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Easy way to detect heat loss?

| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on November 29, 2004 07:10am

Is there any simple way to detect the places where you are losing the most heat?  I am about to go through my second winter buying way too much heating oil in my 100+ year old house.  From the several projects I have been doing I have found that the previous owner insulated some but not all of the house and with varying quality of work.  It would be really nice to look at my house with some sort of camera to see where insulation is needed and where it is not. . . Any ideas?

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  1. VaTom | Nov 29, 2004 07:27am | #1

    Read through this thread: 38552.1

    PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!

  2. Hooker | Nov 29, 2004 07:48am | #2

    Interesting thread to read through.  I'm on the local fire dept. and we use a thermal imaging camera, as mentioned in the thread.  That tool would work well for what you need.  A heating/ac company in your area may have a similar tool as mentioned they might be willing to use for you, maybe for a fee!

    ADH Carpentry & Woodwork

    Quality, Craftsmanship, Detail

    1. brownbagg | Nov 29, 2004 07:52am | #3

      our power company has one and they will do it for a fee

    2. davidmeiland | Nov 29, 2004 09:17am | #4

      Ditto on the thermal camera. You might arrange to make a donation to the firefighter's assocation in return for the duty officer stopping by with the camera so you can take a look.

  3. csnow | Nov 30, 2004 09:29pm | #5

    A lower tech (and cheaper) method is the "front door test".  This is a no dollar standin for a blower door test, which would be another good option, but you may as well attack the big obvious offenders first.

    On a cold still night, crack the front door.

    Ok I don't smoke, but a cigarette, inscense stick, or anything that makes smoke is what you need now.  Pros use special smoke sticks.

    Go upstairs, make some smoke in each room, and watch where it goes.  This is the "stack effect" in action.  Check attic hatch, outlets, around baseboards.  Anyplace there is a crack in the shell.  Your are watching your convective heatloss paths in action.

    Check out http://www.weatherization.com/

    Other places to look are in the attic.  You may find big holes in the attic plane at the top of interior walls, next to chimney flues, around mechanical penetrations.

    Don't forget to consider any open fireplace as a likely consumer as well.

  4. joeh | Dec 01, 2004 01:18am | #6

    What kind(s) of insulation do you have now?

    What is in the attic?

    If you have a stand up type attic with some sort of insulation on the ceiling areas you might blow cells over the top and get the best bang for your buck.

    Or you might want to have a thorough look at what is under your existing insulation and plug the leaks first.

    Joe H

    1. Vornec | Dec 01, 2004 05:26pm | #7

      Most of the insulation I have found is unfaced yellow fiberglass.  I think the previous owner tried to make up for the unfaced part by hanging plastic before the sheetrock.  Unfortunatly this just makes the bottom of all the sheetrock rot out from all of the condensation dripping down the plastic.  So I probably am going to get to see behind all of the walls anyway. 

      The attic has been insulated, but I am not sure with what.  The access is through my rental unit and I have only been up there twice.  Seems like it is some form of blown in, but I don't know.  It is a soft greyish material about 6" thick.  Between the 1st level (my part of the house, heated with forced hot air) and the second level (for the renter's, heated with electric baseboard) is about six inches of unfaced pink stuff, once again of varying quality.

      Anyways, thanks to all for the help.  The VFD keeps calling me to ask for donations, and since I have supported them in the past, they may be willing to lemme borrow one of those cameras.

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