that case, a brief outline of the short and long term benefits of adding insulation to your home should help clarify the issues in your mind.
The Short And Long Term Benefits Of Adding Home Insulation
Can you afford to add insulation to your home? The question really is, can you afford not to add it? Adding insulation to the home is like wrapping
it in a tight blanket to keep it warm or to keep the cool air within from escaping. Many homes do not have the right amount of insulation they need
and therefore face larger heating and cool bills because of it. Not all homes need additional insulation, especially newer homes that now come with
enough. Older homes, though, are commonly in need of insulation. What’s more, homes that have not had any upgrade or replacement may also need to
add insulation simply because the old may be worn, defective or even damaged by mold or mildew.
Do You Need Additional Insulation
Prior to getting to the benefits of home insulation, take into consideration your need for it. If your home is older than 30 to 40 years, it pays to
head up to the attic to check out what is there. You are looking for insulation in your attic walls, your roof, and your attic floors and even into
your basement. Your basement should have moisture protection as well (which you can add with your insulation, too.) It may also be a good idea to
hire a licensed energy auditor who will come to your home and tell you where you are losing energy and what benefit investing in additional insulation
will have in your home.
Short Term Benefits
You can add insulation to your home throughout the home. Each area of the home will offer its own benefits. For example, if you enjoy watching television
in your living room but hate the draft that comes from the windows, adding the right type of insulation to those windows will improve the comfort of that
room. If the heating bill has been steadily rising over time because of soaring energy costs, adding insulation to the attic or other regions of the home
will help to lower the amount of energy your home requires therefore lowering your heating bill. You can see the short-term benefits such as these as soon
as the insulation is in place. You will notice these things happen right away.
In the short term, by sealing off and insulating your home, you could save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs from the day you have completed
the work, according to the Energy Star Program from the US Department of Energy. What’s more, this is a reduction to most of 10 percent on their overall
total annual energy bill. Adding insulation to your home offers a significant return on your investment into the insulation.
Long Term Benefits
Perhaps you want to see the long-term benefits of adding insulation. Here are some to consider.
? Replacing worn, destroyed or moldy home insulation will improve your health and that of your family. While improvement can be seen instantly, you
can also reduce the likelihood that your child will develop allergies or other breathing products by keeping them from being exposed to mildew and mold
from this insulation.
? Adding insulation to your basement can help to lock out moisture and help to prevent problems from water damage to the foundation of your home
(depending on the type of insulation used.)
? Adding insulation to the home can help to increase the property value of it for resale. A properly insulated home has lower energy bills, offers
a more comfortable experience and often features improved windows and doors. This can help you to sell your home.
? You are helping to save the Earth, too. By adding insulation into your home, you decrease the amount of energy your home needs. This means that
less energy needs to burn to keep your home functioning, which in turn means fewer greenhouse gasses are polluting the air.
All of these benefits, both short and long term, help to make living in your home easier, more comfortable and more affordable. Adding insulation to your
home, when needed, adds benefit throughout your daily life. Work with an auditor to determine what areas of your home could benefit from added insulation.
You will be impressed with how large of an impact adding insulation to your home can be.
Today’s demonstration summarized the findings of 1) no back EMF, 2) no component degradation (e.g. Gauss diminishing) to produce the effect, and 3) inductance gain (energy being harvested from somewhere). With this final demonstration, the technology is now being released to developers to prepare the technology for market. (PESN; Jan. 30, 2010)
Source:Steorn overunity demonstration completed
Soundproofing your home provides individuals with many benefits including the fact that you can do what you want without worrying about what is
happening outside of the home. You can accomplish soundproofing in several ways. The goals are to keep sound from leaving the home as well as
from coming into the home. Working with a professional is the best way to accomplish this proofing project, but the handy person can do some options.
Two Sound Options
There are many variations of soundproofing that is used within a home, but they divide them by two different types. Passive absorption is one
method. Here, the sound enters into the material used and then must travel many times in different directions before the sound can leave the material.
