5 ms·

One thing to point out is that yes, saving CO2 is grand, but this doesn't sell just how much more _comfortable_ decent insulation makes things. I live in a '30

One thing to point out is that yes, saving CO2 is grand, but this doesn't sell just how much more _comfortable_ decent insulation makes things. I live in a '30s UK semi detached. It had an air brick , a blocked up fire place and blown double glazing in each room. (barring two that were replaced) We had to re-render the place, as it was starting to fall off at the front, and the back was scarred from unfinished renovations. We replaced the double glazing with triple (it was cheaper than double glazing at the time, so a no brainer. has a u-value of about 1.0) We also put 90mm of external wall insulation round the outside as part of the re-render. This cost an extra £4k compared to just a normal re-render. before the insulation, in summer the front room would reach 37 degrees C with the blinds down, and in winter with a 5kw wood burner and central heating on full we'd reach about 18 degrees c when outside was either windy or -3c Now in summer the hottest we've had it is about 29, with the blinds open. In winter we reach 20 within 30 minutes of the heating coming on. ( no need for the wood burner)

dghughes 5y ago
I wish I had done that to my father's home last year when he was alive. I didn't realize how much heat can come into a home from the attic. The joists act as a heat bridge radiating heat down from the ceiling. I plan on installing fibre wool in two layers one in joist cavities and one perpendicular over the exposed wood frame. My parents also have a door to the attic for storage and heat leaks up through the un-insulated edge of the pull-down stairs door. On YouTube Matt Risinger is a great resource for home repair and information. He tends to like expensive products but overall he explains main concepts well.
- specialist 5y ago
  Am a huge fan of Risinger. Early on, Risinger did a bunch "building science" explainer videos. Challenging then conventional building practices. Like advanced framing (using 2x6 studs at 24" spacing). Like properly insulate attics to prevent condensation and heat loss (keep HVAC vents within the thermal envelope). Those early explainers are the foundation (harhar) of subsequent product and project highlights. Alas, now they're hard to find (via YouTube's lame UX). Risinger should probably pin primers to the top of his playlist, linking into his archive. https://www.youtube.com/c/MattRisinger/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/MattRisinger/videos
throw0101a 5y ago
> We also put 90mm of external wall insulation round the outside as part of the re-render. This cost an extra £4k compared to just a normal re-render. Having insulation on the outside of your structure, and especially outside of your air/vapour barrier, is ideally where you want it (behind whatever cladding you're using): * https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-t...
- KaiserPro 5y ago
  100% For us it stopped our moisture problem. We had mold growing on the walls, because all the moist air would hit the wall and dump out water (proper drops). Now the walls are 10 degrees warmer, none of that condensation is built up. there is also thermal mass and junk, but not having to wipe down the walls every night is a big big win
- mannykannot 5y ago
  This is going off-topic somewhat, but I am thoroughly confused by the article you link to. The author insists we should put the rain control layer inside of the insulation, even on roofs. He does not go into much detail on roofs, but in his wall examples, the outer cladding and the drained cavity behind it appear to be a de-facto rain control barrier outside of the insulation layer (which could be, he says, rock wool or glass fiber, which are surely a big problem if they get wet, right?) If this is so, then what does it mean to say the insulation is outside of the rain control barrier? Furthermore, if we combine these diagrams with the one showing a roof-wall junction, there does not seem to be any barrier against rainwater reaching the wall insulation that way, and I cannot see how this is not a problem.
  - throw0101a 5y ago
    > If this is so, then what does it mean to say the insulation is outside of the rain control barrier? Yes, the cladding is acting as a bulk water control layer, but there is still moisture in the air from humidity. * In a cold climate the warmer/moister inside air will at some point reach the edge of the building: by having the insulation on the outside of the control layer(s), the air will be kept warm, and so there won't be a cold surface for it condense on. If the insulation was on the inside then the control layer would be cold, where the air would condense, possibly causing mold growth. * In a hot/humid climate the humid outside may get by the insulation and hit the cooler control layer and condense, but will just roll off the control layer outside of the building (and not cause mold inside). > Furthermore, if we combine these diagrams with the one showing a roof-wall junction, there does not seem to be any barrier against rainwater reaching the wall insulation that way. This is probably regarding Figure 5. All the various layers are connected to each other, so what's on the inside cannot get out, and what's on the outside cannot get in. The black line (air/vapour layers) is continuous up the wall, around the corner, and onto the roof. The light blue (insulation) goes continuous up the wall, around the corner, and onto the roof. And the cladding is also continuous so that bulk water and UV rays are also blocked continuously. See related articles: > RR-0410: Vapor Barriers and Wall Design * https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0410-vapor-barriers-and-wall-design/view https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0410-va... > BSD-106: Understanding Vapor Barriers * https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-106-understanding-vapor-barriers https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-106-un...
danShumway 5y ago
Specifically with insulation, have you had trouble with air exchange? I keep hearing (to my naive/inexperienced/non-builder mind) contradictory advice about how insulated houses should be, and I've been trying to figure out how to square decreasing heating/cooling costs with keeping a house from feeling stuffy. I guess for stuff like the triple glazing that's not really affecting air exchange in the first place, it's just preventing energy loss, since you're already not doing air exchange through your wall. And maybe getting better insulation in walls means you can crack open a window without it being as much of a problem?
- liveoneggs 5y ago
  As I understand it -- In a passive house you exchange air with an always-on air exchanger (HRV or ERV depending on your climate) which also has filters.
- Mashimo 5y ago
  I think houses often have air to air heat exchangers. They suck in air from the outside, and through the power of physics somehow warm it up or cool it down to match the room temperature. Found this while searching: https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/energy/air-to-air-heat-exchangers-for-healthier-energy-efficient-homes https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/energy/air-to-air-heat-...
- tenuousemphasis 5y ago
  Modern construction standards like Passive House call for an extremely well insulated and air tight building envelope. Because you're no longer losing conditioned air to drafts, they then use a system that constantly brings fresh air from outside, runs it through a heat exchanger to extract most of the heat (or cool, and in some cases moisture) from the conditioned air before it's exhausted. Generally you constantly pump fresh air into the living areas and bedrooms and exhaust air from the bathrooms and kitchen (places with lots of moisture and smells).
- KaiserPro 5y ago
  > Specifically with insulation, have you had trouble with air exchange? I don't have empirical evidence, however I am pretty sure that we have reasonable air exchange. My evidence for this is threefold: 1) when we have used the log fire, it didn't kill us, or pull the door open. 2) there is still a slight draft, 3) we have a missing floorboard in the understairs cupboard Whilst all of the air bricks in the rooms were covered, the suspended floor still has four bricks exposed. The triple glazing is sealed UPVC, however in the loft conversion we were forced to have trickle vents (I think thats overkill) It doesn't ever feel stuffy, which is good. I do need to get a real CO2 monitor though. One last bit of evidence is how quickly particulates from cooking disappear

