The BIG 3: Floors, Walls & Ceilings

Photo by Matthew G. Bisanz

Walls, Ceilings, and Floors account for 31% of home energy loss.

The reason for floors, walls and ceiling being the BIGGEST, most significant energy drains is fairly clear: they are what make a house a house. It is inevitable that they develop holes, gaps, cracks, and other weaknesses that lead to reduced safety, comfort, and efficiency. As with most other problems in life, there are steps you can take to deal with these weaknesses. Sealing and insulating.

But first, problem areas must be identified. One way to locate them is by scheduling a Home Energy Audit with a company like America’s Best Energy Team. They will send an auditor to your mobile home, single home, multi-family dwelling, or townhouse to conduct a series of tests, including a Blower Door Test, a Combustion Analysis, and a Thermographic Scan. Once the audit is completed, it will be clear where the most energy is being used and lost, and how air is flowing through your home. Working with the results can benefit your health, comfort, carbon footprint, energy bills, and the value of your home.

If you have already located a few of these weaknesses in your Basement, Attic, or Crawlspace, then you can begin making your house more energy efficient. Products such as weather strips, caulk and other sealants can be found at any home improvement store, and the instructions are straight forward: apply, then let dry. Seal those leaks!

Remember, there are two sides to every wall. Not all air leaks are so obvious as you may think, especially because they tend to develop in areas that you do not see everyday or areas that are difficult to access. Use your senses. Energy.gov offers this helpful hint: “On a windy day, carefully hold a lit incense stick or a smoke pen next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other places where air may leak.” (Detecting Air Leaks) If the smoke is pulled to one direction, you found what you were looking for. Caution: performing this test with a candle or other open flame can be hazardous, primarily around appliances that run on or expel gas, as well as areas of the home that are used for storage or may develop gas leaks or accumulate dust.

Sealing holes, cracks, and gaps is priority number one. This provides for maximum efficiency when insulation is added later. Insulation is priority number two, and it only works when it is impeding the flow of air, meaning leaks should already be sealed inside and out.

One important thing to know about insulation, it gets old and out-dated. In some homes it was never installed correctly to begin with or it gets moved around during repairs. There should be four to six inches of non-compacted or loose insulation. New materials are being developed all the time, such as shredded jeans. That’s right, your old clothes can become a greener alternative to the highly processed materials that insulate most houses. Fiberglass, cellulose, rigid foam board, and spray foam are all commonly installed in homes located in moderate climates. Radiant barrier, or reflective insulation, is used to save energy in hotter climates. Asbestos is another insulator. If it’s in your house, get out of there! That stuff notoriously causes cancer. What all these materials have in common though is their system of measure, identified by a numbered R value. The R stands for resistance to heat flow, and a higher value means a stronger resistance to undesirable heat gain and heat loss.

Now that you’ve got some knowledge under your cap, you can work towards the level of safety, comfort, and efficiency you want.

By Nick Ring.

Basement, Attic, and Crawlspaces: There Is A Pattern Here

Photo by Ruhrfisch.

Think of your house like your body for a moment. Do you walk outside naked in the winter time? Of course not! Or at least most of us don’t do that. Think of your basement, attic, and crawlspaces like the extremities of your body. You wear a hat and gloves, and maybe two pairs of socks when its cold enough. It is amazing how much of a difference wearing a hat or scarf makes in your personal comfort in the winter. Think about the effect of putting a hat, gloves and socks on your house. It would look cute! But seriously, think about how much energy (which always translates into money) you would save! Your home would be more comfortable and more energy efficient. Not only that, it would hold it’s warmth in winter and keep out the heat of summer. It wouldn’t get a’cold… Get it?

If you have been reading these energy efficiency blogs, you may have noticed a pattern. Basement, attic, crawlspaces… Like a broken record these troublesome locations of the house keep coming up. Be sure to Seal the Ducts, especially in the basement, attic, and crawlspaces. Then add insulation, especially in the basement, attic and crawlspaces… Don’t forget about sealing and insulating your pipes and ducts, especially… You guessed it!

The Home Energy Auditors from America’s Best Energy Team will probably tell you something similar. And, before even beginning to read this, you had probably already guessed that you could save yourself money, time and energy by being more concerned with these areas. You’re right. The tricky thing about these locations is their distance from the nucleus of the house. Basements and attics are often used as storage space rather than living space. Seasonal items such as clothes and decorations are shut away to collect dust for months at a time. These storage spaces are often cluttered and dimly lit, if at all. All of these factors make basements, attics, and crawlspaces easy to overlook. While it is easier to address the issues that you see every day, the fact that these places should be checked out first when assessing what needs maintenance, updating or replacing is ironic.

There is a pattern here involving our priorities and what we see, when in reality what we do not see is often causing the trouble. Like the crack between the wall and floor behind a stack of boxes in your basement that is so thin, only creepy crawlies and cold air seep in. Or the hole in the attic where a raccoon tried to nest last year. Take a little time and give your house a check-up.

Not everyone can afford to make the efficiency upgrades they want or need, but scheduling a Home Energy Audit with ABET will at least identify where the problems are and how they can be fixed. From there, America’s Best Energy Team can assist you in finding a step-by-step path to the level of safety, comfort and efficiency you desire. If you are the resourceful type, you may want to try the good old DIY method, and buy some caulk, weather strips, or spray foam and fill in those energy drains yourself. Use your senses to locate where a draft is entering your house, and be sure to check the basement, attic and crawlspaces.

If you don’t catch on to the pattern, you may end up wearing a hat, gloves, and two pairs of socks INSIDE!

By Nick Ring.