Draft Excluder Tips: What Causes Draughts?
March 22nd, 2010 | 
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Fitting a draft excluder or two is a fantastic way to save energy in the home. If you’ve not already fitted some to the windows and doors in your home, you could be wasting hundreds of pounds on your heating bills and pumping unnecessary into the atmosphere. Of all the energy efficiency improvements you can make, very few (if any) are as cheap and easy.
Draughts are caused when both two things happen: -
1 There are gaps in the walls, windows, doors, floor boards, etc
2 There is a pressure difference between inside and outside
Pressure differences in the home are caused by: -
a) Wind
Moving air creates a low pressure – the faster the movement, the lower the pressure. One of the best times to test your house for draughts is on a windy day.
b) Combustion
Burning wood in a fireplace causes the movement of air up the chimney. This is most obvious in the case of a wood burning with a glass window stove because as you adjust the ventilation you can see a the flames drawing air into the stove and up the chimney.
c) Extractor fans
Any air that is taken out of a bathroom or kitchen by an extractor fan will be balanced by air being drawn into to take its place.
d) The Stack Effect
Warm air is lighter than cold air so in winter and at night, when there is the biggest difference in temperature between inside and outside, this effect is most noticeable. The more stories a building has, the more this effect has. As a consequence, a draught excluder is most effective in basements or attics.
Other Handy Facts About Draught proofing:-
Draughts always take the easiest path – meaning the bigger gap, the more air will pass through. For example, an open chimney is one of the biggest problems for draught proofing.
Internal stud partitions can cause draughts as the link up the the space under the floors with the attic space.
You don’t always feel a draught. Warm air leaking out can’t easily be felt, but it will be balanced by cold air coming in somewhere in the house. That could be in a hidden spot like under the stairs or under the floorboards. One way to test your house is to walk around with some incense and watch where the smoke travels.
o Airflow will always take the path of least resistance. The greater the size of the opening, the more air will pass through. This only highlights the importance of ensuring that the largest voids are attended to first and that we discover where they are. Especially in older houses, air flow can occur through vertical channels up through the house interior. This is particularly true of wood-framed structures, but it can also occur in internal stud partitioning that connects top and bottom with the floor cavities. The same thing can apply to staircases and vertical service runs that are boxed in and allow large volumes of air to flow from floor to ceiling.
o Incoming cold air draughts arc balanced by outgoing warm air leaks. This is another obvious fact that we are often not aware of-simply because we don’t feel outgoing warm air leaks as we do incoming cold draughts. In two- or three-story buildings it is often noticeable that there are draughts at ground floor level, but these are not so apparent in the upper story or attic unless it is windy. We never go outside and up a ladder to the second floor windows on a cold day to check for hot air leaks!
Stay tuned! More draught excluder tips to come….
How do I go about getting a novel published?
Hi, I had an idea for a book a few weeks ago and have started to write a draught manuscript. Once I’ve completed and proof-read it, does anyone have any experience with the next stage of getting my book published, eg approaching publishers? Thanks!
Self-publishing is NOT a "no-lose" situation. You do absolutely lose something when you self-publish; you lose your all-important First Publication rights. First rights are what publishing houses are generally interested in.
Yes, it is possible–remotely–that your self-published book will do well enough to attract a major publisher. Sales that would attract a major publisher would be in the 5,000+ range. How will you sell 5k copies of a book without getting it into bookstores? Without reviews in the major trade publications (Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, etc.?) How will you sell 5k copies when nobody knows about your book? How will you promote the book? How will you pay for that promotion? Will you advertise it? How? How will you pay for that?
Yes, it has happened. I can think of three titles it happened to. Three, out of hundreds of thousands. You have a better chance at winning the lottery than you do of having a self-published book hit the kinds of numbers that equal major-house interest.
Your best bet for getting the book published in a way that will earn you money, instead of costing you money (Lulu is a great self-publishing option, and is free, but you still have to pay for copies of the book to distribute, for advertising, etc. etc.) is to polish and polish the book. Find places where you can post samples for critique (Absolute Write is a great forum for this, with lots of published members). Take those crits on board and edit and polish some more.
Start submitting to agents. if the book is good enough–like, good enough to sell 5k copies as a self-published title–an agent will agree to represent you. They then submit it to publishing houses for you, while you work on your next book. Hopefully an editor will like it enough to make an offer. Then they pay you. They handle advertising and marketing. They get it into bookstores. They do all of that while you write the next book.
Self-publishing can be a good option for some people; mostly non-fiction in a specific field. An example I’ve used before is if you’re a model-train enthusiast, and write a book on a specific topic in that field. A major house will likely not be interested because the market is too small, but you could probably do very well selling to fellow model-train fans.
