Martin Holladay

Editor Martin Holladay has worked as a roofer, remodeler, builder, and plumbing wholesale counterperson. He built his first passive solar house in northern Vermont in 1974, and has lived off the grid since 1975. In 1980, Holladay bought his first photovoltaic module, which is still producing electricity after all these years.

After the 1988 Armenian earthquake, Holladay spent 18 months in the mountains of northern Armenia, where he helped build medical clinics and housing. In the 1990s, he worked for four years as a project manager for a nonprofit developer of low-income housing.

In 1999, Holladay accepted a position as associate editor at the Journal of Light Construction, and became editor of Energy Design Update in 2002.

Holladay joined the GreenBuildingAdvisor.com team in November 2008. His Musings of an Energy Nerd blog is among the most popular of GBA blogs.

Recent Articles

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  The Manual J Dilemma

  It’s hard to get a contractor to provide an accurate heat-loss or heat-gain calculation

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  Leak-Free Duct Systems

  Building codes require residential duct systems to be tested for duct leakage

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  Return Ducts for Forced-Air Systems

  A fresh look at door undercuts, jumper ducts, and transfer grilles

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  A Fresh Look at R-Value

  Marketers of radiant barriers and spray foam have a history of false statements about R-value

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  Roof Protection for a Minisplit Outdoor Unit

  How to build a small roof over your air-source heat pump unit

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  Replacing Old Windows with Triple-Pane Windows

  How to remove decades-old windows and replace them with high-performance units

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  A Cluster of New Home Failures in Ontario

  A lawsuit alleges that several of these new homes suffer from major structural issues, HVAC problems, roof leaks, siding leaks, and mold

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  Removing Scale From a Tankless Water Heater

  How to flush out the crud that builds up inside your gas-powered instantaneous water heater

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  A New Book for Cob Builders

  This new book assembles a huge amount of valuable technical information on cob walls

• 
  Musings of an Energy Nerd

  Residential Energy Efficiency: A Look Back on the Last 25 Years

  Bit by bit, some mechanical equipment and systems have improved