AmericanEnergy Conservation Video "The Big Burn"

The following are excerpts from FEC's Safety Articles...

Prepping for Winter’s Chills
December 2007

Time will tell whether this winter proves to be mild or severe. But for certain you can count on a gradual “cooling down” of outside temperatures for the next three months. Now’s the time to prepare for winter’s chills. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Americans spend $1 million a minute on energy or $525.6 million annually. Forty-two percent of that cost is for heating and cooling our homes.

Without getting too “scientific,” it’s good to know how heat moves. Heat naturally flows from a warmer area to a cooler area in one of three ways: conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction is where heat transfers directly from mass to mass — as in a pan being heated on a stove. Convection is the movement of heated air from one space to another. Most homes have ducts to carry heated air from the furnace throughout the house. Radiation occurs when a heat source gives off heat toward a cooler one. When you sit in front of a roaring fireplace, for example, you feel its radiated heat. In heating our homes, we use insulation to reduce the radiation and transfer heat by convection with a minimum of conduction.

Typically, we set our winter thermostats higher than needed. If you’re wearing sleeveless tops and shorts and going barefoot inside your house in the middle of winter, you’ve got the thermostat set too high. Lower it to 68 degrees, and you’ll be perfectly comfortable if you dress for winter, not summer. That means layering on long-sleeved shirts, sweats, sweaters and socks when inside as well as outside. Every degree you lower your thermostat will save you money, and you’ll still be comfortable if you dress for the season.

The best way to keep the warm air in and the cold air out — and see real savings to your heating bill — will come from making changes in these five key areas:

• Stop the drafts and leaks — caulk, seal and weatherstrip wherever outside meets inside
• Ready your heating system for winter
• Insulate the dickens out of your home — in Missouri that’s R-30 to R-38 for ceilings
• Adjust the thermostat downward
• Caulk and weatherstrip your windows and doors or if replacing them, buy the most energy efficient ones you can afford.

A few other simple steps can cut more dollars off your heating bill. For example:

• Replace a normal showerhead, which typically uses 8 gallons per minute, with a low-flow showerhead that uses only 1 to 2 gallons of water per minute. Low-flow showerheads cost between $10 and $60 and pay for themselves in less than a year by reducing the amount of water you use and the energy it takes to heat it.
• How hot do you need that water? It’s easy to forget your water heater is running 24/7 to keep water hot for the relatively small amount of time you need it. Lowering the set temperature of your water heater by only a few degrees can add up to significant savings over the course of a year.
• Reverse the switch on your ceiling fans so they push down the warm air that naturally rises. This is especially valuable in rooms with high ceilings.
• Make sure all heating vents are opened and unblocked by furniture or other items to ensure air is evenly distributed through the home.

The Energy Star Web site at www.energystar.gov offers excellent advice on prepping for winter. You can download information on home sealing, duct sealing, general heating and cooling advice and much more.

No More Drafts and Leaks: Tips for Caulking, Sealing and Weatherstripping
December 2007

If you’re of a “certain age,” chances are you grew up in a drafty, wood-framed farm house with little or no insulation. Often, rooms were shut off to conserve heat in other rooms. You constantly stoked the wood stove to keep it going, and in the “front room,” which was heated with an oil-burning stove, you swung between blasts of hot air and drafts of icy air seeping in when the stove wasn’t running.

Those days for most of us are long gone, but there are still plenty of drafty, leaky homes out there. Those leaks can waste 10 to 15 percent of your heating dollars. Simple weatherstripping and caulking can stop most of the leaks. By the way, generally, you don’t have to worry about sealing your house too tightly if it’s an older home. Fresh air is needed for good indoor air quality, and if you’re concerned about how tight your home is, hire a contractor.

You can download Energy Star’s Do-It-Yourself Guide to Energy Star Home Sealing from www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_sealing. That useful guide and the Energy Star home sealing section offer these tips on where to look for leaks and what to do to stop them.

