The gap is narrowing. What gap, you ask? Why, the gap between stupid and hurt, of course. So says Dr. Joe Lstiburek. Allow me to explain. Sometimes when you do something stupid, it hurts immediately. A toddler touches a hot…
Clark Howard is the penny pincher's guru. My wife loves his radio show and website for all the money-saving tips he provides. Naturally, anyone trying to help people save money at home has to address energy use, and Howard does,…
Energy Vanguard's president, Dr. Allison Bailes, will teach a three-hour workshop called What You Need to Know About HVAC to Work with HVAC Pros at the Mid-Atlantic Sustainability Conference in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Aimed at architects, engineers, builders, raters, and students,…
Your air conditioner, heat pump, or furnace probably uses a lot of energy. Heating and cooling makes up about half of the total energy use in a typical house. For air conditioners and heat pumps using electricity generated in fossil-fuel…
A line in the sand has some significance for Texas, the state where I was born. Colonel William Travis used his sword to draw such a line in the waning days of the Battle of the Alamo. As General Santa Anna…
Duct leakage is a big deal. It's one of the top three energy wasters in most homes (air leakage and cable TV set-top boxes being the other two). Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab found that duct systems leak on…
When it comes to air conditioning, there are a lot of bad products and bad ideas out there. Here are a few: You can buy a cover for your condenser that could kill your compressor. Some people don't think the…
At the Forum on Dry Climate Home Performance earlier this year, I got to hear three building science experts talk about a really cool research project they've been working on in Stockton, California. Bruce Wilcox, John Proctor, and Rick Chitwood…
Two things. Just two things in your ducts are responsible for giving the blower in your furnace or air handler a hard time. They make the blower push against more pressure, thus reducing air flow or increasing energy use, depending…
![Dead Possum Lying Next To A Disconnected Return Duct In A Nasty Crawl Space [Photo Courtesy Of E3 Innovate]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/crawl-space-return-duct-dead-possum-e3-innovate-900-annotated.jpg)
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a big deal. It doesn't get near as much attention as energy efficiency or green building programs, but it should be one of the highest priorities for anyone who lives in a home. It's actually…