I've written a lot about HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) companies in the Energy Vanguard blog, and a lot of what I've written is pretty critical. I've ruminated about why they won't do things right, gone on a tirade…
My two sisters-in-law have been in town the past few days, and one of them needs to get an energy audit for the home she and her husband recently bought in Seattle. I gave her a recommendation for a company…
I had lunch yesterday with a friend who's an HVAC designer and home energy rater in North Carolina, and he mentioned the idea of separating HVAC design from HVAC contractors. For that to happen, though, HVAC contractors first have to…
As you may have heard, we have a new energy code here in Georgia that's one of the most progressive in the country. One of the new requirements, which to my knowledge no other state has, is that all new…
I've been struggling to write a review of the ACI (Affordable Comfort) conference since it ended on Friday. Inspired by Steve Byers's post, though, and my San Francisco sight-seeing tour, I'm going to dive in. I've been struggling to write…
Here's another in the series of building practices that drive me crazy - recessed can lights. They're so popular that some remodelers carry a shotgun and walk through the house randomly shooting holes in the ceilings to install them. Here's…
A room full of builders, contractors, developers, and designers recently participated in a workshop on ENERGY STAR Version 3 for homes. Sponsored by E3 Innovate of Nashville and presented by Allison Bailes of Energy Vanguard, the class covered the basics…
I've been in a lot of crawl spaces and basements that have floors insulated with fiberglass batts. I've seen a lot of new homes that have fiberglass batts installed in bonus room floors, cantilevers, and floors over basements or crawl…
Yesterday, I visited a house in South Carolina and took the photo you see to the left. Notice anything peculiar about the framing here? If not, I'll tell you the answer below, but let me say here that one feature…
In my quest to educate the world on building science topics, I find that I often have to go back to basics. Whether it's the basic nature of heat, why we're using the wrong quantity to characterize infiltration rates, or…