Airsealing fail.
Thermal image of air leaks behind the trim, and at the poorly installed weatherstripping on the door. When doors are installed, there is generally a gap between the door frame (the part that the door closes against) and the studs in the wall. Trim is placed over this gap to make it look good. As you can see, the trim on this door is not air tight. There are a couple of ways of dealing Read more »
Should I wrap insulation over my heat tape?
No. Here's why: Don't wrap insulation over heat tape. Yeah, it's hard to see, but that is heat tape that has burned through the protective cover and was melting the insulation that it was under. My crew found this when they were removing R3 foam pipe insulation that was over the tape. Also, don't cross the tape over itself or the same thing can happen.
Enclosed crawlspaces
The traditional approach to crawlspaces is to leave them outside of the building envelope by insulating the floor between the house and crawlspace. Enclosing a crawlspace is an alternative approach. Exposure rated rigid foam and spray foam are used to seal and insulate all foundation walls and rim joist areas. A new ground cover is installed and a fan is installed in the crawl space that is vented to outside. There are several advantages Read more »
Fans
Bath, kitchen, and whole house ventilation fans have become standard in homes and they serve vital roles. They remove poor quality air from homes, cause fresh air to enter the home, reduce humidity, and improve the durability of the home. However, due to poor installation, they are often doing more harm than good. All too often, we see fans that are vented incorrectly or not at all. At the best, poorly installed fans have Read more »
Blower door test
During a blower door test, a fan installed in the front door pulls air out of the house, creating a slight vacuum. The amount of air that flows through the fan is measured in cubic feet per minute, and is compared to a mathematical model of the house to determine whether the home should be air sealed or not. During this test, an auditor can use a thermal camera to pinpoint air leaks in the Read more »
Why is the room over my garage cold?
A cold floor in a room over a garage is a common complaint. Often, the walls are insulated, the attic is insulated, and the ductwork is in good condition to the room. Here is the culprit ... This view is looking at the insulation in the floor of the room (or the garage ceiling, depending on your perspective). In the crawl space of the house, the insulation is held tight to the floor with spring Read more »
Ventilate your crawl in the winter.
Sounds counter intuitive, but if you want to dry out your crawl the best time to ventilate is during the coldest days of winter. Why? Warm air holds more water than cold air.In the winter, the air in the crawl will be warmer than the air outside. Substances move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration. The water in the wet, warm crawl air moves to the cold air as it enters the Read more »
How much value does energy efficiency work add to your home?
The Appraisal Institute just released a new form for home appraisers that helps quantify the additional value of energy efficiency upgrades to a home. The Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum form is available here: http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/education/downloads/AI_82003_ReslGreenEnergyEffAddendum.pdf. The areas of the home appraised include insulation, water efficiency, HVAC, windows, daylighting, appliances, energy rating, HERS rating, utility costs and whether the home has had an energy audit. This information should help appraisers attach a higher value to Read more »
Vermiculite
This is an example of vermiculite in an attic. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring rock, much of which contains asbestos. The most common form is short cylinders, that fracture into small pieces easily, with a grey metallic color. Vermiculite was once used to insulate attics and walls, until someone figured out that asbestos is bad for you. Asbestos causes mesothelioma, which is a disease that attacks the outer layer of the lungs, with a Read more »
Drapes and baseboard don’t mix
An infrared photo of drapes hanging over an electric baseboard heater. Baseboard is running left to right across the center of the photo, and had only been on for a few minutes before I took this photo. The drapes were hot to the touch when I turned off the heater. I know it's dorky, but those warning labels about keeping combustible materials a certain distance away from the baseboard do make sense.