Deborah Rider Allen grew up in Richmond, Virginia. She has written for businesses and publications in the home industry for 25 years. She has been a contributing writer to Home Energy magazine since 1998.
EarthCraft Virginia
EarthCraft Virginia serves as a blueprint for building multifamily homes with high energy efficiency and healthy indoor air quality through environmentally responsible design and construction. [continue reading]
Renovating History
We go back, back, way back - to look at a home built in the Colonial style in 1928, as it undergoes a thoroughly modern retrofit. [continue reading]
New Software Helps Sell Energy-Efficient Homes
You load the self-contained software into your computer, put in the numbers about the home and the buyer, and click your mouse on one of the icons. Instantly you get easy-to-read graphics on customized house and financing scenarios, cash flow and mortgage payment analysis, and energy upgrade costs versus savings. [continue reading]
DO CONSUMERS BUY ENERGY EFFICIENCY?
According to the data, the manufacture and sale of products with efficiency ratings above federal appliance and equipment standards are taking up an ever-increasing percentage of the market. [continue reading]
High-Efficiency Homes: Moving Markets, Updating Codes
Builder education takes many forms. One of the most effective ways for builders to learn new techniques is to walk a construction site ask questions. When the site turns into a home where residents feel comfortable and save money, the students use the techniques they learned. [continue reading]
Hot Water Improvements Top Warm Climate Weatherization Measures
Reducing hot water costs is the most cost-effective way to save money for low-income housing in warm climates. This is one conclusion that can be drawn from a new study on the cost-effectiveness of energy-saving measures for low-income housing in warm climates. [continue reading]
Prefab Utility Walls Save Up-Front Costs
A new product called the Residential Utility Core Wall (ResCore) can save from $500 to more than $2,000 in construction costs for site-built homes. [continue reading]
Choosing a Basement Wall System
Twenty years ago, standard concrete masonry block and cast-in-place (CIP) concrete basement foundation wall systems were the norm for single-family, low-rise housing. [continue reading]
