Warmer Weather Still Needs Insulation

Posted on February 3, 2015 by admin

So much depends on the weather, and how we live within it.  When you experience a severe change to the weather, either warmer or colder, as a home owner, it creates physical changes in your home.  Consider Phoenix Arizona, which is typically a desert environment, with hot dry summer days and cool to cold summer nights.  Dealing with this variation year after year is common, but what is not common is the increase in humidity in the area over the last few years.  This change, has created a variety of moisture changes to homes and business in the Phoenix area.  With moisture causes mold, and fungus issues on surfaces.  And, as this increases, insulation will need to be changed to match this ever growing need.

Warmer Weather Changes Still Need More Insulation

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-close-up-polyurethane-foam-filling-gap-image21720608One of the more frustrating facts is the United States is under insulated more than any other modern economy, and the waste of our growth and inability to conserve is quite embarrassing.  While developed countries in the EU and Asia grow with legislation and permits to increase conservation through insulation, the United States is lagging in insulation in existing buildings.  All building permits should include an energy audit before construction begins, to conserve and continue a better long term solution towards great living spaces.  Not only does spray foam insulation add long term value to any structure, it also increases the feel and inhabitants ability to control temperature and moisture levels.

With increases in warmer weather, spray foam is the perfect solution to cut down on cooling costs.  A foam sprayed home, with over 12 inches of spray foam, will instantly stay 20 degrees cooler during the day.  This of course depends on the entrances and open doors and windows to the home, and if the sun and wind is a factor.  But, with careful management of buffering from the outside forces, the beauty of spray foam exists, as it allows for stable assurance through the roughest weather paths.  Imagine, a weather pattern of 101 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 days in a row.  And, this is mixed with increased humidity of over 40 percent.  With the evenings, the temperature goes down to 55-60 degrees at night.  And, a dust storm will be in the mix at the end of this unusual 10 day weather event.  With a spray foam insulated home, the variety of temperatures never swings more than 10 degrees up or down.

Wind, storms and huge temperature swings, lead to a variety of problems with an under insulated home.  The temperature swing is more than 22 degrees on any given day, and the wind storm creates a bit of damage to the roof on the last day of this process.  This example is in theory only, but based on current models in use.  Not only does the spray foam insulated home stay more than structurally sound, it creates a savings of over 40$ a week on cooling costs.  Imagine your home feeling better during cold and warm weather periods, with regularity.

Native Desert Dwellers Lived In Thick Walls

Unable to construct thick wall structures themselves, but seeing the comfort of living in such habitations, native dwellers of desert areas often lived in caves, or made thick wall homes next to caves.  Even today, in arctic and desert climates, where the temperature is extreme, we see spray foam being a modern day solution to an ancient problem.  People need a constant temperature pattern to stay healthy, and moisture levels need to remain similarly stable.  With spray foam, you are getting the stability added to the structural walls, and it is the best way to create the value to your home with comfort and assurance for economic savings.

Savings Comes From Warmer Weather

Yes, you may see more savings in winter with a warmer weather pattern, but not so in the summer.  Breaking the rules and adding spray foam to foundations, walls, attic spaces, and roof lines can create a value on savings in any environment.  Watch your weather outlook improve when you add this efficient material to your home.  Even adding to small areas, will improve the comfort level in your home. Warmer weather does not mean you need to crank up the Air Conditioning when you have already buffered from the heat with insulation.  Let your builder help you with spray foam insulation, and see how much you can save over the life of your home.

 

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Is an R Value of 5 or 6 a Value?

Posted on September 24, 2014 by admin

Is your R Value of 5 or 6 really enough of a good value when you are adding insulation?  This is a good topic, as today there are new insulation products that start with an R Value of 1 and go all the way up to 7.  The factor is a term that shows “R” as a Resistance to Heat flow, and then a number.  The R Value of 5 or 6 will work for most areas of the United States, and be over kill for many.  There are many ideas that too much insulation will not allow water vapor or moisture to leave the material walls, and cause mold and mildew.  The fact is, with a vapor barrier, you will not have to worry about this issue, but many people do not have the tools or skills to create an effective vapor barrier.

