GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings - Going True Green

Stopping Old Man Winter's Wind - Naturally

12/28/2024

Wind Breaks, north winds, old man winter, saving energy, going true green, going green, installation, heating, trees, evergreens, garden

Natural Wind Break on North Side of House

About twenty years ago, I first wrote about this topic, and I believe the time has come to repeat some of the energy saving facts:

Saving energy with Nature is easy by just using closely branched trees that grow in pyramidical or columnar form. They give height and body without excessive width. Planting would most likely be best on the north side of your house to block the cold winter winds. All in all, Evergreens would be best and you should contact a certified arborist to confirm what is best for your house.

Basically any building will benefit from the wind chill factor being reduced by a Windbreak. Well designed windbreaks reduce energy costs up to 40 percent. The type of structure your house is made of and the overall efficiency of your heating system are just a few factors that determine the total savings.

However, please realize that even if a savings of up to 40 percent is realized, that savings is NOT a 40 percent reduction in the total heating bill. The savings is 40 percent off the total amount of heat being lost by the house due to not having a Windbreak.

For example: If heating is costing 7% more a year to keep the house warm because there is no Windbreak, then a 40% savings of that 7% heat lost will be saved after a Windbreak is installed. Also we must allow for the time all the trees take to grow.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Many Contractors Do What They Want, Not What You Need

6/17/2022

contractors, insulation, energy, heating, energy consulting, sustainability, going green, environmental science, AOC, political leaders, joists, certified, vapor barrier, energy efficiency, how to install insulation, attic, doomed, fiberglass, energy bills, energy, heating, peace

Another Contractor's Job Done Wrong

With warmer weather, we tend to do more work outside around our home. Maintaining and fixing up around the house is an endless mission. Obviously, when financially feasible, one may hire a contractor to do some work or repairs. After all, some things we can't do because we know our limitations and perhaps we just want more time to do some other things, like visiting with family and friends or dare I say, just to have some time at peace praying?

Now when repairs or improvements are done in tandem with energy bills, we really don't want mistakes. However, hiring a contractor does NOT guarantee that mistakes will not happen. I can say with almost every improvement I made on my house when using an outside contractor, I found errors that would cost me more money on my energy bills.

Errors and lies were made almost all the time. Half truths were told to me just to sell me something I did not need. If the contractor took some time to realize what I was about as an Environmental Scientist and Energy Consultant, they wouldn't have been so surprised, when I questioned them about their half truths, flat out lies and errors! I must confess, seeing their mouths drop open when I hit them with facts that proved them wrong, was rewarding. Especially when they made the changes to do the job correctly.

The photo shows an old house being repaired. The outside wall was damaged and the old inefficient "bat" insulation was pulled out and replaced with new fiberglass insulation. This would be fine, but the new insulation was installed backwards and stuffed in between the wooden joists, thus compromising the integrity of the insulation. In the photo you can see the brown paper vapor barrier facing outward. This is completely wrong. The vapor barrier ALWAYS faces in toward the warmer side. Also the insulation was made for placement between joists 16 inches apart on center. These joists are 12 inches apart on center. So stuffing the insulation in with the vapor barrier facing the wrong way will cause mold and mildew build up, heat lost and condensation build up inside the wall.

These facts are the basics for insulation jobs and yet these contractors had no idea what they were doing. What makes this worse are our so called political leaders yelling for more weather stripping around doors and windows to save our Earth. Well, here is a News Flash - We have been doing those actions since the late 1970s!

How about testing contractors to be licensed? Make the tests easy by breaking the exams down for each trade or topic. For example, doing insulation jobs, then test for just that work. No need to know how to install a multi-set back thermostat or replacement windows. We test accountants, doctors, but if the world is doomed why are contractors unlicensed and free to do anything... especially when their labor produces energy inefficiency?!

