Category Archives: Energy Use

The Foundation of your Home: Slabs, Basements, and Crawl Spaces

Posted on May 7, 2012 by John Nicholas

What is under your home? I hope you have some solid ground. If you do great! Now how did your home builder get to solid ground? The first of a multi-part topic. Left: Slab on Grade ready for walls. (courtesy … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Sealing, Crawl Space, Energy Audit, Energy Use, Fiberglass Batt, Foundation, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Home Retrofit, Infared Pictures, Insulation, IR Pictures, R-Value, Thermographic Imaging | Leave a comment

The Conversation Continues!

Posted on April 20, 2012 by John Nicholas

My last posting as part of the ongoing Deep Energy Retrofit #DER conversation regarded a definition of DER. I made the argument for using a threshold of 30% savings. The specific conversation is in regard to historic homes. There have … Continue reading →

Posted in DER, Energy Audit, Energy Use, Financing, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Home Retrofit, Things I See, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

A Twitter Conversation – Moving Along, Part 2

Posted on April 7, 2012 by John Nicholas

Previous Info on the Conversation OK! Since I posted Thursday night, things are moving. People are talking to each other and it is becoming evident that a few more are involved that were not listed originally. Also, not being from … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Sealing, Comfort, DER, Energy Use, Green, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Infiltration, Insulation, Saving Money, Ventilation | 8 Comments

Deep Energy Retrofits – A Twitter Conversation

Posted on April 5, 2012 by John Nicholas

My first Twitter Follower was SLS Construction. He posted on his blog tonight about a Twitter Convo that I was participating in. You can read Sean’s Blog Post here. He does a great job for homeowners in general and for … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Sealing, Comfort, DER, Energy Use, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Home Retrofit, Infiltration, Insulation, Saving Money, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Thinking About Adding a Solar Panel to your Home?

Posted on February 18, 2012 by John Nicholas

Last weekend, I spent some time at the Wichita Area Builders Association Home Show at Century II. I had been invited by Nick King of King’s Solar Wind Plumbing to help out and answer questions about Home Energy Audits. I … Continue reading →

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Posted in Comfort, Energy Audit, Energy Efficiency News, Energy Use, Equipment Size, Green, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Home Retrofit, Industry Best Practices, Infiltration, Insulation, Solar | Leave a comment

Common Approaches to Heating Your Home: Part III

Posted on February 17, 2012 by John Nicholas

This is Part III of a 3 part Series. Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here. Hybrid Heat Pump This choice is sometimes referred to as a Dual Fuel Heat Pump. It utilized both gas and electricity to heat … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Conditioning, Energy Audit, Energy Use, Equipment Size, Furnace, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Home Retrofit, Insulation, Saving Money, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Common Approaches to Heating and Cooling Your Home: Part II

Posted on February 11, 2012 by John Nicholas

The Traditional Furnace and Air Conditioner Approach Part I of this article can be found here. The traditional furnace burns fossil fuel, either electricity or gas to create heat. The air conditioner is a one way heat pump. Air conditioners … Continue reading →

Posted in AFUE, Air Conditioning, Air Conditioning Tips, Computer Modeling For Energy Use, Energy Audit, Energy Use, Green, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Industry Best Practices, Saving Money, Things I See | 1 Comment

I’ll Give You the Title to my Car for Some Heat!

Posted on February 7, 2012 by John Nicholas

It is cold here is Maine, there is snow on the ground and more is coming. My house is old and fuel oil is high. I’ve had two loads this winter and my tank is dry. I’m using the oven … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Sealing, Comfort, Diversity, Energy Audit, Energy Efficiency News, Energy Use, Helping Others, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Home Retrofit, Industry Best Practices, Infiltration, Insulation, Maine, Saving Money | Leave a comment

The Energy Triangle

Posted on January 29, 2012 by John Nicholas

I attended a 3 Day Preservation, Sustainability and Energy Conference and Fair held last week in Wichita. Sponsored by Green Wichita . It was interesting, I met a lot of neat people and got the inspiration for this blog entry. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Sealing, Comfort, Energy Audit, Energy Efficiency News, Energy Use, Financing, Green, Home Improvement, Home Performance, Infiltration, Insulation, Saving Money | Leave a comment

My Nest Labs Thermostat – Week 1 Ends

Posted on January 22, 2012 by John Nicholas

Last Saturday, I installed my new Nest Thermostat. You can read how that went at http://bit.ly/yNhq3x . It is billed as a “Learning Thermostat’, so I promised to let you know how the first week went. Saturday and … Continue reading →