One of the most effective vapor barriers is a mud house or a mud wall.  The thickness of the native american classic earth home is always more than a foot in depth, and water is washed away from the outer layer, and never reaches the internal baked wall within the home.  When we build a wall with natural materials, the thickness is the key to a R-Value of 50 or more.  A dirt or mud wall does this with easy vapor barrier access and transitions.  No need to insulate in this case, as all homes made of earth are at a constant temperature of 55 degrees.  No matter what the weather!

With fabricated materials, an R Value of 5 or 6 will work for most homes in North America, working in conjunction with already existing insulation of R Value of R13 to R21.  The material on top of the R13 to R21 certainly should be able to breathe…the internal insulation does not have to breathe, and can be a good vapor barrier from the elements.

Map of US Zones for Insulation Recommended R Value Amounts http://www.naima.org/insulation-knowledge-base/residential-home-insulation/how-much-insulation-should-be-installed.html

Map of US Zones for Insulation Recommended R Value Amounts http://www.naima.org/insulation-knowledge-base/residential-home-insulation/how-much-insulation-should-be-installed.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acceptable Insulation Installed under R Value of 5 or 6

What kind of insulation should you use under the skin of R Value 5 or 6?  Spray foam is the best, because it is the perfect easy vapor barrier for all insulation that covers it.  The key to your home feeling comfortable, wind resistant, and able to weather any storm, is to build up pressure variances that keep it warm, safe and sound.  Good forms of insulation are spray foam, fiberglass, recycled blue jeans, cotton or wool batting, or even lots of foam boards fixed up and down in the side wall rafters.  Spray foam in use with foam boards, can be tricky, but it will give you the ability to use less spray foam, and build a nice flat surface on the interior of your walls.  Many good ideas, and great ways to buffet your home from weather.

 

 

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Cold Weather Cracks and Boom Noises In Winter

Posted on January 3, 2014 by admin

If you are hearing loud cold weather cracks and booming noises in your home in the winter, you are not alone!  Many people during the winter season on 2013-2014 experienced these weird shifting noises that have many home owners worried.  Even to the point of the home owner calling the police, thinking there are people in the home.  This is something that is not usual, so a worry that thieves have entered the home is very common.  The noises sound similar to a ghost banging on the walls, like in a scary movie.  Hearing this loud boom noise, and being uncertain what could be creating this noise, many people are worried that the dead have invaded the house.

Cold Weather Cracks the Air and the Structure at the Same Moment

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Do your part to insulate your home – even the foundation

Whenever you have below zero temperatures, the insulation in your home can create a benefit for you.  Not only will your buffer between the walls in your home be better and produce a good energy efficiency effect, insulation will ensure you have less Kinetic movement within your home’s structure.  Water and ice on the outside of the house gets colder with each dropping temperature degree, and the ice shrinks with the pressure of the drop of temperature.  What thermodynamics calls kinetic energy, or the internal energy example, water has more of a physical bond that needs a larger physical energy to match that to metals, solid molecules or even viscous membranes like glass.  This means, if you heat metal and water to one more degree, or drop one more degree, there is more physical demand on the molecules in water to achieve the temperature change than in metal.  In other words, it takes more internal energy, or kinetic bond energy, to achieve the same outcome in change in temperature.  This is why, ice is formed at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and at that same temperature, a metal like copper, iron or steel, sees no change to bond at the molecular level.

The release of the water from the metal, wood, shingles or other stronger kinetic element will create this sound dispersion; or loud cold weather cracks in the air. It is something that occurs in sharp temperature changes, or even in very cold changes where the stronger structural element, like a roof shingle, can see a loss of structural kinetic energy very quickly.  This change, like a ghost like boom, is called cold weather cracks in Wisconsin, Winter Boom in Minnesota, and often an uncertain robber in many parts of the midwest.  With the change in temperatures, you can expect this in your home.

Insulate your Roof to Protect from Cold Weather Cracks

Not only does this effect produce noise, but sometimes, it can create a crack in the surface of your home.  The cold weather cracks the roof shingle, the siding of the home, or even the concrete of the basement.  The amount of damage will depend on how much water is outside of your home, and is able to contrast by a simple degree or two from the outside or exterior of your home.  To keep your home safer in the future, it is important to consider insulation as a buffer between the air temperature surrounding your home, and the internal temperatures of your home.

