Ah, so what exactly is this hidden flaw? "My HVAC guy put a zoned system in my house and told me it was the cat's pajamas," you may be thinking about now. Or maybe your HVAC installer described it as…
At Building Science Summer Camp a few weeks ago, I heard from Sam Rashkin that changes to the ENERGY STAR Version 3 guidelines and implementation schedule were on the horizon. This week, the EPA announced those changes—and some are rather…
Did the grass outside have dew on it this morning where you live? It did here. (That photo above is the actual dew on the actual grass on this actual morning just outside my actual house!) The appearance of liquid…
About a decade ago, I read about a new book that Stephen King had just published. It was titled, On Writing, and I was puzzled about why he'd want to write about writing. I mean, the guy's a fiction writer,…
Energy Vanguard has been a Home Energy Rater Training Provider for one year now. We received our accreditation from RESNET in July 2010, and we just finished up our fourth class. As always right after a class, I'm both exhausted…
Sometimes HVAC companies take the easy way out when they install ducts. They may even have done this in your home. I've seen it in many, many homes, and I know as soon as I see it that the duct…
A couple of months ago, I wrote about why you don't want power attic ventilators in your home. Whenever I've written about this topic, it just seems to set some people off. I get comments like, "You really should do…
Yesterday we took our HERS rater class out into the field to get experience with the pressure testing equipment and data collection procedures. As a bonus, the house we visited presented us with an interesting mystery. Here are the symptoms…
I'm teaching a HERS rater class this week, and on Monday we went out to look at a couple of houses and do a Blower Door test. The second house we visited was under construction, and the builder had used…
As you sit comfortably in your home, you’re being bombarded by radiation from all sides. There’s nothing you can do to stop it either. Don’t worry, though—without it, you’d be dead because your house would be at a temperature of…