Articles & Etc
Articles and news relating to Home Performance or Energy Efficiency
You may wonder why we are including stuff about energy efficiency in a Home Performance website. It is simple, energy efficiency has been around for much longer and a lot has been and still is being written about it. Additionally, Home Performance came out of energy efficiency, but goes several steps further and can fix problems caused by pure energy efficiency programs. Energy efficiency programs are just trying to save you money on energy. Whereas, Home Performance is trying to give you control over your house so you can set it so that you are comfortable. As a result, you may not save as much money, but you will be more comfortable in the end.
Thermal Comfort
What is Thermal Comfort? That is what we need to understand if we hope to achieve it. Interestingly, there is a standard, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 – Thermal Environmental Condition for Human Occupancy, that defines it as “that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation”. In simpler words – it is a state of mind for each individual to whether they are comfortable. Thus, if you think you are hot, you are hot; if you think you are cold, you are cold; if you are not thinking about it, you are properly comfortable (or close to it). The good news here is that everyone gets to decide what makes them comfortable. This also explains how people can live comfortably in places like Anchorage, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Phoenix with their vastly different climates. The bad news is that it is difficult to regulate the thermal environment in any one building to satisfy everyone’s needs. To see how bad it can get, just go to YouTube and search for “Thermostat Wars”. However, there is hope. By fixing our houses, we can narrow the differences to an acceptable level, such that we can live with each other. The first realization that we need to come to grips with is that Air Temperature is NOT the most important factor in comfort. In fact it is one of the worst indicators, by itself, on whether we are going to be comfortable.
How Snow or Frost can show that you may have a problem with air &/or heat leakage into your attic.
The photos included here were all taken in part of one city about 48 hrs after it had snowed 4 to 6 inches.
Ideally, the roof should have a nice even coating of snow across the entire roof. This indicates that there is a slow even release of heat through the ceiling and thus through the roof. In other words, the airsealing and insulation are working properly and the insulation is even and at a reasonable depth. Remember, the insulation only slows down the heat flow, it does not stop it. In general, more insulation means a slower release of the heat and without airsealing the insulation can not do its job properly.
Interesting Links
Department of Energy - Home Energy Audits