An Air Conditioner Does at Least 4 Jobs
The most noticeable thing about an air conditioner is that it blows cool air into the house. When you come indoors after doing yard work on a hot summer day, that may be all that matters to you. But air…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
Is It Bad When the Air Conditioner Runs A Lot?
I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone complain that their air conditioner runs all the time. Now, it's certainly possible that an air conditioner running continuously has a problem. But is the simple observation of continuous operation…
![Meet The New Introverter Heat Pump, Comfortably Keeping Its Distance While Silently Keeping You Comfortable. [Image By ChatGPT]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/introverter-heat-pump-introvert-at-a-party.png)
The IntroVerter Heat Pump: Quietly Efficient and Hoping You Won’t Notice
You know those heat pumps that seem to be doing their best impression of a jet engine every time they kick on? Or the ones that aggressively blast you with cold air like they’re trying to prove something? Well, the…
You Don’t Need a Load Calculation
Yeah, I'm talking about a heating and cooling load calculation. Or in HVAC-speak, an ACCA Manual J. It's a way of calculating how much heating and cooling a house needs. The calculations use the details about the house to determine…
7 Steps to Good Indoor Air Quality
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. …
A BTU Is A BTU…Or Is It?
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…
Is Electric Resistance Heat Really 100 Percent Efficient?
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…
Are You Making These Mistakes With Your Thermostat
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…
How to Size an ERV or HRV
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…
The Most Neglected Part of HVAC Design
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…