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Solar Decathlon’s SURE HOUSE to Become Emergency Management Center

5/16/2015

The SURE HOUSE is a house that is being built to be both SUstainable and REsilient to extreme weather in areas that are at high risk. The SURE HOUSE is being developed by The Stevens Institute of Technology and will be entered into the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015. The contest will be held in Irvine, California in the fall, after which the home will be shipped to the Jersey Shore where it will be set up to

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Understanding Sick Building Syndrome

5/13/2015

Sick building syndrome is a term that came into use in the 1970s. Sick building syndrome refers to a wide variety of different symptoms that are linked to the time an individual spends in a certain building. It may be difficult to diagnose the cause of symptoms as being related to sick building syndrome, but it is helpful to be aware that buildings may cause certain adverse health effects. Identifying Sick Building Syndrome If sick building syndrome is suspected to be at the root

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3 Spring Products for Comfort and Energy-Efficiency

5/11/2015

Spring showers may bring May flowers, but it can also bring allergies symptoms and erratic weather. Pollen counts in much of the Northeast and Midwest are staggering at the moment, as allergy suffers sneeze, wheeze, and tear. There are some products available that help mitigates the effects of rising pollen counts, widely fluctuating temperatures, and unexpected rainfall while keeping the energy bills low. Heat Recovery Ventilators HRV systems work by bringing a constant supply of fresh air into the home and exhausting stale air

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EarthCraft Program and Certification

5/3/2015

The EarthCraft program was designed in 1999 by the Southface Energy Institute and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. The program helps builders to make sure that green building practices are used during building construction and renovation by providing a checklist that addresses issues such as waste management, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency. EarthCraft has a specific focus on the southeastern United States, so practices are geared towards optimizing comfort and efficiency as needed for the natural climate of that particular area.

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New Categories for Certification of Passive House Buildings

4/30/2015

An exciting new era is beginning with the addition of renewable energy requirements into the Passive House Standards. The Passive House Institute has added two new categories for building certification, with specified requirements and guidelines to help builders and renovators produce more sustainable buildings. The established certification criteria will be known as Passive House Classic, while the new categories will be Passive House Plus and Passive House Premium. Focus on Renewable Energy General Passive House requirements specify that heat energy consumption may not exceed

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Zehnder Interview Series: Why Is Commissioning an HRV System So Important?

4/28/2015

Interviewer:  Could you please introduce yourself, Matt?      Matt Groves:  My name is Matt Groves and I’m the Northwest Technical Sales Engineer for Zehnder America. My territory covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Western Canada along with Alaska.  I also live in a very energy-efficient house with a Zehnder CA350 inside providing the fresh ventilation so I’m familiar with the system both as a Zehnder engineer and a homeowner. Interviewer:  Why is it important to have an HRV system commissioned? Matt Groves:  Commissioning

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Lessons Learned: 4 Tips for Living in a High-Efficiency House

4/17/2015

Whenever I travel, I notice a distinct difference between traditional homes and our new high-efficiency home. Since I have lived in older, less efficient homes for most of my life, it did require a bit of adjusting when we first moved in. Our new home is heated primarily from the sun, occupants and household appliances, such as the stove, refrigerator, and hot water heater. Despite living in Maine, our home has no furnace and just a few baseboard heaters that turn on

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Zehnder ERV Chosen to Reduce Allergy and Asthma Issues for the Kuentz Family

4/15/2015

When the Kuentz family found out that they were transferring from Fort Worth to St. Louis, they made it a priority to build a healthy home for their family.  Their middle child has both asthma and allergies so they wanted to build a home that would not aggravate his symptoms and at the same time be healthy for the whole family.  The goal was to build a home that has good indoor air quality and incorporates materials with low or

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Why a Well-Designed and Low Noise HRV System Makes for a Happy Homeowner

4/10/2015

Heat Recovery Ventilators (HRV) or Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV) have been commonly used in Canada for years and have become increasingly common in high-performance homes in the US.  Though there is an increasing awareness of the importance of an HRV or ERV in an energy-efficient home, the comfort level of the occupants can vary greatly depending on the noise level of the HRV or ERV system. According to Aubrey Gewehr, PE, CPHC, LEED AP, Zehnder Northeast Technical Sales Engineer, “Most people don’t realize

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U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home Program

4/8/2015

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home program builds on the requirements of Energy Star for Homes Version 3 in order to give builders stringent guidelines that will help to make homes more energy-efficient and improve air quality. Zero Energy Ready Homes are often 40-50 percent more energy-efficient than typical new homes. Zero Energy Ready Homes are verified by a third party and rated for efficiency using a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index Score. Zero Energy Ready Home

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