WHITFIELD WARNS OF THE
VENTILATION CRISIS (Jan. 2003)
Greeting Fellow East Texans!
My name is David Whitfield,
owner of Whitfield Products For 32 years I have been involved in the
building industry, both as a builder and ventilation specialist. We are in
a ventilation crisis. The battleground ---your home!
Poor design, inadequate wiring,
leaking air conditioning ducts, inadequate gas lines, no soffit ventilation,
etc. have eroded our energy reserves and continue to do so. Did you know
that 25% of our wasted home energy is equal to the same amount of oil we
import from Saudi Arabia? Global warming, rolling blackouts in California,
out of control utility costs, and the list goes on---wasted energy. THAT’S
THE BAD NEWS!
Insulation is necessary to keep
the heat and cool inside your safe haven. In winter, moisture passes
through ceiling materials and condenses in the attic forming moisture. Just
like a coke out of the refrigerator, it sweats.
It is here under these
circumstances, that mold can and will occur. Most cases of mold can be
linked to inadequate ventilation, insulation or the combination of each.
Fact: Attic temperatures should be the same as the temperature outside.
In the summer, older homes
without any eave ventilation may reach temperatures up to 150 degrees,
making it impossible to cool no matter how many power-eating window units
you use. How about your home, or your parents’? Have you checked for
working soffit vents and evenly spread insulation. Without these, you are
wasting energy and money!
Sadly enough, laws passed
regarding this very problem are not enforced. Check out your local ratings
for insulation and ventilation in this area. For example: Knee walls (upper
story short walls), are supposed to be insulated to R-30 (same as the attic
area). Unfortunately, the vast majority may use R-19, if you’re lucky.
Homeowners should inquire and
expect adequate insulation (R-factor) and ventilation from any builder or
remodeling contractor. After all, only you will pay the price for inadequate
construction methods. AND NOW THE GOOD NEWS…..
We can help! Whitfield Vents
offer a selection of handcrafted wooden vents, and solar-powered attic roof
vents. Save energy and money! Whit says “If you don’t buy my
vents—buy somebody’s”.
The Whitfield Group announces
plans to build energy-saving ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) homes in this
area. These homes can be built using any type of inside or outside décor.
Visit us today at the Maude Cobb Convention Center from 1 pm -5 pm, give us
a call at (903) 734-4523, or visit us online
www.whitfieldvents.com.
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Wasted energy (Dec. 2002)
- David A. Whitfield
First, thanks for visiting our site and I hope we can
help you.
Ventilation and insulation are both
critical for home energy efficiency, we all know that. What
most people don't realize is how it affects the whole world we live
in. Wasted energy almost equals what we import from abroad.
Ouch! As we go about our lives, there's a daily drain going on
in our planets limited resources. A leaking faucet of
ultimately oil energy. All this equals global warming.
That's where we come in, to help you
with the vent you need. Overheated attics push the cool air
down inside your home or office. Hot air rises because cooler
air pushes it up. there's a struggle somewhere close to your
thermostat.
Homeowners - check your attic in the
daylight hours. If you cannot see a little light every 8' or
so, you probably have no effective lower vents. Homes are
built even TODAY without a balanced venting system.
Carpenters and Builders of the past
are not to blame. They just didn't know better. Make
sure your builder has a plan for ventilation - don't be shy, ask
them. The general rule for ventilation is: You can't get
enough ventilation, but a 50-50 flow from lower to upper vents
lets the cooler eave air push the moist heated attic air out.
In winter time ventilation is crucial to stop attic condensation
which will result in timber damage and ultimately mold.
I have personally found mold around
rafter bottoms on a newer home that had limited eave air flow;
because insulation clogged the soffit vents and had too little
insulation around eaves.
We have our own exclusive design of
insulation baffles to prevent or fix this problem. You can buy
something almost as good as ours at Lowe's or Home Depot or etc.
Sadly enough, not every building code
requires the use of insulation baffles. As a result, no
baffles used mean no air flow usually, because a sufficient amount
of insulation (10-12+") on ceiling is not possible to blow without
scattering some through to the eaves.
I have personally supervised
construction on over 750 homes, of which over half were log homes,
for the past 32 years.
The very best part, besides energy
savings, is the effect a beautiful vent can give on your home.
All our vents are original designs (over 30) and are not done by CNC
operations. Each vent is assembled professionally, the old
fashioned handmade way, with superior quality guaranteed.
Thanks for visiting. Stay tuned for
next week's message from me or from a guest columnist.
Respectfully,
David Whitfield
President, Whitfield Products
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