• Seal attic leaks. Doing that will likely make the biggest impact on your energy bill. Start by plugging the big holes first, such as open stud cavities. If your attic is finished, seal behind the kneewalls. Next, seal around the furnace flue, using proper techniques and seals. Then go after small gaps, using foam or caulk. For example, where there’s dirty insulation, you’ll likely find small gaps underneath to seal with caulk or expanding foam. Fill wiring and plumbing holes with expanding foam, and caulk around electrical junction boxes and fill holes in the box with caulk. If the space around your plumbing pipes is wider than 3 inches, stuff fiberglass insulation into the space. Once the fiberglass insulation is in place, follow the directions on the can to foam the space around the pipe. Finally, weatherstrip the attic hatch or door.
• Check around doors and windows for leaks and drafts, and weatherstrip and caulk any holes you see; make sure doors seal properly. Foam and vinyl weatherstripping wear out and need to be replaced periodically.
• Close that fireplace damper. When the fireplace is not in use, an open damper is like an open window that draws warm air out of the room and creates a draft.
• Caulk or seal every duct, wire or pipe that penetrates walls, ceilings and floors. Plumbing vents can be especially bad, since they begin below the floor and go all the way through the roof.
• Caulk to seal along the basement sill plate and around door and window frames.
• Seal electrical outlets and switches on outside walls with inexpensive foam gaskets that fit behind light switches and electrical outlet plates.
• Caulk around heating system floor registers to seal gaps.
• Close storm windows and doors.
• Remove window air conditioners to prevent drafts and seal windows better.

Insulate the Dickens Out of Your Home
December 2007

Think about wrapping your house in a warm blanket. That’s what insulation does, but even so, much heat can be lost through small cracks. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, roughly 80 percent of older homes are underinsulated. Insulation is measured by R-value: a material’s ability to resist heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power.

Typically, an R-value of 38 for ceilings and 19 for walls and floors is recommended but could go as high as 49 in colder areas of the country. University of Missouri Extension recommends a minimum of R-30 to R-38 for ceilings, R-20 for walls, R-13 for floors and R-20 for floors over unheated crawl spaces.

Today, insulation comes in many different forms. A comprehensive table at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/agengin/g01721.htm compares the R-values of different materials, specifically: glass or mineral wool batt; expanded polystyrene-extruded and molded; expanded polyurethane; cellulose, glass or mineral wool loose fill; brick; plywood, fir or pine boards; gypsum or plaster board; fiber board; carpet; concrete blocks; siding; air space; and windows.

Regardless of what insulation material you use, here are useful tips from Energy Star, the University of Missouri Extension and www.consumerenergycenter.org on where to insulate:

• Insulate your attic. In an older home, this can be the most cost-efficient way to cut home heating costs.
• Weatherstrip and insulate the attic hatch or door.
• Seal holes in the attic that lead down into the house, such as open wall tops and duct, plumbing or electrical runs, with spray foam or rigid foam board. Such holes are big energy wasters.
• Keep insulation fluffy to a height of 15 inches to 18 inches for an R-value of 38.
• Add a vapor barrier or make sure your existing one is properly positioned and not damaged. Paul Bianchina at www.doityourself.com has a useful article on vapor barriers. He explains that vapor barriers prevent the movement of moisture from one area to another. The barrier between the inside of your house and the insulation prevents the moisture inside the house from entering the insulation and enclosed structural cavities. Wet insulation loses its insulating properties. The barrier must always be installed between the insulation and the heated portion of the house, that is, the kraft or foil barrier should face the house.
• Check your crawl space to make sure there is insulation under the floor; if batts are on the ground, tie them with twine, staples or flexible rods to be in contact with the floor.
• Insulate to fill large gaps around chimneys, furnace flues, plumbing pipes, ductwork and light fixtures in attic.
• Lay insulation between attic floor joists and on the hatch or door or add more if already there.
• Insulate ceilings in unheated basements and around the walls in heated basements or unvented crawl spaces.
• Wrap older electric water heaters and those in unheated areas in a blanket of fiberglass insulation to reduce heat loss by 25 percent to 45 percent and save 4 percent to 9 percent on water heating; water heater jacket kits are available for $10 to $25 at hardware or home improvement stores or stores with home improvement departments. If you have a natural gas or propane water heater, follow safety procedures in wrapping the heater.

Don’t forget to insulate these often neglected areas:

• Walls separating the living area from the attached garage.
• Walls and ceiling of basement garages.
• Walls and ceiling of dormers.
• Sloping ceiling areas in upstairs rooms where the ceiling has been “clipped” to accommodate roof rafters.
• Narrow cracks around window and door frames.
• Between closely spaced studs at corners of exterior walls or at junctions of exterior and interior walls.
• Ceilings near exterior walls.

