Roof Overhangs and Moisture Problems
Roof overhangs and moisture problems in the walls of a house ought to be related, right? After all, most of the water that lands on a house hits the roof first. From there, rainwater runs to the bottom edge of…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
DIY Box Fan Air Cleaner Update
The DIY box fan air cleaner known as the Corsi-Rosenthal Box (or the Comparetto Cube, in a slight variation) has really taken off in the fight against COVID. I wrote about it here in September 2020, with instructions on how…
The Top Articles in the Energy Vanguard Blog in 2021
It's the last day of the year, so let's wrap it up with some lists. Whether you missed some of the articles I wrote this year or are just curious about what other people were reading here, I've got three…
The 2021 Energy Vanguard Wrap-up
Here we are at the end of another year. It's been a weird one! I certainly won't go into all the weirdness of 2021, but let me give you the Energy Vanguard wrap-up, divided into five categories. Four of them…
3 Important Facts About Dew Point Temperature
That photo above is the bottom side an air conditioner in a crawl space on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Those droplets tell us something important: A property of the air in that crawl space aligned with a property of…
Building Enclosures Have Improved More Than Ducts
Yesterday I visited a home being built by a national production home building company. As you can tell from the title of this article, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that building enclosures have improved,…
Lloyd Alter Is Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle
Lloyd Alter, architect and prolific blogger at Treehugger, has a new book. Titled Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle,* the book is an exploration of what it takes to live within a pretty strict carbon budget. That means tracking the carbon…
Bad Advice About Indoor Humidity in Cold Weather
It's that time of year again. The cold weather has begun here in the Northern Hemisphere, and people are talking about raising the humidity of the indoor air. I'm certainly no fan of bone-dry air, having experienced too much of…
Is a Heat Pump More Efficient Than a Furnace?
The two primary ways you can heat your house are by burning a fuel (e.g., fossil gas, fuel oil, wood) or using electricity. Furnaces and boilers distribute the heat from combustion to heat a house. Electric resistance heat makes sense…
Building Your First House as an Owner-Builder
Building your first house as an owner-builder can be hectic, nerve-wracking, and wildly exhilarating. I experienced all those things and more when I built a house for myself 20 years ago. I've written a bit about it here in the…