The Two-Inch Nightmare Snow Storm That Brought Down Atlanta
I was one of the lucky ones. I spent only two hours in my car when the big snow storm of 2014 hit Atlanta on Tuesday. We got only about 2" of snow in my part of the city, but…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
6 Materials That Drain the Rain on the Plane and Keep A House Dry
Are you ready to take the next step in being a building enclosure control freak? You already know about the 4 types of control layers, so let's go further now and look at the one that controls liquid water. But…
Ice Spikes, Building Science, & Sci-Fi Movies — A Little Friday Fun
I love bizarre stuff. I love science. When those two come together, it's almost better than ice cream. And speaking of ice, that's what I'm talking about. Wednesday morning, I filled my orange silicone ice cube tray with tap water.…
Can Occupants Be Trusted to Control Their Home’s Ventilation System?
One of the points of contention in the great ventilation debate is whether a home's occupants should control their own ventilation systems. The issue came up again in my article last week, Does a Gas Furnace Dry Out the Air…
Does a Gas Furnace Dry Out the Air in Your Home?
I get asked from time to time if a gas furnace dries out the air in a home and makes a humidifier necessary. I've written about humidifiers and psychrometrics before, but it's still worthwhile making this point explicitly. Even some…
When It Comes to Ice Dams, You CAN Fix Stupid!
They say you can't fix stupid. They're wrong. When it comes to ice dams, we know how to fix what is the most common cause.† If you know a little building science, you can look at the photo below and…
Go Up, Go Small, and Get Those Ducts Inside Conditioned Space
If you want to do something really stupid with the ducts for a heating and air conditioning system, put them in an unconditioned attic. In cold climates, designers, builders, and contractors know this and, for the most part, avoid it.…
Building Science Schmilding Science; Let’s Do Things Right in 2014
We're a few days into 2014 now. A lot of homes got built last year, and a lot got renovated, too. Quite a few homes got home energy ratings, and even more had blower door tests. Spray foam attics and…
2013: A Look Back at the Year in Building Science
2013 is almost history. Just a few short hours left before the giant possum drops into the bonfire to ring in 2014. (That's the New Year's party I go to each year, and it's always a lot of fun.) So…
The Case of the Duct That Wasn’t There
I saw the photo below on the Structure Tech Facebook page recently. (They're a home inspection company in Minnesota that appreciates building science.) In this case, everyone can see one of the problems. Even if you know nothing about building…