This is the time of year when I start really appreciating hot water. We're getting a little bit of chilly weather, and those hot showers feel really nice in the morning. But that hot water† that reaches me in the…
I hear a lot of people call themselves building science geeks, energy nerds, home performance dorks, HVAC dweebs, weatherization wonks, and policy poindexters. (It's true! Some of them are imaginary people in my mind and some are aliens, but they…
Heating and cooling your home sucks more money out of your bank account than any other type of energy consumption (unless you live in a high performance home, in which case the proportions are different but the total is smaller).…
Ten years ago, I was at the front end of building a green, high performance home. (That's me on the ladder connecting the two LVL ridge beams that support the structural insulated panel roof.) It was going to take only…
I've spent a lot of time in attics looking at problems with insulation, air sealing, HVAC systems, and ductwork. I've also seen why so many bathroom ventilation fans don't move much air. A typical bath fan is rated to move…
Do you use hot water in your home? I thought so. You have a water heater then, right? You know, one of those things that you pump money into all the time, perhaps to the tune of $300 or $400…
I spent seven years in graduate school studying physics to get my PhD. You might think that the most valuable lesson I got from that experience would have been about the nature of physical reality. I was studying the positions…
I get asked a lot of questions about windows, air conditioning, and other energy efficiency topics: What size HVAC system should I install? Is it true you can seal a house up too tight? Can I use a CFL bulb…
Radiant barriers are cool! Well, actually they get quite warm, but they help the space below them stay cooler when used on a roof assembly above an unconditioned attic. They can drop the temperature of an attic about 20° F.…
You'd think with all the articles I've written about bad duct installations that it'd be hard to find more to write about here. After all, I've told you about stumpy (photo left) and panned joist return ducts and what may…