Why Cold Weather Cracks are So Loud

Sounding like a menacing ghost who wants in, the cold weather cracks are very loud as they are a twisting or a contraction of solid molecular bonds releasing large portion of kinetic energy.  Science is at the heart of this reasoning, not robbers, ghosts or failing roofs.  The main thing you can do to prevent the cold weather cracks, is to insulate your home, at the roof line, the foundation and at the walls.  Spray foam is showing signs of increasing positive results in this area, and reduces the contraction of the structures from the cold weather changes.

Cold weather cracks will be a thing of the past, and may explain why older homes seem to creak and groan in the night.

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American Energy Costs : How Insulation Is The Secret

Posted on November 5, 2013 by admin

American Energy Costs are compounding and expanding with the ever growing need of oil, gas and electricity requirements.  Our homes in America are costing us a fortune, with the average cost to heat a home in the US at $3000 per year.  Simply by adding some insulation to your home, you can control these American Energy Costs, and find that your home works better for your lifestyle. With added insulation and buffers between the outside environment, you can count on $600 savings each year.  With best in class insulation, like foam, you can count on savings of almost 90%.  This is an amazing statistic!   Often, we find that we are too hot, or too cold, so we immediately search for a solution to solve our heating or cooling problems.  But, in fact, the heating and cooling equipment we own, works just fine, it just is working too much!  Why not really solve the american energy problem, by offering better buffers between the outside elements, and your inside home.  Being a progressive thinker, it will come to you and your family with added cost benefits to avoid the american energy shortfall.

American Energy Costs will Grow with Time

Expectations that natural gas, electricity, and oil reserves in north dakota will provide american energy to families for years to come, is very possible.  The only change is our population is going to increase, and by all estimates, double within the next 10 years.  When you look at the American Energy usage during the 1960’s, the usage is about the same as it is today.  We are more populated than at that time,  with increased mobility and access to our world, than at any time in history.  The advent of energy efficient cars, transportation, and transit, have made our American lifestyle possible.  During the Kennedy era, the population of the United States was over 189 million people, with at 1% increase of steady growth.  Now, at this present time, we are at 313.9 million souls, with a percentage of growth to double this figure, based on statistical figures, to over 649 million at 2023.

When you consider how many people are growing within our country’s population, this American Energy Crisis is not going to get cheaper, only more expensive.

American Energy Answers for Survival

http://www.dreamstime.com/-image16844568If you have any trouble paying your bills now, or are worried about some of your family and friends who have this concern, begin with insulation.  American Energy is seeping out of our buildings at an alarming rate, as any energy consultant will tell you.  Simply turning up the heat, is not the answer.  Finding a way to keep your residence or business more temperate with little heating outlay, is a simple solution for adding foam insulation to your roof, walls, and foundation.  Tightening up your buffer from wind, temperatures on the outside of your walls, and any leaks from your home are very important.  The best thing you can do is consider foam insulation.

With the increase of population of the US, American Energy costs will only rise.  Some consider this the beginning of the birth of the “small nut house” or a energy efficient living solution to provide good lifestyle choices within the increase of the cost of living.  Other items like food, clothing, and business expenses will be very expensive, so having a low energy expense each month is the solution.  With added foam insulation, especially spray foam insulation, you can count on years of reduced energy costs.

Cut Your American Energy Cost to Null

Communication, food, clothing, insurance, transportation, and education costs will define our American Energy Policy for the years ahead.  The best way to save money is to not spend it, but get the same outcome from your need.  This is a case of being able to eat your cake and have it too.  Why not have a cool home, or a warm one that creates a great life for you and your family?  Why suffer in the cold or the heat?  Add some blankets around your home, with insulation.  American energy outlay can be reduced, with a little bit of an upgrade.

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Air Condition Your Home with Attic Insulation

Posted on April 3, 2012 by admin

Air condition your home with a blanket of insulation, preferably in your attic with insulation.  The most effective air condition situations involve not just the air conditioner, but the entire home is a buffer from the extreme of heat and sun.  The best way to do this, is to blanket your home, and create the best insulate properties with attic insulation.

Attic Insulation Creates Air Condition

How Air Condition Works

In America, air condition is a term we all use for cool air in our homes and offices during the summer, spring and fall months.  Lately, even in our winter days, we need to turn our air conditioners on to air condition some moisture away, some heat away.  The most effective way to air condition your home or office building is to keep the heat from entering, so your air conditioning system can work effectively. The AC in your home is built by slowly turning away moisture, and passing your warm air over cooled tubes or compressed air.  The cooled tubes are easily cooled by either solar power, or purchased electricity from the grid.  The most effective air condition systems are in a cooler than normal home that offers good insulation.

