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…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
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…
The Mixed-Up IAQ and Infiltration Blues
I've been on the road this week. I flew to Chicago on Tuesday and gave two presentations at the Better Buildings: Better Business conference put on by the Energy Center of Wisconsin. After I was done there on Wednesday, I…
Cold Air Is Dry Air
Relative humidity is what everyone likes to talk about. It gets the attention, but it can be confusing, especially when the temperatures drop. The truth is that, despite a high relative humidity, cold air is dry air. For example, at…
Will Higher Ventilation Rates Reduce Student Absences in School?
A new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) makes a bold claim that increasing ventilation rates can cut the number of student absences related to illness. The lead author on the paper, Mark Mendell, is quoted by LBNL's News…
Bats Can’t Live Under a Thermal Bridge
I was in Austin a couple of months ago, and I got a chance to watch the bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue bridge. (See my video at the end of the article!) I also saw a great…
A December Building Science Bonanza
Let me drop a few names on you: John Straube, Peter Yost, Scott Pigg, Keith Williams. Impressed? If you know who those folks are, you probably realize how much you could learn from them. If you don't recognize the names,…