Martin Holladay
Senior Editor at Green Building Advisor
I'm a senior editor at Green Building Advisor and Fine Homebuilding magazine who reports on topics related to energy-efficient residential construction.
Articles
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1 month ago |
greenbuildingadvisor.com | Martin Holladay
If you’re looking for a contractor to build you a new house, you’ll need to have a conversation about airtightness. If you are lucky, your contractor will tell you, “For the last ten years, I’ve tested every home I’ve built with a blower door. Our homes regularly achieve our in-house target of 2 ach50 or lower.” That’s the type of contractor you’re probably interested in hiring.
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2 months ago |
greenbuildingadvisor.com | Martin Holladay
If you heat your home with natural gas or oil, there’s a good chance that you are wondering whether it makes sense to install a few ductless minisplit heat pumps. Some homeowners with questions about minisplits are curious about heat-pump incentives offered by state governments or local utilities; others are interested in lowering their fuel bills or their carbon footprint.
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Dec 5, 2024 |
greenbuildingadvisor.com | Martin Holladay
Oversized furnaces, heat pumps, and air conditioners are the norm in most American homes. That’s a problem, since oversized equipment often provides lower levels of comfort and costs more than right-sized equipment. Designing and installing a forced-air heating and cooling system is a multi-step process that should include heat-loss calculations, heat-gain calculations, equipment sizing, and duct system design.
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Oct 31, 2024 |
greenbuildingadvisor.com | Martin Holladay
If your home has a forced-air heating and cooling system, it probably has leaky ducts—a fact has been confirmed by countless researchers over the years. Fortunately, many U.S. jurisdictions have adopted more stringent building codes in recent years, and these code changes have nudged HVAC contractors (at least in some communities) to pay more attention to duct sealing and duct leakage testing.
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Oct 3, 2024 |
greenbuildingadvisor.com | Martin Holladay
In my 2009 article, “Return-Air Problems,” I described a common flaw with many forced-air heating and cooling systems: the lack of a good return-air pathway from bedrooms. In homes with this flaw, return air often struggles to find its way back to the furnace or air handler. The result: room-to-room pressure imbalances that may lead to uneven room temperatures, comfort complaints, higher energy costs, and even moisture problems in walls and ceilings.
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I worked for years as a roofer, so I identify with the views expressed in this article. https://t.co/SUtGF20rhi
For GBA subscribers: My latest blog provides advice to homeowners who are looking for a builder who is familiar with energy-efficient construction techniques -- but just can't seem to find one. https://t.co/mnalTKHh76
For GBA subscribers: This week's blog discusses moisture accumulation on the interior of wall sheathing that shows up during winter construction. https://t.co/cDOxVQIAT0