Imagine the house of your dreams. It's beautiful and laid out efficiently. You're always comfortable. It promotes health and happiness. The operating costs are low. You don't have to spend much to maintain it. You don't get a lot of…
![Pulling Air From The Crawl Space To Cool The House Is A Really Stupid Thing To Do With Air [Photo Courtesy Of E3 Innovate In Nashville, TN]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/cool-air-intake-crawl-space-e3-innovate.jpg)
The Talking Heads said it best: "Air can hurt you, too." And it does it in so many ways. It can hurt your pocketbook. It can make you uncomfortable. It can make you sweat. It can make you sick. And,…
Vented crawl spaces are often nasty, dirty buffer spaces that can flood your home with a variety of indoor air pollutants. A lot of it starts with moisture, of course. Water comes up from the ground beneath the crawl space,…
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…
I taught Manuel about sealing the holes in air barriers, ducts, and crawl spaces. He taught me how to face my fears by sticking my arm into holes in the ground. Manuel was my best worker when I did home…
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…
That photo above is from my basement. In case you missed my last article, I just bought a 1961 ranch-style house in Atlanta and am embarking on the wonderful building science adventure of turning it into a high-performance home. Ultimately,…
If you know a little building science, you've no doubt seen a lot of problems that occur with air distribution systems. Ducts just don't get anywhere near the attention they deserve in most homes, partly because they're hidden from view.…
Here in the southeastern US, we have a lot of crawl spaces. Most are vented. Even most new ones are vented. It's not because it's the best way to keep them dry. That's certainly not true. We have enough research…
It's that time of year when heating systems start coming out of their summer hibernation. (Except maybe in Vermont. Michael Blasnik's Nest data showed that Vermonters are about the last to start heating their homes in Fall.) Then everyone starts…