I had to take classes to be certified and everyone who works on my team is certified or licensed in their field. They are experts. Therefore, all contractors need to be tested on their craft, not just the managers. I say this because after catching employees installing the wrong insulation in my attic, they called their manager and over the phone that manager tried to sell me the mistake his employees made. I knew the facts, but the average American does not! The manager that spoke to me didn't stand a chance and had no choice but to order the costly change so the job was done correctly. My house ended up being done correctly because I knew the facts as an energy consultant, but my house is only one of the many dwellings in our country. Sadly, the majority of Americans are unaware of these details and as such, across our nation, this creates an abundance of wasted energy due to uneducated, careless or corrupt contractors.

Most political leaders would do us all a world of good by stopping to pretend they are experts in everything. Most of the time they do not know what they are talking about, especially when it comes to energy and our environment.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Old Man Winter, Old Houses and Insulation Answers

1/7/2020

Happy New Year everyone and with the cold winds of winter blowing down on us, I wish to share some insulation questions I receive each year. Some of these questions have been asked several times over the decades. Below I am sharing some of these questions and concluding with the most popular query.

I am thinking of buying an old wood frame house constructed in the 1920s. Would there be insulation in the walls?

Balloon Construction, insulation, vapor barrier, insulated homes, insulated walls, going true green, hot air rises, hot to cold, GTG Blog

1920 Farm House

Not unless a previous owner of the house had insulation put into the walls. Houses back then were built without insulation because fuel was very cheap. Your best test would be to drop a small marble from the attic down into the wall. If the marble comes out in the basement you know the walls are empty.

This type of design is not only costly with energy bills, but also outside noise will be louder inside. In addition, this design known as "balloon construction," is a serious fire hazard. The walls would act like a chimney in a fire and the wood frame house would be destroyed. Putting insulation into these walls will address all three of these problems: Costly energy bills, Noise levels and Fire hazard.

Is it possible to put insulation in backwards?

Yes, and this happens far too often. Many serious problems come about with insulation installed wrong. In most cases the cause of these problems are a mystery to the homeowner. For example, nobody can imagine why a certain wall gets damp or sweats. The Foil or Paper on one side of the insulation is known as a "vapor barrier" and this "vapor barrier" must always face the warmer side of the house. Always! If there is an outside facing wall that is crying or moisture builds up on the inside surface of that wall, odds state that the insulation was installed backwards. Once confirmed, the inside wall needs to be removed, the compromised moisture filled insulation must be discarded and replaced the correct way.

Insulating the ceiling in my unfinished basement isn't going to save much, right?

This action, in most cases, saves a great deal of money and energy. Put insulation in an unfinished basement ceiling with the "vapor barrier" facing up, because upstairs is the warmer side of the house. However, if you are going to heat or cool your basement, then different rules apply. Also don't let the air from upstairs that has been cooled by air conditioning drop through the floor to your unfinished basement because there is no insulation in the basement ceiling. Cool air dropping into the basement only makes the basement damp and the electric bill higher for the air conditioners working longer on the main floor. "Cold Air drops" that is the rule of mother nature. The other rule mother nature has "Hot Goes To Cold First" then Hot Air Rises! Don't let your heating bills be higher because the heat comes out over a cold floor that is over a cold basement with no insulation in the ceiling. Insulate and save! Reports have shown the savings of several hundred dollars can provide a payback on the cost of insulation and labor as fast as four months.

For more information on insulating houses, see my previous GoingTrueGreen blog called:
Buying A House? Beware!

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Paint vs Trees

5/31/2018

Image by BSS Los Angeles

After a pilot program in the neighborhood of Canoga Park in San Fernando Valley, California thinks they have an answer to the Urban Heat Island Effect. This is when miles and miles of asphalt, aka blacktop, heats up in the hot sun light. As the surface temperatures of the blacktop road increase, so does the ambient heat that radiates throughout the surrounding air. This can cause an average air temperature increase of 22 degrees Fahrenheit.

So they tested painting the blacktop roads white. The pilot program was declared a success... A success for wet skid tests, durability and lower surface temperatures. Now we all know a lighter color and the color white will reflect heat as darker colors will absorb heat, thus an average 10 to 15 degree decrease was noted with this CoolSeal white paint that is applied twice.

