Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter
By Mark D. Tyrol, P.E./Battic Door Energy
Conservation Products
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold
drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair,
fireplace or clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your
home every day. These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air
leakage can cause heat to pour out and the cold outside air to rush in --
costing you higher heating bills. Air leaks are the largest source of
heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small
cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware
of the benefits caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize heat loss
and cold drafts. But what can you do about the four largest “holes” in
your home -- the folding attic stair, the whole house fan, the fireplace
and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily,
quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. Attic Stairs When
attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is
created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have
to be removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood. Your attic
space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the attic
space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is
separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin
sheet of plywood. Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the
door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the
attic stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? These are gaps
add up to a large opening where your heated/cooled air leaks out 24 hours
a day. This is like leaving a window open all year round. An easy,
low-cost solution to this problem is to add an attic stair cover. An attic
stair cover provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks. Add the desired
amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from
the ceiling. Whole House Fans Much like attic stairs above, when whole
house fans are installed, a large hole (up to 16 square feet or larger) is
created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have
to be removed, leaving only leaky ceiling shutter between the house and
the outdoors. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole
house fan cover. Installed from the attic side, the whole house fan cover
is invisible. Cover the fan to reduce heating and air-conditioning loss,
remove it when use of the fan is desired. If attic access is inconvenient,
a ceiling shutter cover is another option for reducing heat loss through
the ceiling shutter. Made from R-8, textured, thin, white flexible
insulation, and installed from the house side over the ceiling shutter
with Velcro, a whole house fan shutter cover is easily installed and
removed. Fireplaces Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million homes
in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces.
Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to
a home especially during the winter home-heating season. Fireplaces are
energy losers. Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of
heat loss through an unlit fireplace, and the results are amazing. One
recent research study showed that an open damper on an unlit fireplace in
a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30
percent. This is truly a remarkable statistic! A recent study showed that
for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per
winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces. Why
does a home with a fireplace have higher heating bills? It is simple - hot
air rises. Your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when your
heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn in to make
up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the heated air from
your house! An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to install a
fireplace draftstopper. Available from Battic Door, a company known for
their energy conservation products, a fireplace draftstopper is an
inflatable pillow that is installed into the fireplace below the damper.
As the pillow is inflated, it seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks
and heat loss. Other benefits include the reduction of downdrafts, toxins,
odors, pollutants, and noise. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace
is used, then reinserted after. Completely reusable and available in two
sizes to fit any masonry or zero-clearance fireplace, the draftstopper can
pay for itself in less than a month! Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts In many
homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house.
Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the
outdoors. In the winter, cold air leaks in through the duct, through your
dryer and into your house. Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to
reduce this air leakage. This is very primitive technology that does not
provide a positive seal to stop the air leakage. Compounding the problem
is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open,
or a cold breeze can blow the flapper open, allowing frigid air right to
come right into the house. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is
to add a dryer vent seal. This low-cost, easily installed vent is mounted
on the outside of your house, and reduces unwanted air infiltration, and
keeps out pests, bees and rodents as well. The vent will remain closed
unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle
rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape. If your home has a
folding attic stair, a whole house fan, a fireplace, and/or a clothes
dryer, you can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these
holes. At Battic Door Energy Conservation Products, we have developed
solutions to these and other energy-conservation related issues. For more
information please visit our website www.batticdoor.com or send a
self-addressed, stamped, envelope to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048.
Last changed: August 21, 2009
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