Speaking of things that drive me crazy (we were, weren't we?), here's another one - people confusing the roles of insulation and air barrier. The people I'm talking about are not homeowners, though. I'm talking about contractors, builders, and journalists…
Snow on the Roof is the poor man's infrared camera. During the snow days we just had in Atlanta, Jeffrey Sauls sent me the photo above. What you see is the roof of his own house, which he'd had insulated…
Green Building Advisor, one of my favorite sources of good info on building science and green building, ran my Flat or Lumpy article as a guest blog yesterday. (They also gave the Energy Vanguard blog a nice review!) With the…
We got a couple inches of snow here in Atlanta over the holidays. That always offers a great look at heat loss through the ceiling, so I love to get outside and take pictures. After the snow has been on…
Back in grad school, I was taking a class in surface physics, and my friend Steve asked, "What is temperature?" On first hearing that question, you might think it's so obvious that it doesn't even bear asking, and anyone who…
It seems so simple. There’s outside, and there’s inside. The walls, ceilings, and floors that separate the cold outside from the warm inside should be the only surfaces that rob heat from your home. Interior walls have conditioned space on…
It just drives me crazy! When you see news stories in the media about improving your home's energy efficiency, they invariably tell you to caulk your windows and weatherstrip your doors. There are enough home energy pros now that we…
Nine years it's been already. It's hard to believe it's been that long. In 2001, I was building a house out of structural insulated panels (SIPs) - and loving it! It was an absolutely gorgeous month to spend outdoors in…
"In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" Homer Simpson said that, and it's good advice for all of us. Actually, we don't really have a choice, you know. If, out of ignorance or dissent, we do things that…
You open the door and are immediately assaulted by the damp, musty smell, even before taking a full step inside. If you're hyper-sensitive to these smells, you probably can't even go in without a respirator. If you're not that sensitive…