There's no mystery about how to achieve good indoor air quality (IAQ). But there's a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding. If you listen to know-nothing influencers, you might think all you need to do is buy whichever magic device they're…
![Static Electricity Can Happen When The Indoor Humidity Is Very Low. But Do You Ever Need A Humidifier In An Airtight House? [Photo By By Dave Fayram, CC BY 2.0]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/static-electricity-low-humidity.jpg)
In our HVAC design work at Energy Vanguard, we sometimes try to talk people out of things. I've discussed this in regards to makeup air systems for range hoods, but today let's look at a different one: humidifiers. We don't…
...drywall, flooring, ceiling, baseboard, et cetera? Children often fear the unknown monsters hiding beneath their bed or in the closet, but it's the adults who should be afraid. The monsters hiding from them are real. I've seen a bunch of…
![Various Ways To Install Ducts Overhead, Including Buried Ducts [Image Credit: IBACOS]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/attic-duct-system-configurations.jpg)
Think about moving cold air through a hot attic or hot air through a cold attic. Building codes require only a measly R-8 insulation on the ducts. It may seem natural to bury those ducts beneath the attic insulation to…
To understand energy on a large scale in the US, you can't do better than studying the energy flow charts from the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (part of the US Department of Energy). In the 2023 version above, you see…
It's Thanksgiving week here in the US again. That means a lot of people will be spending a lot of time indoors with ovens and cooktops firing. I'm one of those people. We're having a big get-together at my house,…
It's "Freeze Warning" time of year again. We had our first freeze of the winter here in Atlanta last week, and I saw the sign above. I cringe every time I see one of these signs that says "Let faucets…
![How Many Installation Problems Can You Identify In This Photo Of An Energy Recovery Ventilator In An Unconditioned Crawl Space? [Photo By Robert Jordan Of Achieve Home Energy Advisor]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/energy-recovery-ventilator-erv-bad-installation-1.jpg)
How many ways can one screw up an ERV installation? Surprisingly many, as it turns out. And to look at their work, it seems that some installers think that maximizing those installation errors is the goal. I'll get into the…
Do you know what two things are required for air to move from one place to another? Do you know why that's important to indoor air quality (IAQ)? Do you know what types of pollutants are best removed by filtration? …
Having an airtight house is good in many ways. Last week I wrote about seven of them. And shortly after the article went out into cyberspace, three people emailed me or commented in the article about a glaring omission from…