fundamentals Archives - Energy Vanguard https://www.energyvanguard.com/tag/fundamentals/ Building science knowledge, HVAC design, & fun Wed, 05 Jun 2024 12:14:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 Going Deeper With Control Layers https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/going-deeper-with-control-layers/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/going-deeper-with-control-layers/#view_comments Thu, 30 May 2024 15:16:09 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=9068 Controlling the flows of heat, air, and moisture is where building science begins.  This is so important that I devoted more than a third of my book to the building enclosure and control layers.  As much as I love discussing…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/going-deeper-with-control-layers/feed/ 8 How a Heat Pump Gets Heat From Cold Air, Part 2 https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-a-heat-pump-gets-heat-from-cold-air-part-2/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-a-heat-pump-gets-heat-from-cold-air-part-2/#view_comments Wed, 10 Jan 2024 16:20:47 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8758 Everyone’s talking about heat pumps.  These machines for heating buildings can exchange heat with the outdoors in multiple ways, of course.  Ground-coupled heat pumps pull heat out of the ground or water and send it to heat the building.  But…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/how-a-heat-pump-gets-heat-from-cold-air-part-2/feed/ 20 Understanding Wet Bulb Temperature https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/understanding-wet-bulb-temperature/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/understanding-wet-bulb-temperature/#view_comments Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:27:38 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8609 That gorgeous photo of a Massachusetts lake above illustrates some interesting psychrometrics.  Those little bits of mist are tiny water droplets full of molecules that not long before had been part of the lake.  In the air between those misty…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/understanding-wet-bulb-temperature/feed/ 5 What Happens to Your Used Electricity? https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/what-happens-to-your-used-electricity/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/what-happens-to-your-used-electricity/#view_comments Tue, 24 Jan 2023 16:20:14 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=8030 When you turn on your toaster, you know what happens to the electricity going through those filaments.  You can feel it.  The energy you extract from the electricity turns directly into heat.  But what about the other electrical devices and…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/what-happens-to-your-used-electricity/feed/ 11 Making Sense of Energy and Power https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/making-sense-of-energy-and-power/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/making-sense-of-energy-and-power/#view_comments Wed, 11 Jan 2023 13:37:02 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7980 James Watt was a great scientist and engineer, known mainly for his work on the steam engine.  Actually, that’s not true.  What he’s really known for is confusing a great many people who deal with energy.  But C. Wilhelm Siemens…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/making-sense-of-energy-and-power/feed/ 16 Getting a Solid Understanding of Building Science https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/getting-a-solid-understanding-of-building-science/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/getting-a-solid-understanding-of-building-science/#view_comments Tue, 23 Aug 2022 14:24:30 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7710 You may have found yourself needing to understand building science for one of a thousand different reasons.  Perhaps you’ve bought a house and want to make sure it’s comfortable, healthy, and efficient.  Maybe you’re an architect with a new client…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/getting-a-solid-understanding-of-building-science/feed/ 1 10 Building Science Lies to Watch out for https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/10-building-science-lies-to-be-aware-of/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/10-building-science-lies-to-be-aware-of/#view_comments Tue, 12 Jul 2022 15:50:13 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7579 This past week I learned the truth about another one of many building science lies.  It’s the first one in my list here.  Having my eyes opened to that lie made think of some of the other ones out there. …

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/10-building-science-lies-to-be-aware-of/feed/ 4 Converting Heat Pump Capacity Between English and Metric https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/converting-heat-pump-capacity-between-english-and-metric/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/converting-heat-pump-capacity-between-english-and-metric/#view_comments Fri, 20 May 2022 17:35:37 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7443 Heat pumps are riding a wave of demand and curiosity lately.  With all the talk of electrification and decarbonization, heat pumps are in!  We specify heat pumps in most of our HVAC design jobs at Energy Vanguard.  We’ve got them…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/converting-heat-pump-capacity-between-english-and-metric/feed/ 6 The Ol’ Beer Can Pressure Crunch https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-ol-beer-can-pressure-crunch/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-ol-beer-can-pressure-crunch/#view_comments Tue, 10 May 2022 20:48:31 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=7410 Air has weight.  Air can move things, like giant wind turbine blades.  Air can also crush things.  I first got to see the power of air in my introductory physics class in college.  The professor, Dr. Jeffrey Trahan, showed the…

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]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/the-ol-beer-can-pressure-crunch/feed/ 5 Building Science Term of the Week: Flux https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/building-science-term-of-the-week-flux/ https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/building-science-term-of-the-week-flux/#view_comments Fri, 09 Jul 2021 12:44:39 +0000 https://www.energyvanguard.com/?p=6156 At first glance, the word “flux” looks like it may not be appropriate in polite company. In fact, though, it’s a word used in physics all the time. Flux comes from the same Latin root that gives us “flow.” The…

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