For those of us who live in warm or hot climates, this question about roof temperature is confusing. A lot of people talk about cold roofs and hot roofs, and unfortunately, it's not just about the time of year, current…
I've written a lot of articles about ducts here, but I haven't yet addressed today's topic: common problems with ducts and how to fix them. This one is for homeowners or renters who want to save money and be more…
Attic access points can be a mind-blowing thermal liability. If you don't believe me, open the pulldown stairs or scuttle hole and go into an attic on a cold day. Then turn around and look down through the hole. You'll…
If you've ever seen frost in the attic in winter, it's pretty to easy to understand why it's happening. It's the same thing that causes morning dew on the grass, frost on the exposed half of my car, or water…
I recently finished writing the chapter on the interaction of structure and control layers in my book. The last part was on the various ways to insulate the top of a house. The most common, of course, is to have…
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…
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…