Katy Hollbacher's blog

Image credit: Lake | Flato Architects – Georgia Tech Engineered Biosystems Building

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. There was so much hype leading up to this event, and it was completely justified! For an unforgettable moment in the midst of our vast universe, in a special spot dynamically shifting east along with the movement of our planetary objects, our sun and moon literally aligned and our little spot of Earth was transformed: the sky darkened, the horizon turned orange, stars appeared, and the air felt freezing.

• Event: Beyond Energy Efficiency Conference
• Workshop: From Envelope to Occupancy: Zero Energy, Step by Step
• Date: Thursday, May 18, 2017
• Place: Zero Net Energy Center, San Leandro, CA

Passive House California's 3rd annual conference was hands-down the best yet.

Building Carbon Zero Palo Alto

• Friday, November 13, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Lucie Stern Community Center, Palo Alto, California

Beyond Efficiency will be presenting Case Study: 412 Olive Avenue Office, One Year Later. Come learn about the project's challenges, successes and performance results!

Beyond Efficiency will be presenting at two upcoming Passive House conferences and we hope to see you in California, Maine, or both:

9th Annual North American Passive House Conference

September 11-14, 2014
San Francisco Bay Area, California
Presenter: Katy Hollbacher, P.E.

What your energy consultant should know and isn’t teaching you.

*Presentation posted- see below*

On April 27th, Passive House California is hosting a High Performance Window Panel. This is a great opportunity to learn more about what makes a window "high performance" and to meet some of your local window experts. Networking and beer are included, and the meeting will kick off with an introduction to Passive House. 3pm start, $10 for non-members, $5 for supporters and free for members. Held at the Pyramid Brewery in Berkeley.

Now in Beyond Efficiency's 5th year of business, it was due time to refresh the website. As days get shorter and weather cools, the importance of the work we do to optimize building performance is magnified. So four weeks ago, just before the autumnal equinox, we went live! We're proud of our new website, and it much better reflects what we've been up to and can offer to clients. 

Tomorrow I'm off to my 3rd conference in the last 3 weeks, this one in Pittsburgh. I always am so excited to be off to a big Passive House event, but recent travel has made me exhausted and I'm glad this is the last of my traveling at least for a little while! If anyone's still on the fence, this conference is sure to be as great a Passive House event as in past years. Here's the scoop: