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“Chicago’s Greenest Home” Is Back!

Newly redesigned for 2009, Smart Home: Green + Wired, Powered by ComEd is back to showcase the ways, big and small, you can make eco-friendly living a part of your life.

Take a guided tour of this real, three-story modular and sustainable “green” home in the Museum’s own backyard. You’ll view and hear about the latest innovations in reusable resources; smart energy consumption; clean, healthy-living environments and easy ways to go green.

The redesign includes a bold color scheme, new furniture, the addition of a “green” baby nursery, a space-maximizing hallway office, new cutting-edge technologies, wind power, earth-friendly and city-friendly landscaping ideas—and much more.

The home—designed by Michelle Kaufmann Designs™ and built by All-American Homes™— also focuses on what the future may bring to consumers. New and unique home technologies are on display, courtesy of WIRED magazine. Explore the home’s updated landscape, which offers techniques for urban gardening, including vertical gardens and EarthBox planting.  <readmore>

When evaluating how to seal and insulate the basement or crawl space areas, one must first decide whether it’s best to include these areas in the conditioned space or separate them with a thermal boundary and treat them as unoccupied space. When considering sealing and insulating the floor (which is the ceiling of the basement or crawl space and therefore isolates those areas under the floor from the rest of the house) versus the foundation walls (which means including those areas in the conditioned living area), there are many factors involved, such as ground dampness, presence of pipes and ducts, foundation type, ease of access, future occupancy plans, cost, sill condition, and more.

In general, our New England climate favors sealing and insulating the floor between the house and the basement or crawl space, and treating them as unoccupied space. The cold ground causes significant heat loss through the floor (which again means the basement or crawl space ceiling). Remember from a previous article, it is a myth that heat rises — it actually moves toward cold, so warm air from your home will be sucked down through the floor and out the cold basement or crawl space if you don’t insulate the floor. Also, waste heat from the boiler or furnace mostly goes down to the cold ground through concrete or stone foundation walls.

In summary, basement or crawl spaces are the second best areas (after the attic) to start when looking to conserve energy. In a future article, I’ll discuss how to seal and insulate the basement or crawl space where both potential energy savings and practicality come into play. The many factors listed above need to be carefully considered and will influence the decision on a particular approach to sealing and insulating. Doing it yourself versus hiring a contractor will, of course, help to determine the approach, as well.

Tim Gould is director of Energy Egghead, an Amesbury-based company that can be found at www.ENERGYEGGHEAD.COM and provides professional energy audit and conservation services.  article found at http://www.newburyportnews.com/pubiz/local_story_203235936.html

check out AAA Spray Foam for more info on how to end the fight with allergens.

A high R-value doesn’t stop air, rodents, insects, allergens, and noise from coming in and out of your building.  Place your hand near any of your electrical sockets during the winter months, and you’ll understand that R-value isn’t everything.  That’s why Polyurethane Spray Foam insulation is so unique.  It seamlessly encapsulates your home, saving your energy by about 40%, and offering sound, rodent, allergen, and bug prevention as well.  

Contact AAA Spray Foam for a free quote.

Here are clear benefits to using spray foaminsulation. Because it’s a spray and not a long piece of pink fiberglass, sprayfoam insulation gets into all of the tiny nooks and crannies, providing betterinsulation. Drafts are filled and the house is warmer in the winter. No cold air can escape in the summer either. In light of these facts, the homeowner with sprayfoam insulation can expect lower utility bills.

Because spray foam insulation fills every little crack and crevice, vermin and bugs have a harder time getting into the home, saving on extermination bills. Plus, it’s such a great adherent, it can stick to a floor and insulate from underneath.

Most homes insulated with spray foam have a higher resale value, especially newer homes. There are environmental advantages as well; most notably, there aren’t any fiberglass particles floating around in the air.

Spray foam insulation also seems to last longer. It sticks to the walls and won’t fall off like fiberglass. An extra bonus is that it doesn’t cause itching when touched, unlike fiberglass foam, and it inhibits mold because it doesn’t absorb water.

The do-it-yourselfer can also purchase small cans of foam at the home improvement store. These are perfect for sealing cracks around doors and windows as well as gaps around pipes and fixtures. For bigger insulation projects, however, it’s in your best interest to call in a professional.

While it’s more expensive to install spray foam insulation than fiberglass, it pays for itself with the money saved on utility and repair bills. When it comes to deciding whichinsulation is best for the home, spray foam insulation is the hands-down winner.

Learn more about Spray Foam for you. <click here>

Article taken from
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-spray-foam-insulation.htm 

We’ve created this to provide information and updates about Spray Foam insulation, and to show you how this green solution works.  We are currently working to make this blog helpful for you, so please visit us at www.aaasprayfoam.com for information regarding this resource, while our blog is under construction.