An insulation word to the wise:

Two frequent insulation problems are poor workmanship and moisture condensation. Neil Meador with the Missouri Department of Agricultural Engineering points out that you’ll pay for the decreased effectiveness of improperly cut and fitted insulation as long as you own the house. During winter, moisture is added continually to the warm air inside your house, creating water vapor. When water vapor encounters a cold surface, such as inside an insulated wall, it condenses to a liquid, causing the insulation to become wet. Using a vapor barrier will stop water vapor from entering the wall or ceiling and condensing on cold surfaces.

Energy Efficiency Resolutions for 2008
January 2008

Now’s the time to plan for 2008. This year, how about including some energy efficiency resolutions to save money on your energy bill? Or, simply set a goal to reduce your energy usage by a certain percentage, and then list the improvements that will get you there.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the typical U.S. family spends nearly $1,300 a year on home utility bills. How much is your bill? With some effort, you may be able to reduce that bill by up to 50 percent.

To do that, start with a whole house energy efficiency plan, as recommended by DOE. It helps to think of your home as an energy system with lots of independent parts. Start by doing your own home energy audit. The audit will identify where your greatest energy leaks and gaps are.

Then develop a plan that sets a goal to reduce your energy use by a certain percentage, say 5 percent or 10 percent for starters. The plan should include “fixes” in at least some of these areas: insulation, weatherization, heating and cooling equipment, water heating, windows, landscaping, lighting and appliances. Most of us can’t afford to do all the fixes in a year, so identify the short-term versus long-term projects that match your budget.

Your plan also should answer these questions:

• How much money do you spend on home energy? Check your monthly bills.
• Where are your greatest energy losses? An audit will tell you.
• How long will it take for an investment in energy efficiency to pay for itself in energy savings? EnergyGuide labels on appliances and heating and cooling equipment can help you calculate the payback.
• Can you do the tasks yourself? If you’re not a fixer-upper, you may need help from a contractor.
• What is your budget and how much time do you have to spend on maintenance and repair? Spend what you can and don’t feel you have to get it all done in one year. Few people can.

10 Energy Efficiency Resolutions for 2008
January 2008

Here are 10 sample New Year’s energy efficiency resolutions for 2008. Make your own, write them down and tick them off as you complete them.

1. Do a home energy audit – There’s no better way to zero in on how to improve the efficiency of your home than by doing a home energy audit. One option is to hire a certified Home Energy Rater who will use various techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of your home. Check the Yellow Pages or go to Energy Star’s Home Partner Locator at www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction+new_homes_partners.showHomesSearch.
   Several Web sites offer online home energy audits. One is Touchstone Energy Savers at https://touchstoneenergy.cooperative.com/public/programs/energyefficiency/lblfiles/launch.htm, which compares your home’s energy usage to the average in your ZIP code area. Another is Energy Star’s Home Energy Yardstick at www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits. It will compare your home’s energy efficiency to similar homes and recommend home improvements. You’ll need about five minutes and your last 12 months of utility bills. Finally, do an audit yourself following the accompanying guidelines.
   
2. Assess age of your appliances and develop a long-term plan for replacing them with more efficient models – Let’s face it, not many of us have the money to replace all our used appliances at one time. But it does make sense to start a plan for replacing old models with new, more energy efficient ones. Your refrigerator alone uses as much as 9 percent of your total home energy consumption.
   
3. Don’t put off caulking – Didn’t get it done last fall? Not to worry. If the temperature is above 40 degrees F, you can caulk outside even in winter. Think of it as getting ready for summer. Staff at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) suggest caulking these areas:
    - Around door and window frames – inside and out and be sure to check window pane putty
    - Places where brick and wood siding meet
    - Joints between the chimney and siding
    - Between the foundation and walls
    - Around mail chutes
    - Around electrical and gas service entrances, cable TV and phone lines and outdoor water faucets
    - Where dryer vents pass through walls
    - Cracks in bricks, siding, stucco and foundation
    - Around air conditioners
    - Around vents and fans
    - Wherever two different materials meet
   
4. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents – According to DOE, replacing 25 percent of your lights in high-use areas with fluorescents will save about 50 percent of your lighting bill. After replacing high-use lights, gradually replace lights in other areas as well. Prices on the compact fluorescents have dropped dramatically, with many more styling options and sizes now available.
   
