My First Week of Making Solar Electricity
In December 2025, we got a photovoltaic (PV) array installed on our roof. I was going to wait longer, but the 30 percent solar tax credit was going away at the end of 2025. We got in just under the…
electricity
Is Electric Resistance Heat Really 100 Percent Efficient?
I've been making a statement for a long time that sometimes gets called out as inaccurate. The story began in the second month of this blog back in April 2010 when I wrote an article titled When Is 100% Efficient…
Concrete, Steel, and Demolition in My Basement
Things are heating up in my basement now. Really. Our outdoor temperatures have risen since I began my basement renovation in early February and I still don't have heating and cooling down there yet. So it's getting a bit warm…
Preparing an Old Home for Electrification, Part 2
The electrification movement is accelerating, so let's go back to this topic again and look at how to electrify an older house. In part 1 of this series, I listed some important questions to ask. Today, I'll cover some steps…
A Year of Home Electricity Monitoring Data
A little over a year ago, I wrote about the Emporia Vue home electricity monitoring system I installed at my house. I've posted data on LinkedIn and in some other articles since then. Now, though, I've got a whole year's…
An Electrification Essential: Electrical Circuit Mapping
Let's say you have an older house. Maybe the laundry room used to be in the basement but got moved to the main floor later. Then someone added a bunch of can lights in the kitchen and family room. Over…
![Preparing An Old House For Electrification [Photo By Scottbb, Flickr.com, CC License]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/electrical-panel-neat-wiring-electrification-old-house-cropped.jpg)
Preparing an Old House for Electrification, Part 1
With the Inflation Reduction Act providing lots of incentives to improve your home and go all-electric, let's look at how you can prepare for the conversion. As with any home improvement job, it's best to do your homework. In this…
What Happens to Your Used Electricity?
When you turn on your toaster, you know what happens to the electricity going through those filaments. You can feel it. The energy you extract from the electricity turns directly into heat. But what about the other electrical devices and…
Making Sense of Energy and Power
James Watt was a great scientist and engineer, known mainly for his work on the steam engine. Actually, that's not true. What he's really known for is confusing a great many people who deal with energy. But C. Wilhelm Siemens…
The Top 10 Articles in the Energy Vanguard Blog in 2022
It's been a good year in the Energy Vanguard Blog. Counting this one, I've published 46 articles during the year. Of the previous 45 articles, I think the following might be ten most important ones. This is just my own…