air leakage Archives - Energy Vanguard https://www.energyvanguard.com/tag/air-leakage/ Building science knowledge, HVAC design, & fun Mon, 21 Oct 2024 22:02:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 10 Ways to Reduce Your Indoor Humidity https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/10-ways-to-reduce-your-indoor-humidity/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/10-ways-to-reduce-your-indoor-humidity/#view_comments Tue, 30 Jul 2024 00:21:10 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=9137 With our changing climate, more people are having to deal with higher humidity for longer periods of time this summer.  I’d say this has been probably the worst summer for humidity since I moved to Georgia in the summer of…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/10-ways-to-reduce-your-indoor-humidity/feed/ 22 The Problem With Too Many Basement Walls https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-problem-with-too-many-basement-walls/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-problem-with-too-many-basement-walls/#view_comments Tue, 26 Mar 2024 16:51:52 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8932 Ever been in a basement that smelled musty?  Maybe the better question to ask would be if you’ve ever been in a basement that didn’t have that smell.  Far too many basements do.  There could be any number of reasons…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-problem-with-too-many-basement-walls/feed/ 31 Fireplace Building Science – Pros and Cons https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/fireplace-building-science-pros-and-cons/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/fireplace-building-science-pros-and-cons/#view_comments Tue, 23 Jan 2024 16:50:54 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8796 Ah, who can resist the ambiance of a crackling fire!  Well, it turns out quite a few can.  Whether to use a fireplace or not is a controversial topic in building science.  The main problem is that a typical wood-burning…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/fireplace-building-science-pros-and-cons/feed/ 31 Weatherizing an Old House: An MLK Day Service Project https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/weatherizing-an-old-house-an-mlk-day-service-project/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/weatherizing-an-old-house-an-mlk-day-service-project/#view_comments Wed, 17 Jan 2024 15:26:19 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8773 A lot of volunteers gathered in Decatur, Georgia this past weekend for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project.  They worked at a number of sites doing all kinds things to improve the homes of low-income senior citizens.  The…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/weatherizing-an-old-house-an-mlk-day-service-project/feed/ 16 How Do Suction Cups Work? https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-do-suction-cups-work/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-do-suction-cups-work/#view_comments Wed, 27 Sep 2023 14:38:45 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8587 Have you ever thought about how suction cups work?  It’s got to be suction, right?  Or is it?  As it turns out, all we need is some basic physics to explain suction cups.  And of course there’s a connection between…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-do-suction-cups-work/feed/ 15 Do Airtight Houses Need Makeup Air? https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/do-airtight-houses-need-makeup-air/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/do-airtight-houses-need-makeup-air/#view_comments Tue, 04 Apr 2023 16:28:59 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8207 When you turn on an exhaust fan, it blows air from inside the house to the outdoors.  That air leaving the house will be matched by an equal amount of air coming in from outside.  The more airtight the house…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/do-airtight-houses-need-makeup-air/feed/ 35 How to Avoid the Flaw in Structural Insulated Panel Construction https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-to-avoid-the-flaw-in-structural-insulated-panel-construction/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-to-avoid-the-flaw-in-structural-insulated-panel-construction/#view_comments Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:23:19 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8126 Before 2001, the biggest construction project I had ever taken on was a bookcase.  My most complicated project was probably the mahogany lamp table I built in tenth grade shop class.  (I still have it!)  Then I decided to build…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-to-avoid-the-flaw-in-structural-insulated-panel-construction/feed/ 38 Will a Heat Pump Work in an Old House? https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/will-a-heat-pump-work-in-an-old-house/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/will-a-heat-pump-work-in-an-old-house/#view_comments Wed, 15 Feb 2023 01:07:40 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8085 The question of heat pumps in old houses is coming up a lot lately.  With the great electrification upon us, heat pumps are quickly becoming the number one choice for space heating.  In fact, data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/will-a-heat-pump-work-in-an-old-house/feed/ 69 What’s the Deal With Exfiltration? https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/whats-the-deal-with-exfiltration/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/whats-the-deal-with-exfiltration/#view_comments Wed, 14 Dec 2022 00:23:48 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7951 When you first start learning building science, you may run into this thing called exfiltration.  It’s not a widely used word, even among those of us who work in the world of building science.  We learn about it and then…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/whats-the-deal-with-exfiltration/feed/ 4 Can Duct Sealing Lead to Condensation? https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/can-duct-sealing-lead-to-condensation/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/can-duct-sealing-lead-to-condensation/#view_comments Mon, 16 May 2022 22:23:01 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7427 When can doing something good for your house turn into something bad?  Hmmm. There are way too many answers to that question, so let me narrow it down.  Is it possible to make your ducts more airtight, a good thing,…

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