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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-11-17, Page 13Insulation answers energy bills hat goes up must come down >; ex- cept, it seems, for home energy Following are some common questions asked by homeowners who want to find out how they can maximize their homes' ener- gy -efficiency. Q: Where should / insulate my home? A: Homeowners planning to weatherize their homes should in- stall fiber glass blanket insulation in attics, basement walls, crawl - space walls and under floors. You can further reduce home energy loss by insu- lating ducts, pipes and wa- ter heaters. Insulation can also help increase year- round comfort, enhance sound control and increase your home's resale value. Q: What is an R -value? A: An "R" is a measure of insulation's ability to slow the transfer of heat. Tiny air pockets trapped in the insulating material resist the passage of heat through your home heat escaping in the fall and winter, and heat entering in the summer. The higher the R -value, the greater the insulating pow- er. Q: When are vapor barriers necessary when insulating? A: Most applications require a kraft -paper or foil vapor barrier because it helps prevent condensation from entering a wall, ceiling or floor. The vapor barrier should be placed toward the "warm in winter" side or living :area of your home (in heating climates). When insulating exterior walls, a vapor barrier can be achieved in two ways. you can -install unfaced - with no vapor barrier - fiber glass blanket insulation between the studs and place a 4- or 6 -mill polyethylene vapor barrier directly over the insulation. "lidifvfnthellatIYInstall fact suIatibn _ - tween the studs with the vapor barrier fac- ing the "warm in winter" side. For an uninsulated attic, install faced fiber glass blanket insulation with the vapor bar- rier placed down toward the "warm in win- ter" side. However, if your attic already has existing insulation, use only unfaced insula- tion when adding another layer. Q: What's best way to install insulation in my attic? A: To start, lay temporary flooring, such as plywood, across the joists and hang a temporary work light. Begin laying insula- tion blankets at the outer edge of the - attic and work toward the centre. If the cavity is filled, lay long runs perpen- dicular to the joists. If the current insulation is lower than the top of the attic joists, lay the appropriate thickness of unfaced insula- tion to fill the cavity. Add an additional lay of fiberglass insulation perpen- dicular to the joists. Insulation should extend to the outer edges of the attic, but should not block air flow from the eave vents. Keep insulation 3 inches away from recessed light- ing fixtures unless the fix- ture is marked "LC." (Insu- lated ceiling) - a fixture designed for direct insulation con- tact. Q: Can I get more insulating power by squeezing in a thicker piece of in- sulation into a wall? A: No: Compressing thick fiber glass blan- ket insulation into a smaller wall space will actually decrease its R -value performance. Compression decreases the amount of air trapped in the material, reducing its ability to slow heat transfer. Thicker insulation may also weaken wall construction by exerting too much pressure against the covering wall board. For these reasons, home -owners should use insulation designed specifically for their project. For example, R-13 (3-1/2 inches) or R-15 (3-1/2 inches) insulation works best in 2x4 wall construction, while R-21 (5-1/2 inches) has been designed for 2x6 walls. Q: What tools should 1 use to install insu- lation? _ ..A� For basicinsulationprojects, you will need .a tape measure, utility knife, straight edge, portable work light, plywood boards (to provide a safe place to sit or kneel in an attic, as well as surface on which to cut the insulation), and a pole or rake to push blan- kets into hard -to -reach places in attics. For comfort, you'll want a paper respirator, long-sleeved shirt, work gloves and safety glasses. See the package for complete infor- mation on protective gar. BEAT THI HIGH COST OF WATER HEATING ELECTRICALLY' 30. GAL OIL produces 100 gal. hot water per hour 30 GAL OAS produces 3Q gal. let water per hour It takes a S6 OPAL. ELECTRIC WATER NEATER to produce gallons hot water per hour tr ST PER YEA BASED ON A FAMILY OF FOUR Electric $634.00 Propane $439.00 All. ` 96.00 . DAVE MOORE FUELS LTD. 315 Main St. N. Exeter 2 235-0853 or 1,1300-265-2931 "The Best Service When You Need It Most" 7 1 Fireplaces are still popular feature to warm up a residence Lvmth is the ord this year in interiorkeywdec- orating. And what gives a