Blinded By The Difference Most of my articles have something to do with saving energy, and this article is no different. In this article, I wanted to talk about the single largest area of our homes that is wasteful of energy, and it is so large and so apparent that most people never even consider it. Our attic? No. Our appliances? No. Our lights? No. It is our windows. Consider your house as an envelope. We’ll call it our thermal envelope. The parts of it that keep the cold (or excess heat) out are the floor, the ceiling, and the walls. In terms of simple square footage, your walls make up a much larger area than does your floor and ceiling combined. Your walls are exposed the most to the frigid northern winds during the winter, whereas your ceiling is mostly protected by the roof, and the floor is not exposed to the winds. Your walls can, at this latitude, take a direct pounding by 100F+ degree heat for 8 or more hours in the summer months, especially on the western side of the house, whereas your ceiling is once again mostly protected by the roof and the floor is not exposed to the sun. So, let’s focus on the walls. Walls are measured with an overall “R” value. An “R” value is simply a number that is assigned to a material’s ability to insulate, or to resist hot or cold. The measuring stick is simply block of wood. A piece of wood that is one inch thick has an “R” value of “1”. So… a piece of wood that is one inch thick has an insulating value of R-1. This is what all other insulating materials are judged against. The type of insulation that is most commonly in the attics of the homes in Idaho Blinded By The Difference Most of my articles have something to do with saving energy, and this article is no different. In this article, I wanted to talk about the single largest area of our homes that is wasteful of energy, and it is so large and so apparent that most people never even consider it. Our attic? No. Our appliances? No. Our lights? No. It is our windows. Consider your house as an envelope. We’ll call it our thermal envelope. The parts of it that keep the cold (or excess heat) out are the floor, the ceiling, and the walls. In terms of simple square footage, your walls make up a much larger area than does your floor and ceiling combined. Your walls are exposed the most to the frigid northern winds during the winter, whereas your ceiling is mostly protected by the roof, and the floor is not exposed to the winds. Your walls can, at this latitude, take a direct pounding by 100F+ degree heat for 8 or more hours in the summer months, especially on the western side of the house, whereas your ceiling is once again mostly protected by the roof and the floor is not exposed to the sun. So, let’s focus on the walls. Walls are measured with an overall “R” value. An “R” value is simply a number that is assigned to a material’s ability to insulate, or to resist hot or cold. The measuring stick is simply block of wood. A piece of wood that is one inch thick has an “R” value of “1”. So… a piece of wood that is one inch thick has an insulating value of R-1. This is what all other insulating materials are judged against. The type of insulation that is most commonly in the attics of the homes in Idaho
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