EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Conservation
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-27-11, 10:50 AM   #11
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

I'd highly suggest sealing the house as best you can. You can do a DIY leak test and there are many good guides out there. This is very cheap to do and helps a ton. I have a fairly poorly insulated 2nd floor on my house, but sealing really helped out.

__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 10:52 AM   #12
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default Peanuts, peanuts, peanuts...

So if you're going to begin an insulation crusade, consider the idea that "heat rises". The truth is that heat does not rise, it radiates in all directions. But heated air does rise. So the temp of the air upstairs is warmer than the floor downstairs, but the floor is still warmer than the air outside and you are radiating heat out of the house there, too. Don't neglect the floor.

Regarding insulation, cellulose is generally regarded as the best bang for the buck.

But styrofoam peanuts (not the corn-starch ones) are excellent but they don't pack together very tightly and air can still move between them.

So, if you can find a really big supply of free styrofoam peanuts and mix that with fluffed-up cellulose, the air migration would be stopped and you'll have just about the best possible loose-fill insulation at the lowest possible price.

Also I tested the flammability of the peanuts, and they will not suppost combustion alone, but if they are on somethng like wood that is already burning, they will burn along with the wood. If the peanuts were mixed in with cellulose (which is treated with fire-retardant) fire risk would be very low.

When I was going through a lean-patch, I used this kind of mix in the weather-side walls of my house, which had no insulation and it worked very well.

There's another approach you might consider, and that is asymetric insulation (I just made that up)... Most people consider that all walls should be insulated the same, but I think that idea should be reconsidered.

I don't know how the weather is where you live, but where I live, the really cold weather comes from the same direction. So the side that recieves the brunt of the cold winds will lose more BTUs/sq ft than other sides, and should have better insulation.

Just a thought...

-AC_Hacker
__________________
I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...

Last edited by AC_Hacker; 01-27-11 at 11:05 AM..
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 01:22 PM   #13
Clev
Wannabe greenie
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Crestline, CA
Posts: 74
Thanks: 1
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

There are four main sources of leaks that I know of:

1. The front door leaks badly--not only around the edges, but through the bottom. I have a metal threshold and a metal scraper. I'll get some of that rubber seal for where the door meets the frame, but what's the best way to seal up the bottom?

2. The door from the unheated laundry/entry room into the rest of the house has a half inch gap underneath. What do you recommend to close up that gap?

3. The front windows rattle in their frames. There's no good seal between the movable pane and the frame. (These windows open sideways.) I'll take a pane out this weekend and get some pictures to see if you guys can help. I'm also planning to build the clear plastic "double-pane" inserts, as the cold air is palpable when you pull back the curtain.

4. This is the most embarrassing one: We have a window A/C unit in one of the living room windows. It's simply too small for the window, so I had to make up the difference with coroplast and duct tape. I plan to pull it out and cut a hole in the wall to mount it permanently, restoring the use of the window.
Clev is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 01:36 PM   #14
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Can you caulk the glass to the frame to seal them and stop the rattling?
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 01:38 PM   #15
Piwoslaw
Super Moderator
 
Piwoslaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 960
Thanks: 188
Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clev View Post
I haven't figured out why motion sensors can't be used with CFLs. I can certainly understand photoeyes (they tend to flicker between "off" and "on"). At any rate, this light covers the entire yard, and for the motion sensor to pick up our coming up the steps, it first will pick up the live oak tree and pretty much stay on all the time.
Motion detectors don't work with CFLs? I've never tried, because the short on-off-on-off cycling isn't compatible with CFLs (or at least I think).

Trees shouldn't trigger the light, since it usually has an infrared sensor, so it only sees warm things like cats, dogs, and racoons, sometimes people and cars. Unless it's an ultrasound sensor...

Also it is possible to rewire the set up so that the light is far away from the sensor(s), for example a sensor at each end of a sidewalk with the light in the middle.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clev View Post
4. This is the most embarrassing one: We have a window A/C unit in one of the living room windows. It's simply too small for the window, so I had to make up the difference with coroplast and duct tape. I plan to pull it out and cut a hole in the wall to mount it permanently, restoring the use of the window.
Can you flip it around and use it for heating in the winter? Just asking...
__________________
Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.

Last edited by Piwoslaw; 01-27-11 at 01:43 PM..
Piwoslaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 01:46 PM   #16
Clev
Wannabe greenie
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Crestline, CA
Posts: 74
Thanks: 1
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox View Post
Can you caulk the glass to the frame to seal them and stop the rattling?
Is there a way to do that without caulking it shut? The flow-through really helps in the summer.
Clev is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 02:07 PM   #17
strider3700
Master EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Vancouver Island BC
Posts: 745
Thanks: 23
Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clev View Post

1. The front door leaks badly--not only around the edges, but through the bottom. I have a metal threshold and a metal scraper. I'll get some of that rubber seal for where the door meets the frame, but what's the best way to seal up the bottom?

2. The door from the unheated laundry/entry room into the rest of the house has a half inch gap underneath. What do you recommend to close up that gap?
What about a couple of those door sweeps that slide onto then get screwed in place on the bottom.
mine look something like this
http://www.groupepromax.com/files/ca...961_18-040.jpg and go on sale for about $10 each every fall.
strider3700 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 02:27 PM   #18
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clev View Post
Is there a way to do that without caulking it shut? The flow-through really helps in the summer.
I imagined you meant that the glass itself rattled in the frame. Caulking this shouldn't be a problem unless I am imagining this wrong.

For around/between the two sliding frames you can use a product called seal'npeel which is like caulk, but easily pulls off once summer rolls around.
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-11, 06:31 PM   #19
RobertSmalls
Journeyman EcoRenovator
 
RobertSmalls's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 344
Thanks: 3
Thanked 17 Times in 15 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clev View Post
There are four main sources of leaks that I know of:

1. The front door leaks badly--not only around the edges, but through the bottom. I have a metal threshold and a metal scraper. I'll get some of that rubber seal for where the door meets the frame, but what's the best way to seal up the bottom?

2. The door from the unheated laundry/entry room into the rest of the house has a half inch gap underneath. What do you recommend to close up that gap?

3. The front windows rattle in their frames. There's no good seal between the movable pane and the frame. (These windows open sideways.) I'll take a pane out this weekend and get some pictures to see if you guys can help. I'm also planning to build the clear plastic "double-pane" inserts, as the cold air is palpable when you pull back the curtain.

4. This is the most embarrassing one: We have a window A/C unit in one of the living room windows. It's simply too small for the window, so I had to make up the difference with coroplast and duct tape. I plan to pull it out and cut a hole in the wall to mount it permanently, restoring the use of the window.
1. A rubber threshold strip.
2. A rubber threshold strip.
3. I have the same issue in my living room. The right thing to do is to replace the windows. Instead, I have it sealed up tight with plastic window sealing film, from the same aisle of the store as #1.
4. This is also the cheapest one to fix, as the above will cost around $13. Remove the A/C unit every September, and install it every July. Store it in the basement until you get around to permanently installing it in the wall.
RobertSmalls is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-11, 07:44 AM   #20
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default motion sensors can't be used with CFLs.??

I got a great deal on some really weak CFL indoor/outdoor floods
and installed 2 of them in a new outdoor security light. They work fine.

I repaired the old security light (bad photocell) and stuck it down
in the basement shop area, using two new CFLs and they work fine..

I think maybe those series X-10 wall switches need a bit current flow..

Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:39 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design