MORE THAN AN ENERGY AUDIT: Our Home Performance Analysis

Building forensics expert Corbett Lunsford explains what you should expect from any home performance testing report.  Included: Recommendations for Home Improvement, Infrared Thermal Inspection Report, Air Leakage and Pressure Testing, Combustion System Analysis, Investment Analysis, and Bonuses.

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Livin’ La Vida Verde

Carbon Footprint. Sustainable. Life-cycle Analysis.  Zero impact. Eco-friendly. Green. Greenwashed. The terminology is as diverse as the people involved in what we’ve come to call “the environmental movement”. The origins of the movement are equally diverse. In his book, Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken goes so far as to suggest the growth in environmentalism might be a biological reaction of the planet’s dominant inhabitants. Deep down, our instincts are telling us we must protect our habitat in order to survive.  It’s no longer “Save the Whales” now it’s “Save Us!”

Theories. Musings. This is fun stuff to think about, and is partially what this blog is: Exploring where this movement came from and where it might be going. Many people have widely varying opinions about this, but the fact is that the future is a clean slate. To take Donald Rumsfeld’s words out of context “as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

There are technologies that have been in development for decades and are widely written about like photovoltaics and electric cars. But for as often as these are written about, there are hundreds quirky solutions that very well may become leading technologies. For example, Richard Wool at the University of Delaware is exploring how to make circuit boards out of chicken feathers. Or how about the National Environmental Research Council, who are studying ways that oysters and mussels (because they naturally filter water) can be used to combat water pollution.

If you choose to participate in this blog (and we really hope you do) send us the weird, fun environmental “hey-I-heard-abouts” that make for interesting reading and writing.

Mostly, however, this blog is about people. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of people in this city who consider themselves environmentalist. Heck, there are probably dozens of environmentalists in Chicago who never call themselves “green”. They’re simply trying to do the efficient, respectful, and smart thing. From the gloom-and-doom professor to the vegan cyclist, from the local insulation man to the master composter, from those mining the alleys for treasure to those handling Chicago’s municipal waste; This blog is to explore the subject of “Green” from all angles.

In 1971, Greenpeace rented 12 billboards and posted this: “Ecology: Look it up! You’re involved”. Thank you for being involved, and thanks for participating in our new blog!

Looking Forward,
Steve

Check out these links referenced in this posting:
Paul Hawken’s Book - http://www.blessedunrest.com/
Donald Rumsfeld - http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/quotethis/a/rumsfeldquotes.htm
Chicken Feather Circuit Board - http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1247399
National Environmental Research Council - http://www.nerc.ac.uk/
Greenpeace - http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/

Car Sharing is Awesome for our Company

We’ve recently begun using I-GO, Chicago’s non-profit car sharing service (www.igocars.org), and we love it.  Since we don’t have a conventional office where clients visit us, our transportation to the energy audits is important in several respects:

Reliability- we arrive on time, and always have a clean, working vehicle with enough gas to get us there.  I especially like the fact that if you’re in a hurry and waiting for your car to show up, the previous driver gets fined and the office will help you get a new car, and even pay for a cab to take you to it.  That was one of my biggest hangups before we got our account.

Advertising- the company’s logo, phone # and URL are all on the magnet we can stick to the outside of the car.  The magnets run us under $50 for the pair, and look great on any paint color.  Wrapping a car costs thousands of dollars.

Credibility- since we’re in the green industry, our clients are always impressed to see us walking the walk; the importance of clients who are impressed with you cannot be underestimated.

Hassle Free- this is my favorite part.  I pick the car up where it’s supposed to be, I drop it off when I’m done.  Not responsible for what happens before or after I have it, and in the middle it’s insured.  I don’t have to find and maintain relationships with honest mechanics (where are those guys?), don’t have to change oil or tires, don’t have to track mileage to write off in my taxes.

I highly recommend it, if you live in the city.  There are I-GO cars in every neighborhood, and if you’re reasonable about booking a few days in advance, you can get pretty much everything you’d have with your own vehicle, minus all the downsides.