New security lights and cameras are a great investment. They help keep your home and family safer, and they can be a lot less costly than opting for a monitored system installed by a security company. But just because they're not as sophisticated as monitored security doesn't mean that the installation job is easy.

VOCs, dust, radon, asbestos - the list of possible indoor air pollutants is vast, and oftentimes you don't even know that it's a problem. Indoor air quality is typically much worse than outdoor air, with some obvious exceptions in polluted cities. But what can you do about it?

Some home improvement projects are fine for the average handy homeowner, but a new ceiling fan needs the attention of an electrician. There's so much that can go wrong, it's just not worth the risk.

Home ownership is a never ending responsibility, with ongoing maintenance, repair and upkeep required to protect your investment. Seasonal maintenance will help prepare your home for the changing weather and conditions ahead, particularly as temperatures turn colder. Here are some fall home maintenance tips to get you started:

We live in an age where worry about overuse of any appliance is a concern. Excess isn't celebrated the way that it might have been before environmental issues were mainstream. But one area where excess shouldn't be a concern is your air conditioning. You can certainly overload your AC system, especially in a humid Massachusetts summer. But as long as it's appropriate for the home, in good repair and you set it at a reasonable temperature, it shouldn't suffer ill effects.

In any home, the HVAC system is one of the most expensive, plus it uses the most energy. It's got a big job to do, too. Most units operate - to some degree - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So saving energy is a worthy goal that many homeowners aim for.

During the month of May, you probably experience more than a few temperature swings, which means your heating and even cooling appliances are on again and off again, sometimes in the same week. Just last year, Accuweather says that Massachusetts statewide average temperatures fluctuated as much as 30 degrees for the daytime highs in a 7-day period.

Ductless air conditioning and heating systems are gaining a lot of ground in the HVAC industry, and with good reason. They're efficient. In some cases, the efficiency is beyond anything that a traditional split unit can offer. They're convenient. You don't need a network of traditional ducts to have a whole-house system. And they give you control. Ductless systems can fit almost anywhere you want, even in a corner of a room that's never been comfortable.

Ductless heat pumps have changed the way that homeowners think about the technology, In Massachusetts, the very idea of a heat pump might send a chill through your bones. But with an LG ductless system, you get something different and much better.

An oversized furnace isn’t a better furnace. Too much heat can actually make your living spaces less comfortable in winter, not more. It’s also wasteful from an energy efficiency standpoint, as well as a from a financial one.

In the past, residential furnaces were often "one-sized" rather than installed on the basis of an accurate load calculation of the actual thermal requirements of the home. To cover for the inevitable errors in this process, builders and contractors simply installed a furnace that was too big for the job. Many homeowners are stuck paying for these past mistakes.

Here are some of the ways an oversized furnace is bigger but not better.