| |
| |
|
Home Improvement Information |
|
|
|
How to build an energy-efficient home
There are just a few important things to know and to remember, when building an energy-efficient home. These are; insulation, air intrusion, thermal mass, and that windows and holes in the wall of the house lose about the same amount of energy. Insulation is a means of capturing dead air and causing it to slow the exchange of hot energy toward a cold space. Most builders use fiberglass insulation. Personally, I prefer to use blown cellulose insulation. In America, we major the value of insulation, by giving it an R-factor. The R-factor of insulation is a reference for the ability of the insulation to slow heat transfer and to the R stands for resistance factor. The R-factor is only part of the story. Insulation can have a high R factor, but if air moves through it is almost useless. One of the things we do recently, in home construction, is to use Tyvek, a thin, breathable plastic membrane that stops the wind. In modern construction; we customarily have from the outside killing in; siding, Tyvek, insulation, and drywall. Customarily this results in what we call and R-30 wall. In other countries they talk about a U-factor. The U stands for use factor. And this use factor is merely a combination of an R factor, and an ability to withstand air intrusion. Therefore, the use factor is actually more useful than strictly the R factor. For instance, a concrete wall, has a low R factor and a high U factor if the logs are made to fit tightly together. A concrete home has a low resistance factor, because concrete transmits thermal energy easily. To properly insulate a concrete wall, one should insulate the outside of the wall. And this brings us to thermal mass.Windows are a great energy waster. Each pane of glass has a resistance factor of less than one. A thermopane window has a resistance factor of about two or three including the airspace. The more windows a home has the more expensive it is to heat. Triple pane windows have a resistance factor of about five. A drapery fully covering a window will increase the resistance factor to about 20. Therefore drawn draperies will greatly increase the insulating ability of a home. Thermal mass is simply the amount of weight that reaches a certain temperature and wants to stay at that temperature. For instance, I home with a brick floor, and lots of books and heavy furniture, has a lots of thermal mass. Once a home with lots of thermal mass reaches a comfortable temperature it tends to stay that temperature for a long time, even after they heat or air-conditioning stops. Offices tend to have high thermal mass. It takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of thermal mass. Thus, one should leave the thermostat at the same temperature and not move it up and down. Turning down the thermostat at night and turning it back up during the day wastes energy. Copyright 2004 by Jody Hudson, WWW.Kate-Jody.com and WWW.JodyHudson.com Jody Hudson has been a realtor for 35 years in Delaware.
MORE RESOURCES:
Home-Improvement - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Sliding Glass Door Replacement This article is going to be about replacing an old sliding glass door with a modern Vinyl frame sliding glass door. If you currently have french doors and you want to replace them with sliding doors, or vise versa, future articles will cover that topic. Duct Cleaning - Proper Principals and Practices As a qualified duct cleaning contractor I have discovered that most homeowners feel that they are very uninformed when it come to the principals and practices of proper air duct cleaning hygiene.Let me begin by saying that the EPA as well as the National air duct cleaners association have stated that residential duct cleaning should take no less than between 4 and 8 hours to complete, anything short of that and you are probably not getting a thorough job. Your Home is Your Symphony "Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. Gel Candle Safety: What You Should Know Before You Buy A lot of attention has been focused on gel candle safety in recent years. Irresponsible (usually foreign) candlemakers have flooded the shelves of dollar stores and discount retailers with poor quality and at times unsafe container gel candles. Remove Carpet Stains - The How To Your short lesson on how to remove carpet stains: act fast. Carpets today (most) come with stain-resistant treatments, so spills can be removed if you get to them quickly. A Few Simple Facts About Gas And Electric Heating Systems To make your home more energy efficient, you need to understand the energy efficiency of different types of heating and cooling systems. Many times people are confused by inaccurate information they receive from manufacturers and sellers of heating and cooling equipment. Home Furnishings and Shelving Its spring time and that means we start working on our homes. Cleaning, organizing, purchasing new things to spruce the place up are just some of the home furnishings we do. Comparing Types Of Conservatory Blinds The cost of furnishing a conservatory can catch many people out, in fact it can often cost more than the conservatory itself. Conservatory Blinds can be very expensive so it is important to know what the choices are and what value a particular blind will bring. Easy Ways to Increase Your Houses Value Before getting your house valuated think about the list below and if you should implement them to increase your house's value.Clean up your house: Clean your house thoroughly. Is YOUR Home A Safe Home? Do you or one of your family members suffer from allergies, asthma, add/adhd Heart disease, cancer, or respitory problems? It could be from the toxins in your home! Did you know that there are more Toxins in your home than in the outside air? Chances are, the cleaning products And hygienic products you use are making you and your family sick.In the past 10 years, there has been a 42% increase in asthma (29% for men; 82% for women - the higher rate for women is believed to be due to women's longer exposure times to household chemicals) (Source: Center for Disease Control)So, what are some of these products, and what makes them so harmful?Lysol is a registered PESTICIDE - (think about that the next time you spray It indoors in the middle of winter with the windows and doors tightly closed)Johnon's and Johnson's baby shampoo contains formaldehyde (used for embalming). Creating Your Joyful Home: Inspiration to Make a Home Planning Journal If you are planning a home makeover or remodeling project, here are some ideas to help you.Inspiration to make a home planning journal from "Joy to the Home Planner:""Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context -- a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan. The $27,000 Toilet Seat - Funny DIY Story This story was told to me by a plumber I know and it brings home the reason why there are times to call a professional.I received a call from a homeowner asking for someone to come estimate some repairs. Planning Permission and Building Regulations for Conservatories in the UK Do I need planning permission for a conservatory?Do I need Building Regulation approval for a conservatoryTo help you understand these issues I detail below some of the "conditions" attached to planning permission and building regulations. (These apply to England/Wales only) Scottish, Irish and North American regulations are quite different - You should in all instances take local advice. A Few Concrete Suggestions Up until a few years ago, my professional experience was in industries including retail, energy, health care, and fast food. In 1996 circumstances and opportunity led me into the manufacturing, marketing, and installation of products used for Floor Warming, Total Space Heating, Roof Snow and Ice Melting and Snow and Ice Melting of driving and walking surfaces. Installing Vinyl Siding - Making It Simple Installing vinyl siding can be a very rewarding process that could dramatically change the appearance of your home. For the most part, if you plan your job well and adhere to some simple guide lines, anyone could learn how to install siding to there home. Remedies for a Wet Basement A wet basement can be just a nuisance or even real nightmare. Each year, thousands of homeowners are faced with the unpleasant side effects of seasonal rainfall. Dual Pane Window Glass Repair For the past few weeks, I have been explaining how to repair a broken window pane in your home. But, what if you have dual pane windows? Is the process the same? Well, pretty much, except for a couple of variations. Log Home Mistakes Ebook Review Ok, you are ready to build a log home. If you are not going to build it yourself, it mean you will hire a builder. Wholesale Vinyl Flooring Is Perfect For Wherever You Need It Wholesale vinyl flooring is the perfect solution for people who are looking for flooring that is inexpensive, good looking, and made with high quality. Wholesale vinyl flooring is designed specifically for use in commercial, general and civil aviation applications and facilities, and it contains a hidden Tuff-Seal® interlock system and is backed by a five-year warranty. Seeing the Light Lighting"Light has illuminated the path of humanity" - While Einstein was probably referring to one of his mind-blowing theories, lighting has also revolutionized the home. Before incandescent and fluorescent lighting, most activities stopped after dusk.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |