What We've Done

The Alliance to Save Energy: March 7, 2012

Howard University is Biggest Energy Loser in DC Campus Competition

Head Coach A. Tamasin Sterner Helps College Students Cut Energy Use by an Average 7% on 3 DC Campuses

Washington, D.C., March 7, 2012 – In its first campus energy competition, Howard University students reduced overall energy use by 14% in its participating dorms, out-saving fellow competitors at American and George Washington Universities in the Alliance to Save Energy’s “D.C. Campus Challenge: How Much Can You Power Down?” competition...

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Central Pennsylvania Preservation Society Newsletter: March 2012

What are you breathing right now?

The cold winter months always bring energy efficiency to the forefront of everyone's mind, and at February's meeting, the Central Pennsylvania Preservation Society brought energy efficiency expert A. Tamasin Sterner from Pure Energy Coach to their monthly breakfast.

A single hour in Tamasin's presence is easily one of the most informative hours you'll ever experience in your life and this session was no exception...

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The Best of Fine Homebuilding: 2011

Energy-Smart Homes

Pure Energy's article "Testing and Sealing Ductwork" is featured in Fine Homebuilding's new special issue. Fourth in this popular series, this softcover magazine brings you all the most recent energy-conservation articles from Fine Homebuilding magazine plus two all-new articles: “A Buyer’s Guide to Insulation” and “25 Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Smart.”

Buy now ...

WGAL TV: November 7, 2011

Economic House Calls

Pure Energy's Bob Ellis and WGAL's 8 On Your Side team's make an Economic House Call to look for ways to help a struggling family save energy and save money ...

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Home Energy Magazine: September/October, 2011

Safe Air at Home

Many home performance contractors think indoor air quality (IAQ) problems result from pollutants in the house that are too concentrated, due to inadequate ventilation. This is correct thinking but not a complete picture. At my home performance company, Pure Energy, we are finding more and more IAQ problems caused by pollutants that are supposed to be outside the living space, but are being drawn into the living space by unbalanced house pressures. Home performance contractors should fix these imbalances whenever possible.

What You Don’t Know About Foam

It seems that some materials being used by contractors during energy retrofits may not meet code or manufacturer's requirements for an ignition or thermal barrier, according to Pure Energy. In this case, the company, which is dedicated to quality assurance in the home improvement industry, is referring to the use of rigid or spray foam products. "When some building and retrofit products burn, they can release potent fumes that can make people sick or die," says Pure Energy founder Tamasin Sterner.

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Fine Home Building Magazine: June/July, 2011

Testing and Sealing Ductwork

Unlike pipes, ducts don’t hold water, sewage, or flammable gases, so most people don’t worry about them leaking. Leaky ducts can cause a host of building problems, however, ranging from cold rooms to a life-threatening buildup of carbon monoxide ...

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Home Energy Magazine: May/June, 2011

Letters: CO Health and Safety

Chris Stratton writes:
Recently I read your excellent article on combustion safety (“Combustion Appliance Testing: Why, How, When?” Nov/Dec ’10, p. 38). I’m currently working on a health and safety reference document for home performance trainers and was wondering if I could ask you a follow-up question about your article.

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Home Energy Blog: March 31, 2011

BPI Celebrates Home Performance Heroes at ACI

Tamasin Sterner, Founder, President, and Chief Coach of Pure Energy was given the Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry at the opening plenary of the ACI National Conference in San Francisco on March 30, 2011. Tamasin has been advancing home performance through mentoring, teaching, consulting work, and building analysis for almost 30 years and is a regular Home Energy contributor.

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Courtesy BPI: March 30, 2011

Pure Energy's A. Tamasin Sterner receives BPI's 2011 Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry

The Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI), a nationally recognized standards development and contractor credentialing organization for residential energy efficiency retrofit work, today honored A. Tamasin Sterner of Pure Energy by naming her the recipient of the Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry in a ceremony at the Opening Plenary of the ACI National Conference in San Francisco, CA.

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ACI 2011 National Home Performance Conference Website: March, 2011

A. Tamasin Sterner: Chief Coach and Expert Listener

Like many of her colleagues, Sterner began in the weatherization world as an energy auditor and loved the work. "I started my own company doing post-low-income weatherization quality assurance for utility companies in the mid 1980's." When in the mid-1990's she had served 30,000 households, she realized she needed to grow her company.

