So let’s talk about exterior insulation retrofits and how they are a relatively easy project to add into a job where it's time to replace the cladding, but we can't track how many jobs have insulation added, or how much/how well it's installed. Right off the bat, it’s most cost effective to add insulation to the outside of the house and to replace windows at the same time as recladding. This is the point at which we can make the biggest difference in the long-term durability, comfort and energy performance for the homeowner. As incentive programs are often based on single measures, these two integral upgrades are often disconnected.
Why New Siding is a HUGE Missed Opportunity in Residential Energy Retrofits
Shawna HendersonNovember 20, 2023
3 Characteristics of a High Performance Building Process
Shawna HendersonAugust 04, 2023
A high performance process for building high performance houses has 3 key characteristics: Integrated Design Process (IDP) Construction Quality Management Commissioning The best practice for building a high performance house is to make all the decisions about energy conservation measures during the design stage. This is the least expensive and most cost-effective part of the process. Decisions can be revisited based on energy modelling and costing before construction begins. This results in a package that works for the builder and for the homeowner.
Three Things You Need to Know About Energy Efficiency in Houses
Shawna HendersonFebruary 20, 2017
If you work in home construction and renovation, you know about energy efficiency measures. But do you really know it? If you’re trying to figure out if you need this course or not, take a shot at answering these questions: What happens to the neutral pressure plane when you air...
How much of a building science wonk is BHE CEO Shawna?
Shawna HendersonMarch 09, 20161 comment
When they think you don't know but you know Got to love Marisa Tomei Posted by Hardcore Italians on Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Bonus Points for Blended Learning
Shawna HendersonMarch 23, 2015
There's a lot of times when face-to-face training is the only thing that will do. Especially in the home performance industry: hands-on is the only way you can really learn to identify and diagnose energy-sucking and moisture-growing situations in a house. But to understand what you need to identify and...
Our Training just got more affordable
Shawna HendersonJanuary 13, 2015
Hey 2015! Here at Blue House Energy, we've a big thanks to everyone who took our Building Science Basics online course in 2014. We've been praised us to the skies <blush> for the quality of our work. We want to give more folks access to affordable, on-demand training. So, our...
Valuing the role of the appraiser in home performance
Shawna HendersonJanuary 12, 20158 comments
Here's something near and dear to the heart of anyone involved in the home performance industry: how to make energy efficiency sexy, appealing, and properly valued. When you're up to your eyebrows in insulation and you know that you are adding significant value to a house, it's sometimes hard to...
So much to know...
Shawna HendersonNovember 18, 2014
It's hard to wrap your head around the amount of number crunching that goes into energy analysis, and how to prioritize your time and effort when working on a project. There are energy modelling tools that can be used that make it easier, but in a lot of cases, the easier the modelling tool is to use, and the less actual, real-world performance testing data you input, the more likely the result will be a ball-park figure that doesn't relate to actual energy usage, or actual heating or cooling loads.
Sales and Marketing
Shawna HendersonSeptember 22, 2014
It's a hard thing sometimes, to wear so many hats. Contractors and trades people are often the brains, brawn and bean counters of their small businesses. Who has time to do sales and marketing? And how do you sell what you do? And when do you find the time to...
Building Science and HVAC stuff
Shawna HendersonSeptember 16, 2014
There is this disconnect in our industry. It's around building science and the ways that all the systems in the house work together or against each other. It looks like this: evaluators and raters know about house-as-a-system and can look at a house and see some solutions and fixes that...
Hold the phone...Infrared camera?!?
Shawna HendersonSeptember 04, 2014
This video demonstration by Ben Gromicko at InterNACHI shows a very cool addition to an iphone...an infrared camera. $350 cost, about 1/10 the cost of an IR camera (without the training). Flir is marketing them to the DIY market, but I think it would be fantastic for use to qualify...
Producing online training
Shawna HendersonJune 06, 2014
We've been in the depths of production of our own courses for several months now, and we are now working with a few clients on some custom courses. We've ironed out a lot of the kinks along the way. Key to a successful and on-time deliverable? A strong project manager...
ACI 2014 -- Bridging the Gap
Shawna HendersonJune 03, 2014
Reflecting on last month’s adventure to Detroit and the ACI national conference... Biggest takeaway: I love building science wonks and home performance fanatics. They know how to discuss, argue, collaborate and host a wicked party (talking ‘bout you Mike Rogers and zymurgy accomplices). We kicked off our collaboration with Bill Spohn and TruTech Tools at ACI. And standing at the booth, surrounded by all the testing equipment, I certainly had a yearning to get back into fieldwork full time! (I tried to be discreet about fondling air flow meters and such.) I’m very happy Blue House Energy is associated with TruTech. Bill and his crew are knowledgeable, likeable guys, with a great reputation in the industry. So many good sessions to hit, not one person could take them all in. I’m happy to read recaps of the Great Ventilation Debate on the Energy Vanguard and OMStout blogs. I have to turn some focus back onto the state of ventilation standards in Canada to grock how the ASHRAE changes will impact F-326, or not (will post what I find out sometime). I got a lot out of the speed dating session on on-line tools and resources. I took in the sessions around bridging industry gaps, because that’s what I’m all about right now. Identifying the places where understanding energy efficiency and building science are blocked, or are blocking, uptake by any segment of the value chain.
Out of the Classroom and Into the Box
Shawna HendersonMay 20, 2014
We're pleased to be presenting at a free webinar hosted by BPI on online learning systems that support building science and home performance training. We're in a line up with: Chris Compton, HVACRedu.netDarrel Tenter, Saturn Resource ManagementDoug Donovan, Interplay LearningRyan Bennett, Everblue From BPI: This webinar will introduce several on-line...
ACI 2014
Shawna HendersonApril 30, 2014
Motown is full of building science wonks and home performance fanatics. I'm loving it. X
Motor City here I come!!!
Shawna HendersonApril 22, 2014
So after a whole lotta juggling, I'm booked to go to ACI National Conference in Detroit. The agenda makes this building science wonk swoon. Three days of hard core building science, business development and industry visioning, I counted 10 tracks that I want to dive into and conflicting break out...