insulation

How To Stop Drafts and Save on Energy Bills

batticdoor — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:51:38 -0500

How To Stop Drafts and Save On Energy Bills Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding pull-down attic stair, a whole housefan, a fireplace or clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day. Drafts from these often overlooked holes waste energy and cost you big in the form of higher energy bills. Drafts are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Drafts occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits that caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize energy loss and drafts. But what can you do about drafts from the four largest “holes” in your home -- the folding attic stair, the whole house fan, the fireplace and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. Attic Stairs When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to beremoved, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood. Your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood. Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the attic door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? If you do, heated and air-conditioned air is leaking out of these large gaps in your home 24-hours a day. This is like leaving a window or skylight open all year ‘round. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an insulated attic stair cover. An attic stair cover seals the stairs, stopping drafts and energy loss. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling. Whole House Fans and Air Conditioning Vents Much like attic stairs above, when whole house fans are installed, a large hole (up to 16 square feet or larger) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only the drafty ceiling shutter between you and the outdoors. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan shutter seal. Made from white textured flexible insulation, the shutter seal is installed over the ceiling shutter, secured with Velcro, and trimmed to fit. The shutter seal can also be used to seal and insulate air conditioning vents, and is easily removed when desired. Fireplaces Over 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home, especially during the winter heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers. Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing. One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent. A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the drafts and wasted energy caused by fireplaces. Why does a home with a fireplace have higher energy bills? Your chimney is an opening that leads directly outdoors -- just like an open window. Even if the damper is shut, it is not airtight. Glass doors don’t stop the drafts either. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking your expensive heated or air-conditioned air right out of your house! An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a Fireplace Plug to your fireplace. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, the Fireplace Plug is an inflatable pillow that seals the fireplace damper, eliminating drafts, odors, and noise. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after. Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold drafts in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house. Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce these drafts. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the drafts. Compounding the problem is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted drafts, and also keeps out pests, bees and rodents. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape. For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions and products for your home, visit www.batticdoor.com or, to request a free catalog, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic stair cover and an attic access door. Battic Door is the US distributor of the fireplace plug. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com

What happens at a Home Energy Audit?

ellen — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:57:00 -0500

Jimmy and John from ASK Construction came over to do a Home Performance Energy Audit (a comprehensive energy and safety inspection) of my home.

First they did a fairly quick survey inside and out to determine the overall volume of the house, including the size of all the windows and doors.

The Audit was divided into 2 parts: Energy Efficiency and Health|Safety.

The items they looked for in the Health|Safety category are fairly obvious but are often overlooked including:

Adequate Carbon Monoxide (CO) coverage: in addition to having a sufficient number of detectors, each needs to be located such that if one of them is activated, all the occupants will hear the alarm, no matter where they are in the house. Suggested locations are: at the top of the Basement stairs in case there is a problem with the mechanical equipment and just outside the kitchen because when you turn on your oven, carbon monoxide levels of 700-2000 parts per million can accumulate until they are vented away by your hood exhaust.

They checked all the mechanical equipment in the house to see if there was any carbon monoxide (CO) leakage (there wasn't any), and that there is adequate fresh air intake and exhaust (there's plenty).

They checked to make sure all mechanical gas-fired equipment was enclosed in a fire-rated room (this item needs a little work).

They checked that the bathroom exhaust fans were working properly. An adequate bathroom exhaust fan should run for 20 minutes after a shower to remove the moisture from the room. (Ours are pretty good - loud but powerful).

At the Basement, where we have a de-humidifier running all year round, they tried to determine where the moisture was entering from (I think it's from along the side garden wall - more difficult to fix than if it was just the rear wall at the backyard) and we had a long discussion about what kind of exhaust fan to install.

Now for Energy Efficiency (!)

Heating/Cooling system: First they had me turn the thermostats for the furnace way up so they could check if there was any leakage in the air ducts. Turns out that there was a 50% drop in pressure when they added up the measured supply of air in each room. Unfortunately, these ducts are concealed in the ceiling - this wastes a lot of energy in both the heating and cooling seasons because a lot of conditioned air is wasted heating and cooling the duct enclosure so expect to see big holes in the ceiling sometime soon so we can get in there and repair the ducts.

Air Infiltration: Jimmy and John tested all the windows to make sure they were operational and then closed up all the doors and windows for the blower door test - that's what is going on in the picture above. The idea is to close up the house and then measure the volume of air that leaks in from openings in the building envelope and locate the source of those air leaks so that they can be corrected. The red fabric shown in the picture is stretched over a temporary frame in the door (you can sort of see the digital gauge attached to the edge of the door that measures the air flow). Jimmy said the air leakage in the house didn't seem so bad but he wanted to do the calculations back in his office to confirm.

We have an opening in the ceiling in one of the bedroom closets in order to access some valves and it was totally screwing up the test so they taped the door closed to get the proper seal. Apparently, it's openings like this that can suck out your heat in the winter and conditioned air in the summer. Closing up this opening will be a high priority.

