The State Newspaper Written
Excerpts from an article by Danny C. Flanders
You've built a house with materials carrying the highest insulation values and installed the most energy-efficient heating and air system.
Yet your monthly power bills leave you scratching your head.
Look up.
Most consumers don't consider their attic door when examining their homes for energy loss. "But the problem is common in most houses we check on our audits," said Dwight Amick , marketing supervisor for Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative.
If you don't believe him, turn on the light in your attic, come down and close the stairway. Chances are you'll see light shining through the cracks around the door.
That's because many attic doors are poorly constructed, often with thin plywood, or are warped and fit improperly, allowing air to travel between floors.
Compounding the problem are attic fans and ridge vents designed to improve efficiency.
"Here is a cheap way to correct a major problem, which should give you a quick payback," Amick said.
As Featured on Good Morning America - Fireplace DraftStopper
We
could all agree that home heating costs are going straight up.
Which is why keeping that expensive warm air inside is very
important. When chimney's are not in use that expensive heat is
escaping straight up them.
One would think closing the damper would be enough to keep cold air out and warm air in, but not necessarily so.
A solution to this problem is the fireplace plug. It is like a plastic inflatable pillow for your chimney.
To install it, you partially inflate it with the breathing tube...
...then slip it up into the top of the firebox...
...and lock it in place.
Finally, finish inflating the plug and tuck the tube out of sight.
Some
heating experts claim that an unlit fireplace with a damper open can
increase heating costs by as much as 30 percent. Now that could add up
to $500 over the course of a season.
Well, here's a solution that's relatively inexpensive, easy to install and pretty much invisible.
Battic Door was profiled by Builder magazine at the 2013 NAHB International Builders Show
Battic Door was profiled on DIY Channel's Your Best Built Home