End result, many are saying this is a half baked idea because several concerns are not answered. The first thing I thought about was the paint, with only a 7 year life expectancy, wearing off and washing down the sewers. This in turn will go into our waterways. Was this part of the testing? I found no answer. Next thing I thought about was a solution as easy as planting trees. The solution is planting trees and will cost far less than the $40,000.00 per mile to paint. Additionally, trees last far longer than 7 years, while not putting any paint into our waterways and drinking water tables.

For clarification, when I speak of planting trees, I don't mean Palm trees that cast less shade. Now with extreme heat areas, the water supply for some trees that cast more shade may be crucial. This can be solved by allowing Homeowners on the block to collect rain water off the roof in any number of ways. The extra water supply can be used for their flowers and the trees by the curb. Also looking into building codes to see if lighter color roof material is standard or should become the new code. Light color roof material lowers air cooling costs for Homeowners and when matched with a minimum of R30 insulation on the attic floor, along with a Solar Powered Attic fan, money is saved big time. One more thing, make sure Homeowners have the right amount of open vent space for their attics. Details on all of this can be perused under my Insulation Category found on the right side of this page.

UPDATE: While researching for this topic, I found that the state of Arizona also had the idea of painting roads white presented to them. They have decided to take the side of complete logic by looking into increasing the canopy and foliage along their roads. Smart.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Equivocator In The Attic

3/31/2017

insulation, attics, vapor barrier, mold, mildew, heat loss, the rub, God's Green Earth, Going True Green, True Story, Going Green

Attics come in all shapes and sizes

Unbeknownst to you, if a silent threat lurked in your attic, would you not take swift action once you have learned of the threat?

Yet, that is the Rub when the threat is from an equivocator who used ambiguous language to deceive you. You can't take any action if you never learn the truth about the lie told to you. Nonetheless, year after year the lie costs you more and more money. That is the situation when attic insulation is done incorrectly. At times, the errors with attic insulation made by professional contractors, handymen, or fly-by-night individuals, is almost an epidemic.

Below is just another TRUE story that proves we must always live by the adage: Buyer Beware

I was contacted by an attorney for a couple looking to buy a house. Their engineer's report came back stating that the insulation in the attic was installed upside down. The foil Vapor Barrier had to be on the floor of the attic or in other words, at the bottom of the insulation. When the Vapor Barrier is on the top of the insulation, moisture will be trapped in the insulation, thus sacrificing the integrity of the product. Mold and mildew can accumulate to the point that after so many years, the insulation has to be removed and replaced.

The couple's lawyer, who is familiar with my work, queried me on the response he was given by the current home owner's representative. Our conversation went like this:

"So Bill, he told me that the insulation was installed correctly and to code at the time the work was done so many years ago. I replied by saying, that I never heard of the Vapor Barrier being approved in a different position no matter what year it was installed."

"You are 100% correct," I answered. "They are telling you a lie, hoping that you would accept what they are saying and that you would take no more action."

Many times we find it hard to believe what kind of world we live in. Rest assured, this world is still God's Green Earth.

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Christ, Jesus, Shroud, Shroud of Turin, Upper Room, L. J. Williams, BBV Publishing, crucifixion, resurrection, Easter, Son of God, Proof of Jesus' Resurrection

BBV Publishing, "Telling The Untold Stories!"™

Ghost In The Attic

1/12/2017

attic, vents, gable vents, attic vents, saving energy, going green, insulation, attic air, attic fans, sustainability, going true green, bill lauto, R-30, vapor barrier

Uninsulated Attic Floor

I am continuing with a ghost story to assist consumers when having energy saving work done in the attic. While some people may claim a ghost is in the attic, it is most likely the corrupt spirit of a living person trying to steal extra money out of an unsuspecting client.

I was called to conduct an energy audit on a fairly large house and as usual I started in the basement and worked up toward the attic. After some two plus hours of checking every possibility to save money and energy, the home owner informed me that the master bedroom was always freezing. A “Ghost-Like” freezing, he described.
Winter had just started and upon entering, the bedroom was as cold as it was huge. I started my hunt for all the contributing reasons.

I noticed newly installed Recessed Ceiling light fixtures in the bedroom's ceiling. The homeowner told me that he received a great deal on the labor, since he was friends with the electrician. Nevertheless, I immediately calculated the cost and savings for him to convert from the 75 watt incandescent flood lights his friend installed to 18 watt compact fluorescent floods. Today, I would recommend LEDs. Based on the local Kilowatt rate and hours of use for the bedroom lights, the payback on his cost to buy the new flood lights was less than two years. Yet, this did not solve the issue with why the bedroom was so cold. The main reason was lurking above us in the attic.

I first addressed the thermostat's location on the second floor for the bedrooms and the benefits to having a Multi-Set Back Clock thermostat installed in a different location. Then I pulled down the steps to the attic and went up without hesitation. Once my eyes cleared the hatch entrance, my portable light came upon the astonishing answer. I froze, not from the cold attic, but because of the great incompetence of some "so-called professionals." As I slowly backed down the steps and turned to look down at the homeowner, he knew from the look on my face, that something was seriously wrong.

"How well do you know this electrician friend of yours?" I asked cautiously.

"Very well, I know him for years. Since school. Why?"

"Is he a licensed electrician?"

"I think so. Why?"

"You can use my light and go up to look for yourself, but to install your new light fixtures in the ceiling, your friend moved all your insulation and stacked it up in a pile on one side. They never put the insulation back into the Bays between the wooden beams."

The homeowner took my light went up, looked around, and came down cursing while making a few angry claims.

We reviewed the solutions to his cold bedroom that included placing the current insulation back with the vapor barrier facing the attic floor. Also adding additional Un-Faced insulation on top (insulation without a vapor barrier) and the importance of always having a licensed electrician. One final note, always check on the work done yourself.

Alas... a ghost was not part of the reasons for the cold bedroom or for moving the insulation into a stack on the side.

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

2 Square Feet

1/3/2017

attic, vents, gable vents, attic vents, saving energy, going green, insulation, attic air, attic fans, sustainability, going true green, bill lauto, R-30, vapor barrier

Attic Vents

As promised in my previous Going True Green Blog post, I am continuing with some stories to assist consumers when having energy saving work done in the attic.

This story happened to me. After living in an apartment for years, I moved into a small old house. I called a few professional companies to price out adding additional insulation to the insufficient layer of insulation that was already on the attic floor. I did not provide any information as to my profession or background.

As one company representative looked over my attic with me, I was appalled by the lies thrown at me just to make more money. However, before I share with you what was spoken to me, let me first provide you with the 2 square feet of knowledge I learned years earlier. [Also remember the facts I shared in my previous Blog post]

At a 1986 conference with engineers from Canada, rules and facts were discussed for proper ways to insulate attics. One rule was emphasized over and over:

You need 2 square feet of open air space for every 100 square feet of attic floor space.

This is so your attic can expelled heated air in the summer and keep your attic dry in the winter. Having insulation with the R Value of at least R-30 will protect the living space in the house below from the cold winter attic and the hot summer attic. This is true even with the 2 square feet of open air space for every 100 square feet of attic floor space.

In addition, you must take into consideration the amount of space occupied by screens or chicken wire that is on the attic vents. A two square foot vent with a screen is actually offering less open air space, because the screen may block up to a half square foot of space when condensed. For example: When you feel a breeze through a window screen, that breeze becomes stronger when the screen is removed. Thus more open space for air movement.

Now back to my attic and what I was told by this insulation expert - I am using the term lightly. This insulation company Rep was sizing me up since he arrived. An old house, a new homeowner without much house maintenance knowledge... so he thought. He went all in for the kill and the big bucks.

“You know,” the Rep said as he looked across the dimly lit attic at me. “You should also put insulation up here between the rafters [wooden beams] on the roof. This will cost twice as much, but you will save double the amount.”

“Double of what amount?” I queried, since no numbers on savings were presented to me as of yet.

