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…
Yesterday we took our HERS rater class out into the field to get experience with the pressure testing equipment and data collection procedures. As a bonus, the house we visited presented us with an interesting mystery. Here are the symptoms…
Guest Post. Today's article is a guest post by Paul Raymer, one of the top guys I know on the topic of getting fresh air into homes. Guest Post. Today's article is a guest post by Paul Raymer, one of…
Here's an easy thing you can do to keep your air conditioner running as efficiently as possible: Don't crowd the condensing unit, the outdoor part of your AC. In the photo at left, you see a common problem. I took…
As the Quality Assurance Designee for our HERS rating providership, I do something that isn't healthful. I know it's probably driving up my blood pressure and taking years off my life. But I do it because I have to. It's…
Have you heard your air conditioner repairman use terms you didn't understand? Are you a new home energy auditor or HERS rater trying to figure out how heating and cooling systems work? There's a lot of jargon in the world…
This is a guest post by David Butler of Optimal Building Systems in Arizona and a frequent commenter here in our blog. I've known David for a couple of years now, and I can attest to his expertise in the…
Yesterday, I wrote about the refrigeration cycle for beginners. (Another good article that covers basics of the refrigeration cycle as well as answers to some commonly asked questions is Martin Holladay's Air Conditioner Basics.) Today we go a little deeper.…
If you've wondered how it is that your air conditioner actually keeps you cool in summer, you've found the right place. As Earth-shattering as this sounds, I've actually spent a lot of my half-century living in it! I know, I…
Earlier this week, my HVAC guru, David Butler, made a statement in a LinkedIn discussion group that's obvious to those of us who know building science and high performance homes, but it's something that I think may not be clear…