Raising the roof with an energy heel
Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 08:16 by kpbadger
The house is now starting to take shape as the roof goes on.
The house framing does not display all the exciting, "sexy" green measures that will ultimately be included in the house. Today we see something much simpler -- the energy heel:
An energy heel (raised heel) lifts the roof -- in our case by about 6 inches -- so that we can get extra insulation in the attic. Instead of being pinched off where the roofline meets the outside wall, this extra space lets us get full height insulation above the exterior wall. This eliminates a cold spot that would otherwise develop around the perimeter of the home. We have contracted for spray foam insulation in this area to ensure complete coverage with no air leakage.
The cost to us for the energy heel: $0. We saw this on our Green Built Home checklist and asked, and Wayne Acker said, "sure." And this is pretty typical; any truss company can raise the heel at minimal or no cost. The only other cost consideration is an extra lap of siding.
Further reading about raised heel roof trusses:
