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Do It Yourself Energy Efficiency Projects: Your Home’s Thermal Envelope (Part 1)

Many people struggling through the tough economy are not going to be able to take advantage of the 2009-10 Energy Efficiency Tax Credit simply because they can?t afford new windows and doors, water heaters, or more insulation. However, there are a few things you can do around your home to air seal it to save money during the winter months and during the summer. Because of the price and use of energy, architects and builders now design a home to be a ?thermal envelope?. That is the sum total of the home?s insulation systems including walls, ceilings, foundation, floors, windows, and doors. These work more effectively with good, tight fits that seal out the weather and air. By having a tight seal on your home?s thermal envelope, the less energy you waste or lose by exchanging it too often with the air outside. So, with this in mind, let?s start at ground level and work our way up to seal your house. Moisture Barrier A moisture barrier (usually plastic sheeting) covers the earth beneath a structure to prevent moisture from infiltrating the structure from the ground. All-wooden structures last years longer if they are kept dry and out of contact with the ground. For a house, not only does it help prevent rot but it also helps keep the drier. Because moisture in the air holds heat, even during the most humid months, a moisture barrier will make your Texas home feel drier and cooler. Most Texas homes are built on either a slab or have crawl spaces under them. Houses with slab foundations typically have concrete poured on top of a plastic moisture barrier. This limits the infiltration of moisture into the thermal envelope of the house. Homes with crawl spaces, meanwhile, feature a moisture barrier in their crawl spaces. Some older homes do not have one and these can be installed by the home owner very easily. A moisture barrier is plastic sheeting, usually about 6-8 mils thick and is available at any hardware store, typically in sizes ranging from 25 ? 25 feet to 100 ? 100 feet. It also need not be one single piece of plastic. As long as the sheets overlap each other by about 6 inches or so, it will be effective. To install, you will need to know the dimensions of your crawl space and buy enough plastic sheeting to cover the ground in that space. Simply cut the plastic sheeting to cover the earth from wall to wall, laying it flat. You can use either black or clear plastic, but I would use clear because black plastic would make your crawl space feel like a cramped version of Batman?s lair. You should notice the difference within 24 hours. If your house feels too dry, simply fold back some of the plastic sheeting to expose the earth underneath. Continue adjusting until your home feels the most comfortable to you. As mentioned, moisture barriers limit the infiltration of moisture into the thermal envelope of the house. The house feels drier: It will be easier to cool in the summer and less likely to develop mold or contribute to wood rot in the winter. Mudsill and Rim Joists The next place to check out is the mudsill. The mudsill is the board that is bolted flat on to the top of the foundation wall. An example of one is a 2?8 board bolted onto the final course of cement blocks. It provides a bed to attach the flooring joists and banding boards for the first floor of the house. Depending on how well it is installed, it can let in a lot of cold air and moisture. Places to look for gaps is where the mudsill is fastened to the foundation. A common building practice now is to put down a plastic foam gasket over the foundation before attaching the pressure treated lumber that will be the mudsill. In older homes, either a paper-backed cellulose material was put down or nothing was used. To find gaps, get as close as possible to the mudsill from the inside and look for daylight shining through between the mudsill and the foundation wall and feel for a draft of cool air. If your foundation is made of cement blocks, look for the vertical joints between the blocks. When these blocks are put into place, the mortar between the blocks often slumps leaving thin mortar or none at all. Over time as the house settles, holes can appear. While these might be small holes that let through tiny amounts of air, if your home has 10 or 20 of them, you?re letting in a lot of weather and insects. Seal every hole you find with silicon caulk or expanding foam. Another place along the mudsill to look for is where the rim joists attach. The rim joist (sometimes called ?banding joist?) is the piece of wood that closes off the end of the flooring joist or is the last floor joist underneath the exterior wall. The bottom edge is not necessarily an air-tight seal. In fact, I lived in one older house where there was a half-inch gap between the rim joist and mudsill. Now, while this seems small, the gap ran for the entire length of the house: 25 feet. It was the equivalent of leaving a 24 inch by 24 inch window open all the time. Some expandable foam quickly sealed this gap and there was a noticeable improvement in comfort and cost right away. Windows If you have double-hung wooden sash windows with storm windows that are drafty, there are several ways to make them more energy efficient. Make sure the glazing on the glass panes of the sash windows is not cracked or crumbling. The glazing helps hold and seal the glass to the wooden window and thus blocks drafts and quiets rattling ? especially from traffic. It also lessens the likelihood that the glass will break if a pet or a child presses against it. Glazing is something of a skilled art. That being said, it?s not that hard to do. Re-glazing a window yourself can save you $50 to $100 or more. All you need is glazing putty ($5), a putty knife ($2), some glaziers? points ($2 for a box of 100) and some time. First, remove any old, cracked, or crumbling glazing with a putty knife. Glazing putty dries to be very, very hard and will last decades. It can be loosened with a heat gun, but keep the gun moving or the heat will crack the glass. When the old putty has been removed, remove all the old glaziers? points. Now, lift out the pane and set it aside. Sand the channel where the pane fits on the wooden sash. Usually, I apply a thin bead of silicone caulk in this channel before replacing the glass. This helps to seat and seal the glass pane. This especially helps when working on multiple small panes (called ?lights?) separated by thin or fragile wooden mullions (also called ?muntins?). Next, insert new glaziers points. This is done by using the putty knife to press points into the wooden sash along the glass pane to keep it in place. Take your time so that you don?t break the glass. Glazing putty can be purchased in either a can or a tube with a shaped tip that fits in a caulking gun. However, it does take some practice to get just the right angle and right amount of putty on the glass. When using the tube mix, keep the 45 degree angled tip steadily against the glass and lay a bead of putty the length of bottom of the pane. If you?re using the putty from the can, roll the putty into long snake (or rope) and place it along the edge of the pane and along the wood. Gently press it into position so that it forms a nice 45 degree angle with the putty knife. The putty is shaped this way so that water runs off the glass to the edge of the window sash instead of into the window pane channel where it can rot the wood. The next thing to look for is if your windows close snugly. Both the top and bottom window have what is called a ?meeting rail?. On the upper window, it is the bottom of the window and on the bottom window it is the top. These meeting rails are shaped so that they mesh together when they close. This helps seat and seal the window properly. Check to see if the bottom window runs firmly ? but not tightly ? along the window jamb as you close the window. If it?s too loose and wiggles back and forth, it probably won?t seat very tightly when it?s closed. You can use a putty knife to pry out the window jambs and then re-position them to improve how tightly the window will close. You might try adding felt or self-adhesive foam weather stripping. Also make sure you clean out any debris from the window to ensure the window will seat and seal snugly. As metal storm windows age, the harder they seem to close. This usually happens because of dirt and corrosion. Make sure the window tracks are clean and free of dirt and debris so the window runs smoothly. Outside, check that the storm window frame is held tightly in place against the wooden window frame. Screws that hold this frame in place might be loose and might need to be replaced or moved to a new spot. Most drafts from storms windows come from where the storm window frame meets the wooden window frame. Once you?re certain the storm window frame is secure, lay a bead of caulk into the seam where the metal storm window frame meets the wooden window frame. Typically, there are two slots cut into the bottom apron of the storm window frame. Do not seal these. These are weep holes that allow condensation to escape. If you have modern, double glazed windows (windows with two panes of glass), one of the things to look out for is fogging between the panes. Double glazed windows are made by attaching a pane of glass with adhesive to either side of a half-inch wide aluminum frame either in a vacuum or a very dry environment. It is then a single unit and is installed into a standardized window frame. Fogging is a sign that the seal on the window unit has failed and water vapor has penetrated into the space between the panes. If the fogging is still present in summer, it?s a good guess that acids have also leeched in with the water vapor and have permanently etched the window glass. If the fogging disappears when the window warms, then it?s not too late to treat it. Examine the wood of the window for any discoloration from moisture. Look for peeling, flaking paint or soft, gray-colored wood. If you find some, sand it smooth and then seal it with an oil-based enamel or polyurethane. If the wood is very soft, you might try using an epoxy formulated to penetrate and preserve rotten wood. Be sure to mask the glass first with painter?s tape. A builder installs a door or window with wedges called shims so that the window can float inside a rough opening in the framing. While this lets the door or window open and close freely as it expands and contracts during the year, it also means a lot of outside air can infiltrate your house by getting in around the window frame if it has not been insulated or if it has been damaged. During the summer, it usually isn?t a noticeable problem. During the winter, though, if you see moisture or mildew there could be a problem with the window frame. Look outside for damage to the siding and window frame. Look for holes or wet, rotten wood, or even a loose piece of siding. It?s important to clean and seal problems like these quickly, especially if moisture has been getting inside your wall, because the damage will just worsen over time. Rotten or damaged siding can be replaced easily with new pieces from the hardware store. Rotten or damaged window sills should be completely removed and replaced and the inside of the wall inspected for mold, rot, and other damage. However, this is no small job and requires time and skills to complete. It might need the hand of a professional. For an immediate, short-term fix, clean out the rotten wood as best you can and fill the hole with fiberglass auto body putty. This will provide a hard, waterproof barrier against the weather. Be sure to contour and shape it so that it will not interfere with opening and closing the