Battic Door Energy Conservation Products written up in the Seattle P-I, 10/22/05
Avoid the draft from your
chimney
You expect brisk,
shivery breezes on an autumn day -- but not in your home. So Battic Door Energy Conservation Products has some clever devices
to plug leaks from overlooked areas such as clothes dryer vents and bathroom fans.
We're especially taken with the Fireplace Draftstopper, an inflatable, urethane flue plug that can be installed in a couple
of minutes and removed whenever you want a fire.
It keeps warm air where it belongs -- in your house -- and banishes cold downdrafts around leaky flues.
Given today's energy costs, it shouldn't take long to recoup the price.
The Draftstopper comes in two sizes to fit nearly any fireplace. 508-320-9082; www.batticdoor.com
View the complete article by clicking here
ACHR NEWS DEALER DESIGN AWARD WINNER 2005
07/01/2005 - Wow!! Check out our new product award!
Battic Door Energy Conservation Products
is winner in ACHR NEWS Dealer Design Awards
Battic Door Energy Conservation Products was recognized for excellence in product design
in the second annual Dealer Design Awards Program sponsored by The Air Conditioning Heating & Refrigeration News magazine. An independent panel of 65 contractors acted as judges in the contest that had
114 entries from 82 manufacturers. The company’s Whole House Attic Fan
Insulator Cover was the Bronze Award winner in the Miscellaneous Category. The
News is the leading trade magazine in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration industries.
News Publisher John Conrad stated, "This product design competition gives us the opportunity to recognize the outstanding product designs and innovations that make a dealers job easier and faster. It also enables our readers to identify new product opportunities."
”We are very excited to have our energy conservation products recognized by The News”
said Mark D. Tyrol, President of Battic Door. “With today’s skyrocketing energy costs, the time has come for every
homeowner to conserve energy however possible”, explained Tyrol.
“Many folks may not be aware of the often “overlooked” holes in their home. Others
that may be aware of the problems may not be aware of how easy it is to correct them” continued Tyrol.
“Our products seal overlooked holes in the home including the fireplace,
attic stair, whole house attic fan, and clothes dryer, and result in energy savings and improved comfort”, Tyrol explains.
“One or more of our products can be used in just about every home in North
America”.
Winning entries in the Dealer Design Awards will be (were) featured in the July 18, 2005 issue
of The News, which is distributed nationally to over 32, 000 HVACR contractors, wholesalers, and other industry professionals.
04/02/2005 - We did it again!!
Check out the latest article written about us by
Glenn Haege, "America's Master Handyman", and host of the nationally renown "The Handyman" radio show. Mr. Haege
has more than 30 years experience in the home-improvement industry. He has become one of the most respected voices of home-improvement
in the nation. Haege has answered more than 50,000 home improvement questions during his nearly 20 years behind
the microphone and at personal appearances. In addition to his regular radio broadcasts, Haege has made guest appearances
on over 200 radio stations, the CNBC Cable Network, the QVC Cable Shopping Channel, and is a syndicated columnist of the Detroit
News.
View the complete article by clicking here
Featured article
for 4/2/2005 - published Nationwide
Home & Housewares Show gives preview of things to come
At the 2005 International
Home & Housewares Show on March 20-22, my crew and I traipsed through all three buildings of McCormick Place in Chicago.
The exhibitors were very satisfied with the show. There was a far higher percentage of buyers than in past years.
The Canadian
contingent, especially the buyers from Canadian Tire (a really big Canadian chain), had their pencils out and were buying
big. I am going to tell you about some of the new things that my staff and I found this week. In what I consider to be acts
of pure genius, the International Housewares Association brought together two new groups to walk the show and report on their
findings.
The first was a group
believed to be trendsetting women retail buyers. These are the people who shop Target, Costco and other stores and actually
buy the products for their family's use. The second group consisted of industrial design students who aspire to get into the
business and appeal to the new trendsetters.
Both of these groups
were very enthusiastic about what they saw. I will give you an abbreviated report about the exciting trends and products their
findings next week. Here are some of the products I saw that addressed a real need or filled a niche:
The Battic
Door Co., (508) 320-9082, www.batticdoor.com, specializes in making draft-stoppers. Three of them are excellent solutions to questions I get every winter.