5. Visit an energy efficiency Web site – Three useful sites are the Energy Star site at www.energystar.gov, DNR’s residential energy efficiency site at http://www.dnr.mo.gov/energy/residential/residential.htm and Touchstone Energy Cooperatives’ Energy Savers site at http://www.touchstoneenergysavers.com/. Touchstone, by the way, is the national alliance of more than 640 electric cooperatives. These three sites have terrific tips and information you may view online or download as brochures and fact sheets. They’re worth a visit.
   
   DNR also recommends subscribing to Home Energy Magazine and visiting its Web site at www.homeenergy.org where, for a fee, you may read full-text articles on residential energy efficient construction and remodeling. The magazine is published six times a year by Retrofitter Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing objective, practical information on residential energy efficiency, performance, comfort and affordability.
   
6. Experiment with temperature settings for your thermostat and water heater - According to DNR, setting back the temperature in your home overnight or while you’re away will save about 1 percent per degree of set-back for eight hours. Setting it permanently back to a lower setting will save about 3 percent per degree lowered. Set the temperature as low as you can be comfortable, keeping in mind the temperature for the elderly and ill should not be below 68 degrees.
   
   Better yet, buy a programmable thermostat, preferably an Energy Star model. DOE estimates you can save as much as 10 percent a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10 percent to 15 percent for eight hours. A programmable thermostat does this for you automatically without sacrificing comfort. The thermostat can store and repeat multiple daily settings, which can be manually overridden without affecting the rest of the program.
   
7. Plant a tree – Planting trees and shrubs around your home can reduce your heating and cooling costs. DOE estimates trees shading your house can reduce the surrounding air temperatures as much as 9 degrees and by as much as 25 degrees directly underneath the trees. Shading your air conditioner can increase its efficiency by as much as 10 percent.
   
   DOE also recommends properly placed windbreaks; a windbreak will reduce wind speed for a distance of as much as 30 times the windbreak’s height. For maximum protection, plant the windbreak at a distance from your house of two to five times the mature height of the trees. DNR states that studies of windbreaks show they can reduce winter fuel consumption by 10 percent or more.
   
   According to DNR, a house unprotected by nearby trees and shrubs will lose much more heat on a cold, windy day than on an equally cold, still day. Plantings around your foundation can slow escaping heat as well. Deciduous trees on the west will shade your house in summer and allow the winter sun to enter the windows in winter.
   
8. Clean and repair those out-of-sight ducts– According to DNR, leaky ducts lose 5 percent to 30 percent of the energy consumed in homes with forced-air heating and air conditioning. Make sure the forced-air supply and return ducts are in an airtight, closed system joining the furnace to the building. Seal duct joints with duct mastic between the furnace and ducts; between registers and floor, wall or ceiling; and between duct sections.
   
   Also insulate, typically with fiberglass, your ducts and water or steam pipes.
   
9. Line dry your clothes – Now in the dead of winter, it may not be possible or desirable to line dry outside, but you can line dry inside, perhaps in your basement or a porch. Your clothes will smell fresh and add humidity to the air.
   
   When you do use a clothes dryer, DOE recommends not over-drying your clothes. Clean the lint filter after every load to improve air circulation, and use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the residual heat in the dryer. Finally, inspect your dryer vent periodically to make sure it’s not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire.
   
10. Weatherize existing windows – If you don’t have the budget for new windows, consider adding storm windows to cover single-pane windows. The least expensive option is adding simple plastic sheeting inside or out, or make your own storm window out of rigid plastic. You want to create a dead air space between the existing glass and your homemade storm window. The energy savings and payback for installing storm windows range from several months to a year for plastic sheeting and five to 10 years for glass, according to DNR.
    
    Other window treatment ideas to reduce heat loss are caulking and weatherstripping to seal air leaks; using insulating shades, shutters or drapes; adding awnings, exterior shutters or screens; and installing reflective films.

Insulation 101
February 2008

What’s the fastest, most cost-effective way to save energy in your home? The answer, experts agree, is insulation. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the typical U.S. family spends close to $1,500 annually on energy bills. DOE statistics show that, typically, 44 percent of a homeowner’s utility bill goes for heating and cooling and that 80 percent of older homes are under-insulated.

DOE states you may be able to reduce your energy bill from 10 percent to 50 percent by taking certain steps. One of the major ones is increasing the amount of thermal insulation in your home — the equivalent of wrapping your house in a blanket to keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.

