How to Set Priorities for Preventing Building Heat Loss InspectAPedia® -
In what order should we fix drafts, add insulation, tune up heating equipment to save the most on heating cost.
How to measure or calculate heat loss (or gain) in a building
How to measure heat transmission in materials: definition of R-values, U-values, K-values, BTU, calorie, and rates of heat loss or gain
Building design temperatures & how to use a home energy audit or heat loss analysis
What insulation "R" values should be used in a building insulation?
Questions & answers about the priority of steps to take when cutting heating bills by reducing building heat loss - priority of fixing air leaks, sealing, caulking, insulating, etc.
This article explains the priorities for preventing heat loss in a building. We also discuss how to measure or calculate heat loss in a building, defines thermal terms like BTU and calorie, provides measures of heat transmission in materials, gives desired building insulation design data, and shows how
to calculate the heat loss in a building with R values or U values.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.
What are the priorities when working to make a building energy efficient, warm, or cool?
Also see HEAT LOSS INDICATORS (where is the building losing heat during the heating season, or gaining un-wanted heat during the cooling season), and see HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION for a guide to calculating heat loss (or gain) rates for buildings and building insulation.
Formula-R™ and Owens Corning™ which may be visible in this photograph of pink Styrofoam™ insulation boards are registered trademarks of Owens Corning® and were photographed at a Home Depot® building supply center.
When the object is to make a building more energy efficient, and before any more sophisticated analyses
are performed using thermography, insulation evaluations, or even calculations of areas, "R" values, "K" values,
or "U" values (defined below), remember this order of concerns when working for building efficiency. The order of
magnitude of sources of un-wanted heat loss in a building are pretty much in this order:
Close open windows or doors when a building is being heated or cooled by other than "natural means" (like using fans, summer breezes or evaporative coolers in windows). Where older windows are leaking air but are otherwise in good condition, it may be most-economical to install a high quality, well-installed, storm window.
Investigate and cure leaky windows or doors that are producing drafts; also check for drafty wall or ceiling vent fan openings such as kitchen fans and whole house ceiling exhaust fans that have been left un-covered during the heating season. See BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION - how to measure air leaks, equivalent leakage area (ELA), and air changes per hour (ACH) in a building
Top Floor Priorities of placing or improving building insulation: Investigate and make sure that the top floor ceiling or attic floor (or cathedral ceilings) have been insulated, with no insulation voids or areas where insulation was removed or omitted. See INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
Wall insulation priority: Investigate and consider installing or adding wall insulation.
Building perimeter insulation: investigate and insulate any other un-insulated building perimeter areas such as the building rim joist or band joist accessed from a basement or crawl space.
Insulate under floors over un insulated crawl spaces (we prefer to make the whole crawl space an enclosed and conditioned space).
Insulate building foundation walls below grade in basements or in conditioned-space crawlspaces.
Investigate the efficiency and state of tune of the building's heating or cooling equipment, including boiler or furnace and the condition of the heating or cooling delivery system (baseboards or ductwork, for example). (Warning: have heating systems cleaned and tuned by an expert before accepting a measurement of the system's efficiency.)
How to Really Foul Up a Radiant Heat Concrete Floor Installation - Mistakes to Avoid
The full text version of this article has been relocated to Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid where
we describe installation specifications for radiant heat flooring in a poured concrete slab along with a detailed report of just how bad a radiant heat floor slab installation can be.
The article's conclusions include this insulation advice:
Insulate below the floor slab
Insulate the slab perimeter, making sure that the insulation design does not rely on foam placed against the slab perimeter and extending above grade up to siding where it will invite termites or carpenter ants into the structure
Place the radiant heat tubing at the industry-recommended depth down from the surface of the slab. Typically the maximum depth that tubing should be placed in a concrete floor slab is 2" down from the finished floor surface.
If you cannot be present at the job site at critical stages in construction, find someone knowledgeable who can inspect for you before the work continues
If your contractor is an opinionated bully, find someone else as soon as possible, even if his or her other work was good.
Questions & Answers regarding this article
Questions & answers about the priority of steps to take when cutting heating bills by reducing building heat loss - priority of fixing air leaks, sealing, caulking, insulating, etc. .
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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
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