Carbon Monoxide Safety - Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas released from natural gas appliances, such as furnaces and hot water heaters.  With proper maintenance and inspection of these appliances, and by installing CO detectors on each level of your home, you can avoid dangerous or even deadly hazards associated with this gas.

If you or your family show signs of CO poisoning, such as headache, dizziness, or nausea, or if your CO detector goes off, contact OPU immediately and we will come to your residence, at no charge , to check for any unsafe levels of CO.

Visit www.cosafety.org for more information.

Radiant Barriers

The benefits of radiant barriers can be easily exaggerated and consumers can be easily confused. Although an attic radiant barrier is an excellent idea for homes in the Sunbelt states, they are generally not worth the investment in Minnesota .

Consumers can easily be misled by a "demonstration box" with sunlamps shining on simulated attic insulation. We know that most Minnesota attics do not contain sunlamps shining down on the insulation, and in fact neither does sun! Rather the roof stops the solar radiation, and while some energy is reradiated from the underside of the roof, it is at a dramatically lower energy level. Minnesota 's well insulated attics further reduce the benefits that might be expected from a radiant barrier.

Would an attic radiant barrier be worth the investment? A study by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory says no. The analysis (at http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/radiant/rb_01.html) considers a radiant barrier installation in the attic of a poorly insulated (R-19) Minneapolis home. Summer cooling season lifetime present value savings were found to be less than $100. The analysis further concludes that adding conventional attic insulation would be a much better option.

An attic radiant barrier would be expected to have no net savings in the winter because:

1) the heat radiated from the cool top of attic insulation is extremely small, and

2) any potentially small heat gain during the day (a benefit in the winter) would be mitigated.

In conclusion, attic radiant barriers in Minnesota can help reduce summer cooling load, but will provide no heating season savings. Because heating energy is more predominant in Minnesota , attic radiant barriers would be best left for homes in the Sunbelt states.

Residential Audits

Owatonna Public Utilities links you to Free (DOE & EPA) Residential ON LINE Audit.

New Web-Based Heating & Cooling System Performance Comparison Tool

Please read the Owatonna Public Utilities (OPU) site terms of use (last modified 04/03/2000) before using this site. By using this site, you signify your consent to these terms. If you do not agree with the terms, please do not use this site. You may call (507) 451-2480 for terms clarifications or to request information.