On an energized, intact circuit, you will read voltage across an OPEN switch when testing with a voltmeter. However, you probably won't read significant voltage across a CLOSED switch. Both sides of a closed switch are electrically identical (or at least very close). Therefore, there should be no movement of electrons between the leads of […]

When I first started in the trade, I used to advise customers with hot attics to install powered attic ventilators (PAVs) to “suck” that hot air out of the attic. It just made sense to me at the time; if the attic is hot, get the hot out! When I started learning more about design, […]

I bought a crappy old house built in the 1920s a few years into my marriage. There were so many things wrong with it. Water intrusion, leaking pipes, roots in the sewer line… on and on. But it was our house, and we loved it. One issue was that the water heater was tiny, and […]