Home Energy Magazine: Nov-Dec, 2010

Combustion Appliance Testing: Why, How, When?

Combustion appliance testing, before and after weatherizing a home, is an absolute necessity to protect homeowners from the effects of CO gas and other combustion products. Learn the BPI test procedures ...

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Montana Economic Development Summit, Butte, MT: September 13, 2010

Montana Senator Touts New Energy Jobs Training Facility in South Central Montana

Montana’s senior U.S. Senator, Max Baucus announced a job-creation development from the Montana Economic Development Summit. Nationally-recognized energy conservation and efficiency firm, Pure Energy, announced that it will open an energy efficiency training center between Lavina and Roundup, Montana in October.

Read more ... | Personal note from Senator Baucus ...

Lancaster Sunday News: September 19, 2010

Pure Energy to expand - all the way to Montana

First there was Pure Energy. Now there's the Pure Energy Center and Ranch on a 212-acre campus near Roundup, Montana. The new facility in south central Montana will provide energy-conservation training programs and certifications for the region's builders and remodelers ...

FIG Magazine: Spring, 2010 Pages 32-33

Local Edge

Generally, Lancastrians are a relatively humble lot ... We've been exploring the idea of how our communal low-key nature yields high impact and progressive outcomes. Tamasin Sterner, owner of Pure Energy, is one of those people. Her energy assessment business was pioneering technology when she founded it here more than 25 years ago ...

Lancaster Sunday News: January 3, 2010

Energy consultant had president's ear

A few weeks ago, Lancaster consultant A. Tamasin Sterner was chatting up a guy about energy conservation.

Nothing unusual in that – except the guy was Barack Obama ...

WGAL TV: December 17, 2009

Interview with A. Tamasin Sterner

Pure Energy's President and Chief Coach A. Tamasin Sterner describes her impressions of meeting Barack Obama ...

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The White House Blog: December 15, 2009

The President on Retrofitting Buildings: "Here's What’s Sexy About It: Saving Money"

We always knew that energy efficiency was sexy, but now President Obama thinks so, too.

Pure Energy's A. Tamasin Sterner was part of a group representing the labor, home performance business and manufacturing communities, who met with Obama to discuss retrofitting homes ...

Video | Background on the roundtable

Lancaster Sunday News: September 13, 2009

Gearing up for green jobs

For nearly 30 years, A. Tamasin Sterner has been a crusader for conserving energy, a professional pursuit that's taken her into more than 40,000 homes to advise residents on how to become more energy efficient.

Later this month, she will begin helping others embark on the same path through a continuing education course at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology ...

Home Energy Magazine: Sept-Oct, 2009

On-the-Job Mentoring

What is missing from the online courses, and from most classroom training, is in-field training or mentoring. A. Tamasin Sterner describes how Pure Energy provides on-the-job training for field inspectors and for utility conservation and weatherization programs ...

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WGAL TV: March 31, 2009

Video: What Does an Energy Auditor Do?

Pure Energy President and Chief Coach A. Tamasin Sterner explains some of the techniques that energy auditors use in the field, including a blower door test ...

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WGAL TV Green Week: March 16, 2009

Video: How Could You Conserve Energy in Your Home?

A. Tamasin Sterner and New 8's Katelyn Smith demonstrate ways that you can save energy in your home ...

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Central PA Magazine: March 2008

A Touch of Green

A factor in sustainability that many people ignore, say those who have looked long and hard at our consumption, is how much of it we do. Our consumption level is stratospheric compared to that of most humans on this planet. Part of that, says energy auditor A. Tamasin Sterner of Pure Energy, is ...

Susquehanna Style: March/April 2008

The Bottom Line of Building Green

Changing your lifestyle to reduce energy use is another bridging strategy, advises A. Tamasin Sterner, of Pure Energy. "People do funny things," says the home energy auditor. "They heat spaces they don't use. They heat garages, not knowing how much that costs." A home energy audit that reviews your home and your life can pinpoint the greatest causes of waste.