Abstract: In a house structure in which insulated material is placed between and over attic floor joists, an insulation vent provides an air channel to allow free flow of ventilating air along the underside of roof sheathing between the exterior soffit and the interior of the attic above the insulating material. The vent is molded of one piece of expanded polystyrene. The vent has a base with longitudinal ribs, a pair of walls extending upward at an angle, and a pair of flanges extending outward from the edge of the wall, for attachment to the roof joists. The cross section of the vent is generally U-shaped. The vent is installed by flexing the walls inward, inserting the vent between a pair of roof joists and against the roof sheathing, and releasing the walls. The walls expand, pushing the flanges against a pair of roof joists. Friction holds the vent in place. The center of the U forms a channel for the passage of air.

Abstract: A solar collector device adapted to be mounted upon the roof of a building in which a solar collector panel, including a chamber defined by a heat-conducting bottom wall, a coil for conveying heat-transfer fluid through the collecting chamber and in heat-conductive relationship with the bottom wall and a translucent upper cover, is mounted in spaced relationship above the roof to provide an air space between the collector panel and the roof through which hot air is transferred in heat-conducting relationship with the bottom wall. This collector device is particularly adapted for mounting above a roof having an attic-type space. A vent opening is formed through the roof communicating the attic-type space with the air space beneath the collector panel, whereby hot air from the attic-type space is conveyed in heat-transfer relationship with the bottom wall of the solar panel, so that the heat transfer medium in the coil receives heat, not only from the sun's rays, but also from the over-heated air within the attic space. The solar collector device is preferably shaped to straddle the ridge of a double-sloping roof.

Abstract: It has been demonstrated that airborne thermal infrared imagery or aerial thermograms collected by an infrared line scanner are useful in locating damaged or poorly insulated flat roofs. The current investigation is concerned with the establishment of a relationship between roof temperatures and attic insulation levels using model calculations. Detection of heat loss by means of aerial thermography is based upon the supposition that, provided the ambient air temperature is lower than the interior temperature of the house, the roof surface of a poorly insulated house will be warmer than that of a well insulated house, other conditions being equal. The investigation shows that apparent roof temperature of residential houses with a sloping roof and ventilated attic space is not a reliable or accurate indicator of attic insulation levels. Attic ventilation and roof pitch play major roles in the determination of roof apparent temperature. It appears that aerial thermograms provide a good means of assessing attic ventilation efficiency if the interpreter has independent knowledge of attic insulation levels.

Abstract: An insulation depth gauge for measurement of insulation depths within an attic at remote locations has a handle for extending linear measuring means to remote locations and indicia to indicate the depth of insulation at that location.

Abstract: Typical residential heating and cooling loads are examined for twenty-four southern cities and six cities in other regions of the US for comparison. A 1536 square foot house is examined, with concrete slab floor, frame construction, ventilated attic, and glazing area equivalent to 12% of the floor area. Five basic variations of this house were analyzed - two insulation levels with two compass orientations each, and a sun-tempered case. The estimated heating and cooling loads and the impact of insulation, house orientation, and sun-tempering are illustrated in the form of regional maps. It is shown that the free energy savings resulting from proper house orientation and sun-tempering are comparable to the savings from increased insulation in the South. Typical fuel costs and efficiencies are also examined and shown to have a major role in determining the building design emphasis (heating or cooling).

Abstract: In a roof for a house heated by solar energy, an air collection room (6) is provided for heating air by heat absorption from the solar energy radiated onto the roof. In order that the external appearance of the house is not impaired by collectors and none of the heat produced in the house is lost, the air collection room (6), which is arranged under the roof ridge (2) and covered with moulded plates (3) which let light radiation through towards the inside, contains a solar collector made of special tubular collectors (11) with a closed fluid circuit system and is connected to the inside of the house via air supply channels and outgoing air channels (9, 16). The tubular collectors (11) consist in each case of a transparent tube and, mounted coaxially therein and flowed through by the fluid, a blackened tube. Air channels can be divided in half in the longitudinal direction by a film and flowed through in the halves (211, 212) by air of differing temperature, so that they can serve as fresh air heat exchangers.

Abstract: Hour-by-hour cooling performances of a typical ranch house, with and without the use of a whole-house fan, were compared for the climate conditions throughout the contiguous United States. The comparative analyses were made by the use of NBSWHF, a modified version of NBSLD, to simulate the complex thermal coupling of whole-house-fan ventilated attic space. The calculations were performed for two operational modes: a cyclic fan mode and a stepwise continuous mode.

