Q: Heating and cooling contractors in my area can install flexible-duct systems for less than they charge to use metal duct or fiberglass duct board. But is it smart for me to choose that lower-cost option in a high-performance house?
Wood stoves and inserts can heat a house, but are they worth it?
I'm considering a house ventilation system that pulls fresh air from outdoors into the air handler of my heating and cooling system. Do I have to include some kind of powered exhaust vent also, to compensate for the incoming airflow?
Hardwood floors sometimes shrink and show cracks between the pieces when the indoor air is dry. Should I insist that my flooring contractor let the flooring acclimate inside the house before nailing it down?
AIR CONDITIONING A HOUSE IS THE costliest part of owning it. Though this has always been the case, rising energy costs mean that an efficient system is more important than ever. The fight to conserve energy took a giant leap forward earlier this year when a new seasonal energy-efficiency rating...
Q: When a home is built over a crawlspace foundation, what are the advantages, if any, of sealing the vents versus leaving them open?
PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, AND MECHANICAL systems are among the most expensive and labor-intensive parts of a house.
THE $14.7 BILLION ENERGY POLICY Act that became law this summer isn't just about clean coal, nuclear power, alternative auto fuels, or hybrid cars—although there's a lot of all that in it.
IF YOU HAPPEN TO SHELL OUT $75 to get your hands on the 2004 National Association of Realtors home buyer profile, you might be disappointed—but probably not surprised. After scanning its 30 pages, you come away thinking today's buyers are fickle, superficial creatures who don't care about anything...
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DESPITE HAVING A WIDE variety of upgrade options during the home buying process, the typical consumer gets shut out of the HVAC system decision. “Buyers have been choosing appliances and faucets for years but never get the option to choose the HVAC,” says Mike Barnes, sales and distribution manager...
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Echelon Corp. is making some headway in the residential sector with its automated LonWorks platform. Until now, LonWorks has mostly been deployed in commercial buildings and some multifamily projects.
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What do you get when you combine a super-tight, energy-efficient home with a large photovoltaic array and a solar hot water heater? You get a home that produces more energy than it consumes--in theory at least.
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When builders put together home automation systems for their customers, HVAC is rarely on the list. Most builders are more than comfortable installing traditional energy-efficient, set-back thermostats and don't have any intention of changing until more customers start asking for automated HVAC.
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With the well-documented increase in allergy-sensitive individuals has come a predictable increase in stand-alone devices claiming to remove allergens from indoor air. It's virtually impossible to 'purify' indoor air," notes Bob Moffitt, communications manager with the ALA. "These devices are not...
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The affordable combination attracts buyers to Tucson's first master planned community dedicated to the principles of sustainable living. Project: Civano Sol, Tucson, Ariz.; Sales started: January 2003; Sales through February 2003: 11; Units planned: 41; Price: $158,900 to $184,900; Unit size: 1,505...
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New studies from the EPA suggest that one in three people who purchase a home today have someone in the family with allergies. With "tight" homes now essentially mandated in virtually every building code, and mold litigation on the rise, addressing indoor air quality is no longer an amenity. It's a...
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National Air Duct Cleaners Association breathes life, simplicity into IAQ management The Aircuity IAQ Evaluation System is comprised of a portable air monitoring and sampling unit, a web-based reporting system and an artificial intelligence-based IAQ diagnosis system. NADCA chose Aircuity to help...
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The DOE (directed by the Bush administration) has gained the political thumbs up it needs to roll back seasonal energy-efficiency ratings (SEER) on new central air conditioners and heat pumps. "In Florida, 12 SEER is already pretty much standard," Prindle adds.
In the past five years, the noise level of air conditioning units has become a big issue," says Matt Schulz, product manager for Amana Appliances. "Builders are building on tighter lots and AC units are getting bigger so they need to be quiet."
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By BUILDER Magazine Staff. Always dark and sometimes damp, HVAC ducts can breed mold, mildew, and a menagerie of nasty organisms ranging from Legionella to e-coli. Now the Middletown, Ohio-based AK Steel thinks it has a solution: self-cleaning ducts.