An Air Conditioner Does at Least 4 Jobs
The most noticeable thing about an air conditioner is that it blows cool air into the house. When you come indoors after doing yard work on a hot summer day, that may be all that matters to you. But air…
filtration
7 Steps to Good Indoor Air Quality
Breathing clean, healthy air at home doesn't happen by accident. And it's not something you can buy a magic product to do for you. No, it's the result of understanding the basic measures that work to keep your air clean. …
Better Filtration for Your Heat Pump Water Heater
Surprise! Your heat pump water heater has a filter that needs to be cleaned. But you probably already knew that if you're reading the Energy Vanguard Blog. It's a thin little filter whose primary job is to keep larger particles…
Do You Have an IAQ Plan for Thanksgiving?
So you've got a bunch of people showing up this week to spend a day or two or three with you. In a perfect world, no one brings any illnesses with them to the party. But what if they do…
A Burnt Grilled Cheese and the Collapse of Indoor Air Quality
I burned a grilled cheese sandwich recently. I tried to bury the evidence by throwing it in the trash and forgetting about it, but my dear, sweet wife fished it out. "You need to tell the world about this," she…
What Is PM2.5?
You can't see them. You can't smell a lot of them. In fact, they're hard to access with any of your senses. But that doesn't mean your body won't respond to those tiny airborne particles that make up what scientists…
A Vivid Look at the Effects of Air Pollution
This week I saw a photo that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It's one thing to know something. It's another to see it. I've been writing about indoor air quality and the health effects of indoor…
Ionizer Company Sues Indoor Air Quality Expert
Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, indoor air quality has become a subject of great concern. IAQ and infectious disease scientists discovered early on that COVID is airborne. That means removing virus-laden particles from the air or deactivating…
The What, Why, and How of the Corsi-Rosenthal Box
The Westford Symposium on Building Science (known mostly as Building Science Summer Camp) came back to life this year after a two-year pandemic-prompted hiatus. Three of the presentations on the first day focused on health, indoor air quality, and infection…
A Layered Approach to Indoor Air Quality
The past 2.5 years of the COVID pandemic have put a big spotlight on indoor air quality and the spread of infectious disease. I've been writing about various aspects of indoor air quality since I started this blog in 2010,…