About How House Works

How House Works explains the equipment in a U.S. home: water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners, heat pumps and mini-splits, generators and the electrical panel.

Two kinds of pages come first. Error-code pages quote the manufacturer's manual, give the document and page number, and list only the checks the manual leaves to the owner. Calculators show their formula and where each default number comes from, and you can change any of those numbers.

Who writes it

Pages are signed How House Works Editorial. There is no named expert behind them, and there is no technician, lab or test bench. We write with AI tools. Before a page goes up, a separate verification pass, also run with an AI tool, compares each claim with the source document: the code, its wording, every number and unit, the model names. An error-code page or calculator that fails the check is not published: the site's build leaves it out.

Nobody with a plumbing, electrical or HVAC license has reviewed these pages. That is why we stay close to the manufacturer's documents, link to them, and mark the work that belongs to a licensed professional. How the check works is described in the editorial policy and the methodology.

What you won't find here

Lead forms and "get 3 quotes" buttons. Paid placements and "best of" rankings. Step-by-step instructions for gas valves, refrigerant or live panel work, or for getting around a safety device.

Money

The site has no ads or affiliate links today. We plan to add display ads later. They will be labeled, and advertisers will not see or approve pages before they are published.

Trademarks

Navien, Rinnai and other brand names are used to identify the equipment a page covers. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any manufacturer.

Questions and error reports go to the contact page. Fixes are logged under corrections.