Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps (PTHPs) have undergone remarkable evolution since their early iterations as Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTACs) commonly found in hotels.
Our team recently completed LEED for Homes Platinum certification for The Grinnell, a 63-unit affordable housing project in Berkeley, California developed by Sa
Did you know that water heating is often the top energy end use in smaller ADUs or homes with a higher occupant density?
Katy Hollbacher interviews Laken Allen
Image credit: Stephen Williams, lights of Jackson WY seen from Snow King Resort
Beyond Efficiency is highly motivated to solve the nation’s housing crisis and planet’s climate crisis through our technical work, but the traditional building consulting model isn’t going to cut...
This is a case study about modernizing my 1200-square foot East Bay home by removing gas-fired appliances.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity and privilege to design and build a high performance all-electric home in northwest lower Michigan.
Image credit: Douglas Zimmerman, SFGATE
Image credit: Sense, a home energy monitoring system.
Have you ever wondered how solar panels capture energy from the sun to produce electricity? Or perhaps you want to learn how to get the most power output of your own PV array?
I’ve lived in frigid climates that have four distinct seasons my whole life.
Image credit: Berkeley Backyard ADU – Deeds Design & McBride Construction
Image: Beyond Efficiency schematic mechanical design for new office building with direct outside air system (DOAS)
Central heat pump water heating (HPWH) systems are the cutting edge in all-electric multifamily buildings in California.
We are grateful to the more than 120 respondents that took the time to complete our survey in early April and share honest insights on the impact of the global health crisis on themselves.
As I introduced in my previous article, we at Beyond Efficiency are
I’m late to the party. Prior to working at Beyond Efficiency, I couldn’t have told you what a heat pump was, nor what Passive House meant.
The built environment has a hot water distribution problem. There historically haven’t been any analytical tools available for hot water distribution systems.
Beyond Efficiency is proud to be on the team led by Onion Flats Development, and supported by Love |
Image: Outdoor component of Sanden SANCO2 from Beyond Efficiency's Berkeley Way Passive House project
Image credit: Lake | Flato Architects – Georgia Tech Engineered Biosystems Building
Earlier this year, The New York Times published an article by Kendra Pierre-Louis called "Americans Are Staying Home More. That's Saving Energy." The article refers to a...
This spring, Beyond Efficiency is calling for proposals from organizations or families in need of building-related technical assistance.
I recently attended the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) 2018 Hot Water Forum.
How much do you feel you are helping to reduce global warming?
I am reminded every day that the old adage “The devil is in the details!” rings true in our quest for high performance building construction—as much any other endeavor.
In early October, I attended the 10th Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.
In late September I gave a presentation at the 12th Annual North American Passiv
I was lucky to be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming—virtually smack-dab on the "blue line" in the narrow path of totality—for the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years on August 21.
Thanks to a recent presentation by Pierre Delforge from the Natural Resources Defense Council (select sides below), the case for deploying heat pump water heaters to replace both electric and
With the passage of Assembly Bill 802 earlier in 2015, California became the first state in the nation with the mandate to provide energy use data to users so they can measure or benchmark the...
Are there "dirty" hours when the California electric grid is producing a lot of CO2 per kWh, and "clean" hours with low CO2 output?
With record setting rain and snow fall the past 5 months, 75% of California is out of the drought.
I recently went to two events, a LEED for Homes Rater Training in Chicago and a Passive House Califo
Passive House California's 3rd annual conference was hands-down the best yet.
Beyond Efficiency will be presenting at two upcoming Passive House conferences and we hope to see you in California, Maine, or both:
As part of the year-long PG&E Retrocommissioning class, the 20 or so participants and three teachers took a two-day field trip down to UC Santa Cruz.
On April 27th, Passive House California is hosting a High Performance Window Panel.
For the past four months, I've spent a day a month at the Pacific Energy Center in an intensive retrocommissioning class.
Now in Beyond Efficiency's 5th year of business, it was due time to refresh the website.
Tomorrow I'm off to my 3rd conference in the last 3 weeks, this one in Pittsburgh.
I returned home to California a few days ago after an incredible week in Jackson, Wyoming for the 2013 AIA Western R
Part II in Passive House California's Building Carbon Zero California series is scheduled for October 3rd at the Frank Lloyd Wright
Katy Hollbacher is delivering Part I and II presentations, Passive House and Energy Modeling: The Foundation
What if every project we worked on committed to five things? "
Our flights are booked and hotel is reserved for Vancouver- we can't wait and hope to see you there! The Canadian Passive House Institute (CanPHI) will host the first North American Passive...
High Performance Details For California Climates: Lessons Learned--Passive House advocates Katy Hollbacher, Bronwyn Barry and Mary James are delivering this presentation at the upcoming 2012 ACI...
EAH Housing and the City of Turlock officially broke ground on Avena Bella, an 80 unit affordable housing property, on March 28.
Visit Beyond Efficiency and Sunlight Design at Booth #9 April 15-16 at
Advanced framing (Optimal Value Engineering) is a collection of design and building methods that reduces lumber use, minimizes wood waste, and maximizes a structure’s energy efficiency.
Do you want to build smarter, save money, and provide improved comfort and energy performance for your clients?
