Blog
Fixing leaky HVAC ductwork – it is just so easy and cheap, as well as a great return on investment
Here is another example in the same home mentioned in the last post. This flex duct was hanging on my a thread. The original contractor just used a little "duck" tape, not the real stuff like foil tape or mastic. A smoke test revealed excessive duct-leakage from...
Energy audit in Richmond reveals detrimental duct leakage (Look at that hole next to the duct!)
A customer called to schedule an appointment because their air-conditioner couldn't keep up during the hottest winter months. Upon visiting the site and conducting the usual inspections and tests, it was found that the return air from the central air system had an...
Hotel Solar Thermal Study – Part 3: Finance and Design
In Part 2, we discussed how to measure hot water consumption and hot water energy use in a mid-sized hotel. We looked at what the data meant regarding the energy saving potential of a solar thermal water heating system. This particular hotel uses about...
Hotel Solar Thermal Study – Part 2: Measurements
In Part 1 of the Hotel Solar Thermal Study series, we looked at the main impetuses for the study: rising fossil fuel prices and a lack of hotel hot water consumption data. Part 2 focuses on the study's methodology. How does one go about measuring hot water...
Price of Electricity
As seen from this graph, prices for electricity have risen drastically in recent years. The last couple of years have been particularly hard on the pockets of the middle and lower classes in the United States. Most of us in Virginia rely on electricity for supplying...
Hotel Solar Thermal Study – Part 1
Recently, I have been conducting research on optimizing solar thermal water heating systems for hotels. Hotels are among the best sites for solar domestic hot water (SDHW) systems because of their large and constant hot water load (a third of the energy used in...
Radiant Floor Heating Graph
This chart shows that thermal mass really works. This is a really busy house. The doors are opening and shutting all day long as people come and go. There is a gas-powered instant hot water heater that provides heat for the radiant flooring. We placed data loggers...
Solar Site Assessment
A solar pathfinder is a necessity when picking sites for optimal solar gains. The dome on the tripod enables the operator to record solar obstructions that reveal where to best site may be for their home, PV installation, or solar thermal panel installation. In...
Anaerobic Digestion
We are conducting research involving anaerobic digestion and the use of solar thermal panels for digester heating. Our researchers are studying the marriage of these two technologies, with the intention of creating a small-scale anaerobic digester that can rely...