Super Insulation
Last winter, while the outside temperature registered 20 below, Earl Brooks, a professor of engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, turned off the furnace in his home, shaded his windows to block the sun, and went about a normal routine with his wife and daughter. The only heat in the house came from the kitchen stove, clothes dryer, light fixtures, and the body warmth of the Brooks family themselves.
Brook's experiment lasted three days. At the end of that time, the temperature in the house had leveled off at 58 degrees - not comfortable, perhaps, but certainly bearable. “It became clear,” Brooks says, “that we could actually live through the winter without heat - even from the sun.”
Toasty warm energy saver, the 1,624 square foot home of Earl and Muriel Brooks costs only $7 a month to heat, even when Saskatchewan temperatures drop to 30 below. Double-wall construction and foot-think insulation help keep the house airtight. “It's just like living in an ordinary home,” Earl says, “but we stay cozier in the winter and cooler in the summer.” (Reprinted with permission from Home Magazine - December 1981 issue)
SuperInsulation is a type of construction which features high R values, passive solar gain, attention to infiltration control.
Key Benefits:
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Saves 50 to 70% on Energy.
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Lowers overhead expenses which frees up resources for outreach.
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Can result in reduced mechanical equipment needs.