Issues → July/August 2007 → Home & Garden →
Real Solutions: Cooling Fans, Drafty Windows, Daylilies
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Insulated drapes can warm a room by 5 degrees. Lenox, Massachusetts-based Country Curtains (800-456-0321; countrycurtains.com), carries 15 styles that range from $27 to $148 per pair or per slider panel. A terrific window shade with even more insulation is made by The Warm Company (800-234-9276; warmcompany.com). The four-layer system includes your choice of fabric plus air-trapping fiber layers and a magnetic edge that forms an airtight seal to eliminate drafts.
Heat loss from windows also comes from single-paned glass and air leaks around the sash. A single-to-double conversion process was developed by New England engineer Jim Conachen. His Bi-Glass System is a patented technique that routs the existing sash and replaces single-glazed panes with insulated (double-paned) glass. This appeals to owners of historic houses where replacement windows are not appropriate. Pricing varies with the individual house but ranges on average from $450 for a one-over-one window to $1,000 for a multilight Palladian. 800-729-0742; bi-glass.com
-- Polly Bannister, Yankee Home Editor
Whole-House Fan Resources
From: Clifton Below, Commissioner
NH Public Utilities Commission
21 S. Fruit Street, Suite 10
Concord, NH 03301-2429
603-271-2290
Clifton.Below@puc.nh.gov
To: Polly Bannister, Yankee Home Editor
Your recommendation for a whole-house fan as an alternative to air-conditioning in New England is an excellent one (in Real Solutions: Home & Garden Tips, July/Aug. 2007 issue). We love ours. However you mention just one vendor: W.W. Grainger at grainger.com, which sells traditional whole-house fans.
There is a new breed of highly energy-efficient whole-house fans with improved motors, remote controls, and automatic tightly sealing insulating doors, to avoid heat loss through the ceiling in the winter, which is a problem with traditional whole-house fans. They also fit between 16" on center ceiling joists.
Some sources: housecooler.com (Tamarack Technologies, a Massachusetts company), efi.org and hvacquick.com (AirScape brand). These new whole-house fans cost more up front but they can save more in the long run, especially compared with air conditioning that adds to expensive peak electrical demand and CO2 emissions.
Reader Comments
Comment from Genevieve Kennedy on July 7, 2008
I enjoy all your recipes and look forward to reading your tips about gardens. Please continue with your excellent e-mail letters and Yankee Magazine. It's a delight to receive them.
Genevieve Kennedy
Comment from Brett Nielsen on January 23, 2012
I really like it. I love the concept, it really helped me and I wanna say thank you for that. How I wish you can write an article about Forklift Accessories, that it for my thesis. Thanks !
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