Sustainability

You may have heard that the HVAC industry is going through a big refrigerant change. What does this actually mean? A refrigerant is the chemical inside your air conditioner or heat pump that moves heat from where you don’t want it, to where you do. It’s what makes cooling possible. The new generation of refrigerants (like R-454B) have a much lower global warming potential. In fact, it’s about one-quarter as potent as the older R-410A. Because refrigerants contribute significa

Have you ever been sitting on the couch and felt a cool draft along an outside wall? Or noticed that one bedroom is always hotter in the summer or colder in the winter than the rest of the house? In many cases, the issue isn’t your HVAC system, it’s air leakage. Homes naturally have small gaps and cracks in their exterior shell. When outside air slips in (and indoor air slips out), it affects more than just comfort. In winter, that moving air makes rooms feel colder. In summe

This year, I set a goal to finally tackle a few long-overdue home efficiency upgrades, and at the top of the list was my attic. If you’re looking for one of the most impactful places to improve your home’s efficiency, start here. It’s not glamorous, but it makes a big difference. If your home has uneven temperatures between rooms, high heating and cooling bills, drafty spaces, or even ice dams in the winter, there’s a good chance your attic is part of the problem. It’s one of

Did you know that there is one hidden setting on the heat pump thermostat that can have a bigger energy impact than adding R-10...