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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-11-10, Page 32Page 18 Can't warm up winter so Keep, the heat you have indoors We might as well forget about trying to heat up the great Canadian 'winter; we just can't do it. So let's keep our heat indoors, where it will do us the most good. As you read this sup- plement you'll discover that installing or adding insulation is neither difficult nor par- ticularly expensive. Insulation conserves heating energy which in turn saves you money. Two things happen when insulation is added to your new or existing home. First, and most important, you save energy because you use less fuel for heating. Secondly, you feel warmer and more comfortable. From the moment heat is generated, it tries to escape into the colder air outside. It vanishes through the ceiling and walls, sneaks out round windows and doors. The rate of escape depends on the' difference between the inside and outside temperatures, and on the resistance it meets. Insulation is the key barrier that traps and holds heat inside. A thorough re -insulation job can cut your annual heating bill by as much as 50 percent. A more modest improvement to your in- sulation can save you 20 to 30 percent annually. So if your bill is now $300, a 30 percent saving could reduce it to $210. The cost of insulating all or part of a house is usually paid for in 5 years or less, through lower annual heating costs. A quick way to find out if your house needs extra in- sulation is to take a look outside. On a dull day, is the snow melting on the roof? If so, you don't have enough insulation in the attic. Is snow disappearing from around the sides of the house? If so you need insulation on the basement walls. A poorly insulated house is usually uncomfortable. Blame it on the "cold wall" effect. The inside surface of an, uninsulated wall may be from 8 to 15 Fahrenheit degrees (4 to 8 Celsius degrees) colder than the same wall with insulation. If you're sitting near the wall, your body heat will flow towards the cooler surface and you'll soon begin to feel chilly. At the same time, as warm air meets the cool wall it becomes more dense and sinks towards the floor. This displaces warm floor -air which rises. The result can be uncomfortable drafts. Many of us turn up the thermostat, blaming a chilly feeling on the furnace or the weather. The real problem is often a lack of good insulation and weather protection. Years ago we assumed that the best measure of insulation was thickness. Times and products have changed. This rule -of -thumb is no longer reliable. Insulation is now manufactured and sold by "resistance value" (called the "R" value) — a precise measurement of the in- sulation's resistance to heat transfer. The higher the - resistance value, the less heat will escape through the in- sulating material. One brand of insulation may be thicker or thinner than another, but if they both show the same R value, they'll perform equally well. The R value is stamped in large letters on the cover of packaged insulation. If it isn't there, check with your dealer who should know the value., You can choose from four basic types of home in- sulation: (1) batt and blanket, (2) loose fill, (3) rigid foam plastic, (4) foamed -in-place plastic. (1) Batt and blanket in- sulation. This has a soft, woolly texture and is made from fibres of glass, rock or slag. It is the most common type and is probably up in your attic right now. The batts are sold in pre- packaged bundles, in 4 -foot or 8 -foot lengths. They vary from 2 to 6 inches in thickness and come in standard widths — to fit snugly between uniform centre ceiling joists, studs or wall strapping. Blanket insulation is sold in rolls of varying lengths, widths and thicknesses. Both types are sold with or without an attached vapor barrier. This barrier is a protective coating in one side of the insulation — using wax, tarred kraft paper, aluminum foil or plastic — to guard against moisture damage which would reduce the in- sulation's effectiveness. (Vapor barriers and their uses are discussed again further on.) Batts or blankets are used to insulate frame or brick houses — in . walls, over ceilings, under floors, in crawl spaces and garages. They can be used on poured concrete and block basement .�. SALTCOUNTRj'-, 4 lh (l i '7?? UNDERCOAT NOW!; .,, 1.r pbgr� ONLY". • � � L l W9RTHY'S S.SERVE ESSO, - 79 Victoria 8 Nelson Sts. r Goderich 524-8612/ I '1►n-tatn� / NY \ /L.A.. 4.114 walls where framing has been walls in new construction, applied. "` ,where the material -is poured (2) Loose -fill insulation. Loose -fill insulation is sold by the bag and may be in pellets, fibrous or granular form. When properly used, it leaves few air gaps or pockets and form's an effective heat barrier. In wall cavities, however, it may settle over the years and leave a poorly insulated gap at the top. There is no vapor barrier, so one must be applied to protect the insulation from moisture. (Because loose fill is so easy to apply it's often used to re -insulate an existing home ceiling. Professional insulation contractors also use it as a "blown -in" type for the wall cavities of existing homes. Holes are drilled in each stud space of the wall and the insulation is blown in using a compressor. The holes are then sealed.) Loose fill is