The Nest Learning Thermostat has been on the market for nearly four years now. One of the biggest things the Nest folks use as a selling point is energy savings. "Programs itself. Then pays for itself." That's the first thing…
Take a look at the photo above. See anything missing? If you don't see it yet, look at the big opening at the bottom right of the photo and you should be able to deduce what that room is. It's…
The Nest thermostat has been around since October 2011, quietly collecting data on how your home — and the homes of hundreds of thousands of your neighbors — operates. It gathers information about indoor temperature, relative humidity, air conditioner runtime,…
I love the ACI National Home Performance Conference! This year's conference was spectacular. It was in New Orleans, which is always fun. The stars of home performance were there. The Californians came back. (That's one of them in the chicken…
You know about the fourth state of water. (You read my last article, Introduction to the Physics of Water in Porous Materials, right?) Not liquid, not vapor, and not solid, it has properties similar to liquid water but not quite the…
I like to tell people I'm a recovering academic. The truth is, though, that I haven't left physics behind. That would be impossible since I've been making a career in the world of building science. So, today I'm going to…
Joe Lstiburek called me last week to set the record straight. I had written an article about a study of moisture in double-stud walls in a Massachusetts home, and his company, Building Science Corporation (BSC), had done the research as…
When asked to name our passions at the conference I went to in Portland, Oregon last week, I had to think about it a little bit. I had just been discussing what it is we aim to do at a…
Insulation is good. More insulation is better (although at some point, more may not be cost effective). It reduces the amount of heat a home loses in winter or gains in summer. You can get there by building thicker walls…
Last week I got a chance to sit down and talk with Terry Brennan in Dallas at the Air Barrier Association of America’s annual conference. He may not be as famous as Joe Lstiburek, but he’s every bit the building…