dghughes 5y ago

I wish I had done that to my father's home last year when he was alive. I didn't realize how much heat can come into a home from the attic. The joists act as a heat bridge radiating heat down from the ceiling. I plan on installing fibre wool in two layers one in joist cavities and one perpendicular over the exposed wood frame. My parents also have a door to the attic for storage and heat leaks up through the un-insulated edge of the pull-down stairs door. On YouTube Matt Risinger is a great resource for home repair and information. He tends to like expensive products but overall he explains main concepts well.

specialist 5y ago
Am a huge fan of Risinger. Early on, Risinger did a bunch "building science" explainer videos. Challenging then conventional building practices. Like advanced framing (using 2x6 studs at 24" spacing). Like properly insulate attics to prevent condensation and heat loss (keep HVAC vents within the thermal envelope). Those early explainers are the foundation (harhar) of subsequent product and project highlights. Alas, now they're hard to find (via YouTube's lame UX). Risinger should probably pin primers to the top of his playlist, linking into his archive. https://www.youtube.com/c/MattRisinger/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/MattRisinger/videos

throw0101a 5y ago

> We also put 90mm of external wall insulation round the outside as part of the re-render. This cost an extra £4k compared to just a normal re-render. Having insulation on the outside of your structure, and especially outside of your air/vapour barrier, is ideally where you want it (behind whatever cladding you're using): * https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-t...

