- Appliances: use less power
- Beware vampire appliances
- Commercial building energy assessments
- Commercial building incentives
- Common mistakes
- Gifts that save energy all year
- Heating and coolling savings
- Holiday lighting: festive & efficient
- Insulation types: pros & cons
- Kitchens: ways to save
- Lower your utility bills
- Path to Energy Efficiency
- Programmable Thermostats
- Radon: test after energy upgrade
- Refrigerator: retire for quick payback
- Resolutions to conserve energy and save money
- Seal duct leaks
- Stack Effect Influences Energy Use
- Systems in house work together
- Wash clothes in cold water
- Water heating bills
- Where to make home improvements
- Windows: repair, don't replace
Home energy upgrades and radon testing go together
Your Path to Energy Savings
By Carole Fisher, Special to The Ithaca Journal
April 11, 2011
When you make that decision to weatherize your home for energy savings, take a minute to also consider what effect these measures may have on your indoor air quality, especially on radon levels.
Radon, the naturally-occurring soil gas, invisible and odorless, becomes a concern when it accumulates to unsafe levels inside buildings. High levels of radon can cause lung cancer, and is blamed for about 21,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Fortunately, testing for radon is simple and inexpensive, and every home can and should be tested.
Many people erroneously believe that having a drafty home disqualifies them from having a radon problem. The reasoning is that with all the fresh air coming in, indoor air contaminants are diluted or flushed out. This may or may not be true. Why? As warm air leaks out of the home, driven by the thermal stack effect, a suction effect is created in the lower areas of the house. This can sometimes pull radon and other soil gases into the house. So, in reality, it is impossible to predict which effect will be greater, dilution by air infiltration or increased concentration from suction of soil gases.
Energy upgrades that include the sealing of air leaks can have an effect on indoor air quality. By reducing the thermal stack effect and therefore the suction of soil gases, less radon may then enter the home. However, by sealing air leaks, there is also less outside air entering the home. Again, radon levels can be affected by both of these results.
So, what should a homeowner do? If you've never tested your home for radon, don't delay any further. Get a test kit today and use it (discounted test kits are available at <www.nysradon.org>). Then test again after your home energy improvements. If you've already tested for radon and have low levels, or if your energy retrofit is already scheduled and will be done shortly, then test for radon after the work is done. Remember, elevated levels can be fixed.
