Attic voids

Attic voids are tricky.  They hide beneath your Attic insulation, out of sight & out of mind.  They could be anywhere: above a shower, above a closet, surrounding a cinder-block chimney or simply a large hole that was cut for electrical wiring or plumbing vent stacks.  Wherever they are in your attic and no matter the size they pose a problem.  They are penetrations in your ceiling vapor barrier.  Attic voids compromise your Home’s ability to keep heat and moisture out of your Attic space.  They allow heat to rise up from your conditioned living spaces into your Attic.  They also allow cold air from your Attic to travel down within your interior walls.  Ever had a cold wall inside your House and wondered why?  It could be that winter air in the Attic is descending down into your living spaces.  Older homes are rife with voids.  They didn’t manage air flow to the same extent that we do today.  If you have an older home invite IDEAL to inspect your Attic.  If it has been longer than 10 years since anyone has added any insulation there is most likely some positive impact that IDEAL can provide.  We’ll also provide a full site inspection of your Attic where we seek out potential issues such as attic voids.

chimney void in attic

chimney void in attic

My Heat

A new energy efficiency research company launched this year that is providing homeowners and contractors with new data on residential heat loss.  My Heat uses technology born at the University of Calgary to provide a Heat Score for houses that have been scanned with a Thermal camera from the air.  These scores can be used to identify hot or cold areas in a home, largely focused upon the attic/roof.  As a homeowner you can now see a thermal scan of your home where you can identify warm or cold areas.  There is much to be learned of their sources, heat loss can be due to construction factors such as insufficient insulation, voids allowing for cold or hot air to pass or appliance issues such as furnaces.  Lifestyle factors such as number of inhabitants, cooking/laundry/washing habits or heating factors such as furnace and fireplace will also impact a My Heat score.

With this information homeowners and contractors have a comparative score that can be used to identify heat loss quantitatively.  This information is very new and subsequent scans and casual relationships must be reviewed in order to properly understand it’s relevance to homeowner lifestyle and home construction techniques.  On the surface it is an exciting opportunity to measure overall heat loss on a scale that was previously unavailable.  Here at IDEAL we are very interested to see how our work with insulation applications and products will impact the My Heat scores of our customers.  My Heat is currently offering data on the town of Okotoks, AB with plans to scan more cities in the near future.  You can learn more at www.myheat.ca  Stay tuned!

Map of Okotoks where My Heat has currently scanned

Map of Okotoks where My Heat has currently scanned