Explore 1,000+ articles designed to guide you through every stage of your home improvement project.
HVAC
Want to take control of your HVAC system’s performance and energy use? A smart thermostat is a good start — but it doesn’t tell you everything. It can adjust temperatures and track usage, but it won’t alert you when a component is close to failing or when your system is losing efficiency. That’s where smart…
Other Home Projects
Best Tech Gifts to Enhance Any Home
With the ever-growing internet-of-things and constant flow of emerging technologies, there are plenty of tech gifts on the market for every homeowner. Browse this list for some unique ideas that are sure to satisfy anyone on your shopping list. Best Gift for the Home Chef There’s no shortage of high-tech and smart devices to be…
Solar
If you’ve looked into installing solar, you may have realized that your installation won’t be easy on your roof. The majority of solar mounts are attached directly to a home’s rafters, which means cutting into the roof. While installers generally take care to seal and flash holes to prevent leaks and water damage, those incisions…
Roofing
Raising the Roof: A Comprehensive Guide to Costs, Process, and Benefits
Raising the roof on your home can provide additional space, improve architectural appeal, and increase property value. This comprehensive guide covers the reasons to raise a roof, the process involved, the time it takes, and the associated costs. Why Raise a Roof? Raising the roof can be a significant investment, but the benefits often outweigh…
HVAC
Schematic Diagrams for HVAC Systems: What You Need to Know
Heating and cooling systems are packed with moving parts and electrical components — motors, capacitors, relays, compressors, switches, sensors, and refrigerant lines. HVAC system diagrams (also called schematics) help make sense of how all those pieces connect and work together. HVAC units are a lot like cars: many systems share similar components, but layouts and…
Other Home Projects
Energy-Efficient Outdoor Holiday Lights
Aren’t holiday lights the best? The way they can transform your home into a festive winter wonderland—nothing beats it when you’re looking for seasonal cheer. Still, it can be quite a challenge to hang them; plus, they use a lot of energy, and they’re expensive to keep lit. Here are some tips for outdoor holiday…
Other Home Projects
How to Use Leaves to Start a Home Composting System
If you’re still raking all your leaves to the curb or packing them into plastic bags, you’re missing an opportunity to create gold. Of course, in this case we mean the kind made from compost—decomposed organic material that can make the soil in your garden or landscape so rich and crumbly that almost anything can grow…
Solar
What Are the Best Solar Panels for Colder Climates?
Live in a climate with cold winters? Then you might think that solar is out of your reach—after all, it works best in the sun right? Well, not necessarily. Research shows that solar panels actually harvest energy more efficiently in chillier weather. Furthermore, when there’s snow on the ground, your solar output may even improve.…