"Often, fixing the venting can do a world of good, at very low cost. Next step, a chimney liner will get a marginal unit to deliver a good solid draft and reliable venting. It's amazing how much better the draft is when the air volume of the…"
-
Don Hynek
- Male
- Madison, WI
- United States
- Featured Blogs
- Discussions (60)
- Events
- Groups (4)
- Photos
- Photo Albums
- Videos
Don Hynek's Groups
-
Weatherization
136 members
-
Building Simulations
63 members
-
Best Practices (Resident…
253 members
-
Multifamily Buildings
116 members
Don Hynek's Discussions
Anybody know what this is??
3 Replies
During an…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Bradford E. White Dec 7, 2012.
How much should I demo -- deep retrofit
8 Replies
the more I look at the potential of remodeling our 100-year-old house, the more I think about super-insulating the walls. I'm looking for experts and advice. (I know I can find lots of advice here,…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Robert Riversong Sep 27, 2012.
Foam over Batts -- Dry Climate??
7 Replies
So, I'm out of my weight on this one, and could use some advice... Good friend of mine with a lot of construction experience is now in Reno, NV, and is remodeling a house there. His new CPDS for…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Patrick Michaelyan Jun 21, 2012.
Don Hynek's Page
Latest Activity
"Jim, that's a good idea!! Don't even bother measuring -- with a 12 inch duct, it's a pretty safe guess that the intake flow is too high! The only question is by how much.
I am not usually a "why measure?" sort of…"
"The simplest way is probably with a pitot tube. I know that's not exactly a "common" home performance tool. But they are cheap ($50 -$60 from Dwyer) and supported by TEC digital gauges."
"A couple of replies (Robert and Sean) are on it -- fill the cavities with cellulose, add enough foam above the deck, then re-roof without venting. But, you wanted some theory to back this up...
Note that cellulose in unvented ceilings is…"
Bradford E. White replied to Don Hynek's discussion Anybody know what this is??"Looks to me like the top of a steam relief vent used to terminate the top of the vent pipe from a boiler feed unit receiver or pressure relief valve. The top was designed with a drain you can see on the side, this kept it clear of ice. The bulb top…"
Andrew F. replied to Don Hynek's discussion Anybody know what this is??"Looks like the base of an old water tank, I've found some old water tanks in attics of pre-1900 buildings that were used to maintain good watre pressure before municipal water systems were available. Any other guesses out there ?"
Stan Kuhn replied to Don Hynek's discussion Anybody know what this is??"It appears to be an early "flush" toilet. I've seen two very similar devices in turn-of-the-century homes, one in a basement alcove and one in a "shed" attached to the rear of the house. They both had water…"
"I always heard that as "Indian build small fire, sits close, stays warm. White man builds big fire, sits way back, stays warm cutting wood.""
Anybody know what this is??
During an audit of an apartment building in N. Wisconsin that started life as a high school built in 1908, I found this very strange cast iron - steel device up in the floored attic. Anybody have any idea what it is??The whole thing is about 2 feet tall and weighs 75 pounds or more. The bottom two-thirds…See More
Linda Wigington replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"Don -
Check out the links and discussion under thw post below that addresses distribution with a point heat source. In particular, SWA did Building America research on comfort and distribution of ventilation air in homes heated with a gas space…"
Bill Smith replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"Don, I was curious if you had come up with a solution yet. I like to see how other people solve thorny issues, it can broaden the mind:-)"
Isaac Savage replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"I'd install a fan that pushed air into the bedroom from the living room. Could optionally wire it to the new heater, so it would always run when the heater was on. Grainger sells some very small blowers. Could construct your own little AHU and…"
Bill Smith replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"Wow, with R-6 walls comfort will be a challenge no matter what.
Without knowing construction details and what you can cut into ducting possibilities may or may not exist. You'd need to get the air intake as close to the heat source as possible…"
Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments
OK, folks -- time for some creative thinking about a 16-unit building we are trying to weatherize in SE Wisconsin.It's two stories arond a central courtyard, with most units accessed by a door direct to outside. (That is, most units have either two or three walls exposed to ambient, with a wall that's about R-6. We won't be able to touch the walls, but the attics/secondfloor ceiling will go to R-50 or R-60 before we are done. )The 16 one-BR apartments have two small (14kBtu) natural gass wall…See More
Robert Riversong replied to Don Hynek's discussion How much should I demo -- deep retrofit"I love Building Science Inc., Dr. Joe Lstiburek's irreverent humor and wisdom, and John Straube's broad knowledge, but they have a heavy bias toward exterior foam as the solution to almost everything, and show prejudice against other more…"
Marie McMahon Meehan replied to Don Hynek's discussion How much should I demo -- deep retrofit"National Grid's Deep Energy Retrofit has performed over 40 whole house superinsulation retrofit projects in Massachusetts and Rhode Island with exterior insulation on the walls and roof (typically interior insulation in the basement). You…"
Profile Information
- Company
- State of Wisconsin
- Professional Certification
- MS 2009
- Professional Interests
- Multifamily energy efficiency, Blower door testing of large buildings, residential efficiency retrofits, statistical analysis, evaluation
Comment Wall
- No comments yet!
Home Energy Pros
Home Energy Pros was founded by the developers of Home Energy Saver Pro (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and brought to you in partnership with Home Energy magazine.
Latest Activity
Cory Chovanec replied to Bachi Brunato's discussion Boxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans"All good points brought up. My advice is not to leave the lights. When you said halogen I think…"
Jon Haehnel replied to Jose Macho's discussion Why Are Energy-Saving Home Inprovements Down??"The first 2 answers by Tom and Sean jive with my thinking and experience. Thank you Don for…"
Tom Smith replied to Patrick Michaelyan's discussion Hot Upper Stories"The most bang for your buck will come from airsealing the attic plane and sealing the…"
John Rising replied to Bachi Brunato's discussion Boxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans"Hi Bachi,
We have done many projects where we have installed boxes around recessed lights to…"
Isaac Savage's event was featured
Duct Testing Training & Certification ONLINE - 2009/2012 IECC Code Compliance at Online
February 11, 2013 to February 11, 2014
Craig Savage's video was featuredWhat is a Heat Pump Water Heater
A simple animation describing how a heat pump water heater works
Nick Helmholdt replied to Joshua Knittel's discussion Google Thermal View? in the group INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY USERS"Any bets on how long it will take this company to land in court?
A local energy efficiency group in…"
Matthew Redmond posted a status"Full house for NYSWDA's ASHRAE 62.2 course today. A lot of discussion on implementing this standard on NY State's diverse housing stock."
Paul Scheckel posted a blog postLess oil, more courage: Energy and Art
Hard to admit, but I'm not all fun-facts all the time. Sometimes I even pay attention to things…See More
© 2013 Created by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
