A new analysis from Ekotrope, the leading provider of home energy rating software, shows U.S. home builders might leave money on the table. Ekotrope software is used to generate energy efficiency insights for one in four U.S. homes. Its analysis concludes that if the homes built this year were slightly more energy efficient, builders could claim more than $160 million in projected tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) builder tax credit (45L).
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR annual “Rule Your Attic” campaign kicks off on Monday, October 17. The annual campaign encourages homeowners to go into their attic, check their insulation levels, and air seal and insulate if needed. Most homes will need to add insulation as 9 out of 10 U.S. homes are under-insulated.
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Home Builder Shawn Jessup, owner of S. D. Jessup Construction, Inc., is now a five-time winner of a DOE Housing Innovation Award, recognizing forward-thinking builders constructing energy-efficient homes on the path to Net Zero. Having accomplished this feat first in 2017 and for the past four consecutive years, that puts him in rare company.
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A newly released study by ICF, an international consulting firm with expertise in the energy and energy efficiency sectors, shows that upgrading building envelope insulation and air sealing leads to substantial energy savings and carbon emission reductions.
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This past Spring, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program launched a new initiative, the ENERGY STAR Home Upgrade, targeting six high-impact energy efficiency improvements for existing homes to cut energy use and cost. These fixes will also improve home comfort and lead to a cleaner, healthier home.
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“We need to think about insulation, or to start thinking about it in the first place,” says a Vox news story this week. As part of a series that addresses our warming world, Vox writer Neel Dhanesha calls insulation the climate solution hiding in our walls. There’s no time like today — Earth Day — to talk about insulation’s important role as a tool for pollution reduction.
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NAIMA recently released a new version of its popular 3E Plus software, which allows users to calculate the appropriate thickness necessary for any application of pipe or mechanical insulation.
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Most home builders have a point-person responsible for ensuring that tradespeople are completing their work as specified. For some, that means there’s someone physically walking through homes after the insulation has been installed to ensure that the job is done properly. But do they know where to look? Our 25 checkpoints guide can help.
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Blown-in insulation installers know that measuring it in an attic is key to delivering the required thermal performance and receiving a Grade I install. That is typically accomplished by installing attic rulers throughout the space, so there is one for every 300 sq. feet of attic space. Accurate measures are needed to meet code requirements, according to Chris Conway, President of Conway Energy, a building science consulting firm that specializes in single and multi-family construction. No matter how experienced the installer is, you’re going to want to measure every time and check in multiple locations. But there are times when that measurement can be off.
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New homeowner Evelyn Cagnetti recently contacted NAIMA to share her frustration about her new Energy Star home, which she had built in February of last year. Shortly after moving in, Evelyn noticed that the upstairs was hot, stale, and stuffy during the winter months. Still, she didn’t know why until she checked the second-floor ceiling and found insulation remnants but no insulation.
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