RE: [GBlist] turning heat down...condition of home

["Ralph Bicknese" <ralph.bicknese@christnerinc.com>]

Peter:

Have you ever come home after having the house closed up and the heat or air
turned way down for a couple of weeks?  Pretty stuffy isn't it.  Left longer
the odors grow and the smell starts to sink in and then worse can happen.

If one turns down the thermostat to the point of causing freezing in the
building some of the damage you suggested can occur.  Even if you do not let
things freeze, it is still possible to turn things down low enough that you
will have inadequate ventilation and inadequate heat to prevent the buildup
of condensation.  Condensation can lead to moisture buildup in places it
does not belong.  It can cause tiles to pop, glues to come loose, wallpaper
to fall of and mold and mildew to form.  It can cause extensive moisture
buildup, and sagged ceilings, even frost to buildup on windows and window
frames and when it melts can cause serious damage to wood windows, wood
trim, carpeting, subfloors, etc.  Mold and mildew are especially bad
summertime problems in places closed down and closed up for to long a
period.  The farther southeast one goes in the US the worse the problem is.

Those are a few problems among many that occur in places left unheated or
insufficiently heated.  However, rarely are places left unheated for such a
long time that this occurs.  I have seen it in bathhouses and other places
closed up and left unheated for the winter.  Normally we only leave the heat
down for a few days or a week or so at most and things rarely get damaged.

Cheers,
Ralph Bicknese
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Miles [mailto:pcfmiles@earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2002 6:17 PM
To: greenbuilding@crest.org
Subject: RE: [GBlist] turning heat down...condition of home


It has been very interesting to follow the discussions on "turning the heat
down".

This has raised another question for me: how could this difference in
temperature effect the home or building itself? If one assumes a wide swing
in temperatures, can this affect the quality or strength of the foundation,
joists, seals, etc.? I have been under the impression that to maintain a
building to last a long time, proper maintenance must be done on a continual
basis and I assumed that would also include keeping the building within a
certain temperature range, especially in areas where there is a great
fluctuation in temperatures.


Peter Miles
pcfmiles@earthlink.net


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______________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by REPP/CREST, creator of
Solstice http://www.crest.org, and BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of
Environmental Building News and GreenSpec http://www.BuildingGreen.com
______________________________________________________________________