How much will you save by insulating? The answer depends on factors like climate; size, shape and construction of your house; living habits; type and efficiency of your heating and cooling systems; and the fuel you use. In addition to saving money on your utility bill, increased insulation will add to the value of your home — an edge you may want to invest in if you plan to sell your house soon.

How do you know if you need insulation?

According to the U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and Energy Star, you need to insulate if you answer “yes” to these questions:

• Is the amount of insulation level with or below the attic floor joists? The insulation may have settled, so add more.
• Was your home built before 1980? Only 20 percent of homes built before 1980 are well insulated.
• Is your house uncomfortably cold in winter or hot in summer? Adding insulation creates a more uniform temperature and increases comfort.
• Do you plan to build a new home or add or install new siding or roofing? Include insulation in your new home budget and add insulation before you make other structural changes.
• Are your energy bills higher than homes of similar size in your area? That’s a strong indicator your insulation may be inadequate.
• Are you bothered by loud, constant noise from outside? Insulation muffles sound.

What’s an R-value?

Heat naturally flows from warm to cool. In summer, heat flows in. In winter, heat flows out. Insulation, which comes in many forms, resists the flow of heat. “R-value,” meaning resistance to heat flow, measures insulation’s effectiveness. The greater the R-value, the greater the insulating power. R-values are cumulative, so don’t remove old insulation unless it’s damp or mildewed. Adding a layer of R-19 insulation batt to an existing layer of R-19 batt will give you a total of R-38 — the minimum you need for an attic in Missouri.

According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), R-values per inch vary with different types of insulation. That means measure the performance of your insulation by its R-value, not its thickness.

How much insulation do you need?

Energy Star has a table at www.energystar.gov under Home Improvement and Air/Insulate that shows the R-value levels for insulation for all states. In Missouri, that ranges from R-38 to R-49 for ceilings, R-11 to R-26 for wood-frame walls, R-13 to R-25 for floors and R-11 to R-19 for basement/crawl space walls, depending on the type of heating system you have. R-38 is typically 12 to 15 inches of insulation.

The Federal Trade Commission enforces R-values, which must be provided by the manufacturer, retailer or installer of the insulation you buy. Complaints may be made to 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).

You can calculate how much insulation you need for your specific home by using the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) ZIP Code tool to calculate the R-value of existing insulation and determine how much more you need. Start with your ZIP, then answer questions about what type of house you have, its primary heating and cooling systems and where you want to check the insulation levels. The resulting report will tell you how much R-value to add and where you have enough. The site is at http://www.ornl.gov/~roofs/Zip/ZipHome.html or order the information on a CD-ROM from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6070, fax 865-574-9354.

Before you insulate

Insulation alone will not stop all the leaks in your house. Caulk, weatherstrip and seal before you install insulation. Covering the leaks with insulation will make it more difficult to reach them later to fix.

Here’s a useful list from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on what to fix before you insulate:

• Repair leaks in your roof – water stains are a clue
• Inspect your attic for adequate ventilation
• Cover open chases or holes in the attic to prevent insulation from falling through
• Cover dropped soffits over kitchen or bathroom cabinets, open interior wall cavities, dropped ceilings and stair wells before insulating; gaps in insulation may significantly reduce the overall effectiveness of the insulation
• Chink or stuff scraps of insulation around fireplace chimney and end walls
• Keep insulation at least 3 inches away from the sides of recessed light fixtures, fluorescent light fixtures, wiring compartments and fluorescent light ballasts; use a fire-proof baffle to keep the insulation away from the fixture when using loose fill
• Use a baffle to prevent insulation from blocking air flow from the eave or soffit vents into the attic
• Be sure the insulation extends far enough to cover the top plate on outside walls
• Block off unheated porches or patios that do not need insulation in their ceilings or floors

A word about metal-framed buildings

According to DOE more heat flows through metal studs and joists than through wood. Accordingly, placing insulation between the wall studs or between attic or floor joists doesn’t work as well for metal-framed houses as for wood-framed houses.

DOE advises you to place continuous insulative sheathing over the outside of the wall frame, between the metal framing pieces and your exterior siding. If your attic has metal joists, you may want to place rigid foam insulation between the joists and the ceiling drywall.

