Thermal Pics - Heat loss

The wind chill discussion in Hotblasts thread got me thinking about the extra coal I use during windy times. I think it is due to the wind accelerating the heat transfer from the window areas of the house. Even though the windows are a quality grade Andersen 400 series and are not the least bit drafty, they were put in 25 years ago. The gas between the panes is degraded in a few and overall are a relatively low R3 at best compared to the wall and ceiling insulation.

With the drop in temps I thought I might as well play a little and I took a couple pics with the Flir toy that attaches to my phone.

Back of house, 8' slider, passive side has degraded gas between double pane compared to active side and other double pane windows. There are two other double panes with the similar issue, pics are below. Front of house, windows not too bad, basement wall below insulated sill board cavities shows worse heat loss. Other front windows. Note hot spot in right window of 3 window set. There is a condensation spot on the inside of that window, regular pic follows... Porch window pic from the inside....a condensation spot there also, regular pic follows...

Insulate that sill plate / rim joist!

The sill plate / rim joist is insulated pretty well. The bottom course of siding shows only a very slightly different heat signature than the area above it.

The glaring heat loss you can see there is the block wall itself that is above grade. Below grade on that part of the house is a 1" layer of foam board insulation on the outside, but above grade there is nothing inside or outside. I will have to do an experiment and put some foam board on the inside from the ceiling down 4' in one section and take another pic tonight to see the difference.

I am looking forward to the results. I think you will see where that foam is. Make sure it is a good size piece.

I think i can get about a 4' x 4' size on there. The access problem is the floor to ceiling shelves, the well pipe and bladder tank and refrigerator and freezer and dryer and breaker panel that live along that wall leaving no open space to experiment. I think I can slide in a couple 2' x 4' pieces of 2" foam, stack and trap them behind the shelving.

I am also interested in seeing the difference.

Another pic I want to get tonight is a rooftop shot of the kitchen skylights. I think I did that a few years ago and was surprised the heat loss wasn't worse than it showed but I can't remember and can't find where I saved the pics if I did.

Curtains, plastic film, even miniblinds will add quite a bit if insulating value to evey window you cover.

Back in the Jimmy Carter oil saving days, there was info out that just adding curtains to every window and closing them at night can save as much as 15% on heating bills in the average house.

A few years ago, I didn't think those thin window shrink-wrap plastic kits would make much difference, so I did an experiment.

Using my IR gun I measured the uncovered window glass temps. The IR gun doesn't "see" glass, so I put a piece of masking tape on the glass, waited a couple of minutes and took a reading. Then I covered the window, sealing the edges with the double stick tape in the kit.

After about ten minutes I took another reading of the masking tape on the glass. The temp was much lower showing that the plastic was keeping a lot of heat away from the glass. Now I do all the windows and it has made a noticeable difference in how low the temps can get and still have the coal stoves carry the heat load for the whole house and how much lower before the furnace kicks on to help.

Paul

I would put the insulation board on the outside.

hotblast1357 wrote: ↑

Mon. Jan. 21, 2019 6:15 pm

I would put the insulation board on the outside.

I am sure the blue foam board look will not be approved by the decorating committee. Would the foam board last being above grade?

I was able to get about a 4' wide by 3' down from ceiling joists area inside covered with a piece of 2" foam around noon today. Here is a pic of the front tonight. There is a slight temp dip between the two windows where the foam is located. I think for it to be effective a bigger area needs to be covered with the foam board. Maybe the wall (block filled with concrete) is still heat soaked and after a day or two there will be more difference.
The pic makes it look like a nuclear reaction on that wall, but it is about 17* warmer than the insulated frame wall above it.

I then got on the roof and here is a pic of the skylights from outside and then inside. The home made interior storm window at the base of the window well keeps about a 10* temp difference between the drywall ceiling and the window.
Found a cold spot on the cathedral ceiling in the kitchen....Only thing I can do about that is drill a hole and get a can of foam up there.
The dog was busy warming the back of the couch and not impressed with the technology.

I was wondering how much heat would bleed in from the uninsulated blocks around your test area.

Sunny Boy wrote: ↑

Mon. Jan. 21, 2019 10:03 am

Curtains, plastic film, even miniblinds will add quite a bit if insulating value to evey window you cover.

Back in the Jimmy Carter oil saving days, there was info out that just adding curtains to every window and closing them at night can save as much as 15% on heating bills in the average house.

A few years ago, I didn't think those thin window shrink-wrap plastic kits would make much difference, so I did an experiment.

Using my IR gun I measured the uncovered window glass temps. The IR gun doesn't "see" glass, so I put a piece of masking tape on the glass, waited a couple of minutes and took a reading. Then I covered the window, sealing the edges with the double stick tape in the kit.

After about ten minutes I took another reading of the masking tape on the glass. The temp was much lower showing that the plastic was keeping a lot of heat away from the glass. Now I do all the windows and it has made a noticeable difference in how low the temps can get and still have the coal stoves carry the heat load for the whole house and how much lower before the furnace kicks on to help.

Paul

I've suggested drapes on the windows for many years but that's a bill that doesn't even get out of committee for a vote. On the basement windows I did put in place a "Chazy Drape". Which as we all know is your favorite thickness foam board cut to fit and wedged into the window opening. Shiny side to the inside so heat and light are reflected back to the living space.

like the pet pic!!

What flir camera for your phone do you have?

BigBarney