Yesterday, I wrote about the refrigeration cycle for beginners. (Another good article that covers basics of the refrigeration cycle as well as answers to some commonly asked questions is Martin Holladay's Air Conditioner Basics.) Today we go a little deeper.…
If you've wondered how it is that your air conditioner actually keeps you cool in summer, you've found the right place. As Earth-shattering as this sounds, I've actually spent a lot of my half-century living in it! I know, I…
Earlier this week, my HVAC guru, David Butler, made a statement in a LinkedIn discussion group that's obvious to those of us who know building science and high performance homes, but it's something that I think may not be clear…
[Guest post by certified HERS Rater Jeffrey Sauls about his experience with the new Georgia energy code requirements for duct tightness testing.] [Guest post by certified HERS Rater Jeffrey Sauls about his experience with the new Georgia energy code requirements…
Sometimes you have to go at something backwards or inside out or sideways. Sometimes you've got to invert the normal thinking. Sometimes you have to invert it once and then invert it again to get something completely different, as Frank…
At the 2010 RESNET conference, I heard David Goldstein speak on some of the issues he'd written about in his newly published book, Invisible Energy. Goldstein is the Energy Program Co-Director at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and president of…
A couple of months ago, I was reading a discussion in one of the many LinkedIn groups that I belong to and came acros a comment arguing that energy efficiency requirements drive builders out of business. Here's part of what…
Remember that article I wrote about ducts installed against the roof deck and how I said it was probably the absolute worst single location for installing ducts? Well, in the comments, Dave Roberts, a senior engineer at the National Renewable…
Several years ago, I did a home performance assessment for a medical doctor - you know, the 'real' kind of doctor, not like those ivory tower, pie-in-the-sky, I've-got-a-theory kind of doctors who have PhD instead of MD behind their name.…
You know what a bonus room is, right? It's more descriptively called a FROG, for finished room over garage, and it typically has vaulted ceilings and attic kneewalls (more on that later). I love the name FROG for this room,…