With increasing frequency, design decisions are being paired with metrics to demonstrate outcomes. Many times this isn’t a straight forward process. Even things that we know are facts, like people typically work more efficiently when their offices incorporate natural light, are difficult to prove. Thankfully, building sciences and energy efficiency are an avenue to identify direct links between design decisions, energy efficiency, and ultimately the cost burdens associated with a home.

In 2014, the Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation was awarded a grant from Enterprise Community Partners Gulf Coast office to study energy efficiency in a variety of low-income housing types in Greenwood. Partnering with Emily McGlohn, a professor at Mississippi State University’s College of Art, Architecture and Design, this study is underway. Read more about it in this MSU School of Architecture blog post. We’re looking forward to hosting Emily M’s “audit squad” in Greenwood this summer.

An MSU student tests air infiltration rates in one of the Baptist Town Cottages in November 2014.

Photo credit: Emily McGlohn