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CO - OP LIVI NG Commissioner takes bucket ride Cooling Off the Attic


By Doug Rye


Photos by Hayley Imel


Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Patrice Douglas recently enjoyed a bucket ride at Okla- homa Electric Cooperative (OEC) in Norman, Okla. Above: (L to R) District Lineman Clifford Madden, Commissioner Patrice Douglas and Operations Manager Randy Simmons. Right: Madden and Douglas go up in one of OEC’s bucket trucks. Douglas was announced Chair- man of the Oklahoma Corporation Commis- sion on September 8, 2011, by Governor Mary Fallin. Douglas took offi ce on October 10, 2011. Born in Oklahoma, Douglas is a longtime resident of the City of Edmond, where she previously served as its mayor.


You probably know the attic is not a good place for the AC cooling system. A substantial part of your heat- ing and cooling bill is related to the location of the heating and cooling system. So why is the AC unit and ductwork still located in the attic on most of the new houses built in the South? It is mostly be- cause it is more convenient and no one has demanded change.


L Kiwash Electric’s


73rd Annual Meeting (Left above): Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, speaks at Kiwash Electric Cooperative (KEC) in Cordell, Okla., at the co-op’s 73rd annual meeting. English is a native of Oklahoma and grew up in KEC’s service territory. (Left below): English and Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives’ CEO Chris Meyers visit with KEC members. (Be- low): KEC Lineman BJ Carter hands Mrs. Ed Holt a $500 cash prize during the annual meeting.


Studies have shown that ductwork located in attics and ductwork leakage in the attics may be the single big- gest waster of residential energy in the South. It is un- believable how much energy could be saved if folks sealed the ductwork and made the attic cooler.


Starting with energy prin- ciples that heat always moves towards cold and moisture always moves toward dry, it is easy to understand how the attic gets so hot and how we can fi x it. It all starts with the sun’s radiant heat. Some rays are absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere and others are absorbed into the Earth. These rays make hot roofs be- come heat radiators. All adja- cent materials such as insula- tion, ductwork and framing materials absorb the heat and get hotter and hotter until the rays of the sun are reduced in some way. Much of the heat is absorbed by the insulation, keeping it from reaching the cooler living space.


Possible solutions to make your attic cooler:


Courtesy Photos/KEC


1. If the ductwork is in the attic the best answer, in most


et’s talk about your attic.


cases, is to spray the entire sloped roof decking and ga- bles with foam, which encap- sulates the entire attic space. By doing this, there is no lon- ger an attic at all. It is now just an odd shaped room upstairs and the ductwork is now inside the air-conditioned space. In this case, the duct- work leakage does not matter as much because it is inside the house anyway.


2. If the ductwork is in the attic but costs prevent you from doing the fi rst solution, you can do what many others have done in the past: make sure that the ductwork leaks are sealed and add insulation (my preference is cellulose) until you have a total insula- tion depth of about 13 inches. If possible, cover the duct- work with insulation. 3. Properly install a radiant


barrier on the bottom or be- tween the sloped roof rafters. This can lower the attic tem- perature by 20 to 30 degrees on a summer day. Installing or rolling out radiant barrier on top of your existing insu- lation is not a proper instal- lation method. Doing so will render a negative effect. 4. If your ductwork is not in the attic, you may only need to add cellulose insulation. At least one of these solu- tions will be the answer for you when it is so hot. Call me at the offi ce if you have ques- tions. OL


Doug Rye works as a consul- tant to promote energy effi ciency to electric cooperative members. To order Doug’s videos or ask en- ergy effi ciency-related questions, call Doug at 1-501-653-7931.


SEPTEMBER 2012 5


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