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,…
![Does A Dehumidifier Add To The Cooling Load? [Courtesy Of Santa Fe Indoor Air Quality Solutions]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ventilating-dehumidifier-santa-fe.png)
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…
![Meet The New Introverter Heat Pump, Comfortably Keeping Its Distance While Silently Keeping You Comfortable. [Image By ChatGPT]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/introverter-heat-pump-introvert-at-a-party.png)
You know those heat pumps that seem to be doing their best impression of a jet engine every time they kick on? Or the ones that aggressively blast you with cold air like they’re trying to prove something? Well, the…
Since we're on the topic of energy, let's extend last week's discussion of electric resistance heat efficiency. I've sometimes told people that "a BTU is a BTU." (For the rest of the world, the conversion is simple: "A joule is…
Let's talk thermostats today. This ubiquitous device in homes is the user interface that allows people to control their heating and cooling systems. It might seem simple. Turn it up when you need more heating or cooling and down when…
My book (A House Needs to Breathe...Or Does It?) has three sections. The two that take up most of the book are on the building enclosure and the mechanical systems. But the one that I lead with is called Start…