The International Energy Agency (IEA) today issued its Special Report on Sustainable Recovery, which details a three-year path forward for a green energy-based global recovery post-COVID-19. The report calls for a broad scale of global actions to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, recover jobs lost during the pandemic, and boost economic activity.
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Mineral wool continuous insulation (CI) is increasingly used in both residential and commercial applications. Insulation Institute’s new release, “How Mineral Wool as Continuous Insulation Can Benefit Your Building,” reviews the many benefits of using mineral wool insulation as CI.
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The RESNET 2020 conference held in Phoenix this week, included a live demonstration session on getting Grade I installation with batt insulation. For anyone tasked with reviewing batt insulation jobs, this hands-on, open forum training offered a chance to review what a Grade I job looks like — and what it doesn’t.
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Energy efficiency is indisputably essential to addressing global climate change. At the forefront of organizations promoting strategies to tackle the climate crisis is the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Insulation Institute spoke with David Goldstein, Co-Director of Climate and Energy at NRDC, about how the building sector in America can more aggressively pursue a comprehensive energy efficiency initiative to address climate change. Goldstein is a heavy hitter in the energy efficiency arena, having worked since the 1970s on energy efficiency and energy policy (and also founded Residential Energy Services Network). Goldstein offers the following four-point blueprint for achieving an active decade of progress on climate goals.
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Gerardo Macias, an insulation installer with Northern Insulation in Wauconda, IL, is the winner of the 2019 “America’s Best Installer” competition, held Nov. 7-9 in Denver, CO, and won the event’s top prize of $10,000. The annual competition, hosted by Insulate America and Johns Manville, saw Macias compete against contenders for the title in the competition, now in its sixteenth year. Insulation Institute staff witnessed the final competition and talked with several of the attendees, judges, and contractors about what it takes to walk away with the title and more importantly, deliver top quality insulation installation in the field, where proper installation is essential to achieving peak home energy efficiency and comfort.
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Strong new home starts and an uptick in hiring in the construction industry means that new insulation contractors are added to company payrolls every day. With the rise of high-efficiency construction driven by certification programs such as HERS, ENERGY STAR, and LEED, quality installation is more important than ever. To combat common insulation installation issues, we look at three typical missteps made by insulation contractors when installing batts and review ways to avoid them.
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We don’t get out to jobsites often. Much of our time here at Insulation Institute is spent developing resources for building industry professionals on how to safely use and properly install fiberglass and mineral wool insulation products, and that keeps us in the office most days. But occasionally, we’re invited to a job site to observe the insulation installation. We relish these opportunities.
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E4TheFuture’s recently released 2019 report, “Energy Efficiency Jobs in America,” demonstrates the impressive growth of the energy efficiency workforce, which now numbers more than 2.3 million people. The annual report is based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is a comprehensive survey of thousands of businesses, using a methodology developed for the U.S. Department of Energy.
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We’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands of photos of fiberglass insulation jobs here at NAIMA, some good, some not so good…and some superb. When we came across Yudah Schwartz’s post on LinkedIn, it immediately caught our attention because we recognized an exceptional batt insulation job. The precision shown in installing the batts properly was clearly visible in the photos. So, we wanted to know more. He recently shared his views on the three essentials to getting visibly great insulation jobs.
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Transformations taking place in both the home energy efficiency arena and healthcare are coming together in ways that present opportunities for these industries to work collaboratively to improve outcomes for customers. VEIC, a sustainable energy company with a mission to enhance the environmental and societal benefits of clean and efficient energy use for all people, is out with a new Energy-Plus-Health Playbook. The playbook examines a three-tiered approach to targeting unhealthy and substandard existing housing conditions that cause energy burdens and compromise the household health of low- and middle-income customers.
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