First printing rights are valuable and important. They’re what publishers want.
Writing a book people want to buy is hard work. It takes a lot of time and research and effort. But it’s worth it.
The average self-published book sells 150 copies. 150. And the author of every one of those books was probably convinced their book would be different, their book would be a breakout.
Ultimately of course the decision is up to you. But I urge you to aim for real publication first, before giving up your first rights and self-publishing a book that will likely have disappointing sales. Don’t sell yourself or your work short like that.
Good luck!
What makes my cat the shape he is?
He’s a one year old, common domestic shorthair. As far as I know not interbred with any breeds. But he’s not built like any domestic shorthair I’ve ever seen. For instance his shoulder blades protude really far back and his thighs extend really far past his back too if he is crouching. His body is inceridibly bony and hard to the touch sometimes depsite weighing an ideal weight and being a little over fed. All the weight he does have seems to collect by his bottom half if he is siting up, and absolutley nothing but skin and bone on top. He is amazingly long for a common shorthair too. When he stretches out he is like a draught excluder, I’ve never seen a cat with such a long body in my life. His eyes are huge and his face remains very slim (but not siamese like). Trust me he is not one of the specialist breeds, I know what they look like and my cat looks like a normal domestic shorthair, except for these weird physioclogical features. Could he possibly be the runt of the litter? He is a bit dopey depsite being lovely.
A picture would help
Can anyone proof read a short essay for me?
I have a college English essay that is due today about date rape. I need to revise this rough draft and turn in both drafts. Can anyone help me out and proof read it and tell me what I can improve? Thanks!
Sure I’d be glad to help! ^.^
what’s the best way to draft ,spell check, and send story’s?
Hi All
What’s the best way to be able to write short story’s, leave them uncompleted, spell check them, be able to change font, and store and or mail them , I have been using yahoo mail but once you save to drafts, you cant change the wording, if you know of a fool proof way of drafting work , being able to store it , mail it, and spell check, could you tell me in detail , please.
Check if the site bellow helps you
http://www.polyphonyhs.com/submit/guidelines.html
Pretty choccy box towns -v- Energy Conservation?
I live in a housing association property which I have done the utmost to insulate so as to reduce the amount of energy used as per green living practices allow.
The only other option left for me now is to have double glazing fitted as all other mods have been carried out i.e. condensing boiler/draught-proofing/loft insulation/energy saving light bulbs etc.etc.
However after a request to my landlord to fit sympathetic double glazed sash units I find that this major energy saving effort that we can make is denied us as it would spoil the look of the town!!!
Yet all council house properties in my immediate locale have been converted to save energy and ’spruce up’ the properties.
I really hope that the changes in planning laws due out soon will accommodate provisos for situation such as this and allow us to argue our case without landlords being able to hide behind the skirts of outdated petty officialdom allowing them (in essence) to neglect their responsibilities.
What say you?
Cant afford it CHRIS J. am on benefits and my Social landlord is under obligation to maintain property re: Thermal Comfort Criteria 2004
Trouble_ Stick to footy and for your information I am an invalid
It’s great that you are so responsible. Wish more people were.
Which method saves the most energy?
Between: Cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, double glazing, draught proofing, and insulation on hot water tank, which method saves the most energy? Why
I’d say loft (attic) insulation and cavity wall insulation probably tie for first, and you would really need to know a bit more about the house to say for sure which would give you the better savings (how big is your attic? Does it already have any insulation? What about your walls?)
Draught proofing is much cheaper and should be done anyway, all it really involves is putting up some weather stripping on your doors and windows. Most hot water tanks are insulated already, but again this could probably be improved for under $50.
Getting double-paned windows would be a middle of the road investment, as it could be rather costly (cheaper if you can do it yourself) and give your respectable savings.
Also, with anything you do, check with your utility company first–they may help you pay for major upgrades.
Wally Safety Testing
As if the attack on Cyril wasn’t bad enough, Penny decides to test the sewing on Wally (my lovely handmade draught excluder!) Guess what, he survived too! www.LuaSarcy.co.uk
Duration : 0:1:15
Posted in draught excluder | 
Tags: cat, Cats, Creatures, kitten, Kittens, LuaSarcy, Wally | 
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Puppy porn…Molly the humping toy yorkie
This is my little dog Molly the toy yorkie feeling a little friskie and taking it out on the draft excluder..haha! Puppy porn..
Duration : 0:2:14
Cheap ways to make your home more energy efficient
From fitting draught excluders to buying energy saving lightbulbs, follow Moneywise TV’s simple ways to cut down your energy usage – and bills – in the home.
Duration : 0:4:2
Posted in draught excluders |
Tags: bills, cut, efficiency, energy, money, on, save, usage |
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