Running your central air means you are using energy to cool the evaporator coils, and then using a fan to run your rejected heat out of your home.  The system also uses a metering device to monitor the pressure and find the desired temperature from the thermostat.  Additionally, it can be really hard to keep your temperature range constant with this kind of system.  That is why, if you run the AC, you can often be chilled, and too cool, and then adjust the thermostat to then find yourself too warm.  This range of too cold to too warm, is because your home is not insulated correctly.  Adding insulation to your home, especially the attic, will assist you with finding good temperate ranges.

In the west, most homes are built from rock, brick or thicker walls that offer insulation.  In the native areas of the desert, the people who lived there, found the thicker walls of caves, and natural outcroppings worked best for keeping the living quarters comfortable.  In the depths of summer, these homes kept the people who thrived there warm and cool during the same day.  During the night, the dessert gets very cool, as it does not hold the heat of the day very easily.  The temperatures in the open areas can reach near freezing, so an insulated home was necessary for air conditioning to exist.

Image courtesy of http://air-conditioning.highperformancehvac.com/how-air-conditioning-works/

Why Attic Insulation Adds Air Condition Change

Why would a blanket of attic insulation add some coolness to your home, and offer air condition?  The best way to think of it, is your home is being constantly bombarded by the outside temperature variances, and like the cave in the mountain, with thick and insulation for walls, the inside always stays cool.  Often times, with good vapor barriers, and home insulation, especially in the roof or attic of your home, you are going to see less heat entering and leaving your home.  The temperature stays the constant temperature of the deep ground, 55 degrees.  If you lived in the desert, in the heat of summer, and had the cave home, you would want a fire, even during the day, to keep you warm.  The outside temperature would not enter your living space, as your home is a buffer from the outside temperatures.

Buy more Insulation for Air Condition Change

The only way to have a progressive house, and a great energy savings, is to start to think about insulation as your greatest renovation.  During the next few years, I am certain that this movement will become more adept, and new technologies will continue to evolve.  Spray Foam insulation is a vapor barrier and insulation in one, offering great air condition for your home.

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Installing Spray Foam Insulation to Your Home

Posted on February 27, 2012 by admin

There are many ways to save money by doing home renovation yourself, but installing spray foam insulation is one important home upgrade that you should  not do yourself.  The reason that this insulation requires experienced installation, is that the volume displaced by the expanding foam, can do damage to your walls and exterior siding if you do not understand the amount of foam to use in the existing spaces in your walls.  Using the correct tools and understanding the pressures in the walls, are the key to keeping the space safe from damage, and bring you the best results.

Spray Foam Insulation Begins with Expertise

Professional Spray Foam Installation

The best spray foam insulation begins usually with new home construction, but the real experts work with both new construction and existing construction.  The areas that you will need to insulate are all around the home, from the attic, the walls, the foundation and the external siding corners of your home.  The key to this entire equation, is that all these areas are adding spray foam insulation.  The reason is, if you add insulation to only your attic, or your walls only, you are creating value in those areas, but you are not creating the buffering effect of a total solution. When winds and temperatures change, you need a static force of your entire home.  With a solid attic line, you still have winds that can creep through your walls, and foundation.  And, adding spray foam insulation to your walls alone, you are going to enable the warm air to leak from your attic easily.  The entire home should be insulated with spray foam insulation, and to do this, you need someone who understands construction, and how it performs in existing homes.

Existing Home Insulation VS Spray Foam Insulation

When homes were built in the 1980s or earlier, the only insulation available was wrapping, or fiberglass.  The fiberglass baffles worked to a degree or an R value of around 20 to 35, at the very most.  With new homes, the tyvek wrapping product, along with cellulose insulation, increased this R value to around 50 to 60.   This means that you may receive a wind buffet, and this wind will leak about 1/2 of its power into your home.   Insulation works by creating a pressure variance around your home, that forces the air or winds outside of your home to move around your home, not through your home.  With this pressure variance in place, or this effective buffer in place, you can really create value of saving money, keeping your home insulated to create warmth or cooling value, and keep your home stronger and better.

