Does Radon Really Cause Lung Cancer?
In a recent article on the result of my radon test, I referred to the US EPA's work on the health effects of radon. They claim that about 21,000 people in the US each year get lung cancer from indoor…
health & safety
![How Radon Enters A Home [US EPA]](https://www.energyvanguard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/how-radon-enters-home-epa.jpg)
What to Know About a High Radon Test Result
I got a high radon test result for my house this week. I've lived in the house nearly four years now and finally got it tested. Yay! The result is high. Boo! But what does it really mean? I haven't…
Can Cold Surfaces Wring Moisture From Dry Air?
Cold air is dry air, right? Think about the humidity in your house in winter compared to what it is in summer. If you're in a humid climate, it's going to be drier in winter. Even in dry climates, it's…
What a Carbon Dioxide Monitor Tells You
OK, it's time to spell this out in black and white because there seems to be some confusion. Monitoring carbon dioxide (CO2), as I've been doing with my Aranet4 portable CO2 monitor* for the past couple of years, is a…
![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…
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 Big Picture of Indoor Air Quality – Excerpt
The quote below is a classic from the 1893 book, Ventilation and Heating, by John Shaw Billings. The imagery of wearing someone else's dirty underwear may shock you, but Billings makes a compelling point. We essentially do something worse whenever…
DIY Box Fan Air Cleaner Update
The DIY box fan air cleaner known as the Corsi-Rosenthal Box (or the Comparetto Cube, in a slight variation) has really taken off in the fight against COVID. I wrote about it here in September 2020, with instructions on how…
The 2021 Energy Vanguard Wrap-up
Here we are at the end of another year. It's been a weird one! I certainly won't go into all the weirdness of 2021, but let me give you the Energy Vanguard wrap-up, divided into five categories. Four of them…
Bad Advice About Indoor Humidity in Cold Weather
It's that time of year again. The cold weather has begun here in the Northern Hemisphere, and people are talking about raising the humidity of the indoor air. I'm certainly no fan of bone-dry air, having experienced too much of…