At Building Science Summer Camp a few weeks ago, I heard from Sam Rashkin that changes to the ENERGY STAR Version 3 guidelines and implementation schedule were on the horizon. This week, the EPA announced those changes—and some are rather…
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…
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…
Have you heard your air conditioner repairman use terms you didn't understand? Are you a new home energy auditor or HERS rater trying to figure out how heating and cooling systems work? There's a lot of jargon in the world…
This is a guest post by David Butler of Optimal Building Systems in Arizona and a frequent commenter here in our blog. I've known David for a couple of years now, and I can attest to his expertise in the…
Remember that article I wrote about ducts installed against the roof deck and how I said it was probably the absolute worst single location for installing ducts? Well, in the comments, Dave Roberts, a senior engineer at the National Renewable…
HVAC installers and I have a little game of hide-and-seek that we play. Of course, there are the obvious problems I find in duct systems, like the ductopus, ducts installed right up against the roof deck, and duct leakage galore.…
I'm torn. Since I first dived into the ENERGY STAR Version 3 guidelines, the new HVAC requirements have pulled me in two directions. On the one hand, as someone who's been calling for change in the HVAC industry, I see…
Putting spray foam insulation on the roofline of both existing homes and new homes has been growing in popularity over the past decade. But, is it always the best way to treat the building envelope? When does it make sense…
I was checking some REM/Rate files for our HERS raters yesterday, mostly submitted for ENERGY STAR homes. I've come to expect Manual J heating and cooling load calculations submitted along with the files to be less than perfect. Mostly, I…