Windows: John mentioned that our aluminum windows with double-pane glass, circa 1990's could be improved. I know that vinyl or wood windows are more efficient (vinyl and wood are better insulators than aluminum) and new double-pane glass comes with Low-E coatings and can be filled with argon glass for added efficiency but these types of new windows are VERY expensive and I don't think they will fit in our budget for a while. In the meantime, we will invest in high-efficiency double-honeycomb shades to better insulate at the windows.

Insulation: John made a small hole in the wall adjacent to the garden and found that it was PACKED with fiberglass insulation. This is very good news.

Costs:

As for costs, the audit cost $350 which I believe will be refundable by New York State's Home Performance with Energy Star Program if we do more than $2,000 worth of weatherization work (which seems likely).

Having completed the audit, we will now be eligible to take advantage of the incentives offered by the program which can be up to 20 per cent cash back on the total amount of eligible measures, plus federal and state tax credits. The whole point of this exercise is to improve the efficiency of our home so we should also expect to see a large cost savings in our heating and cooling costs.

I expect the full report in about 10 days, after which we will start the corrective work to repair all deficient conditions.

This was a very interesting experience and I would highly recommend others to investigate the efficiency of their home.

www.ehapc.com

[brooklyn green] www.ehapc.wordpress.com

Free Energy Audit

ellen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:13:44 -0400

At our request, an experienced and knowledgeable auditor from National Grid (formerly Keyspan) came over to do a free energy audit. We walked through my entire house and reviewed all the potential for saving money through weatherization. I learned a few interesting things.

Basically NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research & Development Association) has money available for very low-interest loans (they'll write down up to 6% of the loan) and rebates up to $750 for weatherization work. The problem is that not enough New Yorkers are taking advantage of these programs so they launched this free energy audit program to promote participation. You can find out more information at www.getenergysmart.com

The general principle of weatherization is: Seal up air leaks and insulate the entire house. Start from the top and work your way down. Based on the visit, I changed the plan of the work I want to do in our house.

The original plan was 4-fold:

1. Roof: The area below the roof and above the 2nd floor ceiling is called a cock-loft. It is currently uninsulated and unvented. I want to blow in insulation and vent it to prevent mold build-up and heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. The Auditor confirmed that this is definitely the highest priority. I want to get this work done soon before the heating season arrives.

2. Exterior Wall: We have an approximately 800 SF of North-Facing wall which faces a community garden. It is brick construction with a layer of stucco, now cracked in many places. There are 3 windows on the wall which will need to be dealt with carefully. Our idea is to insulate the wall and paint it so that it can receive a mural painted by a community group. Surprisingly, the Auditor said that this was much less important in terms of heat loss and heat gain. Good thing because this work would be the most expensive of the bunch.

3. Basement ventilation: We installed a fan a few years ago to ventilate the Basement. Unfortunately, due to a mis-communication with the contractor, we ended up with the kind of vent that has a cover manually controlled by a chain which basically means we have an 8 inch diameter hole in the Basement wall. Yes, this is something the Auditor agreed we should do. It is important to remove moisture to prevent mold and mildew build-up year round. He also pointed out that we need better Fresh Air Intake for our boiler.

4. Boiler Room: The boiler room is located adjacent to the exterior wall and is completely uninsulated. The plan is to insulate the room as well as the boiler, hot water heater and all exposed pipes. The Auditor said that the amount of heat we are losing through the wall to the outside is negligible and since the Boiler Room is located at the Basement, most of the heat migrates out to the occupied rooms in the Basement or up to the main living floor and can be used. It would be somewhat difficult to install sheetrock at this wall anyway because there are pipes and valves adjacent to the wall which would interfere with the studs and there really isn't any available insulation you can install in a boiler room that is fire resistant without being enclosed in sheetrock.

Remember how excited I was when we installed a jacket at our hot water heater? Turns out we didn't really need it. If you put your hand on top of the hot water heater and it feels cool, you don't need to add insulation, it is internally insulated.

5. When we ask the contractor to install the insulation at the attic space, I'll also ask him to insulate the walls and ceiling of our front room and kitchen which were built years ago as additions to the original house and are really cold and uncomfortable in the winter.

One very interesting thing I learned is that it is extremely inefficient to install high-hats (recessed lighting fixtures) at the top floor of a house because each one acts as a little chimney, pulling heat away from the living spaces and into the attic or directly out of the house, even if you have CFL's in them.

In all it was a great visit, and we got 2 free compact fluorescent bulbs to boot!

For all the posts about the Insulation Project, click here.

www.ehapc.com

[brooklyn green] www.ehapc.wordpress.com

Insulation Project: Wrapping the Hot Water Heater

ellen — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:54:07 -0400

This was so ridiculously easy, I can't believe we didn't do it before.

This is the hot water heater before:

for the "after" picture, see above:

Make sure you leave any air intakes and valves uncovered (notice the perforated vent at the bottom - it's pretty clear on the instructions)...and wear gloves to prevent splinters from the fiberglass.

You can see two choices of hot water heater insulation at Low Impact Living. I went to Lowe's and all they had were the Thermwell R6.7 version (shown on top of the LIL page) which said it could fit up to a 60 gallon tank but it barely fit our 50 gallon tank - it actually didn't completely wrap around the entire tank - but it's pretty close.