Why Spray Foam Insulation Works So Well

The reason spray foam insulation works so well, is it creates a constant filling in areas of most existing and new construction, where there are no cracks for air to escape or enter.  The foam acts as a shield of sorts, against all pressures in your home, and outside of your home.  There are not any other tools that bring better value than spray foam insulation.

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Why your House is like a Balloon Of Perfect Atmosphere

Posted on January 29, 2012 by admin

You may of heard of a perfect atmosphere in theory, via a global initiative called the biosphere or the bubble project in the southwest in America, where an ecology of plants, air, water and humans is contained in a sphere for a year, to see if it can be successful.  This closed ecology was not successful, but it did offer some insight for our construction methods in modern day.  This balloon ecology is actually successful when applied with exits and windows, as a closed system of any kind is often too chaotic to predict all outcomes.  That is why, when you build any structure, getting in and out, is important with doors and windows, and good ventilation.  And, when you apply good insulation properties, the perfect atmosphere can be maintained with little change, as it is buffered from the kinetic changes of the outside atmosphere most effectively.

Insulation Creates a Tight Perfect Atmosphere

Insulation Creates the Perfect Atmosphere

Consider the science of keeping a room closely temperate, at 72 degrees Fahrenheit.  When you add a window or a door, the living condition improves, but the ability to maintain that temperature is lost a bit.  You can’t live in that room forever, so the window and the door are necessary.  How can you improve the room’s ability to stay structurally sound, and offer great temperature control?  Simply add more insulation to every other property, and add insulation to the windows and the doors as well.  This added buffer from the outer atmosphere, wind, heat, sun, cold, and moisture brings great value to keeping the temperature and creating perfect atmosphere indoors, without adding more heating or cooling properties.  Anytime you have to repeatedly heat or cool your home, you are spending energy, and spending money.  Why not buffer the other areas more effectively with better insulation?

The walls, ceiling and floors of that same room, can be thickened, tightened and insulation can be added.  Thickening your walls with wool bates was a very easy way to do this in the pioneer days in America.  And, when the bates were needed, you could spin that wool into yarn for clothing or utilitarian uses.  The many hay, wool, cotton, and mud homes of the pioneer days, heated their homes with a thick walled system, that only required minimal energy use to stay healthy and warm.  By adding this strength, you are building a pressure inside your home, and pushes away all forces outside, and thus keeps cool and warm requirements within the structure.

Perfect Atmosphere in Living From Igloos to Mud Homes

We have missed the boat with adding more energy efficient furnaces and air conditioning units, without added insulation to create our home’s perfect atmosphere.  When you are looking to improve the air within your home, you can’t do it with just a new tool, you need a new system as well.  This is what creates the perfect atmosphere, a buffer from the pressures on the outside, and a way for those chaotic changes outside to have minimal impact indoors.  When cold climate societies built igloos, they built them with available insulation, even if it is frozen water.  The insulation works wonderfully, as it is a great tight force, that creates a perfect atmosphere inside the frozen igloo.  And, similarly, during hot weather in the most arid heat, mud homes, dried with thick walls, creates a cool comfort that is healthy for a static indoors environment.

Build your Perfect Atmosphere with Insulation

As this analysis shows, you do not need a fancy tool like a high energy furnace or air conditioning unit to create your perfect atmosphere of 72 degrees Fahrenheit during the depths of winter or the heat of summer.  Your perfect atmosphere needs to be a force that is unaffected by the outer atmosphere, and created by good insulation and strength from the outer elements. Be sure to check the strength of your home by hiring an energy efficiency expert, and check the pressure variance in your home, compared to the outside.  It will show you that insulation will be a good value, as the pressure variance will decrease by adding strength with insulation.   Build your homes strength, and you will need less energy each day, and more comfort will be yours by the perfect atmosphere at home.

 

 

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Long Term Energy Savings for Your Home

Posted on January 3, 2012 by admin

When you are buying a home, you may really like the kitchen, the way the yard is landscaped, the neighborhood, or the long term energy savings plan that the previous owner had set in place.  One of these items is truly not as fun as a new home theater room, or a new master bathroom, but the best way to save money for the long term future, is to put in place a long term energy savings plan.  The plan should include a new on demand water heater, a programmable thermostat, a new geothermal furnace and air conditioner systems, smaller toilets with smaller tanks, new energy efficient appliances, good electrical wiring that contributes to less energy leakage, and first and foremost, added insulation to your home.

