Air source heat pumps: harvesting heat from cold air While air source heat pumps (ASHPs) are gaining traction in milder regions of Alaska like Southeast, they aren’t powerful enough to be used as a primary heating system in the Interior because they only work down to...
Shallow Frost Protected Foundations a more economical option on the right site When building a home in a cold climate, the foundation is traditionally placed on undisturbed or compacted soils below the frost line to better resist the effects of ground freezing and...
Do I need to worry about radon when building my house? The short answer is yes. Fairbanks is known for having soil gases like radon, especially in higher elevations and areas with schist. The radioactive gas produced by the natural breakdown of uranium in the ground,...
Insulating the basement or crawl space Interior Alaska has cold soils. Even below the frost line, it may only be a few degrees above freezing. While that’s still warmer than the air temperature in the winter, you can lose a lot of heat through the basement or crawl...
Is there anything I can do to prevent my floor from changing when the ground moves seasonally under my post-on-pad foundation? Most Fairbanks homes using post-and-pad construction were built on land with unstable ground in anticipation of some degree of seasonal...
How should I maintain my crawl space? With our tendency to consider things “out of sight, out of mind,” crawl spaces are an area of the house that tends to get neglected. Unfortunately, this also means crawl space problems can go unnoticed until they have an effect on...