window. If moisture or rain is getting into your window frame, check to see if any of your rain gutters run over head. Check to see if these are clogged. Also, consider installing drip edging along the top of your windows to help run water around and away from the windows and siding when it rains. After you?ve installed it, be sure to caulk it in place so moisture can?t penetrate behind it. A lot of folks consider it hideous to put over your windows but it will keep the wind out: clear plastic sheeting. This is probably the easiest temporary energy fix owners of older homes use to keep cold, damp winter weather out. There are two approaches: Apply the clear plastic sheeting to the outside of the window by stapling it to the wood window frame and then nailing lathe over the stapled edge to secure the plastic. Or apply the plastic sheeting to double-sided tape on the inside of the window frame (usually available in kits from the home center). To be sure, neither is an attractive solution. However, if you have an older home with double-hung windows in poor condition, this short-term fix does a lot for only $10 and about 15 minutes of work. In fact, even if your windows close snugly, it might not be a bad idea for a north-facing window that doesn?t have much of a view. Energy Efficient Window Treatments: ?It?s Curtains for You!? Curtains not only add style, color, and privacy to a room, they also act as an insulating blanket for one of the most thermally conductive parts of the house: the windows. Curtains are even more effective at sealing off a window when they have thermal backing. Thermal backing is usually foam because foam permits water vapor to move through the fabric rather than condensing on the cold side toward the window and causing moisture problems. An additional benefit to thermal curtains is that they help deaden noise from outside that is normally transmitted into the room by the window glass. In the summer, the curtains also block hot sun. Thermal curtains can be made even more efficient by adding a valance with a top. Usually, window valances conceal the curtain hardware such as the rods and brackets. However, if the valance has a top cover, warm air that would normally circulate down between the cool glass and the back of the curtain is blocked. Valances can be made with plywood and then stained, painted, or covered in fabric. Another option is a window quilt. These are blanket-like shade that roll down to cover the window. Some are held tightly in place by magnetic strips attached to both the quilt and the window frame. Finally, one last accessory for the double hung window is the Window Worm. This is a fabric tube about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter and is as long as a window is wide. It is stuffed with quilting foam or cloth scraps and laid along where the top and bottom window sashes meet to help keep out drafts. Longer ones weighted with sand can also be made and placed across the foot of doors.

Energy Medicine: The Medicine Of The Future—Now Part 3: Living Cells, Energy, And You

In the past two articles about energy, we have reviewed the background behind the discovery of the mysterious interactions, currents, wavelengths and frequencies that govern and measure motion, life, and communication. This background is merely useful for opening up our minds to the concept of how much energy and frequencies and magnetics and electrical devices are influencing our lives today that we take for granted, whether we understand them or not. In order for us to recognize the potential impact of energy and frequencies on the body, let’s start by understanding how individual cells function in our bodies. Years ago, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) was discovered. Its discovery was touted as an enormous scientific breakthrough, which indeed it was. Wikipedia’s first two paragraphs introduce DNA as follows:”Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information. Chemically, DNA is a long polymer of simple units called nucleotides, with a backbone made of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of molecules called bases. It is the sequence of these four bases along the backbone that encodes information. This information is read using the genetic code, which specifies the sequence of the amino acids within proteins. The code is read by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA, in a process called transcription. ” Understanding DNA, however, is only a part of the whole picture. If DNA represents a cell’s blueprint, then we must explore how the individual parts in the blueprint (the cells) communicate with each other to send messages of pain, repair, renewal, reconstruction, infection, danger, and so forth. Each cell must be able to ingest nutrients, metabolize nutrients, excrete byproducts (toxins), experience growth and mobility, provide protection, and communicate with other cells. The DNA in each cell is needed for the division of cells and for the production of new proteins. It is surrounded by regulatory proteins that need specific vibrational frequencies that unravel the regulatory proteins in order for the DNA to perform its function. The regulation of each cell is triggered either by certain molecules that may be a hormone, a growth factor, neurotransmitters, OR the electromagnetic frequency of those molecules. This will trigger secondary events inside the cell which include the influx of calcium or the triggering of cyclic AMP (adenozinemonophosphate). These secondary events activate specific processes inside the cell which may increase enzyme use, protein production, or other biochemical processes. The cell then uses its energy to pump the calcium out of the cell and resume the slow biochemical processes. Interestingly enough, the function and regulation of the cell does NOT need DNA. The cell will function without DNA until the