“The amount you pay for oil to heat your house.”

“I don’t think so.” I calmly stated.

“No,” he quickly rebutted. “It will lower heating bills and save you more money! In fact, you should also close off your two attic vents and cover them with insulation.”

“Please leave,” I spoke softly as I found the blatant lie agitating.

“What? No, having vents allowing cold air to come into the attic will make your house cold and cost more to heat.”

“That is why I want to increase my insulation to a level of R-30, so the cold air won’t be an issue.”

“The cold air won’t be an issue only if you insulate R-30 on the floor and on the roof, plus close up your attic vents.”

“Please leave my house now,” I said with more determination and headed toward the attic ladder to go down.

After the Rep followed me down, before he could start his phony sales pitch again, I gave him the rule of 2 square feet and presented my credentials. I stated how insulation with the R-30 size can't fit between the beams on the roof and if you squashed insulation into any space, you destroy the integrity of the insulation by compressing it. Plus having two Vapor Barriers was so wrong, I couldn't understand how he didn't know these facts or did he? Once I stated that I was considering contacting the Better Business Bureau, he left immediately.

This is what every American is up against and if I didn’t have the knowledge from my passion, my career, I would have been just another statistic added to the scammed pile. An attic needs air flow to breathe, if not, you will sacrifice the integrity of the wood structure holding up your roof.

Give credence to the old adage, Buyer beware!

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

Lauto, Real Estate, Green Houses, Sustainable Living, virginia real estate

Attic Lies

12/22/2016

Insulation, going green, sustainability, heating, cooling, energy savings, R-30, R-15, vapor barrier, unfaced insulation, fiberglass, blown-in insulation

Attic Insulation

I have lost count on how many times people have told me what contractors did in their attics that is wrong and a lie. Perhaps the work was an honest mistake, but probably not. Countless times, everyday in America, people are being ripped off for energy saving work done wrong.

The tales told are no holiday story, but more on the order of the Grinch stealing Christmas. Claims that play on people’s fear, incomplete truths and lies by the process of omission run rapid just as the snow falls upon your roof. The reason for this blatant deceit is the old-time evil known as GREED. These demons just want to make more money off of you and in turn can cost you thousands of dollars more years down the road.

Here is one example:
“I called a contractor to add extra insulation in my attic, because my power company gave me that energy saving tip so I can save money on my energy bills.”

THE FIRST LIE:
There are no “TIPs” to saving energy, only work! The situation has to be evaluated, facts must be studied, and applications must be customize for your house or business. (The facts and information the consumer needs to know and to empower themselves, are numerous, but GoingTrueGreen.com is just an email away to help with answers.)

Yet, a different example:
“The contractor told me they will add extra insulation with a vapor barrier on top of the insulation already on the attic floor. That vapor barrier will make the job more energy efficient and the “extra cost” is well worth it because I will save more money on the heating bill in the long run.”

Insulation, going green, sustainability, heating, cooling, energy savings, R-30, R-15, vapor barrier, unfaced insulation, fiberglass, blown-in insulation

Paper Vapor Barrier

THE SECOND AND THIRD LIES:
The insulation on your attic floor already has a vapor barrier! Get a helper, then put on a long sleeve shirt, some work gloves, a dust mask, goggles, a hard hat, and go into your attic to confirm. Lift a corner of the insulation to see if foil or paper that is brown or black in color is against the floor of the attic. A “yes” answer means you never need another Vapor Barrier anywhere in your attic!

You will NOT save any additional money with another Vapor Barrier and you will NOT save more money on the heating bills. In fact, this will cost you more money in the long run. All you need is “un-Faced insulation” (no vapor barrier is on the insulation), which costs much less. If you put in insulation with another vapor barrier, moisture will be trapped and over the years cause mold and mildew to build up. The ceiling below your attic can suffer the consequences.

