Month: July 2013

Noisy Pipes

There are three common types of noise in plumbing systems:

Rattling When Water Is Turned On

Reasons for this type of sound are:

  • If the system is new or just been altered it could be air in the pipes.
  • With hydronic heating, or some solar systems it could  be steam in the pipes.
  • Pipes that are not well fixed and can move.

See Rattling or Thumping Pipes for suggested cures.

Whistling or Moaning When Water Is Running

This is known as Harmonic Vibration. Its usually due to  high water pressure combined with  partially open valves. Sometimes it can also be caused by pipes that are too small and/or too many bends.

Turning the Stop tap down a bit can reduce the problem.

Banging When Water Is Turned Off

A single sharp bang, sometimes followed by a shuddering vibration, may occur when a suddenly closed valve forces flowing water to stop abruptly. For example when a washing machine finishes filling.

You should take action to Stop Water Hammer as soon as possible. This is because each time it occurs the pipes are being subjected to the fatigue of  several waves of high pressure which can result in leaks in pipes and fixtures.

 

See Settling In for more information about when you move into your new house.

 

Insulation Basics – Ceiling Insulation

Without effective insulation more heat is lost through the roof than either the walls or floor.

There are a range of options for insulating your new home roof with some insulation materials having different effects in summer and winter.

Here are the calculations for my last new house which had a tiled roof with R3.5 Ceiling Batts.

Element

R Value

Winter

R Value

Summer
Outside surface air layer 0.04 0.04
Tiles 0.02 0.02
Roof Space 0.00 0.46
R3.5 Insulation 3.68 3.35
Plasterboard 10mm 0.06 0.06
Inside surface air layer 0.11 0.16
Total R value 3.91 4.09
U value = 1/R 0.26 0.24

The heat losses in winter for a 200 sq m roof  with rooms at 15 degrees above outside temperature will be:

  • Area x ‘U’ x temperature difference = watts
  • 200 x 0.26 x 15 = 780w
  • Heating Requirement = 0.78kw/hour

The heat gains in summer for a 200 sq m roof  with rooms at 10 degrees below outside temperature will be:

  • Area x ‘U’ x temperature difference = watts
  • 200 x 0.24 x 10 = 480w
  • Cooling Requirement = 0.48kw/hour

Remember this isn’t the total heating and cooling requirement as heat is also lost through windows, ceilings floors and ventilation.

To find out about different options have a look at the Insulation Council Handbook.

See Insulation for similar Posts

For Posts about Green Building see Sustainability

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