Evening star., 1940-01-13
Insulation Method
SIashes Fuel Bill
By 44.75Per Cent
Two Identical Houses
Used in Tests by
Producers Council

Home owners may cut their fuel
bill by as much as 4475 per cent
and reduce the time necessary to
heat rooms on winter mornings by
a method of insulation described in
a research bulletin on building ma
terials and equipment published by
the Producers Council and edited
by the structural service department
of the American Institute of Archi-
tectS.
Savings in heating costs may, with
care, be increased to SO per cent, the
bulletin says. The insulation also
adds to the INABILITY of homes by
maintaining a more constant tenn
perature throughout the house and
decreasing drafts across the floor
and down the walls Tests were con-
Quoted in two equally exposed houses
which were occupied. Wall-thick
mineral wool was applied to the
ceiling and outside walls of one and
three quarter inch insulating
board of the same material was
placed under the floors.
Both houses contained four rooms
and bath and were conventionally
constructed of wood stud walls,
pitched roof and double-hung wood
windows, except in the bath and
kitchen. They rested on foundations
consisting of brick piers covered
with horizontal boarding to grade.
The homes, located in the HiWassee
Dam community of the Tennessee
Valley Authority, which carried out
the study, were selected from list
whose occupants had offered CO.
operation because they had identical
orientation and uniformly severe
exposure.
Flexible Heat Source.
For testing purposes the circu-
lating stoves that normally heated
the houses we're replaced by one
2-klloWatt heater in each room, "
the report continues. Current for
these was recorded at 15-minute
intervals on a seven-day chart, This
arrangement provided flexible
heat source and an extremely accu-
rate measure of its use. One of the
two houses was used with its con-
struction intact, while the other
had the insulation installed in floor,
walls and ceiling.
ITO obtain identical occupancy
behavior in the two houses the fam
lilies occupying them were given
strict schedules for opening and
shutting doors and windows. For
example, upon arising in the morn
ing they were told to do three
things: First, to close the bedroom
windows. Two. to turn the switch
on the bedroom heaters to high
and third, to open their bedroom
doors.
Heat Load Measured.
During the day they were told
to leave the windows shut, to keep
heat switches turned to high and
to avoid unnecessary opening of
outside doors. At night they re-
Versed the mornings instructions.
An elaborate system was set up for
measuring the heating load, check
ing and recording room tempera-
lures and vertical temperatures
qualification, outside temperature
and relative humidity and average
wind velocities to which the walls
of the houses were exposed.
The average temperature Of the
outside air during the 15-day test
ing period was 35.2 degrees. with
high of 575 and a low of 10 de-
grees. The average wind velocity
was q miles per hour. The heat
loss during the period was 5,754. .275
British thermal units for the un-
Insulated house and 3,176,760 B. T. U.
for the insulated one. Since the
temperatures in the uninsulated
house were slightly lower than those
in the insulated house, it seems pos
sible that, with rigid control of
temperatures in the two houses, the
reduction in heat loss might have
approXimated so per cent"