View the complete article by clicking here
03/20/2005 - We did it again!!
We were 1 of over 2,200 exhibitors to have their
products featured in the Chicago Tribune for the 2005 International Home & Housewares Show! Read the article below!
Getting Personal
By Karen Klages, Tribune Staff Reporter
published
Sunday March 20, Chicago Tribune
Battic Door, a Massachusetts-based company run by a couple of engineers,
figured out a clever fix for all the heat that gets lost throught the fireplace.
The draft stopper is simply an inflatable urethane pillow that you blow
up (by mouth) and insert into the fireplace cavity just below the damper to seal off the air flow.
Not an eyesore when in place, the draft stopper is hidden inside the fireplace.
But there is an orange flourescent sleeve with a warning label that hangs down a bit, to alert the homeowners to deflate the
pillow before lighting a fire.
The draft stopper comes in two sizes; is resuable; and works in either gas
or wood-burning fireplaces. Cost: $45. Visit www.batticdoor.com The company is exhibiting at the International Home & Housewares Show on hopes of getting retail distribution.
View the article by clicking here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - JANUARY 2005
BATTIC DOOR INTRODUCES ENERGY-SAVING WHOLE HOUSE FAN COVERS
Mansfield, MA - Battic Door, the leading manufacturer of attic stair covers,
introduces a new line of Whole House Fan Covers, with prices starting at $19.50.
Battic Door, the leading manufacturer of attic stair covers, introduces
a new line of Whole House Fan Covers.
With several sizes available to fit most any whole house fan, each kit includes
a cover and weatherstripping.
"Our new line of whole house fan covers compliment our highly successful energy-saving,
R-50, attic stair covers" stated Mark D. Tyrol, President of Battic Door.
"Designed for the home owner and do-it-yourselfer
to the weatherization professional, our whole house fan covers have been engineered to quickly and easily cover and provide
an air seal for what amounts to a large hole between the conditioned house and the unconditioned attic", explained Tyrol.
Attic
stairs and whole house fans increase energy costs due to heat loss and drafts. They are not insulated or weatherstripped, and
are like leaving a window open all winter long. These often overlooked sources of wasted energy are easily corrected by adding
a weatherstripped cover over them.
"Our attic stair covers have really taken off with homeowners and contractors, and it
was a no-brainer to bring these to market as quickly as we could" continued Tyrol.
"Our customers love these kits,
as they are so easy to install and you get an immediate payback in energy savings and improved comfort. Plus, by stopping
a major source of air leaks, attic mold and ice dams can be avoided."
To maximize the benefits, Tyrol suggests adding
the desired level of insulation to the covers. "That way you are able to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling when
the attic stairs or whole house fan was installed".
Available from Battic Door, whole house fan covers start at $19.50
each, and contractor discounts are available. Visit www.batticdoor.com for more information and to order.
# # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - JANUARY 2005
BATTIC DOOR ATTIC STAIR COVERS JOINS THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, INC.
Mansfield, MA – Battic Door Attic Stair Covers, a manufacturer and
distributor of residential energy conservation products, today announced that they have joined the Better Business Bureau
and have also been selected to be a member of the prestigious BBB Online Reliabilty Program.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) system in the U.S. extends over 98% of the
nation; coast-to-coast, and in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. The BBB has approximately 6,387 members which employ in excess
of 719,514 people.
"We are very honored to be a part of The Better Business Bureau and The BBB
Online Reliability Program," said Battic Door’s President Mark D. Tyrol.
Battic Door Attic Stair Covers manufactures and distributes low-cost, high-value,
air-leakage control energy conservation products for the four largest intentional openings in the house - the fireplace, the
pull-down attic stair, the whole-house fan, and the clothes dryer exhaust duct.
"The BBB is the ultimate sign of reliability and trust. We are pleased to
be a member of the BBB because it signifies our commitment to customer service, ethics and reliability”, Tyrol explained.
