The HTRC

The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

Resistance is futile – Conversion Factors

While no one can say those in the “Green” / Energy Efficiency fields march in lock step like the Borg, I couldn’t resist using that line from Star Trek. The reason, well it appears that a big part of the collective is moving towards using kBtu/SF for measuring usage. For more on this aspect & […]

The Home Builders Energy Efficient Tax Credit – an FAQ

UPDATED: The Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 (aka EPAct) established a $2000 tax credit for eligible contractors / builders for every new home sold that is certified to meet certain “energy efficiency” standards. While this was initially scheduled to expire at the end of 2007, the tax credit has been extended several times, and […]

BS4D: The truth behind a watched pot never…

While “a watched pot never boils” has been proven to be incorrect, did you know there is an interesting phenomenon that makes that perception feel like reality?  How about water can be at 32° F and still not be frozen? Well lets introduce you to two interesting terms; latent & sensible heat and see how […]

Industry Standards 101

When reading over a contract or talking to almost any contractor there are three items you will generally hear or see; your project will be built to code, we will follow accepted industry standards, and it will of course pass inspection. Shoot, that all sounds pretty good so no worries right? Well let’s take a […]

Energy Savings & Efficiency 101

I love salesmen, the ultimate bringers of truth, justice, and the American way. Oops… I’m sorry about that & yes you can wipe the coffee off your monitor – I promise no more bad jokes. In all seriousness, while there are many well intentioned companies, individuals, and programs that love to talk about “home performance” […]

Common Sense Building: Making Sense of Radiant Heat (FAQ)

We originally started this series on Radiant Heat with an article entitled “Don’t just jump on the bandwagon” & followed it up by a guest post from Todd Vendituoli on his installation of an under the slab system & the benefits of a Radiant Hydronic System. As promised we are into our third article on […]

BS4D: Mold

Just mentioning the word mold or as it is known across the pond as “mould” is enough to send some people directly into panic mode. With the toxic mold scare from years ago many insurance companies (especially after losing millions) no longer cover mold damage or remediation as they consider it a “maintenance” issue. There’s […]

BS4D: NFRC Labels (Windows, Doors, Skylights)

The NFRC or National Fenestration Rating Council basically tests & labels glass products used on buildings like doors, windows, and skylights. The label will include who the manufacturer is, a brief description of the product, and the official ratings for one or more of performance characteristics for that product. The NFRC’s also has an online […]

BS4D: The case of the Sweating Toilet

Ok, we know the toilet really isn’t sweating over the burial at sea of one aforementioned Barbie doll, performed with full military honors by none other than one little Timmy… so why is it sweating? The short answer is it’s not; it simply is the water in the air (humidity) condensing on a cold surface […]