Home insulation question

[Pete F.]

there are energy audit programs available, masssave or something like that.
The auditor should be able to tell you what to do and what your best bang for the buck is.
Typically testing consists of blower door testing, thermal imaging, heating system testing and an inspection of the house as a system.
Typically the biggest bang for the buck is cutting down on air infiltration at the top (attic) and the bottom(cellar) of the house, lots more effect and way less expensive than new windows (shhh, I just saved you a bunch of money)
Next after you airseal the attic is increasing the thermal value of the insulation in the attic. R50 in cellulose is a good starting point, but airseal and do a follow up blower door first.
Now walls as dense pak cellulose.
Then windows and doors.
The heating system is a somewhat seperate issue, but if it's over 15 years old it probably should go.
Why are windows not worth doing? A little google research on "stack effect" will help you understand this. For the most part they are in the center of the height of the house and don't have a lot of pressure on them. This does'nt mean you can leave them open, but for the most part a old single glazed window with storm is only a little worse than a new window as far as heat loss and is a small portion of the envelope. For the price of a new window you can dump alot of insulation in your attic and walls. New windows are the easiest way for a home renovator to make a good profit and they have replaced tons of good windows and not saved people much for the $$$ spent.
Don't get me started on fiberglass insulation
http://infrared-energy.com/files/Spe...onProblems.pdf

[goosefish]

Thanks for the tips.

[nightfighter]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

. New windows are the easiest way for a home renovator to make a good profit and they have replaced tons of good windows and not saved people much for the $$$ spent.

Pete, Given the difficulty in getting homeowners to spend on essential repairs, nevermind upgrades, I have to disagree with this piece of your statement. If the window isn't an obvious source of leak/draft, who would spend their money on replacing it? I've replaced a ton of old, leaking, rattling, non-operative windows. While I agree it is just a piece of the whole picture, a window replacement will in many cases reduce the most obvious leak in the middle of the stack. Indeed, they often are the source of the most direct pressure into the living area. Once they are correctly replaced, you then have the high/low areas which are the most vulnerable, as you have stated. (Your points are well taken in a home with no leaking windows.) And if you replace a window with a product such as an Andersen 400 series, you are also adding to both interior and exterior aethstetics, which does affect the buyer's satisfaction. Not all of us are profiting by installing a product that will not improve the client's home......

[buckman]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

Pete, Given the difficulty in getting homeowners to spend on essential repairs, nevermind upgrades, I have to disagree with this piece of your statement. If the window isn't an obvious source of leak/draft, who would spend their money on replacing it? I've replaced a ton of old, leaking, rattling, non-operative windows. While I agree it is just a piece of the whole picture, a window replacement will in many cases reduce the most obvious leak in the middle of the stack. Indeed, they often are the source of the most direct pressure into the living area. Once they are correctly replaced, you then have the high/low areas which are the most vulnerable, as you have stated. (Your points are well taken in a home with no leaking windows.) And if you replace a window with a product such as an Andersen 400 series, you are also adding to both interior and exterior aethstetics, which does affect the buyer's satisfaction. Not all of us are profiting by installing a product that will not improve the client's home......

Well put.

Stay away the installers on TV, they are three times the price of your local contractor