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ENERGY STAR for homes is a program recognizing homes built to a strict set of guidelines that are at least 15% more efficient than a home built to the minimum requirements of the current energy code. This is THE resource for information on this EPA program.

Rigid foam on the exterior of a home or commercial building is a very effective method to increase the insulation level of a home and to eliminate most of the thermal bridging through framing. Here's a cool website witha video on how to properly install exterior building insulation foam.

     In our business of sustainable construction energy retro-fits, we go after the the 'low-hanging fruit' first. Nine time out of ten, it's the lighting system of a building or home. Think beyond compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) to the longer lasting, more efficient and cost effective lighting method know as Light Emitting Diode bulbs.

This is a brief article about a change in home buying trends toward less square footage and in favor of higher quality of life in terms of neighborhood. It's the second in a two part series. It resonated with me because I grew up in a suburban (not McMansions by any stretch) neighborhood detached from any civic or cultural hub activity. People mostly kept to themselves and within their yards, and I always longed as a kid to be able to walk places and just observe human activity or go to a store. Had it been purely rural I might have been satisfied in other ways but it didn't really have the advantages of rural or urban life. That is the reality I think of many suburbs - yes, there is a city somewhere in the vicinity but you are surrounded by private property, so it's kind of the crud of both worlds rather than the best.

US DOE Website- BECP develops and maintains free software and tools to support energy codes and standards, REScheck software for low-rise residential building energy code compliance, and the COMcheck software for commercial building energy code compliance, and conducts outreach and deployment activities related to energy codes and high-performance sustainably designed buildings

This is an organization in Massachusetts that helps homeowners and businesses lower their energy costs and consumption. We bought a hundred year old house a little over a year ago and had them do an energy audit. For a small fee, they performed various tests on our home's energy efficiency and made several retrofit solutions for no additional charge - new CFL bulbs throughout the house, low-flow aerators and shower head, and various draft sealing measures. As a result of the audit we were able to secure a 0% loan for a new high efficiency furnace and tankless hot water heater.