home energy audits Archives - Energy Vanguard

Modeling Is Not a Four-Letter Word

Allison Bailes — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Energy modeling has gotten a bad reputation in the home performance world. One conference I’ve attended has gone so far as to say that it’s “outside the sandbox” of topics presenters can cover. They want to see data, not modeled…

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Patent Troll Tactics Target Infrared Camera Use of Home Inspectors

Allison Bailes — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 04:00:00 +0000

A year or two ago, I remember getting trapped in my car one evening listening to Ira Glass’s show This American Life. It was an episode titled When Patents Attack, and I was riveted. They described how a seemingly small…

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ACCA vs BPI—The Brouhaha Over Home Energy Audit Standards

Allison Bailes — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Probably the biggest news I heard at the 2013 RESNET conference this year was that the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) and 12 other organizations had asked the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to have the Building Performance Institute‘s…

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5 Things You Can Do to Build for Success When Business Is Slow

Allison Bailes — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Every business has slow periods. New businesses often have plenty of non-billable time, when the owner(s) and employees can work on things that help ensure success but that are often difficult to find time for once the jobs start rolling…

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A Home Energy Rater Class Is Just the Beginning

Allison Bailes — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

So, you’re about to take a class to become a home energy rater or building analyst so you can go out and do energy audits. Maybe you’ve already taken a class and are out there trying to make a living…

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An Elderly Couple in Maine Offers to Trade Their Car for Fuel Oil

Allison Bailes — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

On Friday, the New York Times published an article about the Hartfords, an elderly couple in Dixfield, Maine who couldn’t afford to pay for fuel oil for their leaky, inefficient home. I heard about it through social media from a…

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9 Steps to Becoming a Successful Home Energy Pro

Allison Bailes — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I’ve made my living solely as a home energy pro since 2004, and I was building a high performance home for two years before that. For six of the past eight years, I’ve been running my own business, and Energy…

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3 Great Sources for Home Energy Videos

Allison Bailes — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0000

We’ve made a few videos here at Energy Vanguard and will be adding a lot more to our TheEnergyVanguard YouTube channel. Videos are great for learning about building science and home energy audits, so here are some of my favorite…

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The 2 Best Learning Opportunities for Home Energy Auditors

Allison Bailes — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Whether you’re brand new in the community of home energy auditors, home energy raters, and home performance pros or have been in it for years, these two events are at the top of the heap for learning and networking. Whether…

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Cold Interior Walls, Useless Insulation, and Building Science

Allison Bailes — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

It seems so simple. There’s outside, and there’s inside. The walls, ceilings, and floors that separate the cold outside from the warm inside should be the only surfaces that rob heat from your home. Interior walls have conditioned space on…

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