Long Term Energy Savings Comes from Insulation

Long Term Energy Savings with Insulation

If you need to save money, why not save money on your energy use with an extra blanket of insulation all around your home?  Adding insulation to your attic will save you around 25 % of your energy use each year!  Imagine that your natural gas bill averages around 2500 each year, and you spend this without the added insulation or any other changes to your home.  You will save around $625 in one year alone!  The addition of expensive windows and doors could cost you around $20K or more!  The savings would be a savings each year of $250.   Adding new windows would add a savings of 10% to your bottom line, but not the 25 % that a simple addition to your attic would bring.  Add some more insulation to your walls, and you add an additional 35% to your home long term energy savings.  The addition of attic insulation alone to your home averages around $1500 to $2000 long term cost of the insulation upgrade.  A small expense when you consider in a mere 3 years, the cost is recouped and the insulation value will last well over 20 years.  The savings with the cost of adding insulation to your home over 20 years, is around $10,500.  This is with the cost of natural gas being the constant rate that it is today, which is not going to occur.  We all know that the cost of natural gas, heating oil, and electricity will go up over the next few years more than we would like to think about.

Long Term Energy Savings with Foam Insulation

So, is there even better insulation for your long term energy savings plan?  You bet when you consider foam insulation, and adding this tight and form fitting insulation to your walls and attic space.  Lofty and thick insulation has a tendency to bunch, move, and transition down or up in the wall or attic spaces that it is supposed to protect and insulate.  Foam creates its own vapor barrier, and conforms perfectly to the space.  All wiring, cords or electrical systems actually perform better, as they have more insulation to move electricity from one outlet to the other.  New insulation over old walls creates a pest control barrier for your home, a warmth and a buffer to support your home from winds, cold, heat, sun and any elements that are in our extremes.

In my opinion, a long term energy savings plan is just as exciting to any home purchase as a new bathroom, as I know it will bring me value for years to come.

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Attic Insulation Installation Day!

Posted on November 19, 2011 by admin

The day had arrived, the day I had wanted to occur for years, why had we waited so long to for attic insulation installation day?  Not  sure, but life gets in the way of good ideas and home improvements often times, and this year, despite all of our challenges, we were going to make it happen!  I have had years of crappy ice dams occur on our roof line, causing damage, and making life generally worrisome and difficult.  Most of the years we have lived in our home, the snow was very slight.  We had very dry snow conditions during the years of 2004 to 2010.  Our record snowfall year, was 2010-2011.  Here are some crazy weather statistics for Minneapolis, and being south of the cities, our totals have always been a bit higher.  Looking at the chart below, the actual snowfall totals for Minneapolis and St. Paul are on the right column, and they were very slight during the 2004-2010 period.

 

Snowfall Records From Climate-UMN.EDU

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ice Dams Motivated Attic Insulation Installation Day

The reason we did not proceed to add attic insulation installation until 2011, really is due to our snowfall amounts, that were so easy and not large dumps of snow.  The heavy snow storms just missed us year after year, and we really did not have large collective snowfall amounts unless you count 2000-2001, when we had 30 inches in December alone.  This one year, was a big ice dam year for us, and the reason this makes a difference, is when large snow blankets your roof, and heat escapes and melts the snow, ice dams are there, the entire winter.

Here is one of my videos, showcasing what we had to do each year, which was hiring a team to clear our roof of snow.

As you can clearly see, our attic did not keep the heat from escaping from our living spaces, and the roof has no recourse, but to melt snow when the heat hits it.  With this situation, our ice dams were inevitable, and the attic insulation installation was the perfect answer!

Our Attic ON Attic Insulation Installation Day

 

With the addition of Insulation in our Attic, it made really good sense to hire a team to help us on attic insulation installation day, and we worked with Retrofoam of Minnesota.

Retrofoam Of MN Our Attic Insulation Installation Team

We met with Joe England, and he gave us great support and advice.  My husband and I were ready to add insulation, but I really wanted to add the next step, foam in the Eaves, and in the walls.  My husband is not convinced, and unfortunately for me, he wanted to only add cellulose and seal the attic.  I took a deep sigh, as sometimes compromise is mostly hubby getting  his way, but I agreed to wait until next year, 2012, to add the foam.  He wanted to see how the team did, and see how this simple addition would work for us.

