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Not all low-e glass is created equal with regard to color filtering. Some low-e glass is remarkably close to #1-clear glass. Others filter out substantial portions of red and/or blue light, creating… Read More

Conditioned crawlspaces perform better than vented crawlspaces in terms of safety, health, comfort, durability and energy consumption. Conditioned crawlspaces also do not cost more to construct than… Read More

Heat loss through uninsulated basement walls can account for up to one-third of the heat loss from an average home. Installing insulation on basement walls is often inexpensive, easy to accomplish… Read More

Perhaps the single most challenging BSC performance for Building America production homebuilders is that all ducts and HVAC equipment must be within the conditioned space (this means no ducts in… Read More

Twenty homes were tested and monitored in the hot-humid climate of Houston, Texas, to evaluate the humidity control performance and operating cost of six different integrated dehumidification and … Read More

It’s quite likely humid or hot or both in Houston, Texas. As a builder/buyer of high performance homes who naturally wants to deliver/buy a comfortable healthy home, just how do you most efficiently… Read More

Combo systems use a gas water heater to provide domestic water and space heating. It’s pretty slick having one equipment set-up handle these two. You can save on floor space and equipment/ducting… Read More

PV systems have come a long way in the last two decades. While they may not work for all homes, residential installations are becoming a practical reality under more and more conditions. Here are the… Read More

Heat loss from basements accounts for a significant portion of the energy loss from a home. In many jurisdictions, basement insulation is a building code requirement. Cost usually determines the type… Read More

Americans have been building homes with wood—shaping logs, joining timbers, nailing studs—for almost 400 years. Our current approach, stick framing, grew popular in the mid-1800’s (particularly in… Read More