Back when the idea of vapor barriers originated, they were primarily designed to stop the transmission of water vapor from inside your home into your wall cavities and into the joist space beneath your roof.
This is one of the best ideas for a solar water heater to come along. It’s based on the Breadbox heater, developed by solar pioneer Steve Baer, of Zomeworks in New Mexico.
Ever since the energy crisis of the early 1970s, many people have done a pretty good job of insulating their homes. But one area that often is neglected is the crawl space. Any crawl space that isn’t insulated is wasting energy and money. And it’s probably making the living space above it less comfortable than it could be.
Skylights: For the last few decades they have been one of the hottest ”accessories” to be added to the home. And during that time, the reasons for adding skylights have gotten better and better.
Just about everyone knows that fluorescent lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than ordinary incandescent light bulbs.