About Sketchy Survival 101
We explain the building science behind cheap, low-tech ways to cool, heat, and power a home — and we check the claims before we repeat them.
The internet is full of videos and articles promising that a $30 gadget will replace your air conditioner, or that a buried pipe will cool your whole house for free. Some of those ideas are based on real, well-documented physics. Others are wishful thinking dressed up with a confident voice-over. Our job is to tell the difference.
For every topic we cover, we start with the mechanism — what is actually moving heat, air, or moisture, and why — then we find the field measurements that show how well it works in the real world, and finally we lay out the honest limits. A trick that drops your attic temperature by a real, measured amount is worth knowing about. So is the fact that it only works if you have enough intake ventilation, or only in a dry climate.
How we research
Our sourcing standard, in order of preference:
- Peer-reviewed research and conference papers
- Government agencies — the U.S. Department of Energy, ENERGY STAR, and national labs
- University building-science programs such as the Florida Solar Energy Center
- Original patents and primary historical records
- Established industry associations and standards (for example, the International Residential Code)
Every figure we publish — a temperature, a percentage, a price, a date — links back to a source you can open and read for yourself. When we can only find a number in marketing copy or a trade blog, we say so, and we use the more conservative, better-documented figure instead.
The YouTube channel
This site is the written companion to the Sketchy Survival 101 YouTube channel, where we turn these breakdowns into animated explainers. If you prefer to watch, start there; if you prefer to read and check the citations, you're in the right place.
A note on products and links
When an article mentions a specific product, we sometimes use affiliate links. They never change the price you pay, and they never change what we recommend — we link to the part that the science actually supports. See our affiliate disclosure for the details.