As this happens, the energy from the sound is minimal. What’s more, when a reflective surface is behind the material that absorbed the sound, the
process is ongoing because the sound bounced back into the material again.
The second type of soundproofing is that of a barrier. Just about any type of non-porous material is useful as a noise barrier. Sound is energy and
when it meets the right type of material, you will achieve the right results for your home. It will be important for the soundproofing to be made of
the correct type of product. It must have enough weight and density as well as a low resonant frequency to stop the flow of the sound.
Adding Soundproofing To The Home
How can you take this information and apply it to your home situation? First, determine where in the home you wish to use soundproofing. Walls,
floors, and ceilings have potential to be soundproofed. Here are some ideas for each location to consider.
Wall Soundproofing: For those looking to add soundproofing to their home’s walls, there are several solutions available. One is to use a product like
the one M20 panels that you place on the wall with an additional two layers of plasterboard added to the top. This method is the fastest and most
affordable method for soundproofing for decent results. In most cases, it also is the most likely method to meet building regulations. Alternatively,
consider using an isolated stud wall with acoustic mineral wool as well as soundproofing mats. This method does require more space to the lost and
provides for a more invasive process, but better results.
Ceiling Soundproofing: Soundproofing the ceiling is a more difficult task. It can be easier and more affordable to install soundproofing to the floor
above rather than the ceiling below. Yet, you can soundproof the ceiling. To do so, the use of resilient bars is often used. Use these with other
materials like acoustic mineral wool to help bring noise levels down drastically.
Floor Soundproofing: There are a number of solutions to soundproofing floors. Quietfloor is a product that you can use. You can also use soundproofing
mats. In addition, using an underlayment, mineral wool or resilient layer can be helpful. Each of these offers a solution to soundproofing for various
specific situations.
Soundproofing the home can be an excellent way to reduce the amount of noise moving into the home, out of the home, or from room to room within. The
various types of insulation choices to select based on the specific location and the sounds that are blocked. Shouting, loud music or other noises
minimized greatly with the help of soundproofing. It is a key way to improve the overall comfort of the home and to help contain or keep out unwanted
noises of all types.
consider to make an informed decision.
Types Of Insulation Available: What’s Right For You?
There are several types of insulation available to use within the home. First, determine where your home needs insulation. This can be any place
from the walls in your home to your basement and your windows. The location is an important factor in the type of insulation that you will use.
Installing some of the forms is better suited to a professional while the handy homeowner can install others. Take the time to consider several
forms of insulation to determine which the best product for the area is, for your budget and for the desired results.
Why Insulate?
There are many benefits to insulating the home. Some types of insulation will help to improve your home’s heating and cooling costs by 20 to 30 percent,
according to the US Department of Energy. Still others are able to offer benefits in noise reduction, in allergen reduction, and in improving the comfort
of the home. Nearly any home can benefit from adding insulation to it.
Types To Consider
You can use several types of insulation. Each type is unique in how you use it, where it is used and in its installation method.
Blankets: These are often available in batts or rolls. They are a composite of mineral fiber and are flexible to bend, turn, and lay. Most often, they
come in widths designed to fit between wall studs or your attic joists. They work well in flooring, too. Purchase them in long, continuous rolls to cut
and place in locations. You can purchase them with vapor retarder facing, if needed. You can purchase Batts with flame resistant facing and work well for
basement walls or other locations where you will leave the insulation exposed. This form of insulation is affordable and most commonly used by homeowners
themselves.
Blown In: Since it became one of the most popular choices for homeowners, blown in insulation has worked well. This is a type of insulation that includes
loose fibers or fiber pellets. You can blow it in using specialized pneumatic equipment; you blow the fibers into various cavities in walls or attics.
You spray some forms are sprayed with adhesive that makes them resistant to settling. If used in a dense form, this type of insulation is able to provide
resistance to air movement throughout the location.
