The Washington times., 1935-01-26
D DOR, WINDOW
CRACKS CAUSE
BIC WASTE
ConduCtion Also Is important
Factor in Lowering of
Furnace Efficiency

How to prevent loss of heat is
one of the major problems Of
every home owner or prospective
home owner in climates where
heating systems are necessary in
winter weather.
Efficient solution of this prob
lem results in fuel savings which
sometimes are estimated at SO per
cent or higher, and also in added
comfort and health protection to
those living in the home.
While home owners know in q
general way that prevention Of
heat loss lowers household ex.
penses and increases living com.
fort, few realize how many ways
there are for a house to lose heat
unnecessarily.
Stop Air Leaks
Causes of loss of heat from the
house are classed under two gen.
eral headings: air leakage and
conduction.
Leakage commonly occurs in the
joints between the window sash
and the window frame, and be.
tween the frame and the house
wall. 1t also occurs in cracks due
to flaws in the structure, and in
chimney flueS not equipped with
throat dampers.
Joints between window sash and
frame may be closed with wealth
erStripping which, when installed
by experts, cuts fuel costs appre.
ciably.
Joints between window frames
and walls may be closed by sheet
metal at the top and by building
paper and caulking along the sides
and across the bottom. Even with
these precautions, shrinkage often
causes a crack to form between
wall and frame, which should be
plugged with oakum and a caulk-
ing compound.
Caulk Leaks
Caulking of window frames re.
suits in fuel economy and also
prevents water leakage, which rotS
the wood and stains the wall.
An open joint between the top
of the wall and the underside of
the roof is frequently found in
poorly constructed houses; 1t
should be closed by caulking.
Leaks also occur between the
top of the foundation and the
sill, caused by mortar falling
away from the sill. These crev-
ices, should be packed with new
mortar.
Finally, air leakage may take
place in chimneys, either from
the lack of a throat damper in
the flue of the fireplace or from
failure to keep it closed when
the fireplace is not in use.
The loss of heat up the Chin
ney is out of all proportion to its
area, due to the strong draft that
exists. All fireplaces should be
equipped with throat dampers,
and they should be kept closed
when the fireplace is not in use.
The second general cause of
heat loss in a house is conduction
through walls, floors, windows
and roof. 1t occurs when warm
air comes in contact with colder
conducting surface. To combat
conduction some form of insula-
ton is used. An architect or re-
liable contractor can determine
the best insulation.
Heat Lost at Windows
Frequently, more heat is lost
through conduction in the win
dow glass of house than
through the wall. To equip a
house with either weather.
stripped storm windows or double
glazed sashes on all exposures
may result in substantial fuel
economies.
Only a very poorly constructed
house is likely to suffer from all
the foregoing weaknesses and no
house has 100 per cent insulation.
But many houses will have suf.
ficient number of defects to raise
fuel bills much higher than nee
eSSary.
The consequent economies and
increased comfort will over-bal-
ance the expense and trouble of
taking all measures necessary to
produce a house easy to heat,
and to keep heated at q con-
Stant temDeratllre