The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-11-18, Page 39R, -20x0
technology
gets fresh
air in house
Getting fresh air into an airtight house
sounds impossible, but it's something the
super energy-efficient R-2000 Home is
designed to do naturally, just like breathing.
In a way, a heavily insulated R-2000 house
does breathe through a mechanical ventila-
tion system, exhaling fresh outside air - in
most cases recovering valuable heat at the
same time.
The result is cleaner air and dramatically
lower heating costs than in conventional
houses, where the air inside the house is
usually replaced by outside air every half
hour.
Warm house air, which the homeowner
has paid hard-earned money to heat, ran-
domly flows .out through cracks and small
holes in the exterior walls and roof.
In fact, researchers estimate that air
leakage from a conventional house can be
responsible for as much as half of the
house's total heat loss. In short, it's like hav-
ing a big hole in the front door.
The R-2000 Home, however, is a much dif-
ferent story. Its air -tightness is achieved
through the careful installation of a con-
tinuous air -vapour barrier on the warm side
of the insulation. This barrier prevents the
penetration of outside drafts and the escape
of comfortable interior air.
Special techniques have been developed in
the R-2000 Home so that electrical wires,
plumbing pipes, floor headers and even ceil-
ing joists don't break the sealed air -vapour
barrier.
Because of this special barrier, an R-2000
Home requires a ventilation system to ex-
haust stale air and supply fresh air
throughout the home.
Otherwise, daily air pollution caused by
humidity from cooking, washing and plants,
formaldehyde from furniture and carpeting,
household chemicals from cleaning pro-
ducts and solvents, tobacco smoke, viruses
and bacteria would build up,' producing a
must, potentially unhealthy environment.
HRV helps
In an R-2000 Home, this doesn't happen
because the special mechanical ventilation
system continuously draws in fresh air,
filters it and distributes it evenly throughout
the house, while exhausting the stale, indoor
air.
Most R-2000 homes also feature a heat
oir f.?M•:'•.9ai�a'.�iergy
recovery ventilator (HRV), which can ex-
tract as much as 75 per cent of the heat from
exhaust air and use it to prewarm the in-
coming stream of fresh air.
The advanced controlled ventilation
system reduces heating costs to about a
third of those for a conventional house and it
does much more.
There is no temperature stratification, as
occurs in many conventional houses, but
rather an even distribution of heat. The
temperature in the bedroom, for example, is
invariably the same as in all the other
rooms in the house.
In addition to providing uniform
temperature throughout the house with vir-
tually no drafts, the controlled ventilation
system also controls humidity and removes
dust, smoke and other allergens. It is excep-
tionally quiet, and it makes the R-2000 Home
warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
To maintain the desired levels of fresh air
to the living area, clothes dryers, central
vacuum cleaners and space heating and hot
water systems are supplies with air through
a separate system.
Each fireplace in an R-2000 Home also
needs its own supply of air for combustion,
so glass ,dpors...must ..be placed across the
front of the hearth to separate it from the
home's controlled ventilation system.
That's a small price to pay for the many
benefits of the R-2000 Home, which is tested
for air leakage through a fan depressuriza-
tion test.
In this test, all windows, vents and other
openings in the house are closed and the
front door is replaced with a special door
equipped with an exhaust fan to draw air out
of the house and reduce the indoor air
pressure. .
A computer then measures how long it
takes for the air pressure inside the house to
return to normal.
This measurement can be used to help
predict the actual heating costs for each
R-2000 Home. If the amount of air leakage
exceeds R-2000 program requirements, a
smoke pencil or a special meter is used to
pinpoint air leaks, which are subsequently
sealed. The test is repeated until the R-2000
standard is met.
With attention to detail and quality
assurance tests, such as the fan
depressurization tests, R-2000 builders are
offering Canadians a home with cleaner air
and dramatically lower ]seating costs.
Farmers. must keep eye on
Canadian farmers — among the most effi-
cient food producers in the world — spend
more than $3 billion each year on direct and
indirect energy use.
Fuel and ,electricity for powering
machinery, heating buildings, drying crops
and scores of other essential tasks account
for an increasing percentage of farm
overhead costs.
Cutting those costs is important to the
financial well-being of the farm operation,
and it's one area where substantial gains
can be made.
Farm buildings should be designed and
situated to take advantage of passive solar
heat in the winter and shade in the summer.
COMPLETE
INSOLATION
SERVICE
SPACE AGE
INSULATION
We do
all types of Insulation
•POLYURETHANE
FOAM
•FIBERGLASS
• ROCK WOOL
*CELLULOSE
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
AND FREE
ESTIMATES
CALL
Ron Kassies
AFTER 6 P.M.
