Not All Knowledge Comes from College
Do you really need to go to college? If your heart's not in it, you can't find a field of study that excites you, and your college degree doesn't help your job prospects, the answer may be no. But what…
Blog
Why Is Air Conditioner Capacity Measured in Tons?
A few years ago, a student of mine told a funny story in a home energy rater class. He was an HVAC contractor and said he was installing a new air conditioner for an elderly woman. As he was explaining…
A Good Window Is Still a Poor Wall
Windows. The bane of the building scientist's existence. As we try to control the flow of moisture, air, and heat, a lot of our problems occur at windows. If the flashing's not done properly, they leak water. If they're not…
The Lesson of the Raining, Dripping, Crying Duct Boots
I've seen it over and over: The central air conditioner's ceiling vents raining down onto the floor. The insulation liner on the duct in the crawl space holding a gallon or two of water. The office that has spots appearing…
Sex Advice, Diet Tips, Decorating Ideas, & HVAC Design
Spice up your relationship with these seven sexy suggestions! Give your skin the youthful glow of radiant good health! Master that new mixer with these garden fresh recipes! Calculate the number of BTUs per hour that your home needs for…
Be a Controlling Building Enclosure Control Freak with Control Layers
Frank Lloyd Wright was a control freak. This was a guy who not only designed houses but also all of the trim details and even the furniture. No, you're right. That's not really enough evidence to convict him. The really…
Why an Oversized Air Conditioner Is a Bad Idea
Apparently, I haven't written a single article this summer about oversized air conditioners. Shame on me! I've written several in previous summers, mostly about how HVAC contractors bypass the HVAC design process by using rules of thumb and how they…
US Energy Flows — Inputs and Outputs 1995 to 2010
I like to talk about the big picture of energy occasionally here. I also love data! Today, I'm not going to do a whole lot of talking at all. I mainly want to show you what I consider to be…
The Sludge That Kills — Post Mortem of an Air Conditioner
This is the story of a happy family that got too hot and sweaty. They'd lived in their house for a while, and everything was fine at first. The central air conditioning system kept them nice and cool. Over the…
Water Loves Cold and Other HVAC Duct Failure Stories
Rod had a major duct failure going on in his crawl space. It was summertime when I visited and took the photos you see in this article, and the ducts had four serious problems that robbed his air conditioner of…