An example of roof ice on the DC area

Dale Hoffmeyer forwards this example of ice forming on roofs in suburban Virginia.  Ouch.

Fixing Ice Dams Right Now

OK, so you know the best way to address ice dams is to prevent them from forming in the first place, with proper attic insulation and air-sealing to keep the heat and warm in your house, and then attic ventilation as the backstop to remove heat that does escape into your attic.

But you live in the mid-Atlantic region, from Virginia and DC to Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and Delware up into New Jersey, you’ve been pummeled with snow, and there is more on the way.  What about the ice dam that is on your roof right now?

First, stay off the roof. Walking on an icy, snow-covered roof is dangerous. And falls even from a low roof can result in serious injury or kill you.

Chipping away at the ice with shovels, axes, hammers is also NOT a good idea. It can damage your roofing (or siding or gutters) and it too is dangerous for you.

Instead, try these temporary home remedies:

• Use a long handled snow rake–while you stand safely on the ground and far back from where the snow will be falling—to pull off snow from around the eaves.
  
• If you’ve already got an ice dam formed, with water building up behind it, fill a panty hose stocking with calcium chloride and lay it so it runs up the roof, across the ice dam. This is a last resort, and the calcium chloride may harm plants below it.
  
• If you’ve got water leaking in through the roof, you may be able to stop the leak by sticking a box fan in the attic and having it blast cold air on the leak, freezing the water. Of course, this is a short term fix only, and it works only if the air in the attic is sufficiently cold.
  

Ice dams can cause water leaks that result in thousands of dollars in damage. The best fix is good insulation and air-sealing to help avoid them in the first place. And it really works. Take action now to avoid the problems coming back in the future.

Thanks,
Mike

DC and the Mid-Atlantic Snow Leads to Roof Ice Problems

I just wrote about this in the Northeast several weeks ago.  And now, this weekend’s Mid-Atlantic snowpocalypse hammered the region around DC for hundreds of miles with two to three feet of snow.   Northern Virginia, DC, Baltimore, and further up the Atlantic seaboard are covered in a blanket of snow.   Snow on rooftops often leads to problems with icicles and ice damming, as we’ve discussed here before, but primarily for homes with air leakage into the attic and poor insulation. (Some will tout inadequate ventilation as the cause—but roof ventilation is often insufficient, it can make energy leakage worse, and it’s possible to solve this issue with no roof ventilation!).  The snow, while creating havoc, also provides an opportunity for homeowners to look for problems as shown with this series of photos from Vermont. 

Everyone in the region, good luck shoveling out.  Be safe.  And if you’re having ice issues now, think about upgrading insulation and air-sealing after you dig out and things get back to normal.  You’ll be more comfortable and save energy in the long run.  And remember, federal tax credits (and many local programs) can help you pay for the needed upgrades.

Thanks,
Mike

Energy-efficiency articles in the NY Times are a sign of the…times.

Either the NY Times has stepped up its presence on the energy-efficiency beat, or there’s just a lot more action on that front now (or both of the above). A few examples, in reverse order.

• On Monday, the Times reported on a panel’s recommendation for 100 ways to make NYC buildings greener.
• On Sunday, the highlighted a plan for a federal building in Portland, OR, to use a 200 foot-high wall of plants, to shade and cool a building in the summer and drop leaves and let light and warmth in during the winter.
• And on Saturday, the hard articles discussing new aggressive energy-efficiency standards in Massachusetts, and plans for the federal government to reduce its energy use by 28 percent by 2020.

I think we’ll be hearing a lot more about this sort of thing in the coming years as people realize how much sense energy efficiency makes in homes and larger buildings alike.   Coming soon, no doubt, more on Home Star, the “Cash for Caulkers” initiative brewing in DC.

Thanks,
Mike

Why do rafters telegraph through the snow on your roof?

I got an email this morning from a homeowner wanting to know why she could see the rafters marked by snow on her roof.  Snow can help us much like a crude thermal imaging device–we use higher tech infrared cameras.  But the idea is similar.  Both indicate areas warmer areas where heat is escaping faster.  I’ll have to dig through the library to find a couple photos highlighting this.  Meanwhile, a couple of possibilities. 

First, if the rafters are telegraphing through with areas of snow/frost melt, this means that the insulation is working better the the wood in the rafters to keep heat in your home.  While the “thermal bridging” the the rafters isn’t ideal, at least you know the insualtion is working to some extent.

