One of the biggest fears of HVAC contractors is to undersize a heating system. I'm not saying it's impossible, but installing a heating system that won't keep a house warm is really hard to do. Sometimes the rules of thumb…
Whether you live in a house, an apartment, or a condo, your HVAC system is probably oversized. In fact, it's not uncommon for residential systems to be 2 or even 3 times larger than they should be (although they don't…
![House Burping Means Opening The Windows To Increase Ventilation, But It's Got Problems. [by Catalina Dondiuc, CC BY 2.0]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/open-window-house-burping-luften-ventilation.jpg)
Some years ago in a previous century, I spent the month of January in Germany. It happened to be a winter of extreme cold, with a low temperature of -40 degrees† at one point. And yet, my German companions liked…
![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…
One of the most effective ways to improve your home is to make it more airtight. But airtightness is about much more than reducing your energy bills. I have here a list of 7 ways that airtightness improves your home,…
Those of us in humid climates know the importance of having good dehumidification along with good cooling for comfort. Dehumidifiers, however, blow hot air into the living space. So what happens when you add a dehumidifier? A lot of people…
Bringing an attic within the building enclosure that defines the conditioned space has a lot of benefits. By having the insulation and air barrier at the roofline, the attic stays close to the temperature in the living space below. That…
No, that's not an art installation or a privacy screen. What you're looking at in the photo above is a hotel room I stayed in recently. Behind the chair and the ironing board is the air conditioning system. The bed…
Which do you think would have the bigger impact: Building better new houses or fixing existing homes? Well, let's do the numbers. In 2024, building departments across the US issued just shy of 1.5 million building permits for new homes…
I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone complain that their air conditioner runs all the time. Now, it's certainly possible that an air conditioner running continuously has a problem. But is the simple observation of continuous operation…