“BBB membership indicates that Battic Door has agreed to adhere to
the BBB standards of Membership, which sets the company apart from their competitors. These include having a satisfactory
record of customer service with the Bureau and responding promptly and fairly to all consumer complaints, if any,” said
Robert H. Williams, President and CEO. According to a recent survey, 75 percent of Americans aged 18 and older have more confidence
in doing business with a BBB member company.
The Better Business Bureau provides the ability to check out companies that
consumers can access anytime via the BBB website at www.bbb.org or by calling their local BBB Chapter.
The BBB system responds to millions of inquiries each year, providing information
about charity organizations, helping resolve consumers’ disputes with businesses through conciliation, mediation and
arbitration and promoting ethical business standards and voluntary self-regulation of business practices.
As a member of the BBB, the company may display the widely recognized member
BBB torch logo and display the BBB Online Gold Seal on its Web site. BBB members are setting the standard for credibility,
reliability and ethics.
About Battic Door Attic Stair Covers
Battic Door’s products lower homeowner’s energy costs by sealing the most often overlooked sources of air leaks
– the fireplace, the pull-down attic stair, the whole-house fan, and the clothes dryer exhaust duct. Their products
are sold direct to homeowners, weatherization firms and programs, municipals, utilities and contractors. Available at your
favorite Home Improvement Center, Hardware Store, or Lumber Yard, or order direct from the manufacturer at www.batticdoor.com.
About the BBB
The Better Business Bureau, Inc. is a non-profit, public service organization providing free business Reliability Reports,
Charity Reports, and other invaluable consumer information to the public. The BBB is a system of over 120 independent, local
BBB’s working with businesses and consumers throughout North America to resolve complaints and keep the public informed.
All BBB services are readily available on the Internet at www.bbb.org
Visit the Better Business Bureau by clicking here
# # #
10/11/2004 - We did it again!! Check out our latest interview, published
Nationwide!
High Energy Bills May Be Due To Commonly Overlooked Holes In Your Home
by Phoebe Chongchua
Copyright © 2004 Realty Times®. All Rights Reserved.
It's the unthinkable, leaving the door wide open in the chilling winter season.
Yet surprisingly many homeowners are doing something very similar to that when they overlook the largest holes in their homes.
The clothes dryer, attic stairway and fireplace may not typically come to
mind as escape routes for air, but they can be exactly that, as well as a costly expense to your heating bill.
"The clothes dryer exhaust duct goes right outside through a four-inch diameter
exhaust pipe," say Mark Tyrol, Battic Door Attic, Stair Covers in Mansfield Massachusetts. Tyrol says the small metal trap
door that opens and closes can get stuck open or blown open, "It's just like having an open window. You've got a four-inch
diameter hole that's just letting all your heat out through the dryer and letting all the cold air in." That's why sometimes
the coldest room in the house can be the laundry room.
Tyrol discovered a product that his company now sells that prevents air leakage.
The Clothes Dryer Vent Seal costs under $20 and helps keep out more than just cold air.
"It will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents
as well. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow
warm air, lint and moisture to escape," Tyrol says.
A second common culprit for heat loss is the attic stairway.
"When attic stairs are installed, a large hole approximately 10-square feet
is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed,
sheet of plywood," explains Tyrol.
Because attics are often ventilated directly to the outdoors, in the summer
they are extremely hot and in the winter they can be freezing and if only a thin sheet of plywood separates the attic from
the house, there's little protection from heat loss.
Tyrol said that gaps around the door are often visible.
"Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic
stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? These are gaps that add up to a large opening where your heated/cooled
air leaks out 24 hours a day. This is like leaving a window open all year round," warns Tyrol.
An easy, do-it-yourself installation product that costs $29.50 provides a
seal and keeps the cold air out. Insulation can be added over the Attic Stair Cover to restore the insulation that was removed
from the ceiling.
The third significant area of heat loss is through the fireplace. A recent
study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and
wasted energy caused by fireplaces.
"A lot of fireplaces have dampers that you open and close and they're not
designed to be airtight, so the chimney acts like a giant straw and it pulls the heat right out of the house," says Tyrol.
But the use of an inflatable, non-flammable pillow that can be placed up
inside the chimney can block air from escaping.
