water Archives - Energy Vanguard https://www.energyvanguard.com/tag/water/ Building science knowledge, HVAC design, & fun Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:49:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 The One Reason NOT to Do It Yourself https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-one-reason-not-to-do-it-yourself/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-one-reason-not-to-do-it-yourself/#view_comments Wed, 20 Mar 2024 12:26:08 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8917 I’ve taken on a whole lot of do-it-yourself (DIY) projects over the years.  I built furniture (end table, bookcase, coffee table…) in high school and college.  Thanks to owning a couple of old Volkswagens (’61 Beetle and ’65 bus), I’ve…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-one-reason-not-to-do-it-yourself/feed/ 27 How I Got Faster Hot Water https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-i-got-faster-hot-water-at-the-tap/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-i-got-faster-hot-water-at-the-tap/#view_comments Fri, 29 Jul 2022 12:37:05 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7636 In my last post, I told you about the plumbing work I did to begin the retrofit of my hot water distribution system.  I’m bypassing the original too-long, too-big copper pipes with shorter, smaller runs of PEX tubing.  My goal…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-i-got-faster-hot-water-at-the-tap/feed/ 15 My New Project: A 1961 House With Home-Performance Angst https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/my-new-project-1961-house-high-performance-angst/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/my-new-project-1961-house-high-performance-angst/#view_comments Fri, 12 Jul 2019 12:31:22 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=my-new-project-a-1961-house-with-home-performance-angst Let me tell you the story about a poor, young country boy who broke the law and launched me into my new project.  Back in February, I was driving home from work one evening when a driver T-boned me.  The…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/my-new-project-1961-house-high-performance-angst/feed/ 34 The Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS) Launches https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-water-efficiency-rating-score-wers-launches/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-water-efficiency-rating-score-wers-launches/#view_comments Wed, 04 May 2016 04:00:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=the-water-efficiency-rating-score-wers-launches The Green Builder Coalition has been working hard on their Water Efficiency Rating Score — the WERS — for homes. The inaugural WERS training happened in Santa Fe, New Mexico in March. I was in that class, and I learned a…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-water-efficiency-rating-score-wers-launches/feed/ 8 What’s the WERS? https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/whats-the-wers/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/whats-the-wers/#view_comments Wed, 17 Feb 2016 05:00:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=whats-the-wers Now’s your chance. The inaugural train-the-trainer session on the Water Efficiency Rating Score, WERS, is happening in Santa Fe, New Mexico in just three weeks. Mike Collignon from the Green Builder Coalition has been doing an amazing job getting this…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/whats-the-wers/feed/ 7 My Top 10 Energy Efficiency Articles and Ideas of 2015 https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/my-top-10-energy-efficiency-articles-and-ideas-of-2015/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/my-top-10-energy-efficiency-articles-and-ideas-of-2015/#view_comments Tue, 29 Dec 2015 05:00:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=my-top-10-energy-efficiency-articles-and-ideas-of-2015 The year 2015 is almost finished. I’ve written 69 articles here in the Energy Vanguard Blog. I’ve been to a bunch of conferences and talked to a lot of people. A lot of thoughts about building science, energy efficiency, indoor…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/my-top-10-energy-efficiency-articles-and-ideas-of-2015/feed/ 3 Don’t Talk to Me About Vapor Barriers! https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/#view_comments Wed, 02 Dec 2015 05:00:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers I was at a meeting recently when the discussion turned to wall assemblies. One of the speakers then asked what we should do about vapor barriers. It’s what everyone wants to know, right? Should I use a vapor barrier?  Should…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/dont-talk-to-me-about-vapor-barriers/feed/ 32 Accidental Dehumidification – A Preventable Mess https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/accidental-dehumidification-a-preventable-mess/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/accidental-dehumidification-a-preventable-mess/#view_comments Fri, 20 Nov 2015 05:00:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=accidental-dehumidification-a-preventable-mess “Oops! The house just had an accident. Whose turn is it to clean it up?” Yep. We’re entering the season of accidental dehumidification. If you’ve got windows that start collecting water, like the one shown above, you’re a victim of…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/accidental-dehumidification-a-preventable-mess/feed/ 8 New Mexico Green Builders Create Water Efficiency Rating System https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/new-mexico-green-builders-create-water-efficiency-rating-system/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/new-mexico-green-builders-create-water-efficiency-rating-system/#view_comments Wed, 11 Feb 2015 05:00:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=new-mexico-green-builders-create-water-efficiency-rating-system Energy usually gets top billing in the green building community. It has a huge impact on the environment. We sometimes pay a significant amount for it (although most of us don’t pay enough to motivate serious change, but that’s another…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/new-mexico-green-builders-create-water-efficiency-rating-system/feed/ 22 A Great Success: Classic 1970s Solar Home Turned Net Zero https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/a-great-success-classic-1970s-passive-solar-home-turned-net-zero/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/a-great-success-classic-1970s-passive-solar-home-turned-net-zero/#view_comments Thu, 27 Mar 2014 04:00:00 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=a-great-success-classic-1970s-passive-solar-home-turned-net-zero I’ve been in Lexington, Kentucky this week at the Midwest Residential Energy Conference. It was great! (And I played nice – I didn’t mention in any of my talks that I’m a Florida Gator.) One of the many highlights for…

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