I did some research, and to rent the cellulose blower, and buy insulation from a Big Box Store, would be around $1500.  We would be spending around the same to hire Retrofoam of MN, and we spent $1560 for the labor and the materials.  Joe had the team come out on November 3, and they added canned spray foam around leaks, and sealed the attic from our living space.  They removed an antenna from the attic, which was a crazy idea from previous owners.  They then added Cellulose, chutes to ensure proper ventilation, and brought our attic up to an insulation factor of R60.  We had great support from Joe, and from the team that came.  They did much more than we would have done on our own, getting into the small spaces of the attic to seal it completely from the living spaces of our home.  We would have not done this precise and extensive work on our own, and I know it would have been very stressful and exhausting for us, as we would have had to hire a team to help.  My husband cannot do much, as he has a disability, and because of this, we would have had more time spent working on the attic.

All being said, the day started around 9am, and the team left around 3.  It was more work than I thought it would be, and I was really impressed.  I cannot wait to have attic insulation installation day become foam installation day!

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Winter Heat Savings

Posted on November 11, 2011 by admin

In Minnesota, winter heat savings is important as the winter can be very long and very cold.  Without some form of a winter heat savings plan, your heating bills will be large and create a drain on your bottom line.  Our natural gas bill in January of 2011 was around $300 to heat our home at 65 degrees Fahrenheit.   This large bill, created a real drain on our lives and our way of living.  With the economic downturn, it is impossible for us to continue to pay these kinds of bills.  Our income, like many people throughout the world, has dropped substantially.  We are living on more than a 75% decrease of income since 2005.   Each year, the utility bills get larger and our income gets smaller.   For this reason, we knew we needed to insulate our home and do it against the cold winds of winter, but also, to create a winter heat savings plan.

Our Winter Heat Savings Plan Detail

Winter Heat Savings Starts with a Plan

Finding our winter heat savings started with reviewing our homes costs.  We had a large natural gas bill, and that was chiefly to heat our home.  When the temperature outside is temperate, we only use around $20-$30 per month to heat water, and dry some clothes.  We could further remove our gas dryer, and the hot water heater to a on-demand unit, but the $240-$360 we needed to heat water and dry clothes is a very minimal expense.  It is the more than $3000 amount we spend per year to heat our home, with not great success, I might add, that we really needed to see this amount removed from our bottom line.

Furnaces and Winter Heat Savings

A furnace installation was not a part of our winter savings plan.  All the home renovation companies expect and push this kind of renovation and investment.  Most new furnace installs in Minnesota should cost the homeowner no more than $3000.  The fact is, however, they sell the 92% or more efficient furnaces, that actually require a heat exchanger to push new air into the home on a regular basis.   This system is unreliable for energy efficiency in general.  Here’s the story why!

New Furnaces will not be apart of our Winter Heat Savings Plan

Most homes that have utility issues and reasons for energy conservation changes are older than 1980.  During the period of 1980 or newer built homes, the energy efficiency of homes increased dramatically with political changes on oil prices forces the issue of energy conservation.   Suddenly with the advent of the gas crisis in 1977, the housing that every American was striving for was energy efficient.  Everyone wanted a winter plan, and way to save money on the new emerging costs that were beginning to flower in utilities through home ownership.  Not only were home owners searching for savings, so were business owners.   New forms of energy conservancy were beginning to take shape.   The new energy efficient furnace does burn less fuel to heat your home or business, but he fact remains that the heat it creates escapes from low insulated areas.   When a heat exchange unit is installed, the fresh air supply comes through this unit to keep the proper levels of air in the home.   This method of safety is counter productive to the efficiency of the furnace.  Studies show, the 95% heat exchange units actually only save 80% of the actual energy costs.  This is due to the heat exchange process, which is often very inefficient.   Removing the heat exchanger, can create a deadly situation in your home with lack of oxygen and increase carbon monoxide.  The  exchanger is in fact the solution by more of a problem.

The most compelling argument for a winter energy plan that does not upgrade to a high efficiency furnace is the fact if your home is not sealed with appropriate insulation, you will not have the desired effect of adding savings to your utility bills.  With added insulation, you can cut your bills by 60%.   This is quite a large savings, and will always work to save you money, no matter what kind of furnace you have in your home.

 

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