Types of insulation

Insulation comes in many forms. The University of Missouri Extension Web site — http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/aggruides/agengin/g01721.htm — compares the R-values of different materials. Other materials that are not insulation per se but have R-values include brick, plywood, fir or pine boards, gypsum or plaster board, fiber board, carpet, concrete blocks, siding, air space and windows.

The most common types of insulation, according to DOE, are: Fiberglass batts or rolls are made from mineral fibers and glass and available in widths suited to standard spacings of wall studs and attic or floor joists.

Fiberglass blown-in loose-fill includes loose fibers or fiber pellets that are blown into building cavities or attics. According to The Attic Experts in Chicago, blown-in insulation retains its insulating value longer than batt.

Cellulose insulation is typically made of paper waste treated with fire-retardant chemicals. One advantage is that it can be more densely packed or sprayed around pipes, wires and electrical boxes.

Rigid foam board – This insulation is made from fibrous materials or plastic foams and is pressed or extruded into board-like forms and molded pipe-coverings.

Spray foam is a polyurethane foam applied by a professional applicator. It also can help reduce air leaks.

Radiant barrier is a reflective surface used alone and facing an open space, such as in an attic. Radiant barriers are more effective in hot climates.

Where to insulate

Regardless of what insulation material you use, here are useful tips from Energy Star, the University of Missouri Extension and www.consumerenergycenter.org on where to insulate:

• Start with your attic – in an older home, this can be the most cost-efficient way to cut home heating costs.
• Weatherstrip and insulate the attic hatch or door.
• Seal holes in the attic that lead down into the house, such as open wall tops and duct, plumbing or electrical runs, with spray foam or rigid foam board. Such holes are big energy wasters.
• Use nonexpanding spray foam around doors, windows and other space-sensitve areas such as ductwork and flue pipes.
• Keep insulation fluffy to a height of 15 inches to 18 inches for an R-value of 38.
• Add a vapor barrier or make sure your existing one is properly positioned and not damaged. Paul Bianchina at www.doityourself.com has a useful article on vapor barriers. He explains that vapor barriers prevent the movement of moisture from one area to another. The barrier between the inside of your house and the insulation prevents the moisture inside the house from entering the insulation and enclosed structural cavities. Wet insulation loses its insulating properties. The barrier must always be installed between the insulation and the heated portion of the house, that is, the kraft or foil barrier should face the house. Vapor barriers are not needed on wet-spray cellulose installations.
• Check your crawl space to make sure there is insulation under the floor; if batts are on the ground, tie them with twine, staples or flexible rods to be in contact with the floor.
• Insulate to fill large gaps around chimneys, furnace flues, plumbing pipes, ductwork and light fixtures in attic. 
  Lay insulation between attic floor joists and on the hatch or door or add more if already there.
• Insulate ceilings in unheated basements and around the walls in heated basements or unvented crawl spaces.
• Wrap older electric water heaters and those in unheated areas in a blanket of fiberglass insulation to reduce heat loss by 25 percent to 45 percent and save 4 percent to 9 percent on water heating; water heater jacket kits are available for $10 to $25 at hardware or home improvement stores or stores with home improvement departments.
• For natural gas water heaters, the U.S. Department of Energy cautions to keep insulating blankets away from the drain at the bottom and the flue at the top. Make sure the air flow to the burner is not obstructed, and leave the thermostat uncovered. Finally, don’t insulate the top of the gas water heater.
• Don’t forget to insulate these often neglected areas:
   - Walls separating the living area from the attached garage.
   - Walls and ceiling of basement garages.
   - Walls and ceiling of dormers.
   - Sloping ceiling areas in upstairs rooms where the ceiling has been “clipped” to accommodate roof rafters.
   - Narrow cracks around window and door frames.
   - Between closely spaced studs at corners of exterior walls or at junctions of exterior and interior walls.
   - Ceilings near exterior walls.

In summary, here’s an at-a-glance list of where to insulate from DNR:

• Ceiling joists
• Finished attic end walls
• Attic living space
• Rafters to knee wall in finished attic
• Finished attic knee wall exposed to cold
• Short exterior walls
• Finished attic collar beams
• Wall to unheated garage
• All exterior walls
• Sill
• Heated basement walls
• Under floor
• Open crawl space
• Under slab
• Rim joist

An insulation word to the wise

Two frequent insulation problems are poor workmanship and moisture condensation. Neil Meador with the Missouri Department of Agricultural Engineering points out that you’ll pay for the decreased effectiveness of improperly cut and fitted insulation as long as you own the house.

