Heat retention insulation question

[Wisneaky]

Anybody baking/cooking much? That makes huge difference in the summertime for us.
I know some people who purposely drag their feet this time of the year on lighting a fire so that their wives will start baking...

It's actually much warmer when the oven is going. We have a fan in the window next to the stove so we can blow it out when it's on.

 

[Wisneaky]

Massive CFMs up the baro compared to the intake...

Interesting never heard of doing it that way.

 

[Wisneaky]

Project for tomorrow is to get a fresh air intake put in down there.

 

[brenndatomu]

It's actually much warmer when the oven is going. We have a fan in the window next to the stove so we can blow it out when it's on.

We have a power vent to the outside above the oven that gets run when we bake during "A/C time", usually crack the kitchen window to give the fan some makeup air instead of drawing air down the chimney....stinky

 

[Wisneaky]

We have a power vent to the outside above the oven that gets run when we bake during "A/C time", usually crack the kitchen window to give the fan some makeup air instead of drawing air down the chimney....stinky

We actually don't have a range vent hood. I know we should, but it's on the list for when we do the kitchen remodel.

 

[begreen]

We don't turn the oven on at all during very hot weather. That's time for grilling on the barbie.

 

[jharkin]

All that insulation you added is doing what its designed to do.

Close the shades on south facing windows during the day to reduce solar gain and open some windows. Preferably on both the upper and lower levels to let convection currents draw some heat out. Or use window fans.

 

[Circus]

My house retains heat like crazy now. Like today it is 64 outside and 74 degrees inside. Someone please explain to me why

Your not fooling anyone. Your bragging not complaining. Everything is as it should be. Besides it was warm outside before the cold front came through yesterday afternoon.

 

[Wisneaky]

Your not fooling anyone. Your bragging not complaining. Everything is as it should be. Besides it was warm outside before the cold front came through yesterday afternoon.

Seriously wasn't bragging. I didn't know it would retain the inside heat so much by adding insulation. It is probably a good thing now that I had time to actually think about it. Now I think I can get away with waiting a little longer before I fire up the furnace.

 

[begreen]

Sounds like an attic, whole house ventilation fan might help. We had one in the house I grew up in, no AC. It really helped pull cool night air into the house and kept heat from building up in the attic.

 

[Wisneaky]

Sounds like an attic, whole house ventilation fan might help. We had one in the house I grew up in, no AC. It really helped pull cool night air into the house and kept heat from building up in the attic.

I was wondering how they work. I think next spring I should install one. Anyone use one of those solar powered ones? I live north so I wonder if it would get enough sunlight to operate.

 

[begreen]

A whole house fan is larger than the solar fan. It not only evacuates the attic, but the whole house through a hallway ceiling grille. This gets sealed with an insulated cover in winter.

 

[Circus]

A whole house fan is larger than the solar fan. It not only evacuates the attic, but the whole house through a hallway ceiling grille. This gets sealed with an insulated cover in winter.

They're huge and run slow (quietly). Normally timed to run in the in the wee hours. Windows open.
(broken image removed)

 

[Wisneaky]

Thanks that's a good idea.

 

[Oregon aloha]

The issue could be your ridge vents. When the air outside starts to cool the hot air gets locked in your attic.
As the warms up air is pulled up. As soon as the starts to cool this heavier air traps the hot air in. Leaving your house hot. That's why roof vents are placed below the ridge to trap hot air above the vent to keep the air moving up.
You might try gable power vents to pull that hot air out.

 

[woodgeek]

to the OP: Enjoy your heat retaining house.

If your attic is well insulated AND properly airsealed, the temp in your attic will not significantly affect the temp in your house AND you will have no need for active ventilation up there....passive venting will be fine.

To see if its well airsealed, use redneck thermography....look at it after a few light snows during near freezing weather. If the roof holds snow well, without any blotchy melting, lines where your joists are, better than your neighbors, etc, you win. If not, then you have a well insulated but poorly airsealed attic, and can worry about mold up there, ice-dams, etc.

 

[Circus]

(broken image removed)

Thanks that's a good idea.

Not so useful here in Wisconsin where the weather isn't hot very often. To much heat loss.

 

[Wisneaky]

Not so useful here in Wisconsin where the weather isn't hot very often. I wouldn't install one. To much heat loss.

I like the cold. Over 75 degrees outside is too hot for me. Yes I'm one who uses my grill all winter long.

 

[woodgeek]

The bigger issue with the 'whole house fans' is your local climate. On the east coast, the temp at night often drops to the dewpoint of the air, so the air you are pulling in is 100% relative humidity. You end up cooling your house, but making it uncomfortably humid, with the potential of dust mite and mold blooms that exacerbate allergies, asthma, etc.

In a hot dry climate they might make sense, but around where I am, the number of days per year they are useful can be counted on your fingers...and on those days I just open my screen doors instead.

 

[laynes69]

Wisneaky, did you add insulation after you purchased your new woodfurnace?

 

[begreen]

Not so useful here in Wisconsin where the weather isn't hot very often. To much heat loss.

There shouldn't be if the ceiling vent is well insulated and sealed.

 

[begreen]

The bigger issue with the 'whole house fans' is your local climate. On the east coast, the temp at night often drops to the dewpoint of the air, so the air you are pulling in is 100% relative humidity. You end up cooling your house, but making it uncomfortably humid, with the potential of dust mite and mold blooms that exacerbate allergies, asthma, etc.

In a hot dry climate they might make sense, but around where I am, the number of days per year they are useful can be counted on your fingers...and on those days I just open my screen doors instead.

I grew up in NYS where the whole house fan ran a lot. For us there was no issue with mold, dust mites, and no asthma. Bringing in the night air to cool the house made a very pleasant difference. We never did have AC in spite of my dad owning a mechanical contracting company.

 

[Wisneaky]

Wisneaky, did you add insulation after you purchased your new woodfurnace?

I think the spray foam came after the new furnace.

 

[laynes69]

I think the spray foam came after the new furnace.

Just wondered, if so you will be building small hot fires. Otherwise you might roast with the new insulation. It's amazing what it does for a home. It dropped to the mid 50's last night and now in the upper 50's, damp and windy. It's been 75 in here all day.

 

[maverick06]

The whole house fan is a personal choice. I have one and use it all the time. It cools the house so well, so fast. Sometimes it does get humid in the summer, when it runs overnight. However when the outside temp starts to warm up in the morning, I shut the fan off, and run the AC for about 15 min to suck the humidity out, and then its great for the day. My house had a similar issue. For much of the summer, even when it dropped into the 60's at night, my house would still sit at my AC setpoint (about 78f), never cooling off. Now with the fan I can get rid of that heat. I figured out the power on my system too. an hour of AC use is about 14 hours of whole house fan use. (The whole house fan, on high, uses half the power of just the HVAC blower).

If you like having the windows open, you would love the fan. If you don't like having the windows open, don't bother.