What is a Heat Pump? You may have seen the term on various devices including the indoors part of your central air conditioning system, near the furnace. It’s been used a bit too freely, and it’s confusing. Let’s clarify: for the purposes of this article, a “heat pump” is a device that uses a reversible […]
ZNE – Guaranteed Zero Energy Bill Home Completed and For Sale
May 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Zero Energy Bill? That’s right! We are so confident in our new home build in the Oakland Hills that we are guaranteeing zero energy bills. In fact, if there are any energy bills, we will pay them for the first three years! So how can we do that? High performance all electric design, perfect […]
How to Choose the Right Furnace
August 4, 2016 by 1 Comment
When a furnace or air conditioner is installed in a building, it becomes a part of a system. The device’s actual performance – regardless of whatever ratings it boasts – will depend almost entirely on how it interacts with that system. With that in mind, here are the three most important factors to consider when purchasing an HVAC […]
Should I Get an Energy Audit?
April 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Short answer: If you own a home, then yes, you should get an energy audit. Longer answer: Let me ask you a few questions. Is your home too cold in the winter? Too hot in the summer? Are temperatures uneven from room to room? Is your energy bill high? (Specifically, your heating/cooling costs) Do you have concerns […]
Meeting the Demands of the Grid
February 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
One of the toughest challenges in the energy business today is that of peak-hours electricity demand. We’ve all experienced or at least heard about the rolling blackouts, and the increased price of electricity used during peak hours (or “time-of-use” rates). On the surface, it’s a simple matter of not having enough power output to meet […]
Air Sealing and Indoor Air Quality
February 3, 2016 by Leave a Comment
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Air Sealing a home’s points of leakage is the first step in making a home efficient. But, you might ask, what about making the home comfortable and healthy? It turns out that air sealing is essential for air quality as well. Here’s why. Indoor Air Quality When […]
Hydronic Forced Air Heating Advantages
December 12, 2015 by 2 Comments
Hydronics refers to the use of a liquid as a medium of heat transfer in heating or cooling systems. Specifically, a Combined Hydronic Air Handler, often described as a “hot water furnace,” uses hot water to heat a home. How does a Combined Hydronic Air Handler system work? It uses two appliances in conjunction: […]
SB-350: Building the Future of Energy Efficiency in California
November 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
In September 2015, California legislature passed SB-350: the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, also referred to as the 50/50/50 plan. There are two main goals for this plan (originally there were three, until the oil companies got involved). Objective 1: (quoting directly from the bill) To increase from 33 percent to 50 percent, the procurement […]
Air Conditioner: Repair or Replace?
June 18, 2015 by 5 Comments
If there’s nothing wrong with your air conditioner, but your electricity bill seems too high during those hot months, you may want to schedule an energy audit. During this process, we will thoroughly evaluate the energy efficiency of your house, and recommend the most cost-effective combination of upgrades. If you’re deciding whether to repair or […]
2014 Contractor of the Year – Energy Upgrade California!
March 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Our second Contractor of the Year Award for 2014 is the prestigious Energy Upgrade California (EUC) “Contractor of the Year” award. We are sincerely honored to receive this award. There are over 250 contractors in the EUC program; to be recognized as the best is AWESOME!. We are grateful to be given the opportunity to […]
ZNE Home With Guaranteed $0 Energy Bills — Built and Sold by EPB
March 11, 2015 by 1 Comment
We have completed and sold our ZNE (Zero Net Energy) build in the Montclair Hills. We are very excited about this build because it is the culmination of everything we have learned from decades of building and retrofitting homes. We have put our heart and soul into it and made it the best performing, […]
Home Performance Contractor of the Year Award – Eco Performance Builders
December 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
“We are excited and proud to say that Eco Performance Builders has received the Build-it-Green Home Performance Contractor of the Year award! It is very hard work but so very satisfying. We are now even more motivated to help folks reduce energy consumption, reduce residential energy’s impact on the environment, make homes comfortable, increase air […]
Zero Net Energy (ZNE) Homes – Zero Electric Bill
July 9, 2014 by 1 Comment
ZNE stands for Zero Net Energy This refers to a home that (a) has solar power (or another significant renewable source of energy), and (b) is so efficiently designed, sealed, and insulated, that it produces as much power as it uses. Yes, a ZNE home has no energy bill. You may have never heard of […]
Invest in Solar PV – Sell power back to the grid
June 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Is Solar PV worth the investment? Many homeowners think of solar power as a huge investment, that they’ll never be able to afford. Indeed, historically, solar power has been out of reach for most, and even those who could afford it saw very slow pay-offs. But here we are in 2014, and we find that […]
Sun Light & Power and Eco Performance Builders team up for a Zero Net Energy Home
May 20, 2014 by 1 Comment
We are building a ZNE (Zero Net Energy) home to sell in the Oakland Hills and Sun Light & Power is going to provide the PV (photo voltaic) power system! We have worked with Sun Light & Power for years and they are the most respected, intelligent, highest quality installer around. Together we were able […]