Rules that never change:
1) The one vapor barrier ALWAYS faces the warmest side of the house. In an attic, that will be the floor above the heated rooms below.
2) Have the insulation on your attic’s floor add up to a value of R-30. This will save money no matter where you live in America, because this also helps with Air Cooling bills!
Our GoingTrueGreen website offers more true facts and details about this topic, please visit or email us anytime.

One last example:
“Then the contractor told me that if I really wanted to be more sustainable and save even more money by being more energy efficient, I also need to put insulation between the rafters of the roof.”

THE FOURTH LIE:
Isn’t it amazing how numbers are never given so you can know approximately how much you will save and how many years it will take for you to get a Return on your investment when installing this extra insulation on the floor and now the rafters? We have a right to know what our payback will be, but these types of contractors will never spend their time to crunch the numbers. Even if they knew how, they won’t, because what they are doing is wrong and will cost you more money.

Putting insulation on the rafters of an attic that is not living space with heat, is an abomination! Especially with another Vapor Barrier! You want to stop the heat rising up from your living space below at the floor of the attic. Not the roof, because you already lost heat and money into the cold attic and stopping the heat at the rafters with a second or third vapor barrier will cause moisture to accumulate in abundance. Thus, sacrificing the integrity of your roof’s wood structure and possibly costing thousands in repairs twenty years down the road.

My next blog called, Two Square Feet, will continue with these sales pitch lies, such as closing off your attic vents to save more energy and having electrical work done by someone who is incompetent or just doesn’t care. Either way, they aren’t paying your energy bills.

Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

CheckList To Savings

2/1/2012

"Communication without truth is only an illusion of accomplishment.To find truth, we all need multiple sources of input." L.J. Williams, 2008

going green, check list, sustainability check list, going green check list, Earth Day check list, saving energy check list

Updated Blog Post - From EnergyHotwire.com to GoingTrueGreen.com
Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

My Oil Company Dropped Me!

11/8/2002

Is that legal? Are they allowed not to sell me oil just because I now only need to buy 1/4 of what the previous owners of the house use to buy?

Wow! I am being punished for being accountable toward our capabilities to save money, energy and Earth!

The previous owners of my 1942 Ranch style house, 4 rooms (2 bedrooms, 1 Kitchen, 1 Living room) and one bathroom, needed over 1,200 gallons of oil per year to heat this small house (600 square feet) and make domestic hot water.

I immediately went to work and took actions to save Big Time. No rocket science, just using the data and equipment we already have to save money, energy and Earth. See the actions I took in images below:

gas, gas hot water heater, thermostat, pipe insulation, saving heat, save money, save energy, going green, sustainable living, cold start control panel, cold start boiler

Gas Hot Water Heater

gas, gas hot water heater, thermostat, pipe insulation, saving heat, save money, save energy, going green, sustainable living, cold start control panel, cold start boiler

First I changed the thermostat to a Multi-Set Back Thermostat. My Oil company told me, "That thing will cost you more money for oil in the long run. Don't use it!"

Second, I put in a separate Hot Water Heater that used Natural Gas.

Third, I wrapped all the Hot Water pipes with insulated foam. See image below, left side.

gas, gas hot water heater, thermostat, pipe insulation, saving heat, save money, save energy, going green, sustainable living, cold start control panel, cold start boiler

The last and Biggest action, which immediately saved 1/3 the oil I was using, was the addition of a Cold Start Control Panel. See box mounted on right side of my heating unit in image to the right. This costed $400.00 and I saved that within the first winter!

gas, gas hot water heater, thermostat, pipe insulation, saving heat, save money, save energy, going green, sustainable living, cold start control panel, cold start boiler

Cold Start Control Panel

So after two years of a few energy saving actions, I only use 290 gallons of home heating oil the most. This was such an apparent astonishment for my old oil company that they responded not by offering me any congratulatory comments, but by demanding I buy 800 gallons minimum per year. I now buy, as I need, and that is about once a year from another oil company.

As of now I have used as little as 250 gallons of oil in comparison to the previous owners of the house who used 1,200 gallons of oil per year.

Updated Blog Post - From EnergyHotwire.com to GoingTrueGreen.com
Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!