Anybody else do this?

[Shipper50]

Nah, you're not nuts . . . I brought home a thermal imaging camera from work the other day and scanned the house from the outside looking for hot spots to indicate heat loss. Incidentally, just to be clear this is an older unit that is no longer used by the engine crews -- it's been assigned to me for demonstration purposes.

I wished you lived closer, I would love to have you shoot my log home so I could tell where all the drafts are. I know this house was not built with energy efficiency in mind.

Shipper

 

[DAKSY]

I'd ask her if sh'e rather stand naked near cold spots so you can count the goose bumps to determine where any cold infiltrations are coming from.

Probably hafta stop counting at 2!

 

[pdboilermaker]

I have done it at home and at work. At home to prevent heat/cooling loss and at work as a form of predictive maintence on electric motors, breakers, etc.

 

[Jags]

Oh yeah, I have done this as well. And when looking for cold spots it always seems to be coldest when I point it at the GF.

 

[BJ64]

I like the goose bump idea best of all.

 

[John_M]

If I had the money I would love to have some kind of accurate thermal sensing device(s). Don't wish to take sides in your case but I believe you are doing the right thing. You are paying attention to the details and trying to improve upon an already successful situation. That is how we make advances in medicine, science and the arts.

This spring I'll be hiring someone to cut a hole in the roof of my house to install a chimney for my new wood stove. I hope this person is as detail-conscious as you are.

One vote for the challengee, 3/4 vote to the challenger for enjoying your idiosyncriases. Enjoy yourselves.

 

[NEDLAX]

I have done this I have a flir infra red camera. Im a energy home inspector, I also do spary foam insulation. The camera shows everything and the best part if you hire the right person is they can take pictures of the issues. Then you can address the problems and have it checked again. They are also very usefull in detecting moisture too. For just a infra red scan i wouldnt pay over 300 if other tests are done(blower door or ductblaster) maybe more. After I install my stove I am going to try and see how the heat flows thru the house w/ it to see where I should add registers. Has anyone had a home w/ a wood stove and then sealed it up causing draft problems?

 

[LLigetfa]

Has anyone had a home w/ a wood stove and then sealed it up causing draft problems?

Lots of people run into that issue. They seal up every cold draft they can feel but miss all the places that warm air is leaking out cuz they're not as noticable.

 

[NEDLAX]

I was talking about the draft of their chimmney, smoke leaking into room more than before. Since you are sealing the drafts it will affect the pressure plane of the stack pressure in the house. Probally reducing the rate of flow in the chimmney, Fresh air intake would probally address it but I was just wondering if people have had this problem. I have been makeing improvements to my house and was wondering if i went over board would i have problems. Ive sprayed 4 inches of foam on my rim joist R-26 1 inch foil faced foam board on the basement walls then a framed wall in front of it with r-15 blown in fiber glass. So i have an R-24 in basement walls( stove will be put in basement) R-15 in main floor walls and R-49 in attic. I have tested my house w/ a blower door( this tests air infiltration) when I started I had 4,000 cfm @ 50 pascales now I only have 875 cfm @50 pascales. I have installed a exhaust fan in bathroom on a timer for the air to exchange. Stove is on back order just wondering if I will have draft problems with the chimmney w/ a tight house. Sorry for getting off topic

 

[LLigetfa]

I was talking about the draft of their chimmney, smoke leaking into room more than before.

I understood you fine. You use the term "infiltrate" which implies air coming "in". Where stack effect would normally cause air to leak "out", a blower door test will reverse the airflow to "in" making it easier to find. Most people don't have a blower door and so miss the air leaking out.

A tight house needs to have general make-up air. An OAK will only satisfy the specific combustion and draft need of the stove to which it is attached but if there is a pressure deficit, you can still have smoke leak into the house either through cracks and joints, or when the door is opened.

 

[Gooserider]

I've actually heard of cases where sealing up a home can IMPROVE the stove draft - if you have a lot of leakage out the ceiling and upper floor windows you can have that heat loss acting as a "draft" that competes with the chimney for the incoming air... Sealing those leaks gives better draft on the chimney by removing some of the alternative exits...

Gooserider