The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

Insulation Issue, the fix & prevention

Last Wednesday as you may recall I showed you this picture from a house that had already passed the pre-drywall inspection which any rater or inspector out there could tell you should have failed. This leads to a few questions, just how did it pass, why did it happen, what was the fix & more even more importantly […]

Filed Under: Air Sealing & Insulation, EnergyStar August 14, 2013 By SLS

A big win for Builders & Remodelers: ENERGY STAR’s latest update

If there is anything that will throw a contractor in a tizzy, it is delays or additional costs. Nowhere is this time factor more of an issue than with production builders. Not only can that delay throw a monkey wrench into that one house’s schedule, but others as well. Well ENERGY STAR ® (ES3) did […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar June 17, 2013 By SLS

ENERGY STAR under fire?

“Jessica is sad because she wants to save energy and save money. You can make her smile again…” Huh, what? Well there appears to be “a Washington proposal to change the ENERGY STAR program (that) would deny average consumers the “easy choice” on which they rely. Help us Save ENERGY STAR.” Well if one looks […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar May 9, 2013 By SLS

ENERGY STAR Updates (v. 3.5)

As many know the ENERGY STAR program has recently underwent a major upgrade from just ENERGY STAR (ES) to ES3. During that time over 4300 builders, 900 raters / verifiers & 330 HVAC contractors completed the necessary steps to learn & comply with the new guidelines. During this period many of us participating forwarded questions, […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar February 5, 2012 By SLS

Day 2: ENERGY STAR V.3 Training

Well today was the last day for the mandatory class, where we finally went through the final three checklists. We started the day off with a RemRate file & simply told to get it into compliance with the new version of ENERGY STAR. As a quick tip for any fellow raters, do not forget about […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar, Training, Education, & Confrence Tagged With: radon February 17, 2011 By SLS

Day 1: ENERGY STAR V.3 Training

This week brings me back to the great city of Atlanta, this time for 2 quick classes. The first class is a mandatory 2-day class for all ENERGY STAR® raters who wish to continue with the program after January 1st of 2012. Based on my schedule for this year, it was simply best to get […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar, Training, Education, & Confrence February 16, 2011 By SLS

Building Green Homes: Looking back & Lessons Learned

I guess I can credit some of my desire to learn about and utilize energy efficient designs, green buildings, & solar power with the area I grew up in. I can recall some of our schools field trips where we would go see new houses being built with photovoltaic panels, and eating food cooked on […]

Filed Under: Common Sense Building, Energy Efficiency, EnergyStar, Going Green?, Universal Design Tagged With: Looking Back July 19, 2010 By SLS

Becoming a RESNET Certified Rater & the next steps

As we mentioned back in Energy Auditing Services Update – RESNET Certification article, we have completed all the steps required to become a Certified Energy Rater with RESNET. Unlike the BPI certification we received earlier in the same week, there is a lot more involved in this process than simply taking a written test & […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar, Infrared, Code Verification, & Energy Audits Tagged With: Building America, RESNET July 17, 2010 By SLS

ENERGY STAR: Can it and should it be saved?

As many of our regular readers know, we have long supported and still recommend purchasing ENERGY STAR® rated products. Unfortunately, though there have been some issues that have popped up lately that have caused many groups and individuals to question if the program is more fiction than fact. On the flip side, we have some people […]

Filed Under: Consumer Awareness, EnergyStar, Regulatory Issues April 6, 2010 By SLS

In case you missed it; October is National Energy Awareness Month & a quick primer on the Energy Tax Credit

Ok, I admit it, I had no clue and this is its 22nd year of it being observed. Obviously though I am not the only one, as one site that lists all the different “National Fill in the Blank Month’s” has over 30 listings just for October and not one of them is about energy. […]

Filed Under: EnergyStar, Regulatory Issues October 10, 2009 By SLS

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