Bill McKnight is no rookie when it comes to energy-efficient building. His company, Energy Conservation Specialists, is a leading New York residential and commercial energy-efficiency consulting firm, specializing in the field of historic preservation and restoration in the Hudson Valley.
Bill and his wife, Melinda Terpening McKnight, are passionate about history, their community, and energy efficient building. With over 20 years in the field of deep energy retrofits, Bill has achieved both BPI Accreditation and Energy Star Certification, teaches building science at Ulster University in NY, and has been featured in Home Energy Magazine.
Vibrant History, Energy-Efficient Future
We had the opportunity to work with Bill and Melinda on a recent net zero deep energy retrofit of a historic Port Ewen home that will soon become the new ECS company headquarters.
Originally built in 1850, the house has been in the Terpening-McKnight family for nearly 40 years, and was in danger of being torn down after a devastating fire. Bill and Melinda decided to restore it, and move their company into the space. The building will not only be energy-efficient, it will achieve net-zero certification, meaning it will consume only as much energy as it produces.
WATCH: Net Zero Deep Energy Retrofit with ECS and ThermalBuck
A signature of deep energy retrofits, is both interior and exterior insulation on the walls and roof, completely eliminating the thermal bridge through the building envelope. Thorough air sealing is crucial to achieving the desired performance. Having worked for years installing windows with rigid foam, Bill knew the challenge they presented in creating a thermal break at windows and doors, as well as potential moisture damage in the building envelope.
“You wouldn’t be able to seal a wood buck like that. We can feel confident that everything on the outside is completely sealed.”
-Bill McKnight, CEO, Energy Conservation Specialists
ThermalBuck Integration with The Building Envelope
Bill chose to install his triple pane Earthwise windows with ThermalBuck because it extends and insulates the mounting point to reduce thermal bridging, and create a flush plane for cladding. It also acts as an air and water barrier, and completes the continuous insulation of the building envelope. With his background in building science, he knew it would do a better job preventing moisture than a wood buck in the building envelope.
WATCH: ThermalBuck Installation with Energy Conservation Specialists
The proper integration of building materials is critical to an efficient building envelope. Take a look at how simple the installation of ThermalBuck is, and how easily it integrates with the WRB. You’ll see why Bill McKnight feels a lot more confident keeping moisture out of his building envelope with ThermalBuck.
Behind the Scenes in Port Ewen
For more information on deep energy retrofits, read “Planning is Key to Net Zero Deep Energy Retrofit”.