Alternatively, if the rafters are indicated by lines of snow/frost that haven’t melted, while the snow/frost has melt is the larger areas between the rafter, it may mean that the rafter are doing a better job stopping heat flow than whatever is between them.  This could mean no insulation.  Are it could mean poorly installed installation, especially with a lot of air moving through it.

See the previous discussions of icicles, ice damming, and attic insulation and air-sealing for more info.

Thanks,
Mike

Home Performance works for homeowners and for contractors, too!

Nice short article and description of the home performance approach in the current Contracting Business.  Kudos to our friends at Princeton Air!   Should Home Star take off, we know the way to get contractors up to speed to deliver!

Thanks,
Mike

Utilities have an interest in Energy-Efficiency

While it might seem counter intuitive, many utilities have an interest in energy-efficiency.  It’s a complicated web of issues, but many efficiency measures make “demand response” measures more palatable to home-owners and businesses.  This can help with peak demand issues–including reducing the super-high rates that can paid for the extra bit of energy on high-use, “peak”, days.  We’ll also see efficiency become a major part of the discussion as most of the regional compacts (the multi-state collections of utilities that make up “The Grid” approach the point where the just don’t have enough capacity to generate electricity on high use days.  A lot of people don’t want new power plants in their back yards, and some aging nuke plants are facing increasing calls to shut down over concerns of safety.  A complicated issue.  An interesting article by Kate Galbraith in the NY Times, “Why Is a Utility Paying Customers?“, touches on some elements of the discussion with a look at Idaho Power.

Thanks,
Mike

Reminder: Energy-efficiency home improvement tax credits are still in place

Many people scrambled to get qualifying improvements installed before the end of 2009 to be able to claim tax credits.  It’s important to remember that ARRA extended these energy-efficiency home improvement tax credits through December 31, 2010.  And thus the $1,500 credit is still available for qualifying insulation, furnace and air-conditioner replacements, window and door replacement, and other measures.   We’ve got a good summary of measures that qualify and answers to some frequently asked questions on these federal tax credits for energy-efficiency improvements.

Thanks,
Mike

Good Energy Audits are…Good!

Home energy audits are valuable to determine how your home is performing and where it needs attention. A good audit includes a blower door test and other diagnotics.

With a lot of interest in the ice forming on people’s roofs in recent weeks, we’ve gotten a few comments, here and offline, encouraging people to look beyond the attics.  And that’s absolutely right!  While an ice damming problem may be like a gaping wound that needs immediate attention, it’s important to remember that just because you got stitches last year does mean you shouldn’t get a full physical, too.

And for your home, the equivalent to a physical is a home energy audit.  And in the interest of recycling, I’m going to recycle much of a previous post on the subject.  Full a fuller description and details to watch for, I encourage you to visit the overview on our website, or check out this energy audit video.

You’ll see a lot of people hawking audits.  And rightly so.  A home energy audit, done right, help you focus on the real things likely to save you energy. (Hint: most of the time it is NOT new windows!)

Regarding the audit it’s important to get the right audit–accurate and actionable.

To be accurate, the audit needs to include a good inspection and a range of diagnostics including combustion safety, infiltration (using a blower door), duct leakage testing, and an infrared scan.  If the person conducting the audit is making cost-effectiveness recommendations, then they need to have a firm understanding of local installation costs by a quality contractor—if they don’t know these exact prices they can’t talk about cost effectiveness!

To be actionable, any recommendations for improvement need to be easily understood by you and easily communicated to an installation contractor who can fully execute the recommendations.  For example, if the recommendations are for attic air-sealing and insulation (you shouldn’t do the insulation without the air-sealing), the person doing the work needs to understand exactly what needs to be done and be able to deliver (assuming the recommendations are accurate—see above!).  

A simple “clipboard audit” or home energy rating won’t cover both of these for you, so make sure you get what you need!  And don’t waste your money on what you don’t!

For a bit more background and additional links, see my earlier posts, our website, or a video description.

Thanks,
Mike

Off topic–socks and cell phone chargers

Two unsolved mysteries:  Where do those odd socks disappear to somewhere in the washer or dryer?  And what happens to the cell phone chargers that I keep leaving in hotel rooms but don’t make it to lost & found?