Evening star., 1941-07-19
Home Insulation Held
Vital in Saving Fuel
For Defense
Window Conditioning
Also Declared Helpful
In Curling Heat Loss

Widespread home insulation
would help national defense by con-
serving fuel resources, since total
insulation of almost any type Of
house makes possible annual fuel
savings of so per cent or better in
moderate -to-cold climate zones.
the Architectural Forum magazine
reveals in its July issue.
Reporting the findings of Alfred
j. Offner, council member of the
Society of Heating and Ventllatlng
Engineers, who conducted extensive
case studies of five house types in
the cold, intermediate and moderate
climate zones roughly covering the
northern half of the United States,
the magazine states that fuel saw
ings of Is to % per cent resulted
from attic insulation, and savings
of close to "a per cent each from
sidewall insulation and window con-
ditioning.
SIT to S22 a Year Saved.
"Translated into hard cash, saw
ings from attic insulation with 35s
inches of mineral wool. amount to
about SIT and S22 per year, respec-
tively-far more than enough to
cover the amortization of the attic
insulation investment over a 25-year
period" the Architectural Forum
points out. Thus, at an installed
cost of cents per square foot, in
sulation of an attic area OF ITO
square feet would cost about S46,
would raise the 10 per cent cash
down payment on the house by less
than S., the 25-year mortgage pay
ments by only "a cents per month or
about 1925 per year.
The purpose of this phase of in
sulation is to arrest winter heat loss,
40 per cent of which filters through
the attic floor and roof of an unlnsu-
lated house, and TO act as barrier
against the admission of summer
heat, tvo-thirds of which would
otherwise come in through the roof.
But attic insulation accounts for
q small part Of the economy of
total protection. Its importance is
dwarfed by sidewall insulation, ex-
cept in a flat-roofed house whose
gross wall area is 80 per cent glass
or house whose attic area is COM
paratively large. Since sldeWall in
sulation helps maintain inside wall
surfaces at comparatively high tenn
peratures and thus cuts down the
radiation of heat from the human
body to the walls, comfort is
zI,i fnp, ROT trIr
than in an uninsulated house.
Window Conditioning.
'For the same reasons. window
conditioning is even more impor-
tant, the Forum explains. Thus,
heat is lost through single thick
ness of glass 5 to Is times faster
than through adjacent walls. In
the five representative house types
examined by Offner, the annual fuel
saving accomplished by window con-
ditioning varies from S23 to S42. in
accordance with the various heating
requirements, but runs close to "a
per cent per year for each house. |
This fuel saving may be reaped |
after a cash investment of roughly |
$50 for house having SldeWall |
area of 1884 square feet. And, |
where this cost may be covered by
25-year mortgage, the down pay |
ment would be boosted by only Sc, |
the monthly payments by only 81 |
cents. Net saving, about s22 per
year.
Comprised Of the three phases
discussed above, total insulation
means a gross annual saving of
about 54 to SO per cent for all house
types in the Offner study" the
Forum states. BY studying and
publicizing such dollar and cents |
benefits of complete home insula-
ton, the building industry may
make generous contribution to the
quality of today's houses. to the |
pocketbooks of home owners, and,
left-handedly, to the oil shortage |
problem of national defenders"