On the new home electrification front, the Home Innovation Research Labs released some interesting data this month. You may have noticed that going all-electric with buildings and transportation has become a thing in the past few years. Climate change is…
Building enclosure control freaks know that a good exterior sheathing can make a huge difference in performance. Controlling the flows of moisture, air, and heat requires good control layers. A lot of materials and methods will get you there, but…
Every area of building science has its jargon. And I'm not just talking about the acronyms, initials, and abbreviations that get thrown around casually. I've been making a list of the most interesting, useful, or stupefying BS terms and giving…
At first glance, the word “flux” looks like it may not be appropriate in polite company. In fact, though, it’s a word used in physics all the time. Flux comes from the same Latin root that gives us “flow.” The…
Back in my home performance contracting days (2004 to 2007), I spent a lot of time in unconditioned attics and crawl spaces. First, I was there to find problems. Then, if the homeowners hired me, I'd go in and do…
It's time to revisit one of my favorite topics: the powered attic ventilator. Ten years ago I wrote an article titled Don’t Let Your Attic Suck - Powered Attic Ventilators Are a Bad Idea. It's got 169 comments and would…
My friends Elena Chrimat and Alex Williams* recently went on vacation in Mexico. They booked a condo and traveled down there from their home in the Phoenix, Arizona area. They may the first ones ever to stay there who looked…
In case you haven't heard, Amazon is having its Prime Day sale today and tomorrow. Occasionally, I write about tools and products we use in our work or homes and provide affiliate links* to the ones we like. I've also…
Poor installation of insulation matters. Even in cases where you might think the R-value won't be affected, it is. Eleven years ago this month, I wrote an article about one of the most important and misunderstood principles in building science. …
A lot of people have gotten the message that ducts for your HVAC system—and the system itself—should be in conditioned space. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) studied the effect of ducts in an unconditioned attic and found…