523-9484
This can be accomplished by correctly plac-
ing windows and overhangs.
A well positioned windbreak around the
farmstead can reduce heat loss caused by
wind chill, as well as the amount of energy
used for snow removal. Barriers of trees
can channel cooling summer breezes into
the farmstead and provide shade.
In the farm house, as in urban residences,
small measures (like turning off lights when
they are not needed, lowering thermostats
at night and washing only full loads of
clothes and dishes to conserve hot water)
can add up to large energy savings.
Air leakage around doors, windows and
other openings in the farm house can be
THE
HEAT IS ON!
s^ MICROFURNACEm
— Technology
makes it
efficient
— Size makes it
portable
— Design makes it
safe
This amazing new product
provides instant heat where
and when you want it.
Your Dealer
DON BUCHANAN
Londesboro
526-72®4
All this plus five Year Warranty
and CSA Approved.
IP
WINDOWS
_ReNa Your Complete
Glass Service!
•Replacement Windows
•Storm Doors •Plexi -Glass
•Repla Windows and
Patio Doors
FISHER GLASS
MIRROR LTD.
224 Suncoast Dr., Goderich
energy
easily stopped with weatherstripping and
caulking.
It's also important to ensure that the
house's air -vapour barrier is providing an
effective seal.
An efficient electrical system is vital to
the farm operation. The transformer should
be located near the largest loads, to reduce
wire costs and line losses. All wires should
be properly sized; undersized wires waste
energy and cause equipment to operate
poorly.
If the farmstead is on a demand meter,
power bills can be reduced by scheduling
heavy electrical loads so they don't occur at
the same time.
v \OVEMBER 18, 1987—PAGE 5B
Oil heating a major industry
Oil heating is a major Ontario industry.
Over 700,000 Ontario homes, or nearly 25%
of all households in the province, heat with
oil.
Ontario households consume about 1.9
billion litres of fuel oil. Based on an
average cost of 21 cents a litre,
homeowners spend about $600 million a
year to heat their homes with fuel oil.
When combined with the sales of
associated heating services and
equipments, the fuel oil business in On-
tario generates over $1 billion annually in
revenues.
The heating oil industry is a significant
employer in Ontario. The province's 600
heating oil companies employ between
3,000 and 3,500 people.
Customer service is vital to the success
of any business. This is especially true for
community-based heating oil companies,
whose continued business success depends
on providing customer service 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
Many fuel oil companies are owned and
operated by local business people in their
own communities. Because of strong
market competition from other energy
sources, the local fuel oil dealer works at
retaining ,and expanding the business
,through good customer relations.
For the heating oil customer, this rela-
tionship offers a number of benefits, one of
the most important being the freedom to
choose from among several dealers. This
gives the consumer a definite advantage
over dealing with a large utility where
there is no choice.
Provided by the Home Energy Group
Make the
NATURAL
CHOICE
Now's the time to invest in a new conventional
or High -Efficiency natural gas furnace. Cash in on
great savings today ... and for .years to come!
• High -Efficiency furnaces over 90% fuel efficient
• No chimney required for High -Efficiency furnaces
• Clean, safe, economical and dependable
• Ask about easy payments on your gas bill
When it comes to winter, come tea us
for a new natural gas furnace that's perfect
for you - it's only natural!
HOFFMEYER
PLUMBING & HEATING
55 Kingston St. Goderich 524-7861
Norholme Decorating Centre
and Draco give
you beautiful ways
to save energy
with your windows.
•DRACO SOLID VINYL VERTICAL BLINDS
AND METAL VENETIAN BLINDS RESTRICT
HEAT LOSS IN WINTER BECAUSE. THEY
CLOSE TIGHTLY.
•THEY ALSO REFLECT AS MUCH AS 75% OF
SOLAR HEAT ENTERING YOUR ROOM
THROUGH THE WINDOW KEEPING YOUR
HOME COOLER IN SUMMER.
•BEAUTIFUL LIGHT FILTERING FABRICS
IN PLEATED SHADES OR VERTICAL
BLINDS.
•WITH ANY bRACO WINDOW ORDER GET
NORHOLME'S USUAL FULL-SERVICE FREE
ESTIMATES AND FREE INSTALLATION.
dialect
CUSTOM DRAPERIES - VERTICAL BLINDS -
MINI VENETIAN BLINDS - WINDOW
SHADES . QUILTED WINDOW SHADES -
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•
iff
004,4
53 RING STREET, CLINTON
Clue! arrow.' tams KIM 4$2 3528
Nf.
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