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All Electric Summer: Opportunities to "amp up" your electrification expertise
Rate It Green Members and Friends - It’s a great time to learn about electrification! Whether you are just learning about today’s energy efficient electric equipment and appliances, or you’re already somewhat expert, there’s really something for ev...
All About Heat Pumps
Rate It Green Members and Friends - If you feel that recent news has been all about heat pumps, I agree! It seems there's a growing push to educate consumers and increase demand, as part of support for wider electrification and decarbonization...
What Happens In Vegas... (Will We See You There?) Let's Create Some Great Green Building Content!
Rate It Green Members and Friends - I know, the leading image for this email shows some serious wattage and doesn't really make me think first about green building. And yet, suddenly it seems like everyone I know is heading to Vegas next week for the Internationa...
Looking Forward - Engaging Together as a Green Building Community
Rate It Green Members and Friends - Thank you for being a part of our green building community, and welcome to our first newsletter of 2024! With this email, we bring you so much positive energy and a reaffirmation of the spirit of what we do. As Green Builder and R...
Happy New Year, 2024!! Looking back at Top 2023 News, and Some Sneak Previews for 2024!
Rate It Green Members and Friends - Happy New Year! Thanks for all you do, and here's to an AMAZING 2024! We expect great things from this new year! Whether you celebrate recent COP28 Results or feel anxious about insufficient progress, perhap...
Reframing Perspective: What Can "Positive" (Nature Positive) Look Like?
Rate It Green Members and Friends - There are so many pressing crises, it can be overwhelming to decide what to do first or next. At a time when we need to take immediate and drastic action to mitigate the worst climate change consequences, some of which have already arrive...
Making Smart Window Choices for Meeting Comfort, Health, Energy & Sustainability Goals
Rate It Green Members and Friends - Do you have window questions? We've got some information and answers! Green Builder Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. has been busy answering Rate It Green Member questions and also interviewing manufacturers to learn about their en...
Understanding The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - Introduction and Update
Rate It Green Members and Friends - Hello to everyone gathering at Greenbuild this week! I had hoped to attend in person but had some schedule complications. As much as I think we absolutely need to connect and share information online when we can’t be together, I...
Strategies for Staying Cool: Air Sealing and Insulation
Rate It Green Members and Friends - It’s quite an understatement to say it’s been hot this summer. Playfully, and yet deadly seriously, Vox declared that this scorching summer might just "be one the coolest summers of the rest of your life.&...
The Perfect Wall - Explained
It feels a bit funny to describe a product or practice as "Perfect," but that's our task as we explore "The Perfect Wall." In a recent video, Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. explains this important con...
Future Proofing Homes - Building Right from the Start
Rate It Green Members and Friends - Fixing problems later sure costs a lot more than building right the first time, and sometimes a repair or retrofit is just impractical or not even possible. Future Proofing Homes or really any building involves planning and building to a...
Build It Tight, Build It Right - A #1920sMakeoverATL Update and our Latest News
Rate It Green Members and Friends - We are excited to share some hot-off-the-press updates from Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. and the #1920sMakeoverATL Deep Energy Retrofit team! In our last project update, we focused on the "Forgotten Side of Buildings."&nbs...
A Green Building Product Tipping Point?
Rate It Green Members and Friends - As spring approaches in many parts of the world, it might be a good time to allow ourselves some healthy optimism. To watch those flower buds poke out and have some real hope for change and improvement. Let’s face it tha...
The Future of Natural Gas Cooking (Are "They" Coming to Take Your Stove Away?
Rate It Green Members and Friends - The other day, a family member cheerfully said in passing, "Hey you were right about natural gas cooking. It’s apparently terrible!” The recent reporting in the mainstream press wasn’t a surprise to those who have r...
The Forgotten Side of Buildings
Rate It Green Members and Friends - How much have most of us thought about the foundation of our homes, or any building? The answer is in large part, “not enough,” even for many building professionals. We often think that what we can’t see or ...
Don't be Afraid to Ask... Or Answer!
Members and Friends - Every October, we tend to have little fun around here thinking of all things spooky. Thanks for everyone who responded to our call for scary stories last Halloween season! You can of course still read and learn about how one family is working to ...
What Will (Finally) Move the Green Building Needle? Your Opinion Matters, and It's Needed.
Rate It Green Members and Friends - We want your opinions! Ok, I am of course always encouraging sharing your green building expertise, experiences, and questions, as we all work toward a time when all buildings are healthier and more sustainable! Here's this month's ne...
Green Building Certifications, and the Residential Green Building Market - Where are We Now?
Rate It Green Members and Friends - When Grace Morrison set out to write an Introduction to Residential Green Building Certifications, she wanted to do more than describe existing programs at a high level, but also work to share a window as to how people are making decisions abo...
Your Opinion is Priceless
Rate It Green Members and Friends - I've been asked quite a few times how I define green building because, well green building seems to include everything but the kitchen sink. Oh wait, it does include the kitchen sink! I agree that the umbrella is a wide one, but with good reaso...
Are You a Green Influencer? (You just might be!, even if you don't know it yet!)
Rate It Green Members and Friends - Are you a Green Influencer? (And what do we mean by that?) The good news is that you just might be, whether you know it yet or not. This question isn't meant to make you self analyze or worry, but to get excited and feel insp...
What Does Community Learning and Sharing Look Like? (This!)
Rate It Green Members and Friends - What does community learning and sharing look like? Ideally, our community looks like as many colleagues, friends, and visitors as possible all communicating robustly and leaving each visit or communication thinking they&rs...
Celebrating the Leading Edge
Rate It Green Members and Friends - Some recent events and news have made it tougher to leap into spring with a bounce for many of us. It’s impossible to ignore an unfathomable war, prices are increasing and supply chains are lengthening, COVID is confusing and ...
Honest and Tough Conversations
Rate It Green Members and Friends - I recently attended my first in-person conference in a long while (NESEA’s BuildingEnergy '22!), and goodness it felt great and yet odd to be in a crowd! That may not be the same for everyone, but we’re all adjusting perh...
#1920sMakeoverATL House Update from Matt Hoots - Foundation Work!
Check out the latest #1920sMakeoverATL Deep Energy Retrofit Update from Matt Hoots! Matt gives us a full and efficient construction tour of the basement and outlines his planned changes to optimize the the basement for the future homeowners, and also for the project. ...
It's Time to Rethink How We Define "Ugly"
Members and Friends - I’ve spent a good deal of time discussing win-wins, and last month in our newsletter introduction I suggested we need even BIGGER ideas and incentives/rewards. I still agree! I am so appreciative of the conversations I've had since, and I...