History

Before the mid 1970’s, buildings were designed with little or no regard to efficiency. Fuel was cheap. If the house got cold, just turn up the heat.

OPEC changed all that when they turned off the gas valve to the United States in 1973. Long lines at gas stations and extreme increases in energy prices made many people (but not all) realize that things needed to change. The United States has only 5% of the world’s population, yet it uses 25% of the world’s energy. The energy usage of our buildings accounts for 40 percent of our total energy use and oil imports are 25% of the deficit*.

In 1974 California created an Energy Commission (CEC) to try to get a handle on the energy usage in the state, as they realized buildings use (and waste) massive amounts of energy.

Title 24 “the Energy Codes” was developed by the CEC to raise the energy efficiency of buildings in California. To quote our friend and talented energy auditor Brian Selby, “you find the leaks in your swimming pool before you fill it, don’t you?”

Forty percent of our energy is consumed by buildings. The average home has 30% duct leakage. Incandescent bulbs burn 75% more energy than compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s). The majority of the rest of the conditioned air goes up through the ceiling. Therefore it only makes sense that we make our buildings efficient and to do so requires testing with high tech equipment, and that’s where Evergreen Technologies comes in.

*Data from Residential Energy Saturn Resource Mgmt. Inc.