Breathing clean, healthy air at home doesn't happen by accident. And it's not something you can buy a magic product to do for you. No, it's the result of understanding the basic measures that work to keep your air clean. …
Since we're on the topic of energy, let's extend last week's discussion of electric resistance heat efficiency. I've sometimes told people that "a BTU is a BTU." (For the rest of the world, the conversion is simple: "A joule is…
I've been making a statement for a long time that sometimes gets called out as inaccurate. The story began in the second month of this blog back in April 2010 when I wrote an article titled When Is 100% Efficient…
Let's talk thermostats today. This ubiquitous device in homes is the user interface that allows people to control their heating and cooling systems. It might seem simple. Turn it up when you need more heating or cooling and down when…
Let's say you're faced with the decision of sizing an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) or heat recovery ventilator (HRV). You've already decided you're going with a balanced ventilation system with either heat and moisture recovery (ERV) or just heat recovery…
My book (A House Needs to Breathe...Or Does It?) has three sections. The two that take up most of the book are on the building enclosure and the mechanical systems. But the one that I lead with is called Start…
Last the week I attended the HVAC/R Symposium in central Florida. Three of us from Energy Vanguard went, so we rented an Airbnb. Of course, one of the first things we did upon arrival was scope out the house, especially…
Well, it's official. It may have taken 3.8 years to make it happen, but my Zehnder ComfoAir Q600 energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is running now! I started it up on 29 December, so it's been helping to clean my indoor…
Surprise! Your heat pump water heater has a filter that needs to be cleaned. But you probably already knew that if you're reading the Energy Vanguard Blog. It's a thin little filter whose primary job is to keep larger particles…
Do you know how to read a roof after a snowstorm? When you do, it tells you something about how good the building enclosure is. We had that opportunity here last weekend. We got 2 or 3 inches of snow…