"What it does is seal the fireplace airtight so that none of your heat can
go out of the chimney and none of the cold air or toxins, such as the things that are inside the chimney, insects, sounds,
any of that can come back in the house," says Tyrol.
The fireplace draftstopper sells for $45 and is completely safe -- even if
you were to accidentally light your fireplace with the pillow still in place.
"First of all there's a bright reflective orange, I'll call it a warning
label, it's really a reminder to deflate it and remove it. But if somehow that's overlooked, as soon as the fire heats it
will just fall down on top of the fire and it's non-flammable so it will just smother the fire," explains Tyrol.
For more information visit www.batticdoor.com.
Published: October 11, 2004
View the article by clicking here
Check out our latest article,
published on-line and in newpapers Nationwide!
Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter
By Mark D. Tyrol, P.E.
Battic Door Energy Conservation
Products
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts
and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair, fireplace or clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring
in your home every day.
These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause heat
to pour out and the cold outside air to rush in -- costing you higher heating bills.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home.
Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits
caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.
But what can you do about the three largest “holes” in your home
-- the folding attic stair, the fireplace and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly
and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.
Attic Stairs
When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet)
is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only a thin, unsealed,
sheet of plywood.
Your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the
attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your
unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood.
Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the door. Try this yourself:
at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? These are gaps
add up to a large opening where your heated/cooled air leaks out 24 hours a day. This is like leaving a window open all year
round.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an attic stair cover.
An attic stair cover provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to
restore the insulation removed from the ceiling.
Fireplaces
Sixty-five percent, or approximately 100 million homes, in North America
are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings
to a home especially during the winter home-heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers.
Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through
a fireplace, and the results are amazing. One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated
house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent.
A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be
more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.
Why does a home with a fireplace have higher heating bills? Hot air rises.
Your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when warm heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn
in to make up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking the heated air from your house.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a fireplace draftstopper.
Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, a fireplace draftstopper is an inflatable
pillow that seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted
after.
Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts
In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the
house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold air leaks in through
the duct, through your dryer and into your house.
Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce this air leakage.
This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the air leakage. Compounding the problem is
that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open.
An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This
will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents as well. The vent will remain closed unless the
dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape.
For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions
and products, visit www.batticdoor.com or send a S.A.S.E. to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048.
Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing
in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic
stair cover and a fireplace draftstopper. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com.
Download a copy of the article by clicking here
or here,
or here,
or here,
or here,
or here!
Check out our latest article,
published on-line and in newspapers Nationwide!
Got Attic Mold? Lets Talk Energy Conservation!
By Mark D. Tyrol, P.E.
Battic Door Energy Conservation
Products
It happens to countless homeowners around the end of the year – you
make the annual visit to your attic to collect the holiday decorations and what do you find? Spots and blotches covering the
bottom of the roof sheathing. Worse yet – it turns out to be attic mold!
What does energy conservation have to do with mold in the attic? Well if
you take a step back and consider how the house behaves as system, they are often directly related.
Building science experts have long been using the “house as a system”
approach to diagnose the cause and origin of building defects.
For example, ice dams. These are often caused by warm air seeping into the
attic which causes the snow and ice on the roof to melt. The water drains to the edge of the roof (which is colder than the
rest of the roof because it is an overhang and not warmed by the attic), freezes and creates an ice dam. As this process is
repeated daily, the ice dam grows larger. Eventually water is forced under a shingle where it can seep into the house.
Understanding how the house behaves as a system and the various causes and
effects is necessary to diagnose most building related problems.
But how about that attic mold? How did it get there?
Mold requires chronic moisture to form and to thrive, so source(s) of moisture
must be present. Possibly the moisture came from outdoors. The roof is newer and a quick check of the roof shows no obvious
damage or leaks.
Possibly the moisture came from indoors. During the heating season, the interior
of the house frequently has high moisture levels, especially bathrooms and kitchens. A quick check shows that all bathroom
fans, kitchen vents, etc. are properly ducted completely outdoors and not into the attic. The amount of insulation looks good
and the attic is well ventilated.
