And the battle over air conditioner refrigerants continues. The US EPA just issued another warning, "cautioning homeowners, manufacturers of propane-based refrigerants, home improvement contractors and air conditioning technicians of the safety hazards related to the use of propane in existing…
A line in the sand has some significance for Texas, the state where I was born. Colonel William Travis used his sword to draw such a line in the waning days of the Battle of the Alamo. As General Santa Anna…
Duct leakage is a big deal. It's one of the top three energy wasters in most homes (air leakage and cable TV set-top boxes being the other two). Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab found that duct systems leak on…
When it comes to air conditioning, there are a lot of bad products and bad ideas out there. Here are a few: You can buy a cover for your condenser that could kill your compressor. Some people don't think the…
Enrico Fermi was famous for many things, as you might expect of one of the smartest physicists of the 20th century. Quantum theory, statistical mechanics, and nuclear physics were his primary subjects, but what I appreciate most about him was…
Remember the first time you ran a blower door? OK, maybe that's not the best way to get where I'm going because most first-timers turn the pressure up like they're practicing tai chi on Jupiter. After you've done a few…
Do you know what size your air conditioner is? In the world of building science, you'll hear a lot of talk about why oversized air conditioners are a bad idea. Why? Briefly, they may not dehumidify as well, short-cycling wears…
The small duct in the photo below is supposed to bring in outdoor air for ventilation in this new home. It's a simple method that consists of a duct running from an outdoor wall cap to the return plenum of…
We just completed our first combined online and in-person home energy rater training class. I've been wanting to do this for a while now because I've suspected that our attempt to buck the industry preference for a 5-day class by…
Three years ago I wrote an article titled, Don’t Let Your Attic Suck - Power Attic Ventilators Are a Bad Idea. Nearly a hundred thousand page views and 93 comments later, it's still generating lots of heat. I don't know…