SwampFox

Two Ways to Shrink Utility Bills and Make Your Home More Comfortable

Submitted by: Cherish Benton on Aug 17, 2009 at 1:53 pm Tagged with: Crawl space, energy audit, Energy efficient home improvements, HERS, radiant barrier, upstate, weatherization Source: Benton Green Energy

If you live in the Southeast or Southwest, chances are your air conditioner or heat pump is working full blast right about now, but it doesn't have to. My family is enjoying a more comfortable (and less expensive) summer as a result of my weatherization efforts to our home this past year. The first and most important of which is the installation of a radiant barrier in our attic. I had read a little about radiant barriers in my continuing education, but the real epiphany came when I met my friend Ron White at All-In-One insulation here in Greenville, South Carolina.

I consider Ron to be a genius in his knowledge of air movement in a home. Oak Ridge Laboratory, which does a lot of research on energy efficiency, is in contact with him about his process and about the amazing results he achieves with his radiant barrier installations. Ron has a patented process whereby he seals the attic of an existing home with his radiant barrier, effectively stopping air movement out of the top of the home, while at the same time reducing tremendous heat buildup in the attic space.

I applied these principles to my home and had a great learning moment when I crawled back into my attic to finish the work. Most of the work was done, except a small area of the roof decking near the attic hatch. As I crawled from that space to the finished area, I noticed what seemed to be a huge drop in temperature. This was in late spring, so the outside temperature was about 80 degrees. Out of curiosity, I grabbed my infrared camera and aimed it at the finished area along the ceiling line. It measured right at 82 degrees. When I moved the camera to the left (approximately two feet) onto the unfinished decking, it measured a sweltering 119 degrees. Needless to say, I was astonished! I couldn't believe the radiant barrier had reduced the surface temperature of the attic ceiling almost 40 degrees! I checked several more times and the results were the same. After finishing the work, my wife and I noticed an immediate difference in the comfort level in our upstairs bedroom.

Radiant barriers are a great product. They reduce heat in your attic that could infiltrate into your living area if your attic isn't properly air sealed and insulated. If your duct work is in the attic of your home, the improvement is even more substantial because your A/C unit won't have to work as hard. If installed properly, a radiant barrier will not only reduce the heat in your attic during the summer, it will also stop the loss of warm air out of the top of your home during the winter and once again provide a less harsh environment for your duct system. After installing our system, we cut our power usage by more than 1,000 kilowatts each month this summer and have cut our power bills in half too!

The other project I'm working on is in the crawl space area beneath our house, covering the ground with a vapor barrier and sealing the space from outside air. I am interested in doing this for a few reasons. If your crawlspace is sealed, it's cooler down there and that cooler air actually keeps the home's lower floor less warm, offsetting the need for more cooling. As I mentioned with the radiant barrier, if the duct work is located in your crawl space and the area is enclosed and isolated from ambient conditions, the cooling (and heating) unit doesn't have to work as hard. The duct system lasts longer as well. Another reason to enclose and seal off your crawl space is to enhance the indoor air quality. Crawl spaces are full of moisture laden air, sometimes including mold. That air will likely make its way into your home and can affect your family's health.

Sealed crawl spaces can be very expensive. Are they worth it? I think so, especially when you consider your family's health. Did you know that radon is the SECOND leading cause of lung cancer in the United States? An adequately sealed crawl will eliminate radon from your home. In North and South Carolina, radon is relatively common, especially in the mountains. These are all things to think about. So do yourself a favor and get a couple of quotes from people who do this kind of work, or look into doing it yourself on line.

Benton Green Energy takes the guess work out of many home improvement decisions. Before you invest your hard-earned money into making your home more energy efficient, let us show you which improvements will give you the most bang for your buck. After testing your home, we can show you which areas need attention the most and provide a scientific report that shows you which improvements will pay for themselves first. As a third party to you and your contractor, we can also verify that the work has been done properly after it's finished. So let us show you how!

Please check out www.BentonGreenEnergy.com for more information. We can also be reached at 546-1968 or through email at Dean@BentonGreenEnergy.com.

Thank you,
Dean Benton