Good “fit” in small-space renovations By Christy Crocker THROUGH-WALL ENERGY recovery ventilation (ERV) units are relative newcomers to the residential ventilation and high-performance building arena, offering a practical ventilation solution when full-size units aren’t an option. The units are designed to blow in for 70 seconds and then reverse and exhaust out for 70 seconds.…
Text and Photos by Amy Paradysz STEVE KONSTANTINO, the 55-year-old founder and owner of Portland-based Performance Building Supply, considers himself a bit of a futurist technologies geek. Being ahead of the curve occasionally means he’s moved on to something else before the market catches onto what he’s selling—as was the case with heat pumps in…
A window into the not-so-distant future By Darren Fishell Matthew Thomas admits his and his wife, Carrie’s, home in Bowdoin is a little ahead of its time. “Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to have solar panels,” Thomas says. “I’m a big tech guy and was really into Star Trek, and I wanted…
By Amy Paradysz Matthew Brown is a financial planner as well as a home brewer. But not just any home brewer. Brown is so invested in his craft that the Maine Brew Bus made a stop at his house in Portland’s Back Cove so customers could visit his basement brewing operation during Portland Beer Week.…
By Tim King THERE AREN’T MANY COLLEGE STUDENTS who can say they’ll graduate virtually debt-free and with multiple job offers. That is, unless you talk with many of the bright, hardworking students graduating from Maine’s Community Colleges. Each year, from nursing to culinary arts, automotive to HVAC, electrical to public safety education and more, Maine’s…
By Dylan Voorhees Transportation is Maine’s largest source of climate-changing carbon pollution, and it mostly comes from the passenger cars and trucks we drive. While other sources of carbon pollution have declined in the last decade in Maine, carbon pollution from transportation has remained steady. Electric vehicles (EVs) represent an enormous opportunity to change this…
Benjamin Lake Charging an electric vehicle is a key part of owning and operating one. Here’s what you need to know about charging in Maine. Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have tripled nationally in the past five years, with more than 500,000 EVs on the road in the US, and all indicators point to considerable…
Meet some of Maine’s EV owners By Heather Chandler As an EV owner since 2014, I’m often stopped when I pull into a parking space by a curious onlooker who says, “Is that an electric car?” This usually elicits a follow up, “Is there a gas back up?” and finally, “How do you like it?”…
The case for whole-house ventilation By Tim King Across the United States, building codes are (slowly) changing to encourage the construction of tighter homes. That is, homes that incorporate new materials, designs and construction techniques that drastically limit the amount of naturally occurring airflow between indoor living areas and outdoors. The rationale? Reducing the amount…
By Barry Woods I have been driving a Chevy since April 2017. While not a surprising statement in itself, you might be surprised to find it uses no gas and runs on renewable electricity stored in a 60-kWh battery that straddles the frame. When passengers exit my car after their first time driving electric, they…