The City of Grand Rapids is the first city mentioned in the article, woop woop! So proud of our hometown. The article links to our E.H. Zero initiative ("Equitable, Healthy & Zero Carbon Buildings"). This E.H. Zero initiative spun out a few programs, designed to reach our many audacious climate goals.

This December marks the end of the first quarter of this century. So I have a pretty big question for you: How will we create the future we deserve, over the next 25 years?

Imagine it’s 2050. America’s carbon footprint has been smashed to bits and we have turned a corner on global climate change. How did we get here?

I’ve got a guess.

Grand Rapids will be setting the new city budget soon. As mentioned in our last post, there's been a lot of enthusiasm behind sustainability in The City of Grand Rapids lately. Will we put our money where our mouths are?

Heat pumps are great for a number of reasons, including: overall improved indoor comfort, reduced HVAC noise, better air filtration, continuous indoor air mixing, better dehumidification, more fresh air (if you opt for an energy recovery ventilator), and more precise load matching.

We have air sealed a lot of homes for the Holland Energy Fund's 'Home Energy 201' program with one-part spray foam. We aren't necessarily switching over to two-part spray foam for all jobs... more of an experiment. But it was Pretty Darn Fun to work with, and easier to spray into difficult-to-reach cavities, compared with one-part spray foam. Very nice, would recommend.

What a whirlwind campaign season, and now it is clear that Trump is back in office. This will certainly have consequences for the American clean energy industry, which can only be described as bursting at the seams with enthusiasm, innovation, and funding.

Hollanders are Ground Zero for the Home Energy Retrofit program, being rolled out by EGLE. They will manage the ~$210 million in funding for energy efficiency and electrification upgrades, and Holland is one of two pilot territories! We will keep you apprised as things develop. For now, if you are curious about home energy upgrades, reach out to us! Many folks would benefit from a Home Energy Score as a starting point.

I recently got a great email from a confused subscriber, who read my "So You Want To Decarbonize Your HVAC" series. He's paying attention and found this article from the American Gas Association, which raised some very reasonable concern in his mind regarding the transition to heat pumps.

Check out his question and my answer below.

So what did Ric need, exactly? In this article we'll get darn close, but not quite all the way there. This cliffhanger matters, I promise. I need to show the whole thing for the conclusion to make any sense.

Kevin Hettler from Home Performance Solutions came out to show us how he analyzes a home for air leaks and insulation problems (pro tip: this home had ZERO insulation and that is not nearly enough)!

If you want to decarbonize your life, your car is 50% of the equation and HVAC is 50% of the remainder, after electrifying your car. So we need to get really good at heat pumps. Here's how Ric is doing it.

If I really wanted to help my friend Ric (and I did), I realized there was no way around it: I had to learn for myself about proper HVAC sizing.

If you're worried about your energy use, worried about the planet, or just annoyed by your utility bills or uncomfortable rooms... I'll show you how to go from eco-anxious to eco-confident.

If you look at the numbers, only 3% of your home emissions comes from your dryer (which is probably at least energy-efficient) Let’s use a handy lil chart to determine your next step.

Just some great news today on climate change work relating to orphan wells, which didn't even cost Michigan taxpayers a dime.

Michiganders, check out the latest MI Healthy Climate Plan report card; an annual update from EGLE on the clean energy transition. Check out three highlights

AN easy-to-implement solution that could save millions of tons of CO2 and hundreds of thousands of lives.

So if your AC dies before your furnace, or it might die soon because it's 10-15+ years old, pay attention! This is the easy way to switch to a heat pump, increasing comfort and lowering your carbon footprint

new Michigan legislation gives the state power to override local authorities in zoning renewable projects. A group called Citizens for Local Choice want to repeal Public Act 233, and put this power back in the hands of local zoning boards.

After being in residential and commercial energy efficiency for nearly a decade now, indoor air quality was not on my radar until the recent brouhaha over gas stove (so sorry to IAQ fans!). I’ve recently changed my tune after I finally got an air quality monitor!