Posts in Category: Indoor Air

How to Boost Home Performance and Durability with Foundation Vapor Protection

Contribute to Four Essential High-Performance Goals with Targeted Below-Slab Protection
How to Boost Home Performance and Durability with Foundation Vapor Protection
As a member of the EEBA community, you play a crucial role in leading the way towards constructing homes that are high-performing, healthy, and resilient. Now aligned with this objective are the self-educated homeowners and prospective buyers who are demanding high-performance homes. Because of this, builders (as well as the raters and architects who support them) are looking for product solutions that: Add value to their customers’ investments Demonstrate a core commitment to being a “responsible” builder Differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace Our hope at Stego (and the purpose of this article) is to help provide useful support and education so that EEBA builders can better understand vapor transmission at the first side of the home - the foundation - and the role below-slab vapor barriers play in achieving high-performance goals in new homes. No, we are not talking about commodity 6 or 10-mil poly sheeting. Minimum residential code (2021 IRC... read more
 

Women in Construction

For this year’s Women’s History Month, EEBA invited three knowledgeable women: founder of Younger Homes Danielle Younger, co-owner and Marketing Director of Lifestyle Homes, Karen Kicinski, and co-founder of Charis Homes, Glenna Wilson, to share with us how they entered the sustainable building industry. Following a discussion about how the industry has impacted them and how they’ve impacted the industry in return, they also discussed the sustainable technologies and innovations they have implemented and provide advice for women looking to enter the residential construction industry. In this month's feature, we chose to highlight these three women to recognize the countless women that work courageously to advance equality and opportunities for women in the United States. Aaron Smith: Tell us about the most challenging and rewarding aspects of day-to-day operations in this industry. In what ways do you feel you uniquely meet those challenges? Karen Kicinski: The... read more
 

Heat Pumps Everywhere

One of the most mentioned items in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is heat pumps. The IRA provides significant rebates and/or tax credits for the installation of heat pumps. These rebates and tax credits make this technology worth considering for all builders and homeowners installing new equipment or upgrading old systems. Let’s cover what types of heat pumps are available and why you will want to consider them. Heat pumps are up to five times more efficient than standard systems and have the ability to use air or water to heat and cool systems within a home. Heat pumps use electricity to transfer thermal energy from one place to another instead of producing heat through combustion. Heat pumps can be classified into two types: ground-source and air-source. Both can provide efficient heating and cooling solutions with minimal electricity consumption and no combustion. How Different Types of Heat Pumps Function: Ground Source Heat Pumps: Geothermal heat... read more
 

Walk the Wok

A Conversation about Induction Cooking & Its Role in All Electric, Zero Energy Homes

 

Chef Rachelle Boucher of Kitchens to Life cooks her favorite Chinese New Year dishes as two of the top experts in Indoor Air Quality bring a fresh perspective to traditional cooking and the vital role of ventilation in today's homes. Instructors: Rachelle Boucher, Brady Seals, Alex Siow. 


 

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