[Greenbuilding] best practice

[Reuben Deumling]

I like your answer best, Rob. I didn't think to articulate it as well but
how you rationalized it mirrors my thinking too.

On Wed, Mar 16, 2016 at 9:17 PM, Rob Dickinson <robd at pobox.com> wrote:

> Most of the time when people consider what energy efficiency investments
> are economical, they are only considering payback periods of a relatively
> small number of years.  My house is 116 years old, and if it had been well
> insulated way back in 1900, consider the many, many tons of greenhouse
> gases that could have been avoided.  When we remodeled, we were designing
> with the idea that it would last another 116 years or more, and in that
> case, doing a super good job, even if the performance gains of additional
> insulation were minimal, really matters.  That’s why we have 4” of exterior
> rigid foam on the outside and 9” of double-stud wall insulation on the
> interior.  It’s quiet, comfortable, and costs next-to-nothing to heat and
> cool.
>
> Rob Dickinson
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 16, 2016 at 9:07 PM, John Salmen <terrain at shaw.ca> wrote:
>
>> Good guy advice has to be based on something. If you look at insulation
>> performance curves going beyond r12-16 (depending on insulation used) it
>> doesn’t make ‘cents’ as the improvement is minimal but it can be easily
>> calculated – and make your decision based on that. In a decent building
>> energy model you would probably find the best places to insulate that would
>> make the best improvement – generally ceilings and perimeter is the result
>> more than walls??
>>
>>
>>
>> If it is a small house (which 1883 would be) ventilation and heat
>> recovery technology would be a better investment as the ventilation
>> requirements will be the biggest heat loss as you will be cutting a bigger
>> hole to ventilate than the insulation would compensate for – unless it is a
>> really strategic design.
>>
>>
>>
>> Of course if we are saving the planet....all decisions are based on
>> expendable income.
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Greenbuilding [mailto:
>> greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] *On Behalf Of *Sacie
>> Lambertson
>> *Sent:* March-16-16 6:43 PM
>> *To:* Greenbuilding
>> *Subject:* [Greenbuilding] best practice
>>
>>
>>
>> A good guy and relatively young architect (in his 40s, 'young' by my
>> standards), tells me it is not worth taking off the siding of an old 1883
>> house to add insulation and an air space to the outside.  He says the added
>> expense is not worth the additional insulation. That the extra R-value
>> above R 23 in walls is thermodynamically not money well spent as long as
>> the house is very tightly constructed in the retro-fit.
>>
>>
>>
>> The siding is original and in very good shape.  The interior has full
>> dimensioned 2x4 walls.  The rooms are too small for me to want to build a
>> double wall on the interior.
>>
>>
>>
>> What he suggests I do is simply used closed cell foam between the wall
>> framing.
>>
>>
>>
>> I would appreciate your comments please.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sacie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all
> the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends
> I want to see." — John Burroughs (1837-1921) American naturalist, writer
>
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