You don't necessarily need the degree days. Just go to the REScheck site linked below and enter the project information to see if the design complies with the energy code for its location. All residential projects I have designed in the last 10 years have been required to have a passing REScheck score. All but 6 states currently allow it's use as evidence of energy code compliance. It's major advantage is that it considers overall energy use (insulation thickness and mech. equip. effeciency) and allows you to shift insulation and equip. values to see what combination is most effective. You can also download the software at: http://www.energycodes.gov/rescheck/download.stm Here is a link that might be useful: REScheck online calculator

Hi ryanaiden! We saw that you are trying to convince your husband to go green so we thought the information below may be helpful. We listed 10 reasons to add natural light to your home to help cut down on energy costs. Hopefully this information will convince him! :) Each year, 10 percent of a typical single family homeâs energy bill is spent on lighting. An additional 49 percent of the bill is spent on heating and cooling costs, which can be greatly impacted by electric light use and heat gain or loss from inefficient windows and skylights. When daylighting applications are properly applied, homeowners can greatly decrease the amount of energy used within their home. The New Solatube Smart LED system delivers beautiful daylight during the day that seamlessly transitions to energy efficient LED lighting at night. Here are 10 reasons why you should add daylight to your home: 1. Daylighting provides energy usage reduction during the most important time of day, peak hours, when energy rates are the highest and daylight availability is the greatest. 2. Integrating Solatube Daylighting Systems into home designs can slash interior lighting costs by up to 80%. 3. Solatube Tubular Daylighting Devices can bring daylight into dark spaces into homes and businesses, and can be easily installed in about two hours without the hassle and expense of reframing. 4. A 2003 study of office worker productivity found that exposure to daylight was consistently linked with higher levels of concentration and improved short-term memory. 5. According to the Wisconsin-based Daylighting Collaborative, about 86% of electricity in traditional buildings is used for light, fans and cooling. Adding Solatube daylighting systems can cut these costs by more than 50% by reducing electric lighting, because daylight produces less heat per unit of illumination than most light sources. 6. Daylight provides the truest and most vivid color rendition of all available light sources. At night, the LED lights in the Solatube Smart LED, offer the more beautiful color and are more efficient than compact fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. 7. The Solatube Smart LED, a fusion of daylighting and LED lighting, can deliver up to 94 percent in energy lighting savings. 8. Studies in Canada and Sweden noted improved student behavior and health, including fewer days of absences per year, in daylit classrooms. 9. The new NAHB Green Home Building guidelines specifically recommend that Tubular Daylighting Devices be installed in rooms without windows. 10. Skylights are cited as the number one option in âdream bathroomâ designs. Instead of making drastic structural changes that will cost you a fortune, a Solatube Daylighting System can provide you the daylight you need at a fraction of the cost with no structural changes or painting. Daylighting systems (i.e. windows, skylights, Tubular Daylight Devices, etc.) are not only eco-friendly, but they provide exceptional lighting and have even been proven to boost morale and productivity (among many other benefits). By using a renewable resource, daylighting systems are able to harness the sunâs rays and help build a sustainable future.

If anyone is still reading this thread, my mom has been suffering for years with blown in cellulose insulation finding its way into her single story house. The HVAC system is in the attic. A fine film of insulation covers every horizontal surface in her house and after 2-3 weeks of foregoing her weekly dusting ritual, you can dust a surface with your hand and have a good amount to visually inspect. She's been there since the house was new, nearly 15 years, and the HVAC company who installed the unit (along with the builder) when it was new have been back countless times to try and figure out the problem. Everything that can be sealed has been sealed. There are a number of pocket doors in the house that were the latest suspects, but even after sealing the tops of those the dust continues. She's had the "dust" analyzed to be sure and it is in fact the same insulation as is in the attic. She lives in South Texas and is to the point now that she's considering having the entire mess vacuumed out of the attic and replaced with batts. It seems completely impossible but I've seen it with my own eyes. If anyone else has had a similar issue and solved it, I'd love to hear about it!!

Thx for all the helpful replies and I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I have been reading about this until quite frankly, I feel way more knowledgeable but still undecided. It seems to me the only reason I would spray the roofline like you all mentioned is because the ducts are up there and potentially my AC unit could be. I believe I understand that if I use OC I need to have a supply and return up there etc. If I use CC then maybe I don't. So I'm not an AC person. I get that ducts leak. I'm guessing that this doesn't matter whether you use the rigid ducts like my current house has or the flex ducts. Is the only goal here to keep the temp difference nominal so the unit doesn't run as often? Because if there is some duct leakage, that is just wasted right as it escapes out the ridge vent? Air in the attic doesn't get recycled back into the house does it? I've been sitting here reading on Greenbuildingadvisor.com and to me the biggest issue is roof leaks and being able to locate them which has happened on every house I have owned due to storms when the roof is sprayed. So I still do not get why not spray foam the attic floor with CC, and do a blower test to make sure its sealed up. Then check and address those lines? Also since I'm not an ac person, I would much rather the AC unit not be in the attic. But I'm not sure if I located in the garage storage location, if lines could be ran the 55' to the opposite side of the house. I "think" if they put in the attic, at least looking at some other houses that were done, they would put it central like over the LR and then run the lines out bot ways with two returns. One from each side of the house. I have seen a couple houses like this and then the attic floor was sprayed with CC. The walls had OC in them.