Abstract: In a roof for a house heated by solar energy, an air collection room (6) is provided for heating air by heat absorption from the solar energy radiated onto the roof. In order that the external appearance of the house is not impaired by collectors and none of the heat produced in the house is lost, the air collection room (6), which is arranged under the roof ridge (2) and covered with moulded plates (3) which let light radiation through towards the inside, contains a solar collector made of special tubular collectors (11) with a closed fluid circuit system and is connected to the inside of the house via air supply channels and outgoing air channels (9, 16). The tubular collectors (11) consist in each case of a transparent tube and, mounted coaxially therein and flowed through by the fluid, a blackened tube. Air channels can be divided in half in the longitudinal direction by a film and flowed through in the halves (211, 212) by air of differing temperature, so that they can serve as fresh air heat exchangers.

Abstract: The evaluation of the thermal integrity of building envelopes by infrared scanning tech-niques is often hampered in mild weather because temperature differentials across the envelope are small. Combining the infrared scanning with positive or negative building pressures, induced by a "blower door" or the building ventilation system, considerably extends the periods during which meaningful diagnostics can be conducted. Although missing or poorly installed insulation may lead to a substantial energy penalty, it is the search for air leakage sites that often has the largest potential for energy savings. Infrared inspection of the attic floor with air forced from the occupied space through ceiling by-passes, and inspecting the interior of the building when outside air is being sucked through the envelope reveals unexpected leakage sites. Portability of the diagnostic equipment is essential in these surveys which may include access into some tight spaces. A catalog of bypass heat losses that have been detected in residential housing using the combined infrared pressure differential technique is included to point out the wide variety of leakage sites which may compromise the benefits of thermal insulation and allow excessive air infiltration. Detection and suppression of such leaks should be key items in any building energy audit program. Where a calibrated blower door is used to pressurize or evacuate the house, the leakage rate can be quantified and an excessively tight house recognized. Houses that are too tight may be improved with a minimal energy penalty by forced ventilation,preferably with a heat recuperator and/or by providing combustion air directly to the furnace.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Abstract: PURPOSE:To prevent condensation and to reduce the heating load in winter and the cooling load in summer by making the air in an attic circulate through a living room and discharging the air outdoors. CONSTITUTION:An inlet port 2 opened in the upper part of an attic 1 and an exhaust port 4 opened in an eaves ceiling 3 are connected with an exhaust pipe 7, which is provided with a fan 5 and a shutter 6, between which a pipe 21 is provided diverging from the exhaust pipe 7 and communicated with a supply opening 19 opened in the lower part of a wall 18 of a living room 13, and an electrically-operated shutter 20 is provided near the diverging point of the pipe 20. An air-charging pipe 12 connecting an exhaust port 8 opened in the lower part of the attic 1 to an inlet port 9 opened in the eaves ceiling 3 is provided with a fan 10 and an electrically-operated shutter 11, between which a pipe 17 is provided diverging from the air- charging pipe 12 and communicated with an inlet port 15 opened in a ceiling 14 of the living room 13, and an electrically-operated shutter 16 is provided near the diverging point of the pipe 17.

Abstract: The system related to 2929070 includes circulating air around the floor and walls of selected rooms (e.g. 3). Air is drawn from outside through the sloping roof by collector ducts (20,21) inside the attic (2). This is conveyed downwards through a pipe (16) to a heat exchanger unit (15) in a cellar (4) and heated, or cooled. The air is then blown through distributor pipes (16) by a fan on the heat exchanger unit to a hollow cavity (10) in the walls around the room for discharge back again to the attic. Alternately, air may be drawn in through the windows. This flows through the hollow ceiling of the room before passing to the heat exchanger. It then passes through a hollow floor as well as the hollow walls and back to the windows.

Abstract: Quantitative estimates of attic insulation effectiveness are typically based on a system component analysis approach (that is, summation of tabulated thermal resistances or conductances for the individual components making up the system). This approach neglects degradation of insulation effectiveness by air infiltration, convection currents, densification, moisture content, or any other degradation factors normally present in the attic insulation environment. Consequently, valid questions may be raised regarding the true effectiveness of attic insulation; these can be resolved only through analysis of field data. The authors determined the effectiveness of attic insulation using actual energy consumption and weather data for 34 single-family residences in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area. For each residence, linear regression was used to determine the actual winter energy consumption rates for two years before and three years after the installation of attic insulation. Comparison of the preinsulation and postinstallation energy consumption rates confirmed the effectiveness of attic insulation. In addition, sufficient agreement between predicted and actual postinsulation consumption rates indicated that the insulation degradation factors had no gross effect and that estimates of heat loss through the ceiling based on the simple conductive heat loss model are adequate.