Foamed In Place: This is a polyurethane foam professionals apply to your home. They must use specialized equipment but it is one of the best methods to
reduce air leaks available. It provides good amount insulation to most areas.
Rigid Insulation: This form made from fibrous material that is pressed into a board like form. You can also purchase it to fit over pipes for a covering
of insulation. Rigid installation works well for both thermal insulation as well as soundproofing. It is not heavy, but is strong. Heat has a difficult
time escaping.
Reflective Insulation: Fabricating this type of insulation from aluminum foils and is available with a variety of backings. It is a good choice for
reducing downward heat flow. Often found in between roof rafters, wall studs or floor joists throughout the home.
With many choices in insulation, it can be difficult to determine which the right type is for you. Often, your budget will play a role in which option
you choose. With a bit of expert opinion in terms of where you will insulate and which type of insulation is best suited for these areas, you can easily
find the solution. What is important is to take advantage of the many benefits that insulation in the home can offer.
The long-awaited, public demo of electromagnetic overunity that is self-looped to keep itself running continuously, is now under way, with Steorn’s e-Orbo being shown at Dublin’s Waterways Centre. A D-cell battery powers the motor and is supposedly recharged by it continuously. (PESN; Dec. 15, 2009)
Source:Steorn's e-Orbo self-looped electromagnetic motor demonstration underway
Thomas Valone’s new book addresses emerging energy sources such as dense plasma focus fusion, powdered metal-burning engines, wireless transmission of electricity, space-based solar power, piezoelectric highway electricity generators and zero point energy, with simple and short summaries. (PESWiki; Nov. 18, 2009)
Source:The Future of Energy: An Emerging Science
Radon is a colorless and odorless, radioactive gas that is found in rocks and soil. Radon is often pulled into our homes through cracks
in the foundation, and has become one of the leading causes of lung cancer in North America. It is also only one of many dangerous ground-air gasses.
While homes with radon problems should seek expert help, properly installed, high efficiency insulation can help reduce and prevent the seepage of
ground-air gasses into your home. Many times ground-air gasses that would not otherwise enter your home are pulled into your basement due to a
negative pressure area caused by a phenomenon known as the ?stack effect?. High efficiency insulation can help neutralize the pressure differential
created by the stack effect. Even exceptionally well insulated homes are not immune to nearby radon and other gas deposits, but the reduced pressure
differential can cut down on the suction that would draw in more remote deposits and improve the effectiveness of other radon preventatives.
What is the ?Stack effect??
Think of a chimney. A fire heats the air in the fire place. The hot air rises and escapes through the top of the chimney. The void left by
the escaping air is filled by air that comes from your house into the fireplace. This creates a draught, pulling air from the bottom of the chimney
to the top. This process is known as the ?stack effect?, and the same process occurs in buildings. As hot air rises and escapes through the top of
a building it creates a negative pressure area near the bottom. The negative pressure area creates a powerful suction.
How does the ?stack effect? cause radon infiltration?
All buildings that are heated will experience the stack effect. Heated air will always rise, creating a lower pressure area beneath it. This
process is far more pronounced in high-rise buildings, but even single family homes can experience dramatic stack effects. Poorly insulated buildings
with older ventilation systems do not control the escape of air or the infiltration. Without controlled ventilation and air infiltration, the heated
air lost through the stack effect will most likely be replaced with air gained from the lowest point in your home. The suction generated from
uncontrolled stack effects has been known to draw liquids through the pores in block foundations. Radon and other gasses are easily pulled from the
ground.
How can Insulation reduce radon infiltration?
The strength of draught (thereby the suction in your basement) is proportional to the difference in temperature between the inside of your home
and the outside of your home as well as the height and width of the ?stack?. At first glance it would seem that efficient insulation would raise the
difference and create a stronger draught, but the only way to make a noticeable physical impact on the temperature differential would be to shut down
your heater entirely. The best way to combat unwanted air infiltration is to control the stack effect to your benefit. A well insulated home achieves
this goal in three ways. It reduces the peak temperature differential, reduces heated air loss, and controls the points of air infiltration.