feeling of warmth more than a fireplace? There's nothing like a well propor- tioned fireplace, emitting the glow of its flames to all parts of the room, to make a room warmly living. As interior design fashion moves from contempory to old fashioned, fireplace design has had to adapt. The first questbn to answer when looking for a fireplacois whether you want to heat your body or your heart. If heating is your primary consid- eration then you should chose a con- trolled -combustion fireplace. \ If thcplcasurc of sitting in front of an open firc is your only considera- tion then \there are other types of fireplaces from wpich to choose. .2riteria to remember are efficiency, safety, durabi t ity, appearance and the environment when choosing a fire- place unit. if you like to look at the flame of a ire but really don't like lighting it, it might make more sense to buy a gas fireplace with ceramic logs. It, will provide the atmosphere but not the crackle and smell of a real :Ke. Tips for around your home Cooking 44 Cleaning • Major appliances like stoves and washing machines account for ap- proximately 30% of the total amount of electrieity used in your home. You can save up to 5300 during an appli- ances lifetime by choosing an en- ergy-efficient model. Compare EnerQuide ratingsand pick the model with the lowest number. • Try to keep freezers and refrig- erators about two thirds full. They're most energy efficient when the cold air can circulate --- so be careful to overstock! • Defrost frozen foods in the fridge. Your refrigerator will use less energy keeping the rest of the food cold and you'll use fess energy than if you defrosted the food in the microwave. • Hang your clothes outside to dry whenever possible, or use an indoor clothes dryer rack when the weather doesn't cooperate. This natural method is kinder to your clothes and . gentler on your energy bills. • Using an electric kettle is the most energy-efficient way to boil water— it uses half as much energy as the stovetop, which uses half as much as a microwave. • Glass and ceramic cookware gets hotter than their metal cousins so choose these and a lower temperature to save pots of energy. • To save energy and hot water used by your dishwasher, wait until it's full before you run it. Try using short cycles when you have easy -to - clean toads, use your "econocycle" if you have one, and try turning the dishwasher off before the drying cy- cle to let the dishes air dry. • Use the warm wash cycle, instead of hot, and the cold rinse cycle in your washing machine and you'll cut your electricity usage in half. Lighting * The average home has 30 lightbulbs and lighting accounts for close to 10% of your electric bill, so it pays`tb turn off lights when you don't need them. instead of leaving lights on all the time, install timers on indoor lights and motion,detectors on outdoor lights to give your home that lived-in look. * Switch to energy-saving incan- descent lightbulbs from traditional incandescent bulbs to save energy without a visible -difference in light output. * Use long-lasting, compact fluo- rescent bulbs for those hard -to -reach places in .the house and in fixtures that are, used tor more than three hours per day. They last for 10,000 hours 10 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs. Replace fluores- cent bulbs as soon as they start .to darken because they consume the same amount of energy while pro- ducing less light, * One 100 W bulb gives off 1 1/2 times as much light as four 25 W bulbs, so choose a single -bulb fixture over a multi -bulked one because the single bulb will give off more Tight at less cost. * Halogen bulbs are great energy - savers. They produce a clear white, natural -looking tight, last two to four times longer than incandescent and save up to 40 %-on the energy used by the fixture. You can replace three 150 watt floodlights with a single 300 watt quartz halogen lamp and get the same light effect. * Tum off the lights when you leave a room, even if you're only gone fop few minutes. You'll save more energy in the time that the lights are off than you'll use turning them on again. * Brightly colored walls reflect light, so pick an energy wise color scheme when you're decorating and you'll need lower -wattage lightbulbs to achieve maximum brightness. IVO GIMMICKS JUST LOW PRICES TWO GREAT SAWS AT SUPER FALL SAVINGS Model 45-15" 44ca of compact power save $91? now $34995 only Model 61-1611 (Illustrated) Big enough to tackle the toughest lobs save$15O!°. only $49995 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST LONGER BAR LENGTHS AVAILABLE. 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