Don’t give up – you are almost there! Remember the house as a
system? You know that warm, moist air is in the house, but how is it getting into the attic?
By air leaks! Air leaks are the leading source of energy loss in most houses,
and a frequent source of chronic moisture that can cause attic mold. Most homeowners are well aware of air leaks around windows
and doors (especially old ones), but many overlook the numerous gaps leading directly into the attic!
Have a look around the attic and you may find large gaps around recessed
lights and fans, holes where wires or pipes are installed, even large gaps around the chimney. And don’t overlook the
whole house fan and especially the folding attic stair - a big, uninsulated hole in your ceiling that is often overlooked!
These gaps can add up to a large hole that allows warm, moist air from the
house to flow right into the cold attic. The warm moist air condenses on the cold roof sheathing, creating chronically damp
conditions that can lead to attic mold growth. And the energy loss – it can be like leaving a window open all winter
long!
Seal these air leaks and you stop a significant moisture source. And just
think of all the energy you can save and the cold drafts you can stop!
Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing
in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic
stair cover and a fireplace draftstopper. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com.
View the article by clicking here.
Check out what The Baltimore
Sun had to say about Mark Tyrol and Battic Door Attic Stair Covers!
Even small business can make it big on the Web
By Doug Beizer
Special to The Baltimore Sun
Mark Tyrol is a lot of things: an engineer, an inventor and a businessman.
He is not a computer programmer. But that didn’t stop him from building
a website where he markets and sells a product he developed.
“I have absolutely no formal training as far as programming or computer
languages,” said Tyrol, who developed an attic-door insulating device called the Battic Door. “Even now that I’ve
been playing with my website for two years now, I still don’t know anything about the actual computer language.”
Using just the templates and the point-and-click tools at Bigstep, a Web-based
site builder, Tyrol built his e-commerce site. The Web-based tools and assistance needed to build a site have been around
for years, but the variety and sophistication of these offerings has never been better. Anyone, especially small business
owners, can build a site without buying software like FrontPage or knowing any programming language. If you can drag, cut,
copy and paste with a mouse, you can build a site.
Besides Bigstep, other services such as Homestead and Interland exist that
allow anyone to build a site -- everything from a simple photo album to a business site with databases and e-commerce. The
services host the site, provide or help register the Web address, and give you building and maintenance tools.
Bigstep’s entry-level offering for $9.95 a month includes the point-and-click
builder, 25 megabytes of disk space and a Web-traffic analyzing tool, said Peter Chambers, CEO of Affinity, which hosts Bigstep
and similar sites.
“Bigstep is designed to be an easy way to create a Web presence, no
matter which package you choose,” he said.
Bigstep’s more costly packages include features such as more storage
space for bigger sites, the ability to create custom pages and the ability to build and maintain a customer database.
“All our packages include phone support, which can be highly valuable
for those new to this,” Chambers said.
Bigstep starts out with templates. To customize from there, it has “building
blocks” to add headlines, customize text blocks or customize the layout.
Tyrol’s site, for example, is a basic two-column design with a number
of pages. He’s added photos of his products, several links and animated banners advertising his wares.
Like Bigstep, Homestead has a range of services starting with it newest offering,
PhotoSite, a digital photo-sharing service that starts at $4.99 a month.
“We wanted to address what about 80 percent of individuals want a website
for, and that’s sharing photos,” said Justin Kitch, Homestead’s CEO. “It’s the lowest-end offering
we have, but in some ways it’s the most powerful and fastest because it builds a website totally optimized for photos.”
PhotoSite comes with digital photo software, the ability to share online
photos and an easy-to-remember URL (yourname.photosite.com).
Moving up from PhotoSite, Homestead offers a Silver package that provides
the basics for one Web site with up to 10 pages, and a Web address generated by Homestead.
“Silver is for people who are either passionate hobbyists, or clubs
and teams that want to have a real basic website,” Kitch said about the $9.99-a-month package.
“A very common one would be for a PTA or a university volleyball team.”
Homestead’s Gold package is intended for small-business users. It provides
a personalized Web address, e-mail accounts and an unlimited number of pages.
