not only different in how they use the sun’s energy and the output they produce (hot water vs. electricity), but they also differ in appearance, cost, payback, and installation. We’re asked about this all the time over the phone and in client meetings, so we figured we’d take a few minutes to answer it here for a wider audience. We’ve also included some photos and a drawing as a visual aid, so be sure to scroll down toward the end of the post. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: PV, solar, thermal
Posted in Solar | No Comments »
June 23rd, 2010
See all posts by: Maria Kingery 
From the very beginning, when Bob and I were planting the seeds of SEM from our living room in 2001, we have aspired not just to turn a profit (which in a new and emerging industry is quite enough to tackle!), but to create real and lasting value. As we like to say, it’s not just what we do, but how we do it that determines how successful we are.
But what does that really mean? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: b corp, sustainability, triple bottom line
Posted in Triple Bottom Line | 2 Comments »
