10 Reasons to Buy a Home Energy Audit on Cyber Monday
For about the same price as you'd pay for an iPad, you can buy a home energy audit to give to a loved one this holiday season. Yes, the iPad is sexier. Yes, the iPad is more fun. Yes, everyone…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
Don’t Let the Turkey Get You Down! Carbon Monoxide Alert
I love Thanksgiving! It's my favorite holiday, full of memories of big meals at my grandparents' house in Leesville, Louisiana. We all sat around the big round table made by my grandfather, Allison Sr., ate way too much turkey, stuffing,…
Do You Need an Extreme Home Makeover to Get a Soundproof Home?
Recently I saw an episode of Extreme Home Makeover in which Ty Pennington and crew built a house for an Iraq war veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because noise was a huge trigger for the stress attacks he experienced…
Energy Auditor Training: Caveat Emptor
Let's take a look at this saying that some people take as truth: Those who can, do, and those who can't, teach. You know it's a lie, right? Not only does it show arrogance and complete misunderstanding of what teaching…
3 Great Sources for Home Energy Videos
We've made a few videos here at Energy Vanguard and will be adding a lot more to our TheEnergyVanguard YouTube channel. Videos are great for learning about building science and home energy audits, so here are some of my favorite…
U R A ΔT, and Other Building Science Blandishments
Remember that science class where you learned about the three forms of heat flow: conduction, convection, and radiation? Well, class, let's make it real today. You insulate your walls, floors, and ceilings to limit the amount of heat your home…
Won’t That Stink? — Living in a Green Home with a Composting Toilet
Ten years ago I was building a green home. It had passive solar features, was built out of structural insulated panels, sent all the greywater out to the back yard to water fruit trees, and was going to be super…
Guardian Building Products Makes the Right Move
Yesterday I received an email and letter from Steve Ziessler, president and CEO of Guardian Building Products. In it, he apologized for their heavy-handed approach to expressing their displeasure with seeing their fiberglass batts pictured in an article on poor…
Why Is Guardian Building Products Threatening Energy Vanguard?
[UPDATE: 11/8/11 I received an apology today from the president and CEO of Guardian. More about that in the follow-up post.] See that photo? It's one of the reasons that I received a nasty letter from Guardian Building Products, a manufacturer…
The 3 Types of Energy Efficiency Losses in Water Heating
This is the time of year when I start really appreciating hot water. We're getting a little bit of chilly weather, and those hot showers feel really nice in the morning. But that hot water† that reaches me in the…