Peak temperature differential:
Insulation reduces the amount of heat that is transferred through your walls. A poorly insulated structure can transfer as much as 85% of the
heat energy created to the outside of your home. The ambient temperature inside the home may be 70 degrees, but air molecules are constantly being
heated to far above that temperature to compensate for the loss. A well insulated home reduces heat loss, allowing you to retain the same ambient
temperature with fewer peak-heated molecules. Since the peak temperature differential between inside and outside is lowered, the strength of the stack
effect is also lowered. The difference isn?t much, but it can be enough to allow vapor barriers and sealants to perform more effectively against
unwanted air infiltration.
Reduces heated air loss:
The loss of heated air through the top of your home drives the stack effect and the suction it creates. Fiberglass and other porous insulation
do not eliminate the flow of air, but they do reduce the transfer of heat and curb the air escaping. Insulation with a well sealed vapor barrier can
virtually eliminated unwanted air loss in conjunction with efficient insulation. Homes do need to regularly expunge poor air, but eliminating unwanted
air loss can allow you to control ventilation in a manner that doesn?t replace expunged air with air of an even lower quality.
Controlling the point of infiltration:
In the same way that insulation reduces air loss, it can also reduce infiltration. Homes that are well insulated and sealed can virtually
eliminate unwanted infiltration. Of course, if a home is only sealed and left to natural ventilation, the simplest place for air to enter your home will
be through the crack and pores in your foundation. Once again, radon gets in. On the other hand, it allows you to control the point of infiltration.
Poorly sealed homes are drawing air from unknown places. A well insulated home can make use of an energy recovery unit or a specific location air intake
to ensure that ventilated air is replaced with air from a high quality source.
When considering how you can make your home more energy efficient, consider the methods available through renewable energy. Your home uses energy
for anything it does for you. Your appliance draws energy to function for you. Your heating system warms you during the winter while your cool
system keeps your comfort in the blazing hot summers. Your hot water tank heats water for you. Your windows keep the cold out, but allow a soft
breeze to come in when you want it. Each of these systems within your home requires energy or use energy in some way. You can take control of
these various methods and reduce the amount of energy required to keep your home safe and comfortable.
Why Do It?
Every home requires energy, but those homes that can use a more environmentally friendly option not only will benefit in the reduction of costs, but
also give back to the environment. The Energy Start Program, which is a program run by the United States Department of Energy, offers various
solutions to reducing the energy usage within your home. By doing things like upgrading the efficiency of your home’s insulation, improving the
windows, doors and air leaks as well as providing for better control over airflow to areas of the home like the attic, you can make a significant
difference.
Any way that you can improve the ways that your home uses energy will reduce the amount of energy your home demands, reducing your energy costs as
well as reducing the amount of energy pumped into the environment.
Improving your home’s efficiency is necessary however; it is not all you can do. There are also renewable energy sources that to put into play that
can also improve, drastically, the amount of dependency you have on harsh energy sources. In some cases, switching sources is simple and straightforward.
In others, it is a bit more costly, but nearly 100 percent of the time, the switch pays for itself in a matter of weeks, months or years.
What Types Of Renewable Energy Are There?
There are many renewable energy options available today. It has never been easier before to get the most effective, most efficient methods to renewing
your home’s energy use than it is today. There are many ways that you can make a considerable difference by using these renewable options. Here are
some to think about using.
? Geothermal Energy: Geothermal energy is a solution for heating and cooling your home. This type of energy uses the Earth’s heat. The Earth
produces heat in its core that pushes from the core out towards the surface. This is called geothermal energy and is a easily tapped into no matter
where you live.
? Solar Energy: Solar energy is a type of energy that uses sunrays to produce energy. In this type of energy, the uses are endless. Use it to
heat your home, to turn on your dishwasher and heat your water, too. Solar energy is the power of the sun. There are various methods to harnesses it.
