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How to Set Priorities for Preventing Building Heat Loss InspectAPedia®  -     In what order should we fix drafts, add insulation, tune up heating equipment to save the most on heating cost. How to measure or calculate heat loss (or gain) in a building How to measure heat transmission in materials: definition of R-values, U-values, K-values, BTU, calorie, and rates of heat loss or gain Building design temperatures & how to use a home energy audit or heat loss analysis What insulation "R" values should be used in a building insulation?

This article explains the priorities for preventing heat loss in a building. We also discuss how to measure or calculate heat loss in a building, defines thermal terms like BTU and calorie, provides measures of heat transmission in materials, gives desired building insulation design data, and shows how to calculate the heat loss in a building with R values or U values. Also see HEAT LOSS INDICATORS (where is the building losing heat during the heating season, or gaining un-wanted heat during the cooling season), and see HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION for a guide to calculating heat loss (or gain) rates for buildings and building insulation.

Formula-R™ and Owens Corning™ which may be visible in this photograph of pink Styrofoam™ insulation boards are registered trademarks of Owens Corning® and were photographed at a Home Depot® building supply center. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

What are the priorities when working to make a building energy efficient, warm, or cool?

Therefore when the object is to make a building more energy efficient, and before any more sophisticated analyses are performed using thermography, insulation evaluations, or even calculations of areas, "R" values, "K" values, or "U" values (defined below), remember this order of concerns when working for building efficiency. The order of magnitude of sources of un-wanted heat loss in a building are pretty much in this order:

1. Close open windows or doors when a building is being heated or cooled by other than "natural means" (like using fans, summer breezes or evaporative coolers in windows). Where older windows are leaking air but are otherwise in good condition, it may be most-economical to install a high quality, well-installed, storm window.
2. Investigate and cure leaky windows or doors that are producing drafts; also check for drafty wall or ceiling vent fan openings such as kitchen fans and whole house ceiling exhaust fans that have been left un-covered during the heating season. See BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION - how to measure air leaks, equivalent leakage area (ELA), and air changes per hour (ACH) in a building
3. Top Floor Priorities of placing or improving building insulation: Investigate and make sure that the top floor ceiling or attic floor (or cathedral ceilings) have been insulated, with no insulation voids or areas where insulation was removed or omitted. See INSULATION & VENTILATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
4. Wall insulation priority: Investigate and consider installing or adding wall insulation.
5. Building perimeter insulation: investigate and insulate any other un-insulated building perimeter areas such as the building rim joist or band joist accessed from a basement or crawl space.
6. Insulate under floors over un insulated crawl spaces (we prefer to make the whole crawl space an enclosed and conditioned space).
7. Insulate building foundation walls below grade in basements or in conditioned-space crawlspaces.
8. Investigate the efficiency and state of tune of the building's heating or cooling equipment, including boiler or furnace and the condition of the heating or cooling delivery system (baseboards or ductwork, for example). (Warning: have heating systems cleaned and tuned by an expert before accepting a measurement of the system's efficiency.)

How to Really Foul Up a Radiant Heat Concrete Floor Installation - Mistakes to Avoid

The full text version of this article has been relocated to Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid where we describe installation specifications for radiant heat flooring in a poured concrete slab along with a detailed report of just how bad a radiant heat floor slab installation can be. The article's conclusions include this insulation advice:

• Insulate below the floor slab
• Insulate the slab perimeter, making sure that the insulation design does not rely on foam placed against the slab perimeter and extending above grade up to siding where it will invite termites or carpenter ants into the structure
• Place the radiant heat tubing at the industry-recommended depth down from the surface of the slab. Typically the maximum depth that tubing should be placed in a concrete floor slab is 2" down from the finished floor surface.
• If you cannot be present at the job site at critical stages in construction, find someone knowledgeable who can inspect for you before the work continues
• If your contractor is an opinionated bully, find someone else as soon as possible, even if his or her other work was good.

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AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
AIR BYPASS LEAKS
AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS
  Find Heat Loss & Air Leaks
  Heat Loss Investigation Sequence
  Blower Door Test Data Results
  Smoke Gun for Air Leaks
  Attic Energy Losses - InfraRed
  Basement Energy Losses- IR & Visual
  Duct System Air Movement
  Living Space Heat Loss
  Targets & Hidden Leak Points
  Convective Loops & Thermal Bypass Leaks
  Insulation Air & Heat Leaks
  The Bottom Line on Energy Retrofits
AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION
AIR SEALING STRATEGIES
BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION
ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS
INTERIORS of BUILDINGS
COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ
DEFINITION of Heating & Cooling Terms
HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS
  How to measure heat movement through a wall
  How to measure building insulation
  How leaky is the building
  Priorities for building energy efficiency
RADIANT HEAT
RADIANT HEAT Floor Mistakes to Avoid
RADIANT SLAB FLOORING CHOICES
RADIANT SLAB TUBING & FLUID CHOICES
HEAT LOSS INDICATORS
HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION
HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS
HEAT TAPES, Heat, Insulation prevent Freeze-Up
HEATING SYSTEMS
HEATING COST FUEL & BTU Cost Table
HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-BOILERS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-FURNACES
HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS
INSULATION & VENTILATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
Insulation Material Identification Guide
Table of Properties of Insulating Materials
HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET
HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS
ICE DAM PREVENTION
MOISTURE, MOLD, ICE DAM LEAKS in ATTICS & ROOFS

• Asbestos pipe insulation in buildings
• Brick "Insulation" in Building Walls
• HEAT LOSS CALCULATIONS, Insulation Properties, Definitions of R, K, U values, Insulation Design
• How to Choose an Air Conditioner - BTU Chart
• How to Detect and Correct Attic Condensation & Prevent Ice Dam Leaks in Buildings
• How to Inspect Building Interiors and Building Insulation/Ventilation list of articles about building insulation inspection, defects, design, and ventilation requirements
• Insulation Materials as Indicators of Building Age
• Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Fiberglass in Indoor Air, HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
• Insulation Identification Photographs - Cellulose insulation photos, Mineral wool insulation photos, rock wool insulation photos, cotton insulation photos, balsam wool insulation photos
• Insulation Identification Photographs - Vermiculite insulation photos
• LP or Natural Gas Pressures & BTUH per Cubic Foot
• Insulation Properties, Table of R-Values, density, moisture permeability, fire safety, aging effects on various insulation materials
• Mold in Fiberglass in Insulation
• Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid
• Rated Cooling Capacity - How to Determine Air Conditioning Equipment Rated Cooling Capacity
• Un-Vented Roof Solutions - How to Prevent Attic Condensation, Ice Dam Leaks, Roof Mold, & Roof Structural Damage in Buildings with Un-vented Roof Cavities
• Vermiculite Building Insulation & Asbestos

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