Rain Gardens New Residential What are Rain Gardens? Rain gardens, also referred to as vegetated swales and bioswales, consist of sloped depressions in the landscape planted densely with native plants that can soak up and filter stormwater runoff from rooftops,...
Rain Barrels and Cisterns New Residential What are Rain Barrels? Rain barrels collect, store, and distribute water for later use, providing a cost-effective and environmentally beneficial way to conserve water and minimize problems associated with stormwater runoff....
High-Efficiency Water Heaters New Residential What are High-Efficiency Water Heaters? High-efficiency water heaters provide an energy-efficient method of supplying domestic hot water. Figure 1 shows several different types of water heaters, including storage,...
Insulation New Residential What is Insulation? Insulation includes material that reduces the amount of heat lost from a building. Properly insulating a new home relates to creating an efficient building envelope. A properly insulated building envelope increases the...
Energy Recovery Systems New Residential What are Energy Recovery Systems? Energy recovery systems transfer heat from outgoing air to incoming air in the winter and from incoming air to outgoing air in the summer, lowering heating and cooling costs and overall energy...
Energy-Efficient Windows New Residential What are Energy-Efficient Windows? Windows form part of the fenestration system of a building and play a key role in maintaining a highly insulated building envelope (see Insulation). The fenestration system, or arrangement of...
