Customer Service | The Green Building Inspector

Energy Efficiency and the Annoying Guy Next Door

By Elisa Wood

The Environmental Protection Agency calls big-backyard neighborhoods like mine “automobile dependent locations” and contrasts them with “transit-oriented” neighborhoods, places where you can hop a bus or easily walk to regular destinations. The agency recently looked at which kind of neighborhood uses the most British Thermal Units (BTUs), taking into account size and type of house, its energy efficiency, and vehicle use of its occupants. This is known asLocation Efficiency.

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How to Choose a Company to Do a Home Energy Audit

By AllisonBailes

My two sisters-in-law have been in town the past few days, and one of them needs to get an energy audit for the home she and her husband recently bought in Seattle. I gave her a recommendation for a company to do the audit (from a couple of friends who used to live there), and now she’s asking the very reasonable question, “What should I be looking for? What should they do when they come to the house?”

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Are Freedom and Building Science Incompatible?

By AllisonBailes

Science is science. Anyone who works on buildings is free to ignore the principles of building science to the extent that they can get away with it, but someone’s going to pay the price. Maybe it’ll be the occupants, who suffer with comfort problems, poor indoor air quality, frequent maintenance, or high energy bills. Maybe it’ll be the remodeler or builder who has to face constant callbacks. That’s the point I was trying to make with my article on can lights. To the extent that program guidelines or building codes allow can lights, a remodeler or builder can use them. If they’re part of the building envelope, however, and create a problem with the air barrier or insulation, the contractor is giving their client an inferior product. That’s just building science.

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Understanding personality types for successful customer relations

By Green Building Inspector

Your ability to communicate effectively with the unique personalities of your customers affects your project’s success. There are several personality typing systems to explore. Check out the CAP Model at Speechmastery to learn about the 4 types: The Controller, The Analyst, The Supporter and The…

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Be an Educator Too! — Custom Building and Client Relations

By Green Building Inspector

We each have a reaction to uncertainty. Some find it exhilarating. Some find it terrifying. In all cases there is an element of stress. If you are a custom builder, you are intimately involved with managing stress-your own as well as the effects of your customer’s stress upon you.

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The Green Building Inspector

Energy Efficiency and the Annoying Guy Next Door

How to Choose a Company to Do a Home Energy Audit

Are Freedom and Building Science Incompatible?

Be an Educator Too! — Custom Building and Client Relations

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