Conductive heat loss through the ducts is typically as great or greater than losses from air leakage. Ducts running through unconditioned spaces like an attic or crawlspace should be insulated. If the ducts are in a basement, you will have to weigh the fact that insulating them will make the basement colder. If both the [...]
Some homes do not have return ductwork at all, a design that assumes the air delivered to rooms will probably make its way back to the air handling unit. In such systems, the air handler is usually in a cold basement or crawl-space and has to do more work warming this cold air for delivery [...]
Temperature is a measure of the level of motion or agitation of molecules and atoms in a substance. In other words, it is a measure of the intensity of heat. Thermometers, used to determine the temperature, do so in terms of one of two common scales of degrees: Fahrenheit (F), on which water freezes [...]
A home’s supply and return ducts are designed to be in balance, meaning that the amount of air supplied to the home is the same as the amount returned to the air handler, and the pressure inside the house is neutral. If either the supply or return ducts have air leaks, this balance is disrupted, [...]
Reflective insulation differs from other insulating materials in the manner in which it retards heat transfer. Unlike the others, it works by reflecting incident infrared radiation, thus reducing radiant heat transfer. Reflective insulation is fabricated from aluminum foil with backings applied to provide a series of closed air spaces. Its insulating value is derived from [...]
One way to save money on cooling costs is to not operate an air conditioner when you can get by with outside air. If your home is well insulated, that will help keep unwanted heat out. Keep windows shaded and curtains closed during times of the day when the sun would pour into unprotected windows. [...]
Air leaks are the largest energy wasters in most newly constructed homes. Efforts to create an air-tight seal around the home’s interior during construction are among the most cost-effective measures that can be made. While leaks are fairly simple and inexpensive to seal during construction, they are almost impossible to seal later. Begin by asking [...]
Whole House Fans are Energy Efficient Cooling For Your Entire Home
As you probably know - the sun beats down on your house all day. On a sunny day the temperature of an attic can reach as high as 140 degrees! And this high temperature in your attic will keep the indoor temperature higher than the [...]
A watched pot never boils… or does it?
As the earth continues to heat up, and scientists see their previous predictions becoming reality, the problem of global warming is coming more and more to the forefront. » more
Burning fossil fuels, like we all do for transportation and electricity production, releases greenhouse gases (like carbon emissions) into [...]
Even on the hottest days, your parked car is kept cooler and the air fresher thanks to this solar-powered car fan. It maintains a safe, comfortable temperature level for your return. Place vent on top of window, then close window and lock up. Its solar panel uses sunlight - not the car’s electrical wiring or [...]
In the temperate region the priority is maximizing exposure of buildings to the sun during the cooler months and maximizing summer shade. Winter wind impacts should be minimized, while allowing for good air circulation during the summer.
Orient the home to face south or southeast. The ideal orientation is 12 degrees south-southeast. Locate living areas [...]
Energy is being consumed at an ever growing rate—worldwide consumption is projected to increase 54% by 2025 from 2001 levels—while the serious environmental implications of fossil fuel consumption have become increasingly obvious.
Most people don’t but heating buildings consumes more energy than that used for electricity or transportation so increasing the use of solar thermal [...]
Thermostats are the controls that tell your heating and cooling equipment when to turn on and off. Slight changes to their settings can mean some of the quickest and easiest savings to be found in many homes. As a rule-of-thumb, you can save about 2 or more percent of your heating costs for every degree [...]
Most people don’t think of their refrigerator as being a big contributor to the home’s energy bill, but in fact it is the third largest energy consumer in most homes, right behind space conditioning and water heating. They are usually between 6 and 16 percent of a home’s total energy cost. Like air conditioners, refrigerators [...]
The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER, is the total cooling of the heat pump in BTUs divided by the total electrical energy input in watt-hours during the same period. Naturally, the SEER for a unit will vary depending on where in the country it is located. SEERs of 9 or higher are considered good [...]
To understand condensation, one must first understand a couple of other concepts. Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount possible at a given temperature. Air with a relative humidity of 50% is [...]
Air Curtains are aerodynamically designed high speed air blowers, generally in a laminar
stream of air with sufficient quantity (cfm) and comfortable speeds(velocity) to offer the
designed environmental protection through open doorways/service hatches. Generally installed
atop the door opening to give a vertical air draft in case of air conditioning (cold air) or
at the bottom below the [...]
Properly sizing an air conditioner is important, especially on whole-house systems. An improperly sized unit can cost you more to operate, and worse, leave you either uncomfortably warm, or cold and clammy depending on whether it is under or over sized. To shop knowledgeably, you should know that air conditioners are rated by [...]
AHMEDABAD: It’s possible to cool down your overheated home in the blistering summer months by making some simple changes. Experts at the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (Cept) say that co-ordinating lighting plan with the construction material can go a long way in building cooler homes.
Architects now have a ready guideline, called the [...]
Amid growing concern about the quality of the outdoor air we breathe, many homeowners have become concerned about the quality of the air in their homes. The 1970’s alarm about formaldehyde escaping into homes insulated with urea formaldehyde, combined with the 1980’s radon gas scare, have made people wonder what they are breathing in their [...]