Over Using Your Gas Fireplace?

A recent survey of household energy use found that 23 per cent of Canadian single- and semi-detached and row-housing reported having a gas fireplace and of those, 22 per cent reported using them every day once the temperatures dip. Depending on the size and location of the fireplace, the added warmth can help ease the furnace's heating burden, causing it to turn on less frequently. But will that save your customers' money? Not necessarily, according to research undertaken at the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology (CCHT). The study tested gas fireplace use and its impact on both furnace use and total gas energy consumption in the CCHT's R2000 certified research house (see HPAC feature on early results from the report at right). Researchers wanted to find out if operating a gas fireplace would reduce total gas consumption.

It also looked at whether running the furnace fan continuously had any benefits on heat distribution to rooms away from the fireplace compared to having the fan automatically turn on only when the furnace was required to provide heating for the house. The results showed that, while the furnace came on less frequently during fireplace use, total gas energy consumption overall actually increased by approximately 10 to 16 per cent. This is because the gas fireplace, which had a measured efficiency of only 76 per cent, was offsetting the operation of the furnace with an efficiency of 94 per cent.

The study also found that even when the fireplace was not in use, overall gas energy use was six per cent higher compared to the control house because of the gas consumed by the small, but continuously running, pilot light. While running the furnace fan continuously was expected to distribute heat from the fireplace to other rooms more effectively than when run intermittently, the researchers found that operation of the fan had very little influence on the temperatures in other rooms in either mode. In fact, not only was there no difference in heat distribution, continuously running the furnace fan actually increased daily electrical energy use from 6 kWh to 11 kWh, which can be significant given that typical Canadian homes use a total of 15 to 30 kWh per day. Researchers concluded that while gas fireplaces provide a warm ambience during cold Canadian winters, use of a high efficiency furnace as the main method of home heating will save your customers energy and money in the long run.

Structural Issues?

Serious structural problems in houses are not very common, but when they occur they are never cheap to fix. Some can't be fixed at all. This report won't turn you into a home inspector, but it will give you some of the common indicators.
Uneven Floors
Uneven floors are typical, particularly in older homes. Here is a trick to help distinguish between a typical home with character and a structural problem.

If the floor sags to the middle of the home, it's probably just a charming old home. Houses are like people, they sag in the middle when they get older. On the other hand, if the floor slopes towards an outside wall, there is a good chance that the house has a significant structural problems. I often use a golf ball to assist in determining this.

 

A prime indicator of issues are internal doors that will not stay where you set them and or will not close.

Leaning House
While no house is perfect, this is one area where you should be very careful. Take a look at the house from across the street. If the house appears to be leaning one way or the other, there may be a structural problem. It may help to line up a front corner of the house with the back corner of an adjacent house just for reference. The corners should be parallel. Stepping back from the house to take a look is always a good idea. It is easy to miss something major by standing too close to it! If there is a lean that is detectable by eye, don't take any chances, get it checked out.
Horizontal Foundation Cracks are Bad
It is not uncommon to find cracks in the foundation. This goes for new houses as well as old ones. While there is a great deal of engineering that goes into "reading" these cracks, there is one rule that you should never forget. "Horizontal cracks are a problem". Of course not all vertical cracks are acceptable, but they are generally not as serious as a horizontal crack.

Harmless Cracks
Shrinkage cracks in a new house: Most new foundations will develop small vertical cracks. These cracks are a result of the concrete shrinking as it cures. These cracks are about 1 /8 inch wide or less. They don’t affect the structure. The only concern is leakage. If you see small cracks in a new foundation, don’t panic. In fact, in a new home, some builders will pre-crack the foundation and fill the crack with flexible material.

Plaster Cracks:
Few things are more misunderstood than plaster cracks on the inside of the house.
The following crack types are not generally related to structural movement:
• a small crack (less than 1 /4 inch) that follows the corner of the room where two walls meet
• small cracks that extend up from the upper corner of a door opening
The following cracks may be related to structural movement –
• large cracks (larger than 1 /4 inch in width)
• cracks that run diagonally across the wall
• cracks on the interior finish that are in the same vicinity as cracks on the exterior of the house.