The real power of Homestead is its click-and-drag page-design tools. Need
a shape or border? Just click on one of the hundreds of buttons to choose one.
Adding text is just as simple. Choose the font and color. Customize the size
by clicking and dragging. There are even effects such as text bounce, dissolve or fade.
“We kind of equate it to PowerPoint usage; people who know how to use
that application can easily use Homestead,” Kitch said. Even though the technology behind a simple rectangle element
and Homestead’s weather-information block are quite different, adding and customizing the features is an identical process.
“Just click on the rectangle to change the color, or click on the weather
element to change the ZIP Code, it’s treated the exact same way,” Kitch said.
Another Web site building site, Interland, offers a service to help those
who believe that starting from templates or a blank slate is too daunting.
“Our platinum version gives you a real professional Web designer who
will actually craft a custom Web site for you,” said Dan Bricklin, chief technology officer of Interland.
“You end up with a powerful Web site that you can add to and fill in
with content,” he said about the $95-a-month service. “And you get our easy-to-use tool to modify your site.”
The service also includes coaching and support from Interland’s designers.
Most of these services let users start with an inexpensive basic plan, and
then scale up to more sophisticated ones as needed. For small-business owners, Tyrol says a Web site is indispensable.
“Having a Web site is wonderful, it makes
a little company able to compete with the big companies,” Tyrol said. “And it makes you look much more established,
everybody should have one.” LA Times-Washington Post News Service
Hudson, MA Light & Power Joins our FREE SHIPPING
Offer! The Hudson Light and Power Department services all of Hudson and Stow and parts of surrounding communities. The following
article appeared in the Hudson, MA Light & Power Customer Newsline - January 2004. We are very grateful to
Hudson Light & Power for joining our program! Here is what they had to say:
Free Shipping on Battic© Door! If you have a folding
ladder stairway to your attic, then you may be interested in the Battic© Door Attic Stair Cover with R-7 Reflective Insulation.
Most folding attic stairways are not insulated and can be a source of major heat loss. The Battic© Door is constructed of heavy-duty cardboard that snaps
together to make a covering over the space. The
$39.50 kit comes with R-7 Reflective Insulation, weatherstripping and instructions.
To thank municipal light departments for their participation in the Battic© Door program, the manufacturers
are offering free shipping to our customers only
for a limited time. That amounts to a $10.50 savings!
For a free-shipping voucher and order form, call us at 978-568-8736 or stop by our office
at 49 Forest Avenue in Hudson. For more information on Battic© Door, visit www.batticdoor.com.
To view the complete article, click
on the link below! |
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Hudson, MA Power & Light Joins Battic Door FREE SHIPPING Offer!
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Danvers, MA Electric Joins our FREE SHIPPING Offer! The following appears on the
Danvers Electric website. We are very grateful to Danvers Electric for joining our program! Here is what they had to say:
New this year: Battic Doors
The Battic Door Attic Stair Cover
is an energy-saving insulation cover for your folding attic stairs. It reduces the air leakage between your house and
your attic, saving your energy costs and making your home more comfortable. It pays for itself in months.
Danvers Electric has arranged a special
price with FREE shipping directly to your home. The total price is $41.48. Please contact the manufacturer, Mark
Tyrol, Battic Door Co., @ 508-320-9082 or online ordering is available at www.batticdoor.com (when ordering online, please look for the correct
button for your municipal discount). You are looking to order the battic door with reflective/foil insulation and it
sells for $39.50 plus tax.
Visit the Danvers Electric website
by clicking the link below! |
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Danvers, MA Electric Joins Battic Door FREE SHIPPING Offer!
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The COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Department of Housing and Community Development - Bureau of Energy Programs - RECOMMENDS THE USE OF THE FIREPLACE DRAFTSTOPPER!
The following text appears in
the "Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Manual" dated April 1, 2003:
The fireplace
and its damper is a potentially large hole with a built in stack that should be addressed. Occupants tend not to feel leakage
around the fireplace since they tend to exfiltrate large volumes of air, creating a draft of makeup air somewhere else in
the home. Homeowner’s frequently leave the damper open without realizing it. A commercially available “Draftstopper”
can be used to stop the leak. Click the following link to view the document. http://www.state.ma.us/dhcd/components/dns/te_man.pdf
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04/02/2005 - We did it again!! 04/02/2005 - We
did it again!!
