I'm a big advocate of getting ducts inside the building enclosure. In cooling climates, getting ducts out of an unconditioned attic can save you 15% on your electricity bills. It can reduce the size of air conditioner you need by…
Remember those old metal playground slides? You don't see them all that much anymore, but recently I found one. It was in the quaint little Southern town of Rutledge, Georgia, near the Hard Labor Creek Blueberry Farm where I'd been…
The air has been thick with spring for weeks — and I do mean thick. The pollen count in Atlanta this year has set records, our highest getting over 9000. We had a warm winter and a condensed spring. Now…
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…
A couple of months ago, I wrote about why you don't want power attic ventilators in your home. Whenever I've written about this topic, it just seems to set some people off. I get comments like, "You really should do…
Trade shows can be both educational and infuriating, and there’s one product I see at a lot of trade shows that fits easily into the latter category - power attic ventilators. The variety of this device that’s been popular lately…
Putting spray foam insulation on the roofline of both existing homes and new homes has been growing in popularity over the past decade. But, is it always the best way to treat the building envelope? When does it make sense…
Guest post by Ed Voytovich of Building Efficiency Resources (The BER). I know Ed mainly through our interactions in the LinkedIn RESNET BPI group, where he's a frequent and knowledgeable contributor, though we also met IRL (in real life) at…
We got a couple inches of snow here in Atlanta over the holidays. That always offers a great look at heat loss through the ceiling, so I love to get outside and take pictures. After the snow has been on…
It just drives me crazy! When you see news stories in the media about improving your home's energy efficiency, they invariably tell you to caulk your windows and weatherstrip your doors. There are enough home energy pros now that we…