During winter, moisture is added continually to the warm air inside your house, creating water vapor. When water vapor encounters a cold surface, such as inside an insulated wall, it condenses to a liquid, causing the insulation to become wet. Using a vapor barrier will stop water vapor from entering the wall or ceiling and condensing on cold surfaces.

Useful Web sites for insulation info...

• DOE and its EERE office have a comprehensive “Insulation Fact Sheet” at http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/insulation/ins_02.html. DOE’s site at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/insulation.html#map includes a map of recommended R-values.
• North American Insulation Manufacturers Association at http://www.naima.org/.
• Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association at http://www.cellulose.org/.

Attic Fix-ups Pay Back in Savings
November 2008

The trouble with attics is that we don’t see them very often. Out of sight, out of mind. Yet what may be the biggest energy guzzler in your house deserves our undivided attention.

The attic is where most heat transfer occurs. Warm air constantly tries to move to a cooler spot. In summer, the warm air in your attic looks for holes and gaps to move into the living space. In winter, the warm air in your living space tries to escape through the attic. That’s why improving the energy efficiency of your attic is one of the best home improvement investments you can make.

The U.S. Department of Energy says 42 percent of the energy we use in our homes is for heating and cooling. Upgrading the insulation in your attic could reduce that percentage by as much as 20 percent, according to www.atticinsulationinformation.com. Plugging air leaks and properly venting your attic can save even more.

Identify Attic Issues With Home Energy Audit

Get started by considering a home energy audit through your electric cooperative. You’ll get a head start on identifying where you need to insulate, plug and vent in what could be the most important energy space in your house.

Find the Leaks, Then Fix ‘em

The cool months of the year are a good time to turn your energy-guzzling attic into the most energy-efficient space in your house. Start by looking for these tell-tale clues that signal energy leaks:

• Look for water stains on or beneath the roof, then fix the leaks
• Check under existing insulation for cavities, holes and gaps to fill with loose-fill cellulose or expanding foam, as recommended by home energy efficiency expert Doug Rye
• Check attic temperatures; in summer, if your attic feels cooler than the outdoor air, you’re likely leaking air-conditioned air from below into the attic; in winter, if the attic feels warmer than the outside air, heated air from below is escaping into the attic 
  If you can see the tops of ceiling joists, your existing insulation has settled and needs an upgrade - in Missouri, you need 12 to 15 inches of insulation for R-38 to R-49 (how insulating properties are measured)
• Inspect for adequate ventilation in soffits, rafters and ridges
• Look for air leaks around the furnace opening, where inner and outer walls meet the attic floor, around dropped soffits (dropped ceiling spaces) over kitchen or bathroom cabinets, behind or under kneewalls (vertical walls with attic space directly behind them, often in houses with dormer windows or finished attics) and around the attic access door
• Cover open chases or holes in the attic to prevent insulation from falling through
• Mark off unconditioned areas below, such as a porch or patio, so you don’t waste time and money sealing them off
• Determine age of spray foam insulation and make sure it isn’t damaged – according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the R-value of polyurethane spray foam will gradually decrease a couple of levels, then stabilize; damage to the foam will lessen its effectiveness
• In winter, you’ll know your attic is too warm if snow unexpectedly melts on the roof; this can cause ice damming, which can damage the roof.

Insulate the Dickens Out of Your Attic

If you could afford to insulate only one area of your house, it should be the attic. Properly insulating your attic will make more of a difference in your heating and cooling bills than insulating any other part of your house.

The recommended R-value (how insulating properties are measured) for attics/ceilings in Missouri is R-38 to R-49. That equals 12 to 15 inches of insulation. Even if you installed adequate insulation 15 years ago in your house, it’s likely settled and shifted. If you can see the tops of ceiling joists when you’re in the attic, it’s time for an upgrade.

You may install new insulation over existing insulation as long as the existing is not contaminated by vermin, moisture or mildew/mold. A comprehensive table at the University of Missouri Extension Service’s www.extension.missouri.edu compares the R-values of different materials. Cellulose-loose fill, the type of insulation recommended by Doug Rye, the home energy consultant to Missouri’s electric cooperatives, yields an R-factor of about 3.5 per inch.

