snow melt, heat lost

kbhale · 02-09-10, 01:49 PM

My father told me along time ago. You can tell how well an attic is insulated by looking at the roof, after a snow. It snowed about 4 inches last night. This is the north side.

Notice the the overhang has a smooth coat of snow still in place. The house had insulation blown 20-25 years ago. Parts of the upstairs ceiling, is fiberboard nailed to the bottom of the rafters.

The out building I keep about 40-45F has blow insulation. I did about 10years ago. North side.

Xringer · 02-09-10, 05:05 PM

I have a spot in the center front of the house that showed melting, even after adding extra insulation in the attic.

It dawned on me, my Dell 4600 PC is just about 7 feet under that melted spot..
It must be pumping out 100-200 BTUs that keep the ceiling warm in that area.

Using the IR heat scanner in the attic, I could see where the leaks were,
and where my PC was located (below).

On the backside (northside) of my roof, the snow melt patten is right at
the large sewerage vent pipe that comes up from the basement.

I've added insulation around the pipe, but some warm air from the basement
still comes up to the attic, flowing in the space around the pipe.

Hey! Maybe I'll try stuffing some insulation up around the pipe down in the
basement ceiling..

kbhale · 02-10-10, 01:03 AM

Most people wouldn't believe a computer could generate that much heat. I'm using mine as a foot warmer at the moment.

Xringer · 02-10-10, 07:04 AM

I have one of those electric foot warmers..
Holmes HMH120B-U Foot Buddy Low Wattage Foot Warmer
But this winter I'm using some heavier socks and haven't used the Foot Buddy much.

Used to use it a lot in the Ham Shack down in the basement. (cold floor).

Summer temp taken in the basement near the boiler.. I think it's 55 now..

MY upstairs PC room is a small bedroom (in a smallish house), so the PC does a pretty good job as a space heater.
If I close the door..

kbhale · 02-14-10, 02:51 AM

I wouldn't put it in storage. Maybe update it with solar. Coldest I've ever been was south of you. I did some stain glass repair in Boston during December. Glad, I live in an area were it only gets in the 20's and teens during the winter.

Anyway i need to blow some insulation.

Piwoslaw · 02-16-10, 02:06 AM

Yesterday I was waiting at a bus stop in the city center and I noticed that there was water dripping from the roof of the apartment building next to the stop. It's been snowing here lately, but should it be melting when the temperature is -6*C (21*F)? The snow on our house starts to melt above -2*C, so that shows how much more heat the apartment building is losing. Mutliply that by the number of old buildings that haven't been thermomodernized and... :shudders:

PaleMelanesian · 02-16-10, 02:19 PM

I'm working on a raised tray ceiling project in half of the house. All the insulation is removed from that area. This last week's snow showed clearly the difference - 5 inches of snow on the still-insulated part, zero snow on the open part.

The house is definitely colder during this work, but that beats working in the attic in the Texas summer - probably 150 degrees F.

02-09-10, 01:49 PM	#1
kbhale Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Evansville IN Posts: 88 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	snow melt, heat lost My father told me along time ago. You can tell how well an attic is insulated by looking at the roof, after a snow. It snowed about 4 inches last night. This is the north side. Notice the the overhang has a smooth coat of snow still in place. The house had insulation blown 20-25 years ago. Parts of the upstairs ceiling, is fiberboard nailed to the bottom of the rafters. The out building I keep about 40-45F has blow insulation. I did about 10years ago. North side.

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02-09-10, 05:05 PM	#2
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I have a spot in the center front of the house that showed melting, even after adding extra insulation in the attic. It dawned on me, my Dell 4600 PC is just about 7 feet under that melted spot.. It must be pumping out 100-200 BTUs that keep the ceiling warm in that area. Using the IR heat scanner in the attic, I could see where the leaks were, and where my PC was located (below). On the backside (northside) of my roof, the snow melt patten is right at the large sewerage vent pipe that comes up from the basement. I've added insulation around the pipe, but some warm air from the basement still comes up to the attic, flowing in the space around the pipe. Hey! Maybe I'll try stuffing some insulation up around the pipe down in the basement ceiling..

02-10-10, 01:03 AM	#3
kbhale Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Evansville IN Posts: 88 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Most people wouldn't believe a computer could generate that much heat. I'm using mine as a foot warmer at the moment.

02-10-10, 07:04 AM	#4
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I have one of those electric foot warmers.. Holmes HMH120B-U Foot Buddy Low Wattage Foot Warmer But this winter I'm using some heavier socks and haven't used the Foot Buddy much. Used to use it a lot in the Ham Shack down in the basement. (cold floor). Summer temp taken in the basement near the boiler.. I think it's 55 now.. MY upstairs PC room is a small bedroom (in a smallish house), so the PC does a pretty good job as a space heater. If I close the door..

02-14-10, 02:51 AM	#5
kbhale Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Evansville IN Posts: 88 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I wouldn't put it in storage. Maybe update it with solar. Coldest I've ever been was south of you. I did some stain glass repair in Boston during December. Glad, I live in an area were it only gets in the 20's and teens during the winter. Anyway i need to blow some insulation.

02-16-10, 02:06 AM	#6
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 961 Thanks: 188 Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts	Yesterday I was waiting at a bus stop in the city center and I noticed that there was water dripping from the roof of the apartment building next to the stop. It's been snowing here lately, but should it be melting when the temperature is -6C (21F)? The snow on our house starts to melt above -2*C, so that shows how much more heat the apartment building is losing. Mutliply that by the number of old buildings that haven't been thermomodernized and... :shudders:

02-16-10, 02:19 PM	#7
PaleMelanesian Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 118 Thanks: 4 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	I'm working on a raised tray ceiling project in half of the house. All the insulation is removed from that area. This last week's snow showed clearly the difference - 5 inches of snow on the still-insulated part, zero snow on the open part. The house is definitely colder during this work, but that beats working in the attic in the Texas summer - probably 150 degrees F.