The Iowa Energy Center RECOMMENDS THE USE OF THE FIREPLACE DRAFTSTOPPER! The following text appears on their
website:
Plug your fireplace. If you never use the fireplace, put a plug in the flue of the chimney to reduce heat loss.
Seal the plug to the chimney with caulk and be sure to tell anyone who may want to start a fire that the chimney is plugged.
If you occasionally use the fireplace, you can add an inflatable DraftStopper™.
The Iowa
Energy Center was created in 1990. The Energy
Center's mission is to:
Strive to
increase energy efficiency in all areas of energy use; Serve as a model for state efforts to decrease dependence on imported fuels and to decrease reliance on energy production
from nonrenewable, resource-depleting fuels; Assist in assessing technology related to energy efficiency and alternative energy production systems; and Support educational and demonstration programs that encourage implementation
of energy efficiency. |
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Excerpt from an article that appeared on Realty Times - by
far the leading Real Estate News site on the internet. Nearly half a million consumers and real estate professionals come
to Realty Times each month to read the latest from our talented staff of award winning columnists.
Want a Winter Windfall? by Diane Benson Harrington - Published November 19, 2003
Investigate the fireplace. Any birds' nests in the chimney? Is the flue well sealed? Repair any
loose mortar and replace the chimney cap, especially if you have trees nearby that might give small animals access to the
chimney. Did the previous homeowners clean the fireplace thoroughly? Always keep the damper closed when there's no fire, and
consider adding an inflatable fireplace draft stopper, like the one manufactured by
Battic Door. They're easy to insert and remove, and keep warm air in and cool air out.
Read the complete article by clicking here
Save Money and Energy With New Products
By Jim Neidner (October 2003)
Dear
Jim: Is there any product on the market that can stop air leakage around my disappearing stairway to the attic inside my home?
During the cold winter months I get cold temperature transfer and air leaks. I have applied the roll-out tape form around the edges where my stairway closes into
the opening and have stuffed insulation behind the ladder but this really does not seal out the cold weather enough. If you know of any products please let me know where to find them, winter is around
the corner. Thanks for helping us on-line, Mike Z.
It’s a fact, attic disappearing stairways (folding stairway) inside our homes leak. The leakage is so bad it's like leaving a window open all during winter and/or summer months. Not only
does the cold air leak into your home during the winter, the stairway also allows the cold air-conditioning to leak out from
inside your home during the hot summer months.
Another area in
your home that has a huge air leakage which most people don’t even think about is your fireplace. Closing a damper during
summer does not stop your air-conditioning from leaking out; taking with it your hard earned dollars for energy cost.
Two new affordable products
recently invented by a professional engineer solve your attic leakage problem and pay for themselves in only a few months.
The Battic
Door stops air leaks and really seals the attic stairway tight. This is the most
effective product I have researched. R-7 reflective and R-50 insulation kit options maximize the performance of the
cover by restoring the insulation removed when the stairs were installed.
The other new product
called DraftStopper stops air leakage at your fireplace damper. Both will save
you money and are easy to install D-I-Y (do-it-yourself). We must all do what
we can to save on our energy consumption.
Jim Neidner is
a national award-winning remodeler/builder and former radio home host. Jim likes
helping people on-line with home questions or concerns. He is also a Realtor so be sure to tune-in Jim’s radio home
shows in radio archive at www.iHomeline.com
Excerpts
from an article that appeared in Energy Design Update October 2003
An Inexpensive Cap for Attic Stairs
The least expensive available stair cover, the Battic Door.
The Battic Door is a bottomless 13 1⁄2-inch deep cardboard
box sized to cover standard pull-down attic stairs. Two sizes are available to fit either 22”x54”
or 25”x54” stairs. The Battic Door is shipped flat, in a
26”x51” package. Assembly is simple.
The Battic Door comes with a package
of 3⁄4-inch wide foam weatherstripping to install
at the perimeter of the stair jamb.
