Featured resources
PLANET GREEN MAGAZINE
Green Your Home Like A Cyborg
It's Time To Get All High Tech And Weatherized
 
 
Thermal Imaging can detect heat loss in your homeDo you a) want to save money on your heating bills, b) make your      home greener, and c) enact a childhood fantasy where you have  future vision like the Terminator?  Of Course you do.
 
 Thermal imaging is a hi-tech method you can use to detect  where you're losing most of the heat in your home - and  since  35 %  of your heat loss comes from unwanted air leakage,  using thermal imaging will help you pinpoint exactly where  that occurs 
 
 The usual suspects are poorly sealed windows and doors, drafty  attics, chimneys and wall vents.  But, unless you want to rely on a hunch, or simply insullate where it seems drafty, thermal imaging is one surefire way to peg down the cooling culprits.  Thermal imaging cameras pick up the patterns of heat loss that the human eye can't see - it looks sort of like the blurry, undulating red-to-blue screenshots from the cyborg's perspective in any given sci-fi movie.                                                   (By Brian Merchant   Brooklyn, NY, USA Thu Apr 2009  planetgreen.com)
 
 
Every House Needs an Energy Audit
Green@Home Magazine Article (excerpts)
 
  • Energy audits vary in complexity from an unscientific but learned assessment to one that uses an assortment of diagnostic equipment to measure the performance of a house and it systems.
  • The unscientific assessment typically consists of a thorough 2 to 3 hour walk-through, during which the auditor makes a visual inspection; takes photographs; and records information . . . "  
  • The scientific approach, which takes 4 to 6 hours to complete, uses diagnostic equipment to record and quantify a homes shortcomings. 
  • In an old house, those leaks can easily equate to leaving the bottom sash of a double-hung window open all year long.   
  • The best qualitative scientific tool an inspector pulls out during a diagnostic audit is an infrared thermograph, a camera-style device that shows the relative temperatures of objects portrayed as a kaleidoscopic image.  The colors reveal heat loss or gain, and which indicates if a wall or attic floor is insulated, for example and how well that insulation is performing.  It also can identify moisture problems, and leaky pipes behind walls  http://efluencemarketing.com/green/about/page/2/
Advice from experts
HEAT USA GROUP
Home Energy Audits Will Actually Help You Save
"HEAT USA always advocates energy efficiency and conservation.  Last fall, HEAT This Week offered some cheap and easy ways to make your home more energy-efficient.  Once you have followed all those do-it-yourself steps, what's next?  Call in the pros and get a professional home energy audit.  
 
Home energy audits are inspections that use hi-tech tools to determine exactly how energy-efficient your home is, and identifies specific actions you can take as a homeowner to maximize efficiency.  The tow main methods energy auditors use to determine a home's efficiency are thermographic scans and blower doors.  
 
Thermographic scans are performed using an infrared camera that shows temperature variations in different parts of a room.  If cold, (or hot) air is leaning into your home from the outside, the temperature difference near the source of the leak appears on the infrared camera - hot areas appear blue.  Once they are located, these lair leaks can be plugged with weather stripping, caulking, and / or insulation to help your home's heating & cooling system work more efficiently and use less energy . . . "  
 
To see a home energy audit that includes a Thermographic scan, click on the link below for the New York Times Video
 
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NY TIMES VIDEO
 
Weatherizing Homes:
THE NEXT BIG GREEN INDUSTRY
                                                                  Weatherizing homes: the next big green industry
 
It's not the sort of thing that excites your typical Silicon Valley venture capitalist, but companies that weatherize homes could be the sleeper green-business success stories this year.  Many people would like to lower their household energy bills but need an expert to recommend what steps to take as part of a long-term plan.  
 
" This is a tremendous time to be in the field.   Cities and towns care about creating jobs that can't be outsourced and reducing their carbon footprint and saving people's money has lots of support."
 
Energy efficiency is the biggest low-hanging fruit.  It is the bridge to get us to a renewable energy future.  It's the lowest-cost way to reduce greenhouse gases and has the highest payoff. "http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10150977-54.html