Another myth of LED energy savings | SmartPlanet

Then you've never lived in the Arctic! 6" and 8" insulated walls would be the best, but you still have to heat, and continue heating if you don't want your water pipes to freeze in the winter. Heat doesn't get trapped in the insulation - the cold does. Insulation provides a "neutral" barrier between the indoor (heated) portion of the home to the outdoor (unheated) portion of the home. Typically, an attic is considered the "unheated" portion of the home, and the insulation is on THAT side of the vapour barrier - thus, cold.

If I open up my attic right now, it will be -12C in there right now, even though my home temp is +19C right now. My home is programmed to vary between 16 and 20 C depending on time of day. My attic only varies with the outside temperature.

Unfortunately, because so many of our newer homes are so "airtight" due to vapour barriers, tight fitting doors and air-tight 2 and 3 pane windows, manual fresh-air inlets for both the home and for the furnace (combustion air) are mandatory, so cold air is always infiltrating the home, and warm air leaving (bathroom vents, kitchen vents, etc).

Not everyone has a 6-digit income to afford these "hyper efficient" houses that you mention, and I believe that many studies have shown that the money spent on making such "hyper-efficient" homes would not be recouped or realize any energy-savings for several decades, usually longer than the home owner lives there, removing incentives for home-owners to build such homes in the first place.

As well, these over-engineered homes have a back-end price tag: the technologies that control the home's climate cost a lot of money, and require expensive tech-maint/support/care that is above and beyond normal home costs. Where are the $$$ savings?

People would rather have a less-efficient home and money in the pocket for their SUV's gas tank.

Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/another-myth-of-led-energy-savings/7368

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