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Climate Red - News and Views on Climate Change Issues.

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Climate Red - August 2010

Does the color and type of your roof effect your energy cost ?

August 30th 2010 23:20

When we begin to think about the roof of a house there are several things that could make a lot a difference in your home’s performance in the future. What I mean by home performance is how is your hose working yo your advantage. If you are replacing your existing roof or building a new structure and are beginning to think about your roof there are several things to consider and color is one of the most important factors when choosing roofing materials. Let’s take a look at what to consider when we think about the color of our new roof.

Before we think about color let us take at a look at some common materials that we use for roofing. I believe the most common types of roof that we use are the shingle type roofs and the metal roof. In each type of roof ths most important factor in choosing your color is the climate where you live. Lets take a look at each type and see why color could be so important.

A shingle type roof is very common among house in our most recent times. There are certain styles off homes that look better with shingle roofs. There is a three tab shingle look where you notice the rain checks that alternate on each run to give you that distinctive shingle look that we see most often. Then there is an architectural shingle that has a look all of it’s own. This type is used on more modern homes and goes well with some of the architectural designs we see today. Here are a few factors when considering the color of a shingle roof.

1). A darker color shingle will not show up certain stains over time. If you live in a wet climate your shingle can become stained such as mildew or mold that will show up on a lighter colored roof. Also you could have a few trees around such as oak trees or pecan trees that can also stain a lighter roof.

2). One thing to consider about your color is your climate. A lighter colored roof is recommended if you live in a hotter climate. A lighter roof will reflect the heat where as a darker roof will absorb it. Darker roofs could absorb so much heat in a hotter climate that they become very soft and you will not get the full performance of the shingle. So you need to go lighter in a hotter climate and darker in a colder climate. Another reason to go with a lighter roof if the warmer climate is because the roof will reflect the heat and your attic will stay cooler making easier to make your living space more comfortable.

3). Another thing to consider when choosing your roof color is the style at which you are building new or currently living such as contemporary or traditional. Also consider the color scheme of your home and get somking that complements your home and surroundings. You would not want to choose something that is way out there.

A metal type roof is not much different from a shingle roof. You can consider the same circumstances when choosing a color. One off the main differences with a metal is that the metal roof is that the linesman is much longer than shingles. The linesman of a metal roof could be as long as 40 to 50 years whereas the lifespan of a shingle roof is about 15 to 20 years. So you could be stuck with that bad choice of color for a long time. One other thing to consider with a metal roof is that a darker color will show fade more than a lighter color.

I hope that these few points will be helpful in choosing the color of your roof.
HAPPY CONSERVING!!

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Future Green Construction with Structural Insulated Panels

August 25th 2010 19:47

Sructural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are prefabricted tnsulated structural panels for use in building walls, ceilings, floors and roofs. They provide superior and more uniform insulation than the traditional stud or stick frame method. They also provide an energy savings of 13% - 15%. SIPs also provide a more sealtight and airtight dwelling which makes the house more comfortable and quieter place to live.
SIPs not only are high in R-values but also are rated high in strength - to -weight ratios. SIPs typically have 4 to 8 inch thick foam board insulation placed between two oriental strand boards (osb) or other type of outside materials. The facing is usually glued on each side of the foamboard.SIPs can be produced in different dimensions. Some of them come as large as 96"x 288". the larger ones have to be erected with a crain.

The most common types of SIPs use insulation made from expanded polystyrene or polyisocynurate. They are also made with a compressed straw core.

Expanded Polystyrene Insulated Panels,
Most of these panels are made with expanded polystyrenefoam board insulation. they usually carry a R-value of about 4 to 5 per inch of thickness.they are avaiable in almost any size but the most common size is 48" x 96". They also weigh about 110 pounds.

Polyisocynurate and Polyurethane Insulated Panels,
Some manufacturers use this method of injecting foam between two wood skins. When hardened, the form produces a strong bond between the foam the skins. These SIPs usually carry a R- value of usually 6 to 7 per inch.wall panels from this material are usually 3.5 inches thick. the ceiling panels are up to 7.5 inches thick.These panels are more expensive but they are more fire and moisture resistant than EPS. They also insulate better.

Compressed Straw Core Panels
Straw SIPs are more environmentally friendly because they are made from recycled agricultral straw. They do not carry the highest R- value and are considerably more heavier.

SIPs are made in the factory and are shipped to the jobsite. Builders then connect them together on the consruction site. These panels are erected quicker than standard stick construction. There are also home kits avaiable and there are many companies taht manufacture these kits. Just go to your search engine an type in Structural Insulated Panels.These panel are also great when it come to flame retardation.

These panels I belive is the trend of the future to help us become green!!!
HAPPY CONSERVING!!!!!!!

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Maintaining your a/c unit to save money and energy

August 21st 2010 14:05

An air conditioner’s filters, coils, and fins require regular maintenance to work efficiency and proper .You have to maintain these few things in order to get the years of service that you need and deserve from the unit that you have invested your money in. Neglecting these few steps will for sure cause a steady incline in performance costing you money. Also your comfort level will decline because your unit is struggling to reach it’s peak performance potential.
to work efficiency and proper .You have to maintain these few things in order to get the years of service that you need and deserve from the unit that you have invested your money in. Neglecting these few steps will for sure cause a steady incline in performance costing you money. Also your comfort level will decline.

