HVAC and Insulation From a Working Tech
Dana Sorensen · June 27, 2026
Nearly every homeowner who asks whether radiant barriers actually work assumes the answer lives inside the product itself — foil that’s either legitimately reflective or a shiny gimmick. It doesn’t. After more than a decade climbing into scorching attics, I got away with answering that question with a shrug and an anecdote for far too … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 23, 2026My own basement gave me this lesson years before I ever thought to write about it. I’d walk across my hardwood floors on a January morning and swear the boards were colder than the driveway outside, even though the furnace ran constantly and the basement below felt perfectly warm. By that point I’d already swapped … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 23, 2026
Pull up a photo I still have saved from a job in Gilbert, Arizona, and you’ll see exactly why this topic makes me want to grab homeowners by the shoulders before they sign a contract. The picture shows a sheet of radiant barrier foil lying flat across an attic floor, shiny side facing up, with … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 21, 2026
The first hard freeze of the season always exposes this same story. Homeowners who dropped $2,000 or more on fresh attic insulation start noticing their heating bills haven’t moved an inch, and they can’t figure out why. I’ve crawled into dozens of these attics chasing that exact complaint, and the culprit is nearly identical every … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 20, 2026
Almost every homeowner assumes that piling on more insulation is what finally warms up a cold house — thicker R-value, warmer rooms. That assumption is wrong, and a client in South Minneapolis found that out the expensive way last Tuesday. He’d just handed over $3,200 to have a contractor blow R-60 cellulose across his attic … Read more