Hello everyone,
The first snow has arrived today in NRW. A reason to be happy? Not for me.
I bought a house built in 2013. Energy efficiency class B, 68 kWh/m² per year. According to the energy certificate, the current U-value is 0.24 W/(m²·K).
It has a gas heating system with a hot water storage tank. Underfloor heating throughout the entire house. Living area is 200 m² (2,150 sq ft). The boiler room is in the attic (but not on the side shown in the photo).
I am a complete novice when it comes to houses. I have to admit I am not really skilled at DIY. But I assumed the insulation quality would be alright.
So far, there have been no problems. However, based on the thermostats in the rooms, I noticed already in autumn that the attic is slightly colder than the rest of the house—about 1 to 2 degrees Celsius (2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit) lower. At the time, I explained this by the fact that the attic, with its roof, effectively has one more exterior wall than the ground floor and therefore is likely a bit colder.
The previous owner apparently did some patchwork here and there... I never received any construction plans or insulation documentation...
This morning I looked at the roof and noticed we have relatively little snow on it compared to the neighboring roofs. So my question is: Could this be a sign of poor insulation quality? Do I need to do something about it?
Of course, I am a bit concerned now.
Thank you very much.
The first snow has arrived today in NRW. A reason to be happy? Not for me.
I bought a house built in 2013. Energy efficiency class B, 68 kWh/m² per year. According to the energy certificate, the current U-value is 0.24 W/(m²·K).
It has a gas heating system with a hot water storage tank. Underfloor heating throughout the entire house. Living area is 200 m² (2,150 sq ft). The boiler room is in the attic (but not on the side shown in the photo).
I am a complete novice when it comes to houses. I have to admit I am not really skilled at DIY. But I assumed the insulation quality would be alright.
So far, there have been no problems. However, based on the thermostats in the rooms, I noticed already in autumn that the attic is slightly colder than the rest of the house—about 1 to 2 degrees Celsius (2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit) lower. At the time, I explained this by the fact that the attic, with its roof, effectively has one more exterior wall than the ground floor and therefore is likely a bit colder.
The previous owner apparently did some patchwork here and there... I never received any construction plans or insulation documentation...
This morning I looked at the roof and noticed we have relatively little snow on it compared to the neighboring roofs. So my question is: Could this be a sign of poor insulation quality? Do I need to do something about it?
Of course, I am a bit concerned now.
Thank you very much.
W
WilderSueden28 Nov 2023 10:03It looks to me as if most of the snow on the left side has slipped off (tear-off edge). However, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to take a look with a thermal imaging camera. Between the tear-off edge and the solar panel, I can see noticeably little snow. In any case, I would monitor the situation to see how it develops with further snowfall.
H
HeimatBauer28 Nov 2023 10:15In my neighborhood, there are some houses with completely uninsulated roofs, where you can clearly see the upper edge of the heated floors as if drawn with a ruler. That’s something different.
If more snow stays on one side of a house than on the other, it can be due to many factors—sun position, wind or whirlwinds that blow snow onto or away from the roof, heating in the room on the left but not on the right, and so on. If snow stays on one house but not on another, there are other reasons as mentioned before.
So yes, if you have a bad feeling about it, get a professional to measure it. And no, using a smartphone with a thermal imaging app is not a professional measurement.
If more snow stays on one side of a house than on the other, it can be due to many factors—sun position, wind or whirlwinds that blow snow onto or away from the roof, heating in the room on the left but not on the right, and so on. If snow stays on one house but not on another, there are other reasons as mentioned before.
So yes, if you have a bad feeling about it, get a professional to measure it. And no, using a smartphone with a thermal imaging app is not a professional measurement.
Is the attic space inhabited and heated? Also in the neighbor’s house? Because even with good insulation, this could explain the difference compared to a neighbor with an unheated attic. Whenever there is a temperature difference inside the house, there will also be one outside, since 100% insulation is physically (almost) impossible.
Thanks for all the contributions. The attic is actually finished and heated. Above that, there is a small loft space. I quickly took some photos of the loft through a gap with my phone. It seems to be insulated after all... only the ceiling between the floors not really. There is just loose insulation wool lying on it. Should I spread it evenly over the ceiling between the floors?
The attic is insulated. In that case, the intermediate ceiling does not need to be insulated.
Don’t worry too much; everything looks fine. Maybe your exterior light emits too much heat 😉
Poor workmanship is not when the owner has no documents. Poor workmanship would be if the structural engineer did not build it properly. And the owner cannot (know) that.
Don’t worry too much; everything looks fine. Maybe your exterior light emits too much heat 😉
Poor workmanship is not when the owner has no documents. Poor workmanship would be if the structural engineer did not build it properly. And the owner cannot (know) that.
X
xMisterDx28 Nov 2023 18:40However, the thermal imaging camera should be operated and interpreted by someone who understands this type of equipment. If a layperson just points the camera around, you’ll probably hear something like, "Oh no, the neighbor’s roof is cooler!!"
A simple gable roof has a large surface area and therefore makes up a significant part of the building’s thermal envelope, so a considerable amount of heat loss is to be expected there. 68 kWh/m²/year (21,800 BTU/ft²/year) is not exactly Passive House standard. According to current building energy regulations, this would no longer be acceptable today.
The neighbor may have built to a higher energy standard or simply heats less. Who really knows that for sure?
A simple gable roof has a large surface area and therefore makes up a significant part of the building’s thermal envelope, so a considerable amount of heat loss is to be expected there. 68 kWh/m²/year (21,800 BTU/ft²/year) is not exactly Passive House standard. According to current building energy regulations, this would no longer be acceptable today.
The neighbor may have built to a higher energy standard or simply heats less. Who really knows that for sure?
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