Homes are Rockets?

Rocket science or building science? While I am in love with the lab guys and all the great stuff that comes from our dollars and their hard work it seems like we are missing the point throwing science dollars at existing homes. The majority of our residential housing stock is suffering from a lack of common sense. Leaky envelopes, missing and trampled insulation, duct leakage, wrong sized HVAC are the issue. It is a problem best solved by the application of readily available existing technology and some elbow grease. While I am thoroughlyamazed by the potentials of phase change insulation, smart meters and smart appliances, the simpler, basic construction practices that we are so guilty of not applying are the real root of our energy consumption dilemma. Had we done the work carefully and correctly the first time our existing homes wouldn't be so inefficient today. But we didn't do the work right, homes hog energy and we need more than anything to go back in and fix the mistakes. Air sealing, upgrading insulation, duct sealing are a common thread in all my CSG reports over the last 3 months. I have not yet seen 100 homes, more like 70 for KUB, but nearly every home suffers from these basic problems. I think we need to repair these faults before we go on to applying any new tech to our homes.