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'09 energy code

Hi JP and all,

how many places (even with a 42" frost line) have frost that deep (Who-oh-why-wyoming certainly).. the ground is still warmer than the air - the basement won't lose as much heat as the house.
 
Beg to differ. First the 42" here is too shallow. Another dicussion different fight. Real experence. I insulated a past home with just R-5 blanket (continous) insulation. Wow. What a difference. Think about it. Lets say that 5' in the ground or below grade is 54 degrees. It's a unfinished basement. You as a homeowner decide to keep the basemant at 68 degrees with a 8" poured concrete wall at R2.2. Wonder what happens here? Hum??? 68 degrees on one side and 54 degrees on the other? Desenting opinions welcome.
 
Most heat goes out the top, the walls are not that important. Having said that, it is the capacitance of the concrete walls that is the great benifit of insulation the exterior of the concrete foundation wall.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
the basement won't lose as much heat as the house.
Click to expand...
Agree but it does loose heat and that is the point. There is a delta t difference between the ground and the basement so there will be a heat loss. You can drive around town during the winter and see the snow melted away from around the older uninsulated basements within days of the snowfall and weeks before it melts away from an insulated basment or conditioned (insulated) crawlspace
 
REScheck, hideous as it may be.. gives a lot of credit to insulating the basement.. a good trade off for those inclined to do it.

I don't live in Why-oh-why-Wyoming (no offense JP.. just what we refined easterners from SD used to call it).. but in a more temperate climate.. with a walk out basement. I can guarantee more heat goes out this insulated frame wall than the uninsulated block walls perpendicular to it... well... insulated by the ground.
 
Also heat loss is by a different method through different materials, , , so if we weren't comparing apples to oranges before, we are now.
 
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