manufactured from glass, rock', slag, pulverized paper or expanded mica. The expanded mica or vermiculite) in block -type type can (zonolite be used directly into the block cores. (3) Rigid foam plastic insulation. Rigid polyurethane and polystyrene insulation are sold in panels of different sizes and thickness. They offer several advantages: high insulation value with minimum thickness and weight rigidy, sound absorption, vapor barrier. Polyurethane and polystyrene foamed plastics are now recognized as severe fire hazards when used in exposed or semi -exposed applications. As now manufactured, they not only contribute to flame spread, but produce explosive and poisonous gases under fire conditions. They should not be used in applications which might expose them to open flame inside a building. Foam plastic insulation can still be used under these conditions: (a) inside, if covered by 3/4" plaster or %" gypsum board, (b) on the outside of con- crete, masonry or wood frame walls, (c) inside masonry cavity walls, suitably fire -stopped, (d) under concrete floor slabs, (e) as roof insulation ap- plied above structural deck. (4) Foamed -in-place plastic insulation. There are several brands of foam insulation, such as urea -formaldehyde and polyurethane, which can be foamed -in-place in wall cavities. They should be installed by a professional contractor with the proper equipment. If a low flammability foam 111 such as unreaformaldehyde -.., is chosen, or if proper ., protective measures are taken, this can be an effective way of retrofitting insulation in older homes. See a local insulation contractor for more details. Vapor barriers are an essential part of the in- sulation story. Insulation in a wall, ceiling or floor must be protected by a -vapor barrier applied to the warm (heated) side of the insulation. Without Turn to page 19 • CHECK YOUR HEATING SYSTEM NOW 1 Faulty Equipment Can't Do The Right Job a,MINI M - MINI - An out of date heating system squanders precious fuel and cash. Let us up -date your present heating system with a CLARE HECLA heavy duty Oil or Gas Fired Furnace. The New Clare Hecla Oil or Gas Fired Low Boy is the basic unit for your total home comfort system, This multi -rated unit covers a wide range of homes. The New Styling completely conceals the Burner -Control assembly in a vestibule section to fit unobtrusively into the basement or utility room setting. The. Entire Casing is fabricated from zinc clad heavy gauge steel and finished in oven -baked enamel providing double protection against basement dampness. • The Heavy Gauge Drum Type prime heat exchanger is followed by a wrap-around Secon- dary Heat Exchanger. The hot gases flow completely around the "Cyclonic. Radiator" before entering the flue - squeezing the Maximum heat from your fuel. The Heavy Duty Clare Units carry the 20 Year Clare Guarantee on 4he Heat Exchanger. The Clare Single Port Burner with "Flame Retention" is a "Time -Proven" unit that provides trouble free operation with high efficiencies. INQUIRE ABOUT THE CLARE HECLA FURNACE AT HOFFMEYER PLUMBING and HEATING Ltd. 55 Kingston St. Goderich S24-7861 a, tr Adults, Too, Can Benefit from How Students Were Briefed for Gas Economy KEEP SPEED DOWN. Tests conducted with a popular American car have indicated a 25 percent im- provement in fuel econ- omy 'when speeds are re- duced from 70 to 50 miles per hour. Wind resistance increases as car speed in- creases, and more energy Ls tllus required to move the car at higher speeds. * * * AVOID "JACK RABBIT" STARTS. Gradual. acceler- Keep the heat..... • from page 18 it, moisture from the house construction practices often air will enter the insulation, limit the amount of insulation condense and cause serious that can • be added. However, damage. innovative construction Some insulation is sold with techniques will allow higher an attached vapor barrier. levels for new housing in the Others require a separate future. application. Here are some The building codes for new common vapor barrier homes are presently being re materials : evaluated and updated to Polyethylene film, meet today's energy dr- ip. aluminum foil, aluminum cumstances. New con - paint, varnish and rubber struction techniques, such as base paints, and urethanes. 6 -inch wall studs and exterior The recommended in- insulation, are being con- sulation levels for Canadian sidered to make new houses homes have been rising suitable for the energy pinch through the years, reflecting ahead. Even solar heating increased heating costs and systems are being developed concern for energy con- and tested. servation. The precise level When you buy or build a of insulation which can be new house, be sure it has the justified on economic maximum amount of in - grounds (cost of insulation vs. sulation possible. You might fuel saving) varies with want to look into 6 -inch studs climate, fuel costs, insulation to permit more insulation in prices and other factors. It is the ,walls, and consider built - possible, however, to in basement insulation. Your recommend one set of new home should at least minimum insulation levels meet the insulation levels which are generally ap- recommended above. The plicable across the country. money you invest in extra The 'recommended levels insulation now will more than for existing and new housing repay itself in the .years will