The complete source for building, designing, and remodeling green homes
-
Does Fiberglass Attic Insulation Really Lose R-Value?
When you get into the world of building science, it's inevitable that you'll hear about the Oak Ridge study proving that fiberglass insulation loses about half its R-value. Maybe, though,…
-
Do High-MERV Filters Always Reduce Air Flow?
Over the past few months, I've taken a look at some critical issues for indoor air quality. Starting with the issue of how much time we spend indoors, I then…
-
Never Home Alone
Every single one of us — those of us who lives indoors — is cohabiting with all manner of living uninvited guests: bacteria, fungi, insects, plants, and even rodents. And…
-
The Continuity Equation and Air Flow
As we continue our study of indoor air quality and filtration, we now come back to duct design. Today's lesson is on an interesting bit of physics that applies to…
-
Seven Reasons Your Filter Isn’t Cleaning the Air
Indoor air quality (IAQ) researchers have established that little bitty invisible pieces of stuff that float around in the air are bad for human health. Of course, being scientists, they…
-
More Wingnut Testing of Basement Waterproofing
In the first round of Wingut testing of negative side waterproofing, I was pretty focused on how various interior basement waterproofing systems dealt with hydrostatic pressure. But in recent workshops…
-
Ranking Indoor Air Pollutants
That face above is of a physician, alchemist, and astrologer named Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim. He is deemed the father of toxicology and is better known by the…
-
A Better Name for Friction Rate
Last year I wrote some articles on duct design and one of the topics I covered was this thing called friction rate. At the end of that article, I discussed…
-
Pete’s Product Puzzle: Cetco RX-101 and Sika 703
What's the scary thing about the two products in the photo above? The scary thing is that it is rare to find a residential builder or architect who has seen…
-
The Two Main Flaws With Kitchen Ventilation
Energy efficiency is a gateway drug to building science. When you really start learning about it, you come to the inescapable conclusion that there's so much more to making homes…