The Battic Door reduces exfiltration. To increase
thermal resistance, a $69.50 “insulation kit” is available. This
consists of two parts: a circular “donut” made from an encapsulated fiberglass batt,
designed to slip around the perimeter of the stair cover; and a cap made of the same
insulation, designed to nestle inside the projecting walls of the donut. Of course, it is also
possible to glue rigid foam to the cardboard Battic Door.
The Battic Door costs $29.50 plus shipping. Competing
products cost between $100 and $220. For weatherization contractors looking for an inexpensive way to cut down on exfiltration
at attic stair openings, the Battic Door is worth considering.
For more information, contact Mark Tyrol, Battic Door, P.O.
Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048-0015. Tel: (508) 320-9082; Fax: (508) 339-4571; E-mail: info@batticdoor.com; Web site: www.batticdoor.com.
Excerpt from an article that appeared in Living in South Carolina - A Monthly publication from South Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc. Published August 1996 - Written by Larry Cribb, Circulation
- 415,000
Are you heating and cooling your attic? You probably have a hole in your ceiling
which causes your heating and air conditioning bills to escalate, yet you aren't aware of it. This hole is cut there for installation
of your disappearing stairway which provides access to your attic. You may think that hole is filled up, but is it?
The problem is improperly fitting doors on these stairways is often caused by the
wood warping, thus leaving gapping spaces when the door doesn't close properly. Even doors which seem to fit pretty well have
cracks surrounding the installation, and the doors themselves are usually made of very thin plywood without any added insulation.
This causes your heating/cooling unit to run overtime to try and compensate for the loss of efficiency caused by the camouflaged
hole in your ceiling.
"This is a problem that we run into all the time while performing energy audits for
our consumer/members to show them how they can save money on their energy bills," said Dwight Amick, Marketing Supervisor
of Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative.
"Until Recently, there really hadn't been an easy recommendation that we could
give them," he continued. "Even suggesting tearing out the existing stairway and installing a new one wasn't a viable because
of the cost involved, plus the fact that the new stairway still didn't always completely solve the problem of sealing up that
large hole in the ceiling. If you leave the light on in your attic, close the stairway, chances are you can see the light
shining through cracks about the installation. This will help you determine just how large your problem is."
Described simply, the Battic©
Door fits on top of the opening when the disappearing stairway is closed. It,
in effect, seals off the hole in your ceiling stopping either the super-heated or super-cold air of the attic from invading
your living area.
Excerpts from an article that appeared in The State
Newspaper Written by Danny C. Flanders
You've built a house with materials carrying the highest
insulation values and installed the most energy-efficient heating and air system.
Yet your monthly power bills leave you scratching your head.
Look up.
Most consumers don't consider their attic door when examining their homes for energy
loss. "But the problem is common in most houses we check on our audits," said Dwight Amick , marketing supervisor for Mid-Carolina
Electric Cooperative.
If you don't believe him, turn on the light in your attic, come down and close the
stairway. Chances are you'll see light shining through the cracks around the door.
That's because many attic doors are poorly constructed, often with thin plywood,
or are warped and fit improperly, allowing air to travel between floors.
Compounding the problem are attic fans and ridge vents designed to improve efficiency.
Battic© Door is an ingenious solution that fits over the opening to the attic when the disappearing stairway
is closed.
"Here is a cheap way to correct a major problem, which should give you a quick payback,"
Amick said.
Excerpt from an article that appeared in Light Touch
- A Monthly newsletter from Danvers, MA Public Works Division, Published Fall 2003 - Written
by Pamela Irwin
Do you have folding stairs that go up to your attic? If they are NOT insulated, they
are a major heat/cooling loss. Most pull-down attic stairway doors, simply do not seal well enough to prevent massive air
leakage, resulting in an enormous heat/cooling loss.
The BATTIC DOOR is a simple, easy, inexpensive and efficient way to seal against
attic door leakage and still allow easy access to the attic. Each kit comes complete with stair cover, a roll of weatherstripping,
a supply of self-adhered reflective foil insulation and easy to install directions.
Please stop by our Open House to see the demonstration and to order your own BATTIC
DOOR.
