Quick Energy Check
by Alex Wilson
How energy-efficient is that house
you just finished? Why does your
own home cost $1,500 per year to
heat? How can you measure the
effectiveness of weatherization
measures on the house you are
renovating? Right now, answers to
those questions are pretty hard to get,
but if John Spears has his way, it will
soon be a whole lot easier.
For the past several years, Spears,
the Program Manager for Energy
and Indoor Air Quality at the
NAHB National Research Center,
has been developing a fast, accurate,
and simple test for measuring the
energy performance of buildings.
From a single night of testing,
according to Spears, it will be
possible to accurately determine
both the heating