One of the most important things to check with your hvac unit is your filters. Clogged and dirty air filters will of air through your unit causing a significant drop in your systems performance .With the air flow being blocked dy dirty debris the air that comes through the filter can carry dust and debris directly to the evaporator coil causing a big drop in performance. Keeping your air conditioners’s filters clean can lower your unit’s energy consumption 5%-15%.
For central air units the filters are generally located somewhere along the air return ducts. They are sometimes found in walls, ceilings, furnaces, or in the air conditioner itself. Room air conditioners have the filter mounted on front behind the front grill. Some type of filters are reusable, others have to be replaced. The more your unit runs the more often you need to check these filters. Filters are rated by a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value(MERV).The higher the MERV number the more the filter is effective at keeping dirt out of your system.

The air conditioner’s evaporator coil and condenser coil can collect dirt over the years of usage that it has served. A clean filter will prolong this but in time the coil will still collect dirt. This debris reduces the air flow and reducing it’s ability to absorb heat. To avoid this problem you need to check this coil at least once a year. A good time or the year to do this is in the spring when you do your spring cleanup from the winter you just endured.
Outdoor condenser units need the same type of attention. You can easily see the coil to see if dirt is collecting on the fins. Check with your local home department store or HVAC expert and they do have a cleaner available for these coil.

The aluminum fins on evaporator and condensing coils easily become bent and prevent air from moving through these coils. Air conditioner supply stores sell a tool called a “fin comb”that will held comb these fins back close to their original position.

These units also have a condensate drain that could become clogged. These clogged drains prevent a unit from reducing humidity that would send more moisture in your home. You can occasionally send a stiff wire through the units drain channels to prevent this form happening.

These are just a few things that you could do to help bring you unit back close to peak performance to help you save $$$$$$$ and conserve energy at the same time!

HAPPY CONSERVING!!!

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British turbine company to manufacture blades in New Orleans, La

August 18th 2010 19:49

British Turbine Company to manufacture turbine blades in New Orleans, La.

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Conserving at home with insulation improvements

August 18th 2010 01:30

We talked about air leaks and how air moves throughout the house. In our next few posts together I am going to show you what insulation is and how important it is to conservation. Heat transmission in the home is the leading cause of winter heat loss in winter and the loss of cool air in the summer. Most single family homes lose more heat through transmission than they do through air leakage. Insulation slows heat transmission through the home’s floor, walls and ceiling or roof.

Insulation performs the following thermal action

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Home improvement answers

August 14th 2010 14:03

Hello and welcome. In this post we are going to look at the questions that I asked you about your home in the post ( Typical Home Improvements). And discuss them a little so that you may understand why I asked these questions and how you can apply these answers at your own home to conserve energy.

1. What year was your house built

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Getting greener at home

August 11th 2010 11:12

Welcome to my new readers and my current readers and followers. I have just obtained this domain and am very happy to do so. I am excited and ready to go to work to help you with energy conservation in your daily life especially at home. Evey one wants to save money and try to have a little extra money in your pocket. Well I believe that home is the easiest place to start.For my new readers I hope that you will go to my most recent post. There are curerently 4 post about energy conservation at home. Please read these post so you will understand what we are trying to do.

Looking forward to working with evey one in the future

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Stack Effect. What is it and how does it effect air leakages in the home?

August 9th 2010 23:27

Hello and welcome again. Before we look at the answers that you anwered in an earlier post that I had. (Typical Home Improvements) I want to tell you a little bit more about air leakage. I want to tell you about something that occurs naturally in the home. It is called the Stack Effect. It works much like a chimeny.
This effect happens when the warmer indoor air rises up from lower living areas and escapes through the upper openings of a building.Much the same way as cross ventilation in your home. What is cross ventilation? When people open windows in opposite sides of the house to cool indoor temperatures. But naturally if you have central air you don't need to open a window right.But lets get back to explain the stack effect.
If you stand in front of a fireplace snd strike a match you will see the smoke leave and go up the chimmeny. This same effect happens in each home. The taller your home is the more stack effect you have in your house

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Air leakages how to find them in your home.

August 7th 2010 19:16

Hello again. In this post I am going to show how to find and where your air leaks come from in your home.But before we begin let me explain a little bit about air movement.

HEAT moves from hot to cold

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Typical Home Improvements

August 4th 2010 20:11

Hello and welcome again. I am going to list some typical home improve ments that we will be taling about later.

1) Sealing air leaks and adding insulation

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Conserve at Home

August 4th 2010 13:49

Hello and welcome. I have just recently been concerned about the environment in which I live. There is a couple of things that bought this to my attention. The first thing was the extreme weather changes of the last few years in the southern community where I live located in the state of Louisiana. I live about 1 hour north of Lake Ponchatrain in Washington Parish.Evey since Katrina I got to wondering what was going on. Just the past couple of years our temperature in the late spring and early summer has reached the century mark while in the first part of December we have had upto 6 inches of snow.Wow what a conrast!
The next thing that helped me think about this is the new job that I have started and have just finished my 3 year of service. I have been in home construction for 30 years fulltime and a few years before that as an apprentice. I have seen home construction change a lot in the past years. I was offered an instructors job at Loisiana Technical College where one of the main campusses is located in Washinton Parish. it was then that i realized that there or things we can do as individuals to help our environment and also save money!
I was sent to a 2 week workshop where i was certified by the Building Performance Institute. (BPI) this is when I turned my focus and my teachings in my classes in a different direction. i was now a certified building performance annalyst. I hope you will continue to read this blog in the future so you can read some of the things and tips I share on energy conservation inyour own home.Thanks for taking the time to read this and hope you join me in the future!

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