Tag Archives: lessons learned

Upcoming Webinar – PACE Programs

by current events, energy • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

PACE – What Comes Next?

Organized by Build It Green

February 23, 2011 (Wednesday)

10:30 AM-12:00 PM

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) allows property owners to pay for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to their homes via an annual assessment on their property.  This approach became a central part of the Obama Administration’s “Recovery Through Retrofit” initiative and had been authorized in 24 states.  However, recent actions by federal regulators have frozen most residential PACE programs.

This webinar will discuss the status of PACE as well as efforts underway to resolve the federal regulatory issues.  Perhaps most importantly, the webinar will include lessons learned from PACE programs and outline the financing options being made available in the absence of PACE.

More information and links to register here.

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Home Energy Improvements

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by energy • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thermal Imaging of a House in Cambodia (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

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Grist recently ran a piece on lessons learned by by shadowing a home energy inspector. The author highlighted a number major lessons, including:

  • It’s a social job.
  • Comfort matters more than pocketbook savings – for some homeowners.
  • It helps to see it and learn firsthand (especially for the blower-door test).
  • Thermal imaging cameras are nifty.
  • Attics should get insulation first, then walls and basements.
  • Most progress depends on the homeowner.
  • Utilities are driving the retrofit industry right now.
  • Renters have split incentives.

You can read the entire article, including the explanations of the lessons learned, on the Grist website here.

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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has a fairly new website called Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements.

The website lists a number of reports and case studies about how to improve demand for home energy improvements, and findings from utility and government retrofit programs.

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Houses – Small, Reused, and Prefab

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by links • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A number of interesting house-related tidbits came my way this week, and I wanted to share a few favorites…

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NPR featured a story (with photos!) about incredibly tiny Japanese houses designed to fit on slivers of land. Every function and element has to be carefully considered.

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Mother Earth News featured a story about how some folks are reusing round, metal grain bins (also called grain silos) as houses. One architect, Mark Clipsham, specializes in putting one bin inside another (with a crane) and then filling the space with foam insulation to improve thermal performance – there are photos of his work here.

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And Treehugger featured a story about Michelle Kaufmann’s new “Zero” series of prefabricated homes. Her company is based in the Bay Area. Her website goes into more detail about the homes, and lists the “lessons learned” from her previous ventures into prefab, which are incorporated into this venture:

  1. Minimize button up work / maximize what is done off-site
  2. Have a system that can offer both efficiencies with repetition in module types, but designed to offer a great variety of overall configurations so each home can be uniquely composed for the specific site conditions and client goals.
  3. Use materials and systems that have been researched and tested for the optimal balance of beauty, longevity, sustainability and cost
  4. Maximize efficiencies in dimensions of materials by designing to construction and shipping “sweet spots” to reduce waste and costs

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