differ because current ahead. Protect eeve ventilation openings ATTICS Att mate -apply board baffle to underside of rafters Install thick batty to prevent blocking of air at eave yenta Blown mineral fiber insulation ation in city driving can save as much as two miles per gallon compared to rapid acceleration. That's because it takes a lot of extra energy to increase an automobile's accelera- tion' rate. A power valve, located in the carburetor, lets more fuel into the cyl- inders under full acceler- ation. In addition, an ac- celerator pump provides extra fuel to avoid hesi- tation when the gas pedal is jabbed. * * * KEEP SPEED CON- STANT. Driving at steady speeds helps to save gaso- line. Unnecessary acceler- ation activates the accel- erator pump and power valve, thus injecting extra — and wasted — fuel into the system. * * * ANTICIPATE STOPS. It is best to plan ahead for all possible traffic condi- tions. This allows for grad- ual, rather than abrupt, stops and this smooth driving contributes to bet- ter fuel economy. In addi- tion, ddition, gradual braking pro- longs the life of brake lin- ings. * * * AVOID ENGINE ID- LING. An` -idling engine wastes energy; it does no useful work while consum- ing fuel. Excessive idling may also shorten engine life if the practice is re- peated over a long term period. As a guide, drivers should not idle engines for more than three minutes, if possible. * * * WARM ENGINE BY DRIVING. Drivers will ob- tain 'better economy by driving the car to warm the engine, rather than allowing it to idle exces- sively. This speeds up the warming process, and thus ,saves gasoline. The driver must remember, however, that a cold engine does not respond as quickly, so care must be exercised in all traffic situations where engine response is critical. * * * MINIMIZE TRE USE OF AIR CONDITIONERS. Air- conditioning puts a sub- stantial load on automo- bile engines, and should, therefore, be used only on the hottest days. While UED AUTO god TRUCK PARTS We install what we sell 24 Hour Towing Service L.H.JENKINS LTD. AUTO WRECKERS R.R.4, Goderich ' 524-7111 Come see us for Remington Tires - Used New We also have a good stock of new and used Radiators driving at 30 miles per hour, for example, use of the air conditioner can re- sult in a fuel economy loss of two miles per gallon. As a rule, use of the air conditioner cuts gasoline mileage by 10 per cent. * * * MAINTAIN CORRECT TIRE PRESSURE. Under- inflated tires reduce gaso- line mileage slightly. Soft tires also wear out more quickly, and may adverse- ly affect vehicle handling, thus creating a potential safety hazard. Many auto- mobile manufacturers rec- ommend increasing the tire air pressure by ap- proximately four pounds before high-speed driving. Tires should not, however, be inflated above the max- imum recommended pres- sure. * * * KEEP THE ENGINE TUNED UP. Spark plug misfiring may result in a significant increase in fuel consumption. In labora- tory tests at speeds of 30 and 50 miles per hour, for example, spark plugs mis- firing 10 percent of the time resulted in an eight percent increase in fuel consumption. In addition, ignition timing deviating from the manufacturer's setting resulted in a sig- nificant decrease in fuel economy. For example, a 10 degree retard in basic spark timing may result in an average loss,, of 1.3 miles per gallon at speeds of 30, 50, and 70 miles per hour. Drivers should be reminded that these. and other obstacles to efficient engine performance can be" eliminated with a com- plete tune-up. * * * SERVICE AIR FILTER. A dirty air filter can cause a decrease in fuel econ- omy, and a decrease in power output, by restrict- ing the flow of air to the engine. Drivers should therefore be advised to Page 19 change the air filter at specified intervals, or ac- cording to the manufac- turer's recommendations. In addition, frequent air filter servicing is required if considerable driving is done in sandy or dusty conditions. Changing of the guard Popular tourist attrac- tions in places like London, Ottawa or Washington are the famous changing of the Guard ceremonies. While not nearly as col- orful as the rituals at Buckingham Palace, Par- liament Hill or the Tomb of the Unknowns, there is a guard changing cere- mony that's important to a motor vehicle. The automotive guards are the filters that protect a car's engine from poten- tially serious harm. The air, oil and gasoline filters help screen out foreign materials from vital en- , gine parts. The air filter prevents dirt from entering the carburetor where the air and fuel ' is mixed. When clogged, the filter can cease functioning, result- ing in poor engine per- formance and, often, a drastic loss of fuel econ- omy. Most cars today use disposable filters which' should be replaced at 10,000 miles as part of an engine tune-up. The oil, filter catches foreign objects in the oil, keeping them from dam- aging engine parts. A clogged filter cannot per- form this function effi- ciently, Especially in these times of the recommended lengthened time of oil change, a new oil filter should be installed with every change of lubricants. Reduce Heating -Cost MICAFIL with FIBERG S BATTS STYROFOAM SHEETS WEATHERSTRIPPING CAULKING All help to conserve fuel and energy - all ore available at COUNTER SASH & CARRY Building Supplies PRINCESS ST. WEST, CLINTON 482-9612