Jack's Journal 4/17
On the Energy Trail
While working on the
Chamber's Energy Fair, we decided to practice some
of what we learned in our own
home. So, we contacted the Office of
Energy Efficiency in
key player in the State's
program. The name of Jose Jiminez at
Neighborhood Housing
Services of
call on us. Jose is a remarkable
and very knowledgeable guy who has
been helping area citizens with
home weather proofing for years.
He brought a shroud with him
that closed up the front door but left a
hole for a fan to blow through.
He turned on the fan to exhaust air
from the house and then felt for
air leakage. He found lots of it,
especially through light fixtures. His
infra-red camera revealed that
interior walls and soffits were
mostly lacking any insulation.
An inspection in the attic
of our 50+year-old ranch revealed about 2"
of insulation and in some
places, none at all. Thermal Interior
Contractors came in and blew
10" of cellulose insulation in the attic
and plugged up some holes in
the basement and laid Visqueen in the
crawl space. Now that we've added
8 compact fluorescent bulbs
(CFLs)
located in lamps and over the kitchen sink, we're sure to be
showing some improvement in utility
costs. We'll report on it periodically.
P.S. We found the best
selection of CFLs at Wal-Mart. Be sure to take
in the incandescent bulbs you
want to replace so the CFLs you buy will
fit the lamp or fixture and
that the light output (lumens) will be
sufficient. More next issue on our
experience with new windows and with
taking advantage of State energy
efficiency incentives.
Jack MacMillan
Phone: 419.885.1734
macmillan@bex.net