Cajuns, Living Down the Bayou, and Peak Oil
I’m not a Cajun myself, but I lived with the Cajuns in south Louisiana for eight years. In 1971, my mom moved us to that area, and we ended up in a place called Chauvin on a narrow strip of…
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Under Construction: ENERGY STAR Version 3 Home in Atlanta, Georgia
Here's a house we designed for a builder in the historic Grant Park neighborhood in Atlanta, which should be completed by January 1, 2012. The home is 2-stories, has 4-bedrooms and 3-and-a-half baths, and is just under 2,200 square feet. The builder decided…
5 Questions to Ask When Replacing Your Air Conditioner
Air conditioners don't last forever. Shocking, I know. The good news, though, is that if you have an old air conditioning system, replacing it should save you money. Efficiency has improved a lot since that old hunk of metal and…
Navigating the Twilight Zone: The Hidden Flaw in a Zoned Duct System
Ah, so what exactly is this hidden flaw? "My HVAC guy put a zoned system in my house and told me it was the cat's pajamas," you may be thinking about now. Or maybe your HVAC installer described it as…
Dew Point — A More Meaningful Measure of Humidity?
Did the grass outside have dew on it this morning where you live? It did here. (That photo above is the actual dew on the actual grass on this actual morning just outside my actual house!) The appearance of liquid…
Perhaps the Worst HVAC Duct Idea Ever — The Panned Joist Return
Sometimes HVAC companies take the easy way out when they install ducts. They may even have done this in your home. I've seen it in many, many homes, and I know as soon as I see it that the duct…
Radiant Barriers Don’t Work with Spray Foam Insulation on Them
I'm teaching a HERS rater class this week, and on Monday we went out to look at a couple of houses and do a Blower Door test. The second house we visited was under construction, and the builder had used…
An Easy Way to Save Money — Let Your Air Conditioner Breathe!
Here's an easy thing you can do to keep your air conditioner running as efficiently as possible: Don't crowd the condensing unit, the outdoor part of your AC. In the photo at left, you see a common problem. I took…
I Use an Air Conditioner Sizing Rule of Thumb!
As the Quality Assurance Designee for our HERS rating providership, I do something that isn't healthful. I know it's probably driving up my blood pressure and taking years off my life. But I do it because I have to. It's…
Oooh, Shiny Stuff! – Radiant Barrier Fundamentals
In the guest post I wrote for Bob Borson in his blog Life of an Architect, I gave an overview of the types of attic insulation. I didn't discuss radiant barriers in the article, but it's a hot topic, so…