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Tips to cut your utility bills


A Different Kind of Envelope by Doug Rye


the components separating a building's interior from its exterior environment. I use the term “thermal envelope” because thermal means retaining heat—or keeping heat where it belongs, either inside or outside depending upon the weather.


“B In the simplest of buildings,


the thermal envelope consists of the floor, four walls, and the ceiling or roof. Two conditions can affect the efficiency of the envelope:


components, and


1) the insulation value of the 2) the amount of air able to


transfer to and from the envelope. Consider a normal ice chest.


It’s a miniature ultra-efficient structure where the floor, walls, and roof are super-insulated and only one doorway leads in or out. Some even have plumbing— the drain plug. Tis structure requires very little energy to fulfill its job of keeping its contents


uilding envelope” and “thermal envelope” both refer to


chilled; however, opening the door (lifting the lid) introduces air infiltration and will affect energy consumption (melting ice), energy cost (buying more ice), and comfort (warm soft drinks). Keeping the door (lid) closed helps the interior stay cold and the ice last longer.


An ice chest is a ultra- efficient stucture with no


windows and only one door, but who wants to live in an insulated box?


How does an ice chest relate


to a dwelling? Many of today’s new homes are insulated with foam similar to that used in ice chests and existing homes can be retrofitted, but nobody wants to live in a big insulated box. Most of us prefer to live in a home with amenities and comfort that improves our quality of life. Of course, we also want affordable utility bills. Te good news is building an efficient new home or retrofitting an existing home is doable. Te bad news is many


desired amenities can adversely affect the energy efficiency of the thermal envelope. For example, the installation


of a window into a well-insulated wall will almost always decrease the energy efficiency of the thermal envelope. Tis is because the window may have air leakage, and its insulation value is less than the well insulated wall. Te glass will allow more heat rays from the sun to enter the house. We all want windows in our


homes, so what can we do to enjoy the benefits of windows without dramatically affecting the envelope? We must analyze the efficiency of each component and its direct impact. In this particular case, we could install the fewest number of windows necessary to make us happy, and choose the most feasible, energy-efficient windows we can afford. Keep this in mind as a general rule of thumb: if the energy efficiency of the thermal envelope goes down, the energy bill usually goes up. We will continue this subject in next month’s column.


Doug Rye, a licensed architect living in Saline County, Ark., and the popular host of the “Home Remedies” radio show, works as a consultant


for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas to promote energy efficiency to cooperative members statewide. To ask energy efficiency-related questions, call Doug at 501-653-7931. More energy-efficiency tips, as well as Doug’s columns, can also be found at www.SmartEnergyTips.org.


News Magazine 23


Doug Rye Says


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