We can expect to save from 4% to 9% in water heating costs from this $16.95 installation that took less than 1/2 hour.

Now onto the more difficult stuff.

Honoring Earth Day This Month – With Green Building & Home Ideas

jchait — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:51:49 -0400

Sorry to be MIA readers, I caught my son's bad cold and felt icky for days. I'm feeling a bit perkier now and just in time too because April is a busy month.

As many of you likely know, April is Earth Day month. Technically Earth Day falls on the 22nd, but I tend to look at it as an all month event at my blogs - then I can offer up ideas about how you can celebrate.

I should also let you know that I'm a little ambivalent about Earth Day. On one hand, sure I think it's cool to honor the earth one day a year. On the other hand I think it's lame to honor the earth ONLY one day a year. I wrote a rant about this at Tree Hugging Family - so I won't rehash it here.

I will say that in my opinion, the real way to celebrate Earth Day is to be green all year long. Going green, or planting a tree on a single day can only get us so far. Installing n excellent water heater, using reclaimed wood, recycling our building waste, and using other green building and home techniques are green gifts that give back to the planet not only on Earth Day, but for many years to come.

That said, throughout the month I'll be offering you some ideas about how you can honor the planet all year round (and on Earth Day). We're lucky in one respect because when it comes to green building, there are plenty of great ways to make the entire process greener.

This month, at this blog, look for ways to celebrate Earth Day that relate to your home. We'll look at ideas that work for new homes and existing homes. Ideas related to:

Water use.
Energy applications and use.
Insulation.
Reclaimed materials.
Landscaping.
And more.

Also be sure to check the video section of this site. I've added some videos and hope to add a large amount of new ones this month. I'm picky, so they'll be good videos.

What do you think about Earth Day? Are you celebrating? I hope you're celebrating all year long.

Top 10 Ways To Save on Your Heating Bill

Marcus — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Winter is upon us. The days are cold and short; the nights are long and dark. And the sight of your energy bill strikes fear in your heart.

Don’t just sit there – start slashing away at the high costs. Here are the best places to start.

1. Turn down your thermostat.

Sure, it’s cold, but that doesn’t mean you have to make up for it by turning your apartment into the steam room in a Turkish bath house. If you turn the heat down just two degrees, you’ll save about 4% on your energy bill, and reduce your carbon emissions by 6%.

2. Seal the cracks.

A little DIY draft-proofing works wonders. How? Close all your windows and doors, and light a candle or a stick of incense. Wander around your place, taking note of where the smoke drifts. These are your problem areas. For doorways, a simple door sweep should do the trick. For other solutions, check out this how-to site from The Dept. Of Energy.

3. Lower the temperature of your water heater.

Not only can you adjust the temperature on your thermostat, you can also lower the temperature of the hot water generated by your boiler. Many water heaters actually heat water too high so that it has to be balanced with cold water for comfortable bath and shower temperatures. This is wasteful. Lowering the temperature a couple of degrees can mean big savings.

4. Insulate those pipes.

Simply wrapping insulation blankets around the hot water pipes leading into your boiler can result in up to 10 percent savings on energy bills. They’re cheap, easy to install, and available at any Home Depot.

5. Don’t dawdle in the shower

Some people just love to take their sweet time in there. And believe me, I understand the solace and calming effect a good, long shower can have on the psyche. What I would recommend is incorporating your time of meditation and reflection into a different part of your morning routine where running water is not involved.

6. Turn on a fan

A strategically placed, slow-rotating fan can significantly bolster the effect of your radiator or heating ducts. It will distribute heat throughout a room, keeping everybody warm, and maybe even helping to compensate for those pesky draft spots you’re still trying to figure out how to seal (see #2).

7. Fireplaces need special attention

Fires in fireplaces are not very effective at generating heat – more heat flies up the chimney than into the room. If you must have a fire, consider investing in an Eco-Fire Super Grate, which should significantly increase your fire’s burning efficiency.

8. Put on a sweater.

Wear layers- a T-shirt, outer shirt, sweater, and a hat- (a large percentage of your body heat escapes through your head). Bundling up works as effectively as insulation in your home’s walls- and it’s free. Besides, it’ll be a perfect opportunity to finally get some use out of all those wooly cardigans your Aunt Mildred’s been knitting for you since you were six years old.

9. Invite your friends over

What better excuse to throw a dinner party than the need to huddle together for warmth? The more people in an apartment, the higher the collective body heat. Perhaps you could try initiating a weekly “No Heat Potluck” with all your closest, eco-conscious pals?

10. Get your heating system checked out before the cold sets in.

Sometimes, spending a few bucks at the beginning of the season to have your old, fussy boiler inspected to see if it’s running efficiently could end up saving you a bundle in the long run (if you live in an apartment, you can probably even convince your landlord to do this, free of charge).

If these Top 10 Tips to save on your heating bill are just too hard, we suggest you move to a warmer climate. And don’t forget to write to us at RiverWired –we may move, too.