The complete source for building, designing, and remodeling green homes
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The Perfect Weather for a Dehumidifier
That dehumidifier you see in the photo above is in the Energy Vanguard office here in Decatur, Georgia. The compressor doesn't come on often, but this past week I've heard…
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Is Negative Pressure Causing a Problem in Your Home?
Ever have the smell of your fireplace inside your home? It's not uncommon. Here's a question I got from a reader named Rob last month: We always have a smoke…
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Buildings Don’t Last Forever
The old shack above has been around a long time. It still looks good in its old age, but you'd probably have to pour a lot of money into that…
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Dealing With Construction Moisture
Depending on where, when, how fast, and how well you build, construction moisture—sometimes called “built-in” moisture—may require significant one-time management. I learned from my grandmother that my great-grandfather was a…
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A Myth About Low-Static Ducted Minisplits
I like minisplit heat pumps, especially of the ducted variety. And because I don't like to pay for a lot of excess power, I prefer to use ducted mini-splits with…
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Pete’s Puzzle: Old-School Turbine Vents
As it turns out, these vents are driven by a bit of each... To begin, the vents are quite beautiful The turbine vents shown here are called Effico Roof Ventilators,…
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How to Look at a House like a Building Scientist (Part 3: Temperature, Humidity, and HVAC Systems)
Editor’s Note: This post is part 3 in a series of articles on how to use diagnostic tools to uncover problems with buildings. You can read part 1, on air,…
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Deep Dive into Blower Door Testing
Over the last several years I have accumulated a range of questions about how blower doors and blower door testing work. So when another new query popped up in my…
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Seizing an Air-Sealing Opportunity
The number one thing you need to do to protect a building is control water. As the Canadian building scientist Gus Handegord said, "The three biggest problems in buildings are…
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Can Buildings Take Vacation Too?
This question has come up several times in the last few years: what sort of moisture issues do we need to be concerned about if a building is “shut down”…
