The 2024 IECC is now in effect in Fort Collins, and local amendments push requirements further than the base code in nearly every category. Published June 5, 2026 Effective December 26, 2025, the City of Fort Collins replaced the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code with the 2024 IECC, but with local amendments that go further than the base code in nearly … Read More
Green Building Hawaii’s work on the Hocking Hale Building is a case study in what happens when building science, affordability, and genuine community need all end up pointing in the same direction. Published June 5, 2026 In the heart of Honolulu’s beautiful Historic Chinatown, the Hocking Hale Building has undertaken a massive evolution. The builders refused to choose between extremely high performance, and a mission to create deeply affordable rent. Over the last … Read More
Published February 12, 2026 Xcel Energy is now offering a $30,000 builder rebate for affordable, all-electric new homes in Colorado. The program uses the Phius CORE framework to ensure low utility bills for future residents without requiring formal Phius certification. There is a ton of confusion and possibly misinformation surrounding what sort of panels and service requirements builders are … Read More
Published February 10, 2026 Smart electric panels are smarter than just being smart! There is a ton of confusion and possibly misinformation surrounding what sort of panels and service requirements builders are going to face as we move toward an ever-electrified future. More often than not, we are seeing assumptions being made about how everyone is going to end up … Read More
Published November 17, 2025 The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety or IBHS may be one of the more important organizations that you’ve never heard of. This organization was formed in 1977 to understand and reduce risk associated with natural disasters. This includes hurricanes, wind driven events, flooding, hail and most recently, wildfire related risks. It’s no secret that … Read More
Published November 17, 2025 Imagine that we didn’t have a holiday for giving thanks. We’d need to create one if that were the case. Because, we sure need to take at least one day a year and stop to give thanks. Probably better would be if we did so every day. Or maybe more than once a day. It’s difficult … Read More
Published November 17, 2025 As heat pump water heaters become more common in the construction of energy-efficient homes, understanding their installation limitations and best practices is becoming increasingly important. While HPWHs deliver impressive savings and performance, improper setup can undermine their potential. Plumbing expert Gary Klein emphasizes that installation matters as much as the equipment itself. Opportunities Many jurisdictions are … Read More
Published September 15, 2025 Colorado is taking a significant step toward wildfire preparedness with the rollout of the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (CWRC), which is set to take effect statewide on July 1, 2025. Developed by the state’s Wildfire Resiliency Code Board, the CWRC establishes construction and landscaping requirements for properties located in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas, aiming to … Read More
Published September 15, 2025 Heat pumps are rapidly becoming the cornerstone of efficient, low-carbon heating and cooling. In fact, heat pumps have been outselling traditional gas furnaces for the past four years, and the margin continues to expand. But to get the best performance from this technology, one critical factor stands out: load minimization. Load minimization means reducing the overall … Read More
The Three Phases of Un/Certainty Published September 15, 2025 Hello friends and partners, Heading into Fall, it continues to be a wild ride. After this is all over, I think we’ll need a new word for “uncertainty” as we’ll have worn it out completely. In much the same way as I hope to never hear the words “out of an … Read More
