With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rebates and other energy efficiency incentives out there now, it's a great time to start using a heat pump to heat your home. If you're currently heating with a furnace and have an air…
I mainly talk about air source heat pumps here. But ground-source heat pumps are an important type of heat pump, too. So today, let's look at the issue of open-loop vs. closed-loop design when installing this type of heat…
We do a lot of HVAC design (third party, all over the US) at Energy Vanguard. I've also written a lot about it here in this blog and in my book. And if you've been reading any of those pieces,…
A little over a year ago, I wrote about the Emporia Vue home electricity monitoring system I installed at my house. I've posted data on LinkedIn and in some other articles since then. Now, though, I've got a whole year's…
One way of categorizing heat pumps and air conditioners is by how much heating and cooling they can provide. By how much, I’m not referring to, say, a 2-ton versus a 3-ton air conditioner. What I’m talking about is whether…
So you're getting a new air conditioner! Well, what size should you get? Unfortunately, too many contractors use only one input for sizing an air conditioner. Yup. To them, it's just a matter of floor area. Forget the windows, the…
We've been trained to believe something that's just not true. Go out and ask a hundred people how long a water heater can last, and the majority probably will say it's in the range of 10 to 15 years. Where…
![Nine Individual One-to-one Mini-split Heat Pump Outdoor Units [Photo Courtesy Of Jonah Richard]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/mini-split-heat-pump-outdoor-unit-one-to-one-1000.jpg)
When it comes to mini-split heat pumps, you get to play by different rules. With a traditional split system heat pump (or air conditioner), there's one outdoor unit and one indoor unit. But with mini-splits, you have the option of…
The question of heat pumps in old houses is coming up a lot lately. With the great electrification upon us, heat pumps are quickly becoming the number one choice for space heating. In fact, data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and…
![Preparing An Old House For Electrification [Photo By Scottbb, Flickr.com, CC License]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/electrical-panel-neat-wiring-electrification-old-house-cropped.jpg)
With the Inflation Reduction Act providing lots of incentives to improve your home and go all-electric, let's look at how you can prepare for the conversion. As with any home improvement job, it's best to do your homework. In this…