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In this episode of the On the Job series, Larry Janesky, owner and founder of Dr. Energy Saver, walks us through the many ways they made a typical cape house more energy efficient.
This cape had poor attic insulation and serious air leakage, which increased the homeowner’s energy bills and caused serious ice damming problems during the winter. As the snow melted on the roof, a ridge of ice forced trapped water to leak into the house. The water damage to the attic and living area raised health and mold concerns. The problem was so significant that during an especially heavy winter storm in the previous year, the homeowner had to climb on the roof and manually break the large ice ridges to keep water from pouring down his kitchen cabinets.
To fix this problem, Dr. Energy Saver completely air sealed the attic to keep heated air in the living space from leaking into the attic. The bathroom fans that were venting into the attic were fitted with ducts to vent to the outside, thus preventing all the air and moisture from leaking into the attic space.
Cape style homes like this one usually have a knee wall space. It is a small space created at the angle between the roof and the floor. A knee wall is usually a big source of energy waste. So the next step was to insulate and air seal the knee wall using a special type of rigid foam board insulation called SilverGlo™, which is lined with a radiant barrier to help conserve heat.
The last step was to insulate the attic, which was originally insulated with a thin layer of fiberglass batt insulation, which measures way below the R-60 value recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy for attics in that region. Besides having insufficient R-Value, fiberglass insulation does not stop air flow.
To insulate this attic, Dr. Energy Saver chose TruSoft™ cellulose insulation. Cellulose insulation is basically recycled newspaper that’s treated with borax to prevent pest infestation and mold growth, and fire retardants which give the material an excellent fire safety rating. Cellulose insulation is denser than blown fiberglass and has a higher R-Value of 3.7 per inch. A layer of 17 inches was blown into the attic, with special attention to rafter bays and small cavities created by typical cape style architectural features.
This cape is now ready for winter. The homeowner has a more comfortable house, and his energy bills are much lower. To learn more about ways to save energy in your home, stay tuned for more episodes of Dr. Energy Saver’s On The Job series, or call one of our certified energy conservation technicians for a home energy audit!
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Great video and very informative. Have to give you credit for the work, ie
crawling in those tight spaces. Thanks.
The house my wife and I bought last year is poorly insulated. House was
built in 1958, and many of the outside walls are very cold to the touch in
winter, and very warm in summer. The walls are plaster, and I assume there
is no insulation in them. However, how important is the insulation in an
attic. There are warm/cold pockets throughout the house that I can feel on
the walls. It’s blown insulation, but probably from back in the 50s. We
spent $300-$400 electric bill a month. We made a lot of upgrades, so money
is tight right now, but we have an electric heat pump that was installed in
1982 (the year I was born), so I’m sure it’s not that efficient. When we
get money, we plan on switching over to gas. We replaced original windows
with new triple-pane windows, but have more to go. We are getting new
front and back entry doors in two weeks as well. So I need to insulate my
walls, or would new attic insulation make a world of difference?
How about lambs wool insulation?
Wish u personally, was in my area of Philadelphia, Pa. I know there’s a Dr
. Energy rep here but thats not the same as u actually overseeing the
project. I could tell in your video u treat every project your envolve with
like its your home, which is very rear among company’s today. U seem fare &
honest. If u were in Philadelphia I would definitely invest the money to
get my house done right the first time.
right at the beginning “Winter is Coming”
I really would love to Make my House more Energy Efficient… this is the
best “How to” I’ve seen so far..
Great ideas… I would love to make my home energy efficient using these
tips..
Very thorough. Wish all insulation contractors were this professional.
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Why did you blow insulation into the slopes that lead to the knee wall
area? This doesn’t allow for any air flow.
Are you not worried about warm moist air condensing in this space?
At approx. 10:00 you mention that you are blowing insulation into the
slopes of a cape as they are not ventilated because of gable vents. Our
cape cods in Cbus are 1 1/2 stories. No soffit vents. So am I installing
the rigid foam radiant barrier in the knee wall attic space and closing up
the gable vents? It seems a constant ‘wrestle’ between insulation and
ventilation in these houses. Is this video of two different houses?
you’ve got awesome ideas.. ilove it..