You may be losing money and wasting energy on heating and air conditioning and might not even know it. Today we have a Happy Havens Q & A with someone who literally wrote the textbooks on this topic: Ronnie J. Auvil, featured in this photo with his book Indoor Air Quality Solutions.

Air quality is important in every home, but it can be difficult to understand how to make an effective system that saves both energy and money. And most of us don’t usually have any kind of heating and air professional or air quality specialist to help us in making these decisions for free. ”HVAC” is short for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning. After working in the field for over 30 years, Ron Auvil has some sound advice for controlling air and saving money as homeowners along with some cutting edge technologies. Read more »

Did you know? Dehumidifiers are often used for disaster relief due to flooding. This large commercial dehumidifier was used when the IRS building in Washington D.C. was flooded to help it dry faster. Many people also use them indoors after painting a room to make it dry faster.

With the tragic onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, there going to be a lot of flooding, mold and water damage. Many of us have seen the shocking photos of flooded Manhattan and New Jersey. While safety and emergency evacuations are the highest priorities, many are now looking ahead to the monumental task of rebuilding and repairing their cities. Heavy-duty commercial dehumidification is a crucial first step in removing flood and water damage. This post is dedicated to recovery and rebuilding for the victims of 2012′s Hurricane Sandy, also known as the “Frankenstorm.” Read more »

Duane F. Christopher, a professional landscape architect working in Rock Hill, SC is our guest for today.

Ever wish you could gain some professional insight in how to make a liveable and environmentally-friendly space and garden? Today we have a special Q&A with a local professional landscape architect who is a graduate of the prestigious Cornell University, an Ivy League research school in Ithaca, NY. Duane F. Christopher currently owns his own practice in South Carolina and is experienced in sustainability, gardens, residential design, and land planning. Read more »

Did you know you can actually go green by reusing water from household chores and appliances like dehumidifiers to water plants?

When people hear “gray,” they usually think of losing their youthful hair color. Luckily, that’s not what’s going on here.

When you think about it, everyday household chores are using up a lot of precious water. Between laundry, doing the dishes, water for baths, flushing toilets, garbage disposal, and other appliances like dehumidifiers, the average American is using 50-100 gallons of water per day. That’s a lot, considering fresh water is such a scarce resource. Read more »

Breathe in, breathe out…ahhh.

So you’ve decided to purchase a dehumidifier to improve the air quality in your home. When you bring home your new moisture-extracting baby, what should you expect? How do these things work and what features do they have, anyway?

Dehumidifiers use a fan to pull in air over two sets of hot and cold refrigerated coils, pulling out the moisture in the air as if you were wringing it with a wet wash cloth. The general factor that sets dehumidifiers apart is how many pints of water they can extract per day. Read more »