The Greened House Effect : Renovating Your Home with a Deep Energy Retrofit by Jeff Wilson download book FB2, EPUB, TXT
9781603584500 English 1603584501 In The Greened House Effect, author Jeff Wilson argues that we can't buy our way out of current and impending crises (from climate change to high energy costs) by simply replacing our old stuff with hewer, "greener" stuff. That approach only ensures that the vicious circle of energy wastefulness and dependence will continue. He argues, however, that we can save our way out of these problems. Wilson brings his twenty-five years of construction experience and hands-on knowledge of home building to help you make your current home cleaner, greener, more comfortable, and healthier through a Deep Energy Retrofit (DER). What is a DER? Think of it as a "whole-home makeover"- one that represents a significant investment, but that saves you money from the get-go by capturing the energy you "drop on the ground" every day through inefficiency, poor design, or simply living in a typical older home. Using his own family's retrofit of their 1942 home as a prime example, Wilson weaves a readable narrative at a practical, hammer-and-nail level, presenting how-to, energy-saving techniques that average homeowners and small contractors can adopt. The Greened House Effect, complete with sidebars, graphs, and color photos, covers a wide range of topics, such as: testing the energy efficiency of your home and learning what improvements need to be made; dealing with local building codes and regulations; describing the major components of a DER, such as roofs, exterior walls, basements, and whole-house systems; and financing and paying for a DER. Wilson's building experience, along with his lifelong passion for energy issues, forms an inspirational, can-do approach to making our community, our nation, and our world a better place-one home at a time. Book jacket., With greater public awareness of the need for energy independence, the issue of how we can make our existing homes more resource efficient is becoming ever more critical. Residential buildings make up a large fraction of our energy needs, largely due to heating and air-conditioning. So it's no longer enough to simply do the small stuff, like switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, or turning down the thermostat at night. In The Greened-House Effect, author Jeff Wilson brings his twenty-five years of construction experience and knowledge of home building to bear on making our current houses cleaner, greener, and healthier. Think of a deep-energy retrofit (DER) as a .home makeover. - one that represents a significant investment, but that saves money from the get-go by capturing the energy you .drop on the ground. every month, every year, through inefficiency, poor design, or simply living in a typical older home. Using his own family's DER of their 1942 home as a prime example, Wilson weaves a readable narrative at a practical, hammer-and-nail level. He presents the solutions to our building and energy problems, making them seem possible for average homeowners and small contractors by offering the right set of information, skills, and materials. More technical information is presented in sidebars and graphs, and numerous color photos illustrate the process, including: Testing the energy efficiency of your home and learning where improvements need to be made Issues of local building codes and regulations Financing and paying for a DER Major components of the DER, such as roofs, exterior walls, basements, and home systems Wilson's building experience, along with his lifelong passion for energy issues, all come together to form an inspirational, can-do approach to making our neighborhood, our community, our nation, and our world a better place - one home at a time.
9781603584500 English 1603584501 In The Greened House Effect, author Jeff Wilson argues that we can't buy our way out of current and impending crises (from climate change to high energy costs) by simply replacing our old stuff with hewer, "greener" stuff. That approach only ensures that the vicious circle of energy wastefulness and dependence will continue. He argues, however, that we can save our way out of these problems. Wilson brings his twenty-five years of construction experience and hands-on knowledge of home building to help you make your current home cleaner, greener, more comfortable, and healthier through a Deep Energy Retrofit (DER). What is a DER? Think of it as a "whole-home makeover"- one that represents a significant investment, but that saves you money from the get-go by capturing the energy you "drop on the ground" every day through inefficiency, poor design, or simply living in a typical older home. Using his own family's retrofit of their 1942 home as a prime example, Wilson weaves a readable narrative at a practical, hammer-and-nail level, presenting how-to, energy-saving techniques that average homeowners and small contractors can adopt. The Greened House Effect, complete with sidebars, graphs, and color photos, covers a wide range of topics, such as: testing the energy efficiency of your home and learning what improvements need to be made; dealing with local building codes and regulations; describing the major components of a DER, such as roofs, exterior walls, basements, and whole-house systems; and financing and paying for a DER. Wilson's building experience, along with his lifelong passion for energy issues, forms an inspirational, can-do approach to making our community, our nation, and our world a better place-one home at a time. Book jacket., With greater public awareness of the need for energy independence, the issue of how we can make our existing homes more resource efficient is becoming ever more critical. Residential buildings make up a large fraction of our energy needs, largely due to heating and air-conditioning. So it's no longer enough to simply do the small stuff, like switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, or turning down the thermostat at night. In The Greened-House Effect, author Jeff Wilson brings his twenty-five years of construction experience and knowledge of home building to bear on making our current houses cleaner, greener, and healthier. Think of a deep-energy retrofit (DER) as a .home makeover. - one that represents a significant investment, but that saves money from the get-go by capturing the energy you .drop on the ground. every month, every year, through inefficiency, poor design, or simply living in a typical older home. Using his own family's DER of their 1942 home as a prime example, Wilson weaves a readable narrative at a practical, hammer-and-nail level. He presents the solutions to our building and energy problems, making them seem possible for average homeowners and small contractors by offering the right set of information, skills, and materials. More technical information is presented in sidebars and graphs, and numerous color photos illustrate the process, including: Testing the energy efficiency of your home and learning where improvements need to be made Issues of local building codes and regulations Financing and paying for a DER Major components of the DER, such as roofs, exterior walls, basements, and home systems Wilson's building experience, along with his lifelong passion for energy issues, all come together to form an inspirational, can-do approach to making our neighborhood, our community, our nation, and our world a better place - one home at a time.