proteins are used up. Then, without DNA, new repair proteins cannot be made, so the cell will eventually die. Integrins are adhesion molecules that link the inside of the cell to the outside of the cell and from each cell membrane to the matrix that surrounds and supports the cell. Regulation of the cell takes place through these integrins. Every cell has an ideal resonant frequency for its development, its defense and for its own repair. Each cell has been preprogrammed to die (which we call apoptosis). And new cells will take their place. For instance, the lining of the gut will completely turn over 10,000 times in a lifetime; bone and fascial tissue will turn over 10-15 times in a lifetime, and enzymes are replaced every few seconds. Understanding that the body does indeed renew itself , depending upon the tissue type, several times during a lifetime, is essential to understanding how the body can repair itself when placed in a healing environment with the needed nutrients. Let’s look at how individual cells communicate with each other. Every cell of the body is connected to every other cell through the tissue matrix. Every organ is surrounded by fascial tissue. These cells communicate with each other because we can measure an awareness of any event or injury at a distant site. Cell connections form, break down, and reform as cells change and move. How do groups of cells communicate? Think about the primitive radio set you may have constructed as a Boy or Girl Scout. Sets are still available that, when put together, will become an actual radio that will receive transmissions. This receptive process is accomplished by the use of a crystal in the radio set. We use hard crystals as a device for receiving and giving off different frequencies of energy. Interestingly, our biologic tissues are liquid crystals that generate electrical fields when compressed or stretched. These include connective tissue, the myelin sheath which surrounds every nerve, and muscles. The electrical fields that are generated initiate remodeling of the cells or metabolic regeneration. The collective frequencies of surrounding tissue regulate the processes of the local cells. If certain cells shift out of harmony, the healthy surrounding tissue will reinstall the correct frequency. When too many cells shift for a long enough period of time, as in physical trauma or chronic emotional stress, a disease or disorder will result. These “dis-eased” cells need energetic pharmacology to correct the abnormal frequency, or to cancel the pathological frequency. If we turn our attention to understanding communication pathways in the whole body, we can start to recognize the connection between the various healing modalities that have existed in all cultures throughout the world for millennia. Healers have recognized various energy pathways as being ways to access injured or impaired tissue and channel the healing energy to it. Acupuncture meridians are low-resistance pathways for the flow of energy into every cell of the body. When we experience physical or emotional trauma, these will impair energy pathways, which reduce the cells’ ability to repair and defend themselves. Disease ensues. This trauma experience is actually stored in the tissue itself (a thought which is interesting in light of the religious perspectives on forgiveness, judgment, etc. ). Much has been said recently about the “string theory” of quantum physics, a theory that propounds the idea that all things are interconnected. Wikipedia describes the string theory in part with this compelling observation: “The elegance and flexibility of the approach, however, and a number of qualitative similarities with more traditional physical models, have led many physicists to suspect that such a connection is possible. In particular, string theory may be a way to “unify” the known natural forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak nuclear and strong nuclear) by describing them with the same set of equations, as described in the theory of everything. ” Additionally interesting is the idea that everything is receptive to, and can record, input. Recently, we learned of the oldest recording (you can listen to it on MP3 at this website: http://www. firstsounds. org/sounds/index. php). This fascinating recording was made on April 9, 1860—17 years before Edison invented the phonograph!—by Parisian inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville on his “phonautograph” – a device that scratched sound waves onto a sheet of paper that had been blackened by the smoke of an oil lamp. Scott made the recording with the intent to analyze sounds visually, not to play them back. Nevertheless, the sounds were actually recorded in the scratches upon the blackened pages. We once watched a television show wherein a pot was being thrown on a potter’s wheel at the same time as a conversation was being held in the room. The conversation was actually recorded in the clay surface of the pot. Cells, and the objects of which the cells are comprised, while seemingly impermeable, are capable of storing memory. While not well understood, this capability has been recognized for years!My next article addresses specific ways in which healing can take place among the cells. It will provide you with information about some proven specific frequencies in current (no pun intended) healing modalities, with equipment and tools in use today. As a fun experiment this next week, you might be interested in some simple experiments of your own. For example, observe the difference in how your day goes when you concentrate on sending out “vibrations” of gratitude (no matter how bleak things seem to be!). Consider sending out vibrations of love and joy and peace to objects and creatures around you. See what happens. I’d love to hear your results! Send them to me at my blog site: www. stangardnermd. com. Until then, good vibrations!