Yesterday I had lunch with Robert Bean and Eric Griffin at the ASHRAE conference here in Atlanta. As we talked about how we got into the field of building science, I began thinking of the reasons I love doing what…
Have you seen ghosts? Ever been in a haunted house? Do some homes just give you the paranormal heebie jeebies? The building science ghostbusters are hot on the trail, so you may be able to set your mind at ease.…
Asbestos was a popular material for most of the twentieth century, mainly because of its ability to insulate and act as a fire retardant. In fact, it's still used heavily in some parts of the world, such as India and…
I've been writing some articles on ventilation for the Journal of Light Construction lately and have come across some great material. The first quote here makes the point about indoor air quality with a graphic underwear metaphor. It's from an…
Last week at the Affordable Comfort Conference (also known as ACI), I co-moderated a panel called The Great Ventilation Standard Debate.1 Duncan Prahl of Ibacos proposed the session and rounded up a collection of some of best building science folks…
When I started Energy Vanguard in 2008, I didn't know how it would evolve and had thought early on that I may get back into home performance contracting. I did a couple of jobs, the last one being a crawl…
Today is Pi Day, named for that special number, 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288... The three dots at the end mean that I've exhausted my memory of the digits of pi, but pi doesn't care. It just goes on and on. Anyway, Pi Day…
The debate over how much to ventilate a home has been going on a long time. Last year, Building Science Corporation introduced their own standard to compete against ASHRAE 62.2 because of problems they felt weren't adequately addressed in the…
![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…
Burning fuels inside a house can lead to serious health and safety problems. Energy auditors do a variety of combustion safety tests to find potential hazards and recommend fixes. A couple of weeks ago at the Dry Climate Forum, I…