There are a lot of grumblings about a requirement to add mechanical ventilation to homes. When we gather around the campfire on a starry night, there isn’t a need for mechanical ventilation. When we bring the campfire into the building, we a flue to take the smoke and pollutants out. And we also bring a lot of other things into the house including the dogs … Continue reading Ventilation and Health
We know that the primary heat losses for the house come from conductive heat flow (heat moving through the structure molecule by molecule from the hot side to the cool side) and convective heat flow (heat carried around by all the airflows moving in an out of the house). We know that a U value is the ability of an element to conduct heat. We … Continue reading Homeowner’s Energy Workbook – Part 9 Total U Value
You need to get familiar with the skeleton of your house. Most of our houses are framed with studs, commonly known as two by fours or two by sixes. These are pieces of wood that have been milled from trees that are nominally 2 inches by 4 inches on a side. (The milled pieces. Not the trees!) They used to actually be 2 inches by … Continue reading Homeowner’s Energy Workbook – Part 7 – The Skeleton
