Energy efficiency programs, such as the installation of smart meters, is much cheaper than building new energy plants and can win support on both ends of the political spectrum. Image credit: Lloyd DeGrane / Midwest Energy News The Green New Deal, a bundle of proposed policies that would combat climate change, create green jobs, and address economic inequities, is eliciting the usual partisan debate over what to do about global warming. But one humble and noncontroversial way to reduce carbon pollution has been gathering steam in red and blue states alike: energy efficiency. Policies like those that encourage the retrofitting…

An updated version of Dow's Powerhouse solar shingle is now available from RGS Energy. It was named the best energy efficient product at this year's International Builders' Show. Image Credit: Dow Three years after Dow Chemical dropped out of the solar shingle business, a reinvented version of its Powerhouse shingle is back on the market under a new license holder. RGS Energy, a company that started selling solar panels in Mendocino County, California, in the 1970s as the Real Goods Solar Company, now holds the license to produce the shingles. The low-profile shingles — called building-integrated PV, or BIPV— are…

The National Green Building Standard, AKA NGBS Green, is a residential green building certification program that has continued to grow in popularity.  Also known as ICC-700, it has been revised twice since the now-retired 2008 version was released. Currently, the 2015 version is available for use throughout the U.S., and the 2012 version is available for registration through December 2019 in 22 states that have not yet adopted the 2012 or later IECC.  The program is managed by Home Innovation Research Labs, previously known as the NAHB Research Center, a well-respected building science and standards organization. Being an ANSI standard, it…

Writing from somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, Joe Norm is looking for advice on selecting a wall assembly that will perform well without breaking the bank. “Building in Zone 4C Marine, and looking for a budget efficient wall assembly,” Norm writes in a Q&A post. “Climate here is not extreme, so I do not plan on having a 4-inch foam wrap or anything that colder zone people will do. But stopping thermal bridging in some fashion seems like a no-brainer.” Norm has ruled out structural insulated panels (SIPs), and he’d like to avoid spray foam if possible. With those conditions…