? Wind Energy: Another very clean source of energy production is this one. Use the wind to generate electricity, which you can then use to power
just about anything in your home.
? Ocean Energy: Oceans cover 70 percent of the surface of the Earth and in effect are the largest collectors of solar energy. They generate
thermal energy from the sun. In addition, the waves and tides you can also use for energy needs.
? Hydropower: In this type of energy, which you can use for nearly any type of energy need, the flow of water is used. It turns into electricity.
It is a clean source of energy always available.
Each of these sources of renewable energy can help to transform the way in which your home works. Each is reliable, easily used and offers a substantial
savings in current energy costs. Most homes see a reduction of between 20 and 40 percent, according to the US Department of Energy within the first
months of using these sources, if not significantly more. If your home is not energy efficient, it can be. Make the decisions to improve the method
that it uses to create energy within your home.
Austin Brentley is working on an MBA dissertation with an emphasis on renewable energy, particularly on the question of how open source energy technology can be taken to market in a way that is equitable to the key contributors. He’s looking for input on some nagging issues. (PESWiki; Aug. 19, 2009)
Source:MBA Dissertation Questions About Taking Open Source Energy Technology to Market
action. If you have better things to spend your hard earned money on, then take a few moments to learn about the benefits insulation provides and then
make those benefits a reality in your home.
Why You Should Insulate Your Doors
Many do not think about the fact that they need to insulate their doors. Windows are a large draw on air temperature control; that is easy to see.
Insulation into the walls is also a more commonly thought of solution for reducing heating bills. But, doors are just as important to consider.
By improving the amount of insulation within the home, you will reduce the energy requirements of your home and provide your family with a safer,
more comfortable home to live in.
What Benefits Insulation Provides
There are several reasons to consider insulation methods.
? Improve the amount of moisture coming into the home. Insulation helps to block out moisture that could potentially cause damage to your home’s
interior or may even lead to potentially hazardous mold and mildew growth.
? Improve the amount of drafts coming into the home. Doors are notorious for allowing air to pass underneath them as well as through the seals
surrounding them. Most often, you eliminate these drafts through insulation rather than just placing a towel along the bottom!
? Reduce the amount of insects coming into the home. Even the smallest holes, cracks and crevices surrounding the door are likely to draw insects in.
This can happen during the spring, summer and fall months, mostly, but year round infestations do happen. Even larger animals like rodents can fit into
very tight spots. For example, a mouse can contour their body to fit through an opening the size of a penny!
? Dust and debris filter through these openings as well, bringing with them all of the dirt from the outdoors into your home. Once thrown up into the
air by your furnace or air conditioning units, this debris lands throughout your home including on furniture. Dust and dander coming in like this can lead
to potential problems with allergens, too.
? Save on energy bills! Any crack, crevice or unsealed location will cause heated air to leave your home during the colder months and cool air to
leave the room during warmer months. Heat is highly like to escape because it naturally moves from warmer locations to colder ones, therefore causing the
current room to become colder. Your heater then must work overtime to get the room back up to temperature, which causes you to use more energy that you
need to.
How Can Insulation Help?
There are various methods to insulate your doors to prevent these situations. Nearly every home that has doors that are older and worn will see improvement
from adding insulation surrounding the door, or through other methods. If the door worn and features too many cracks in it, replacing the door with an
insulated door is a good step in the right direction. This is not always necessary through.
Many can benefit by calling professionals to improve the insulation of their door. This may include adding blown in insulation to the walls surrounding the
door, repairing the door jam or by improving the way that the door is sitting in its frame. Various other solutions are also available. The goal here is
to determine what the problem is. It could be a leaking seal around the door window or too large of a gap underneath the door. There can be cheap methods
to fix this. Alternatively, it could be more complex.
The key factor is improving the energy use throughout your home and giving yourself a healthier living space. You can do this through improving the level
of insulation surrounding your doors. You can look at each door individually to determine what methods to improve it. You may be surprised at just how
you can easily improve.
