5 Reasons to Build with Mineral Wool
Chris Laumer-Giddens is an architect and custom builder. He’s an HVAC designer and building enclosure specialist whose current design-build project is a 2,800 square-foot, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home in Marietta, GA. Given the many hats Chris wears, it’s remarkable that he still finds time to educate others about high-performance, energy-efficient building practices, but he does.
A new report released yesterday by E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs), the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), E4TheFuture, and BW Research Partnership shows that nearly 600,000 clean energy workers have lost their jobs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is nearly 18 percent of the total industry workforce, according to the group’s press release.
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COVID-19 has more Americans staying at home to reduce the rate of disease spread, and that means spending more time indoors. While few people associate indoor air with pollution, a study from Washington State University last year reported that indoor air could be much more polluted than outdoor air. This pollution is due in part to emissions that come furniture, household cleaning products, cooking, and notably, building materials.
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The current pandemic has forced many industries to develop alternative methods for their typical operations, and construction is no different. In the first of a new series we’re calling, “How Construction Will Change,” Insulation Institute takes a look at a growing trend for the building industry: virtual code inspections.
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A new study from the National Association of Home Builders reveals that one-quarter of the features home builders are most likely to include in new construction homes relate to energy efficiency. Despite the popularity of energy efficiency features, some builders are conflicted about them in part because they believe they cannot recoup the investment. Insulation Institute spoke with Sandra Admomatis of Adomatis Appraisal Service for some insight into how builders can shift their focus to leverage energy efficiency in marketing fully.
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Thomas Branch is president of Comfy House, a Pennsylvania-based home performance company that specializes in building energy modeling, energy efficiency retrofits, and energy efficiency inspections. As a RESNET and BPI certified rater with decades of experience in the business, Branch is qualified to speak about the deficiencies he sees in energy code enforcement. Insulation Institute recently spoke with Branch about what he sees as a noticeable decline in code enforcement and how the system should change.
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Video home tours are not new in real estate, but the current COVID-19 health crisis is driving an increase in these digital tours, according to Mike Swinney, a Northern Virginia-based realtor. Swinney has more than 12 years’ experience selling homes in one of the hottest housing markets in the nation. Swinney estimates a 50 percent volume increase in digital tours in recent weeks. While the growth may largely be attributed to health concerns, many experts in the housing industry predict the uptick in digital tours will remain when the crisis wanes.
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Building codes serve the fundamental purpose of enabling occupant welfare and safety. However, at times the lack of clarity in building code requirements creates a barrier to compliance for builders.
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Insulation contractors can take advantage of extra down time to learn new skills and techniques to help on the job with NAIMA’s extensive catalog of training resources.
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In a special edition of “The Build Show” this week, custom builder Matt Risinger is joined by his wife, internal medicine physician Dr. Christy Risinger to discuss the steps that his construction company is taking to be safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair outline practical tips regarding scheduling trades, distancing between workers, and safe hygiene practices that should be implemented to mitigate the spread of the disease in the construction industry.
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