The United States is one of world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases. As such, global efforts to curb emissions will not succeed unless accompanied by meaningful action in the United States. Geoffrey Berlin, an environmental entrepreneur, explains how the simplest first step is for Americans to take advantage of incentives to make their homes more [...]
After three weeks of focused and challenging thermal boundary remediation the job is completed and the results are excellent. Most notably the building air leakage rate was reduced by 54%. This brings the air changes per hour down from 2.5 to well below 1 ACHn. The CFM50/shell sqft was reduced by 50%, down to [...]
True or False: Clark Hall leaks like a sieve?Answer, somewhat. Cozy Home performed building envelope air barrier testing on Clark Hall at Smith College on July 26th. The single point test required three blower doors and the building leakage rate was 14,000 CFM50 for the 7,000+ sqft administration building. What does this number mean? When [...]
Smith purchased the building in 1889 and operated it as a boarding house. Today it is used as an administration building for Student Affairs. This project is one of many that has been designed to support the "Strategic Climate Action Management Plan" (SCAMP), which has the goal of making Smith College carbon neutral by 2030.
Junio Anthes-Moody interned for Cozy Home Performance, which provides audits, weatherization services, & thermal envelope retrofits. Cozy Home is located in Northampton, Massachusetts and was one of the businesses which contributed valuable input when the RE/EE program was getting started under the Sustainable Practices in Construction (SPC) grant. To get the position, [...]
Mass Save rebates go toward an advanced home energy performance project. written by Sally Pick, SJP Environmental Consulting, LLC " Motivated by the need to fix the cause of ice damming and water leaks and by the desire for a comprehensive energy improvements to my home, I followed in the footsteps of a friend in [...]
"The suite of tests used to test the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency and other programs funded by systems benefits charges needs fundamental change..... As currently structured and implemented, the tests hinder the design and implementation of residential energy efficiency programs"
Your success will be demonstrated by your ability to apply what you learn, follow instructions, and communicate effectively as a professional. The work will be difficult and dirty. Maintaining the required balance between physical stamina and mental focus will be challenging. You will need to show commitment to the purpose of our work and have a consistent level of energy and positive mental state.
The cool summer mornings are welcomed as thoughts of sweaters and fuzzy socks are still romantic, not a prelude to winter. With children back to school, college kids descending, and windows closing at night. Fall is practically here. Home heating fuel prices will remain manageable this heating season, according to the experts, who gather that [...]
This project is a fine example of how utility incentives can go toward projects that achieve 'deep energy savings'. By doing it right-the-first time and being detail oriented, the energy and comfort performance results are much greater.