Here’s where to insulate in your attic:

• Ceiling joists
• Finished attic end walls and other exterior walls
• Attic living space
• Rafters to kneewalls in finished attics
• Finished attic kneewalls exposed to cold
• Finished attic collar beams – those are the horizontal beams in a roof that tie together two opposite rafters, thus strengthening them
• Access doors and pull-down stairways

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources also has these recommendations when you’re adding insulation:

• Keep insulation at least 3 inches away from the sides of recessed light fixtures, fluorescent light fixtures, wiring compartments and fluorescent light ballasts; use a fireproof baffle to keep insulation away from the fixture when using loose fill
• Use a baffle to prevent insulation from blocking air flow from the eave or soffit vents into the attic
• Be sure the insulation extends far enough to cover the top plate on outside walls

Plug Those Attic Leaks

You may have adequate insulation in your attic and still lose heat in winter and cool air in summer. How? The insulation on the attic floor is covering cracks, gaps and holes where air is leaking upward from the rooms below.

Seal the big holes first, such as open stud cavities. Then follow these recommendations from Energy Star, the U.S. Department of Energy and Zolton Cohen’s article on “How to Make Your Home Energy Efficient” at www.howstuffworks.com:

• Look for leaks where inner and outer walls meet the attic floor, dropped soffits (dropped ceiling areas) and behind or under attic kneewalls (short vertical walls). Dropped soffits may be filled or covered with insulation and hard to see. Push back the insulation and scoop it out of the soffits. Place the insulation back over the soffit once the stud cavities have been plugged and the soffits covered.
• If you have a finished attic, seal behind the kneewalls. If your insulation is fiberglass, dirt and stains will indicate where there are air leaks. Cellulose insulation doesn’t stain; instead identify where there are light fixtures and interior walls beneath the attic floor. Plug these cavities to stop air from traveling under the floor of the finished space.
• Install metal shrouds around flues, chimneys, exhaust fans and other heat-producing devices to maintain at least 3 inches of clearance between them and the insulation. This clearance will lessen the possibility of combustion.
• Seal holes in the attic that lead down into the house, such as open wall tops and duct, plumbing or electrical runs, with spray foam or rigid foam board. Caulk around electrical junction boxes. If the space around plumbing pipes is wider than 3 inches, stuff insulation into the space, then foam around the pipes.
• Weather strip the attic hatch or pull-down stairway.
• Look for holes, cracks and gaps under the insulation on the attic floor. Use caulk and spray foam to seal them.

What’s the best insulation to use?

Here’s a useful summary of attic types and the insulation options for them from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources:

• Open, unfinished, unfloored, unheated attics: Batts, blankets, wet-blown cellulose or loose fill can be placed between ceiling joists. Loose fill or wet-blown can be added on top of existing insulation. A second ply of batt insulation should be unfaced and laid perpendicular to the first ply.
• Unfinished, floored: Loose fill can be blown under the floor between ceiling joists. If the attic will ever be heated or used as living space, insulate with batts, blanket or wet-blown cellulose between roof rafters and on end walls.
• Cathedral ceiling or flat roof: Blow in loose fill or wet-blown cellulose insulation if you are insulating the ceiling where there is a cavity. If there is no cavity, rigid insulation may be applied on the interior surface and caulked.
• If you have a finished attic, different insulation options apply. Go to www.dnr.mo.gov. Click on Energy Center, then Residential and then Insulation to get to the details.

Say No to Attic Moisture

Moisture in your attic is not a good thing. It can lessen the effectiveness of your insulation, foster mold and mildew and promote wood rot. A vapor barrier can prevent moisture from the lived-in portion of your house from filtering into the attic.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) points out a vapor barrier should be placed on the “warm-in-winter” side of the insulation in your attic. Face the vapor barrier down when insulating between ceiling rafters, on the inner (room) side of exterior walls and up when insulating floors. Do not install a vapor barrier on top of existing attic insulation.

Though a vapor barrier will protect insulation and building materials, it also will increase the humidity level in your home. The amount will depend on the amount of air leakage in your home; the amount of insulation; whether you use a humidifier; the number of household members; the amount of cooking, showers, washing and drying clothes; and whether you have a large number of plants.

If moisture problems persist, DNR recommends increasing the ventilation by using exhaust fans or air-to-air heat exchangers, though, of course, these devices use energy.

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