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…
I'm teaching a HERS rater class this week, and on Monday we went out to look at a couple of houses and do a Blower Door test. The second house we visited was under construction, and the builder had used…
As you sit comfortably in your home, you’re being bombarded by radiation from all sides. There’s nothing you can do to stop it either. Don’t worry, though—without it, you’d be dead because your house would be at a temperature of…
I spent this week at the 15th Annual Westford Symposium on Building Science (aka Building Science Summer Camp). Great event. Great people. Lots of learning and thinking and networking. I spent this week at the 15th Annual Westford Symposium on…
Well, my first day of the 2011 Building Science Summer Camp, officially called the Fifteenth Annual Westford Symposium on Building Science, has come to an end. It's been a great day up here in Westford, Massachusetts, (right next to Chelmsford,…
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…
Yesterday was a special day in the Energy Vanguard blog. You may not realize it, but it was the 211th article we've published here since I started it 16 months ago. Does that number mean anything to you? Yesterday was…
Michael Blasnik, in case you don't know, is a home energy geek's home energy geek. He's a building science nerd's building science nerd. He's known for analyzing data on home energy efficiency and laying bare some of our most-cherished assumptions…
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…