KaiserPro 5y ago
100% For us it stopped our moisture problem. We had mold growing on the walls, because all the moist air would hit the wall and dump out water (proper drops). Now the walls are 10 degrees warmer, none of that condensation is built up. there is also thermal mass and junk, but not having to wipe down the walls every night is a big big win
mannykannot 5y ago
This is going off-topic somewhat, but I am thoroughly confused by the article you link to. The author insists we should put the rain control layer inside of the insulation, even on roofs. He does not go into much detail on roofs, but in his wall examples, the outer cladding and the drained cavity behind it appear to be a de-facto rain control barrier outside of the insulation layer (which could be, he says, rock wool or glass fiber, which are surely a big problem if they get wet, right?) If this is so, then what does it mean to say the insulation is outside of the rain control barrier? Furthermore, if we combine these diagrams with the one showing a roof-wall junction, there does not seem to be any barrier against rainwater reaching the wall insulation that way, and I cannot see how this is not a problem.
- throw0101a 5y ago
  > If this is so, then what does it mean to say the insulation is outside of the rain control barrier? Yes, the cladding is acting as a bulk water control layer, but there is still moisture in the air from humidity. * In a cold climate the warmer/moister inside air will at some point reach the edge of the building: by having the insulation on the outside of the control layer(s), the air will be kept warm, and so there won't be a cold surface for it condense on. If the insulation was on the inside then the control layer would be cold, where the air would condense, possibly causing mold growth. * In a hot/humid climate the humid outside may get by the insulation and hit the cooler control layer and condense, but will just roll off the control layer outside of the building (and not cause mold inside). > Furthermore, if we combine these diagrams with the one showing a roof-wall junction, there does not seem to be any barrier against rainwater reaching the wall insulation that way. This is probably regarding Figure 5. All the various layers are connected to each other, so what's on the inside cannot get out, and what's on the outside cannot get in. The black line (air/vapour layers) is continuous up the wall, around the corner, and onto the roof. The light blue (insulation) goes continuous up the wall, around the corner, and onto the roof. And the cladding is also continuous so that bulk water and UV rays are also blocked continuously. See related articles: > RR-0410: Vapor Barriers and Wall Design * https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0410-vapor-barriers-and-wall-design/view https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0410-va... > BSD-106: Understanding Vapor Barriers * https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-106-understanding-vapor-barriers https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-106-un...

danShumway 5y ago

Specifically with insulation, have you had trouble with air exchange? I keep hearing (to my naive/inexperienced/non-builder mind) contradictory advice about how insulated houses should be, and I've been trying to figure out how to square decreasing heating/cooling costs with keeping a house from feeling stuffy. I guess for stuff like the triple glazing that's not really affecting air exchange in the first place, it's just preventing energy loss, since you're already not doing air exchange through your wall. And maybe getting better insulation in walls means you can crack open a window without it being as much of a problem?

liveoneggs 5y ago
As I understand it -- In a passive house you exchange air with an always-on air exchanger (HRV or ERV depending on your climate) which also has filters.
Mashimo 5y ago
I think houses often have air to air heat exchangers. They suck in air from the outside, and through the power of physics somehow warm it up or cool it down to match the room temperature. Found this while searching: https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/energy/air-to-air-heat-exchangers-for-healthier-energy-efficient-homes https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/energy/air-to-air-heat-...
tenuousemphasis 5y ago
Modern construction standards like Passive House call for an extremely well insulated and air tight building envelope. Because you're no longer losing conditioned air to drafts, they then use a system that constantly brings fresh air from outside, runs it through a heat exchanger to extract most of the heat (or cool, and in some cases moisture) from the conditioned air before it's exhausted. Generally you constantly pump fresh air into the living areas and bedrooms and exhaust air from the bathrooms and kitchen (places with lots of moisture and smells).
KaiserPro 5y ago
> Specifically with insulation, have you had trouble with air exchange? I don't have empirical evidence, however I am pretty sure that we have reasonable air exchange. My evidence for this is threefold: 1) when we have used the log fire, it didn't kill us, or pull the door open. 2) there is still a slight draft, 3) we have a missing floorboard in the understairs cupboard Whilst all of the air bricks in the rooms were covered, the suspended floor still has four bricks exposed. The triple glazing is sealed UPVC, however in the loft conversion we were forced to have trickle vents (I think thats overkill) It doesn't ever feel stuffy, which is good. I do need to get a real CO2 monitor though. One last bit of evidence is how quickly particulates from cooking disappear