Do you know what size your air conditioner is? In the world of building science, you'll hear a lot of talk about why oversized air conditioners are a bad idea. Why? Briefly, they may not dehumidify as well, short-cycling wears…
Three years ago I wrote an article titled, Don’t Let Your Attic Suck - Power Attic Ventilators Are a Bad Idea. Nearly a hundred thousand page views and 93 comments later, it's still generating lots of heat. I don't know…
I've been wrong all these years. Even 20+ years ago when I was teaching high school, I was giving out bad advice. Like so many others, I've been telling people to follow their passion. The problem is, that's like telling…
When I was doing research for my recent article on ceiling fans, I noticed that they don't have energy efficiency ratings; they have efficacy ratings. There's certainly confusion in terminology among different sources, but since light bulbs are also described…
Did you know that James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," made a video about doing blower door testing to weatherize homes? Neither did most people, but he certainly did make one. Here it is. I'd love to know the story…
This week at the ACI conference in Detroit, I was part of a session called Speed Dating: Educational Training Tools. It was really fun, with groups of people going to different stations every half hour and getting the scoop on…
A lot of people have heard advice about vapor barriers and vapor retarders. Many of them have walked away confused. A big part of the problem, I think, is that they've been told what to do—"Put it on the warm-in-winter…
In 2005 I went to my first Affordable Comfort conference, now usually called the ACI national conference or just ACI. The year before I'd gone to a related conference but by 2005, my first business in this industry (ab3 energy)…
Murmurs and hearsay about open-cell spray foam insulation have been gaining traction for a while. It rots roofs, people have told me. Not long ago, someone even told me that in Florida, roofing companies won't let their workers go up…
I bought a new ceiling fan yesterday. As I looked at the boxes in the store, I noticed that many of them gave sizing recommendations. And many of those recommendations were not ideal. Size matters Ceiling fan manufacturers now have…