Did you know that California meets the 2010 California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen)? Thanks to these standards, The California Air Resources Board estimates that CALgreen will curb greenhouse gas emissions by 3 million metric tons in 2020, helping the state reach its goal of 33% greenhouse gas emissions reduction this decade.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is great, but these standards have an effect on the type of fireplaces allowed in your home. Continue reading →

When you need HVAC work performed on your home, you have probably looked around for all the best local options. You’ve probably done your research on the problem and requested quotes. Have you experienced the race for the lowest bidder?

Continue reading →

Guthrie & Sons is always considering the indoor “air health” of your home. Many people are familiar with the threat of carbon monoxide and carbon monoxide detectors. Far fewer people consider the presence and affects of low-level carbon monoxide in the home. A properly adjusted gas range should produce less than 5 ppm of CO. A poorly maintained range may be 5-15 ppm. But these numbers could be higher depending on the duration of the appliances usage. Low level carbon monoxide refers to levels of the substance that are too low to register with a regular detector. Rather, a low-level carbon monoxide monitor tells you what’s going on with the carbon monoxide levels in your home in real time. Continue reading →

Here is some uplifting news just in time for Thanksgiving: Habitat for Humanity is showing that affordable housing and high-performance homes isn’t an either/or choice. The non-profit has been a proponent of green building in the past, but in the past 5 years, they’ve stepped it up a notch. The Habitat for Humanity mission statement now includes the following statement on sustainability: Support sustainable and transformational development. Continue reading →

That’s exactly what the Vanguard Energy blog has recently reported! Check out this example of a 20-year-old house in Florida that has reduced its energy bills to less than $1 a month. The homeowner is Steve Larson, a builder and home energy rater in FL. He paid a total of $5.35 for electricity from February to July in 2012.

Here are some interesting specs about this net zero home: Continue reading →

We recently came across a story about the perils of homeowners making their own HVAC repairs. Posted online by a HVAC journeyman’s apprentice, here’s the home repair horror story:

“A customer stops by our shop the other day with a fan limit switch that he claimed had shorted out. We give the customer a replacement fan limit switch, (despite our repeated attempts to dissuade him from attempting to replace it himself) as he kept going on and on about his experience as a mechanic and this being really easy to do. Continue reading →

It’s been a very hot August here in San Diego. Energy Vanguard recommends that you ask yourself 3 questions as you try to keep cool with an air conditioner that struggles on those really hot days:

• What can I do to reduce the amount of heat getting in?
• What can I do to make my air conditioner more effective?
• What else can I do to keep cool?

If our blog post last time didn’t cool you down enough, here are some more tips if you live in a home with a struggling air conditioner. Continue reading →