Today is a really hot topic: water heaters. No, it’s not sexy, but water heater technology is kind of ingenious with its simplicity. A typical electric water heater has two heating elements; one near the bottom and one near the top, all housed in a very well insulated cylinder.
Whenever I cover wind turbines many of you ask about what’s available for home applications. At the moment, I’ve got both good news and bad news. The bad news is that the current market for residential wind is…less than great. The good news? We have a lot
For my new house I’ve gone all out, and that includes making it smarter than I am. Not exactly a hard feat. From windows that automatically shade themselves to reduce unwanted heat gain into the house, to ensuring my air tight house doesn’t suffocate me in my sleep,
Heat pumps are starting to catch a lot more attention for heating and cooling your home now than they have in the past. The same is true for other uses, but … this one really surprised me … what about putting a heat pump in your dryer? There’s some insanely cool,
Are solar panels on your home worth it? And did I go too far this time? Well, I’ve shared my experiences living with solar panels on my previous home for five years now. Including the pros and cons of it. I just moved into my new factory built home
Heat pumps are the most efficient way to heat and cool a home, but they’re not all created equal. Geothermal, or ground source, heat pumps are more efficient and effective at a wider range of temperatures than air source, but at a cost. It’s way more expensive up
In the process of building my new home, I’ve heard time and time again from many of you that my home’s highly energy efficient features are considered standard in other areas of the world. From the type of window construction to the method of heating water, there’s
I Made A Mistake Building My New Net Zero Home My new net zero home build is almost done, but there’s been a few issues along the way that could be a good learning lesson. The high level goal for my new home has been to build an energy
Adding solar panels to your home is a bright idea, but according to one report from 2020 only about 6% of installed residential solar systems included battery storage.1 2 That’s a bit of a power outage in the world of renewable energy. But with a home battery, you’
Gas stoves have been quite the “hot button issue” lately. But a range of data from decades’ worth of research has already reached a consensus: Cooking with gas is dangerous to human health and a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Electrification has been ongoing, with Europe leading the way
Heat pumps are versatile, efficient, and great for both heating and cooling … or are they? Whenever heat pumps are mentioned, critics bring up their ineffectiveness in the cold, so is that still true? Or do more modern heat pumps continue to work effectively in cold climates? I’m currently building
I’ve been living with solar panels for almost 5 years now here in Massachusetts, and I thought it was time to take a look at how it’s been going. There’s been some twists and turns with solar production and how it’s fared going through the cold