What are you doing?
Posted by Lisa Haderlein at 5/23/2007 5:56 PM 
Categories: efficiency,Savings,Challenge,Conservation,carbon dioxide
Categories: efficiency,Savings,Challenge,Conservation,carbon dioxide
The really frustrating thing about this "blog" thing is that it is
really a very one-way street. I write things, and people may look at
the posts (the statistics tell me that there are about 10 views a day
on average for this site), but I rarely hear from anyone in terms of a
post or email.
I want to know what you are doing to reduce your personal carbon footprint. Would you be willing to share your story with me?
Did you replace lightbulbs? (I've heard from several friends and family that they did that)
Are you choosing EnergyStar appliances when you have to replace your household appliances?
Are you going to get a more fuel-efficient car when you replace one of your existing cars?
Did you start driving the speed limit? Did you make sure your tires were inflated properly? Did you turn the thermostat down (or up, depending on your local climate)?
I noticed that our neighbors had an insulation company at their house this morning to blow in insulation. I talked to them the other day, and they explained that in these older homes (their home, like ours is nearly 100 years old) that is pretty much the only way to increase your insulation. They are in the process of rebuilding their upstairs bathroom after a leak caused some major damage, so they decided that while things were under construction they would add insulation in the walls and attic.
That's something else we should look into - insulation. Our attic floor seems pretty well insulated, but we could probably add more. We use the attic for storage though, so blow-in insulation wouldn't really work - we might be able to install batting between the roof joists though.
The Department of Energy website includes some tips. Generally, if your house was built before 1980, you are bound to be underinsulated! The consensus seems to be that starting at the top is the best bet (you know, heat rises!), so get the attic sealed tight first.
I want to know what you are doing to reduce your personal carbon footprint. Would you be willing to share your story with me?
Did you replace lightbulbs? (I've heard from several friends and family that they did that)
Are you choosing EnergyStar appliances when you have to replace your household appliances?
Are you going to get a more fuel-efficient car when you replace one of your existing cars?
Did you start driving the speed limit? Did you make sure your tires were inflated properly? Did you turn the thermostat down (or up, depending on your local climate)?
I noticed that our neighbors had an insulation company at their house this morning to blow in insulation. I talked to them the other day, and they explained that in these older homes (their home, like ours is nearly 100 years old) that is pretty much the only way to increase your insulation. They are in the process of rebuilding their upstairs bathroom after a leak caused some major damage, so they decided that while things were under construction they would add insulation in the walls and attic.
That's something else we should look into - insulation. Our attic floor seems pretty well insulated, but we could probably add more. We use the attic for storage though, so blow-in insulation wouldn't really work - we might be able to install batting between the roof joists though.
The Department of Energy website includes some tips. Generally, if your house was built before 1980, you are bound to be underinsulated! The consensus seems to be that starting at the top is the best bet (you know, heat rises!), so get the attic sealed tight first.
Hi, I'm the neighbor who got the insulation. It's wet blown foam insulation called Icynene, with an R-value of I think 12, no cancer-causing formaldehyde, and no CO2-producing and ozone-depleting HCFCs found in other insulation. It reduces the potential for mold growth, and is supposed to be good for indoor air quality and for people with chemical sensitivities...
We were blessed with continuous hollow walls from the first to the second floor, so we could have insulation sprayed all the way to the first floor from the second, disturbing only one floor's walls. In addition, Active Foam Specialists in Johnsburg charged just $1.50 per square foot, so spraying our bathroom and the kitchen below cost about $500. We also had the basement rim joists insulated for another $250, which we understand will be a good bang for our buck.
Our carpenter was used to installing standard fiberglass batting. He was very impressed with the spray foam, and how well it filled all gaps. We look forward to seeing the effect on our heating bills this year!
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