2012年1月15日 星期日

Mosley Leads Maryland Past Georgia Tech

Usually when Terrell Stoglin isn't Maryland's runaway scoring leader, bad things happen. The first two times it happened resulted in 20-point losses for the Terrapins. The next two times they struggled to beat low-level competition Radford and Cornell.

But tonight against Georgia Tech, the Terrapins' leading scorer wasn't Stoglin, but Sean Mosley. And guess what? Maryland took home a 61-50 victory. Mosley dropped 18 points - 16 of them coming in the second half - to lead the Terrapins to a hard-fought win in a sloppy affair over a Yellow Jacket team that was, up until this afternoon, playing its best basketball of the season. James Padgett pitched in with 14 points and 9 rebounds of his own in one of his best performances of the season.

I don't want to draw too much into this - Stoglin still had 14 points and was the offense for much of the second half - but it's interesting that Maryland was good enough tonight to defeat a mid-tier ACC team by double-digits even without getting a full-on #StogMode performance. They had to rely a lot on their defense as well as getting points from some areas that probably won't be there as the season goes on, but it had to start somewhere.GreenRay's microinverteres design uses a different energy storage approach,

I don't think this is a strategy Maryland should actually be pursuing, mind you. When Stoglin isn't knocking down a bunch of shots,This checklist glassinsulator can be used as a general reference guide for Selecting thebestipodnano5thonsale in Comfort Environments. the offense tends to look sloppy, and today's game was a perfect example of that. The first half was the epitome of messy play, with 16 combined turnovers and shooting percentages around 25% for both sides. Maryland, by the virtue of the free throw line and a nice last-second steal-and-dunk by Nick Faust, took a five-point lead into the half.There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle, That lead would grow as large as 12 in the second half, and usually hovered around 10 for the majority of the half. Georgia Tech fought back to cut the lead down to four, but a series of clutch plays by Mosley in the final two minutes - including a three-pointer and 4/4 shooting from the free throw stripe - sealed the deal for the Terrapins.

The 11-point victory gives Maryland a 12-4 overall record and raises them to 2-1 in the ACC. Their schedule takes a drastic turn after this victory, but for a season that the Terrapins are taking one game a time, I imagine they (and their fans) will be happy with the turnout so far.

Let's start out with the obvious: Maryland's offense, especially in the first half, probably wasn't good enough to win against the vast majority of ACC teams. That might've been expected to some extent, given that Georgia Tech has one of the best defenses in the conference, but they were extremely sloppy in the first half and had to rely both on James Padgett's offensive rebounding ability and Georgia Tech's proclivity to foul to generate points. That's not always going to be there. They're lucky that Georgia Tech is exceedingly average with the ball, or they could've been staring up at a significant halftime deficit.

But there were good signs as the game went on. The second half was a much better showing,The online resource for Europe's Number 1 provider of on-site hydraulichoserepairs. with only five turnovers and a significant uptick in shooting percentage. And they did it with only seven of their 37 points coming from Stoglin. Mosley's activity was a big reason for the improved performance, but the entire offense looked like a more efficient beast than we've seen most of this season.

But perhaps the biggest difference, even bigger than Mosley outscoring Stoglin, was free throw shooting. They've been shooting less than 65% this year, but hit 19-23 tonight - that's 83%. The only misses came from Padgett, who was 6-7, and then three from Ashton Pankey and Berend Weijs. Mosley in particular was good in this area, knocking down 10-10 from the stripe,The BEDDINGE mattress is made for the beddinges set. with Padgett's good showing another pleasant surprise. Maryland has always gotten to the free throw line at a simply absurd rate - usually top five in the country - but their inability to knock them down has kept FTs from being a big part of the offense. If that changes, things will get much easier down the line.

Ventrus Announces Publication of Prior Phase 2b Study on the Safety

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted between September 2001 and August 2002, randomized 121 patients at five colorectal surgery sites in Germany. The principal investigator and lead author of the paper is Prof. Dr. Alexander Herold of Mannheim, Germany. Compared with placebo, iferanserin significantly reduced patient-reported severity of daily bleeding beginning at day 1 and itching beginning at day 2 . The effects were sustained throughout the 14-day treatment period. There was also a reduction in patient-reported severity of daily pain seen with iferanserin treatment. Adverse events were mild and infrequent and did not differ significantly between treatment groups.

The paper also presents the results from a post hoc analysis of the data using endpoints that Ventrus has adopted for its ongoing Phase 3 pivotal trial being conducted in 600 patients at 70 centers in the US. The primary endpoint in this ongoing Phase 3 study is cessation of bleeding by day 7 through day 14 . In the German Phase 2b study, it was determined that 57% of iferanserin-treated patients had cessation of bleeding versus only 20% of placebo-controlled patients . The secondary endpoints of the ongoing Phase 3 study are cessation of itching and pain by day 7 through day 14. In the German Phase 2b study, the data showed that 59% of iferanserin-treated patients versus 32% of placebo-controlled patients had cessation of itching, while pain ceased at day 7 and did not return by day 14 in 50% of iferanserin-treated patients versus 18% of placebo-treated patients.EvoEnergy is a leading installer of solarpanels for homeowners and businesses across the UK.Credit Card Processing and merchantaccount.

"The findings of this Phase 2b German trial were significant in defining the targeted patient population and developing meaningful endpoints for our ongoing pivotal Phase 3 trial for iferanserin. The therapeutic benefits observed in the Phase 2b trial suggest a potential role for iferanserin for the treatment of symptomatic hemorrhoids," said Dr. Russell Ellison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ventrus BioSciences, Inc.As a leading manufacturer of polishedtiles,

Dr. Ellison elaborated, "As recently observed through our omnibus market research, consumers who have suffered from hemorrhoids in the past year constitute approximately 10% of the US adult population, with the vast majority seeking a medical solution."

Ventrus anticipates reporting the top line data from its ongoing US Phase 3 trial of iferanserin in hemorrhoids in June of 2012, and the data from the European Phase 3 trial of VEN 307 for the treatment of anal fissures in May 2012 .

Ventrus is a development stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of late-stage prescription drugs for gastrointestinal disorders. Our lead products are: Iferanserin for the topical treatment of hemorrhoids, for which the first Phase 3 clinical trial began in August 2011 and is ongoing,Original oilpaintings by fine art artist Teresa Bernard. Free online art instruction and painting tips.Diagnosing and Preventing coldsores Fever in the body can often trigger the onset of a cold sore. and topical diltiazem for the treatment of anal fissures for which the first Phase 3 trial was initiated in November 2010, and is ongoing. Our product candidate portfolio also includes topical phenylephrine intended to treat fecal incontinence. VEN 307 and VEN 308 are two molecules that were previously approved and marketed for other indications and that have been formulated into our in-licensed proprietary topical treatments for these new gastrointestinal indications. VEN 309 is a New Chemical Entity (NCE).

Loveland native Jenna Suppes fashions dolls for Rasbubby Hill business

In her attic workspace, Jenna Suppes combines business savvy with a little girl's love of dolls.Glass insulator were first produced in the 1850's for use with telegraph lines.

The Windsor resident keeps her supplies -- fabrics, ribbons, snaps and buttons -- in pastel pink and blue bins, while her worktable faces Maizey's Tea Shop, a tea stand in her 4-year-old daughter's play area.

Suppes -- who has more than a hundred dolls that she's kept from childhood on -- makes clay baby dolls for her business Rasbubby Hill,It has downgraded price targets for David Jones honeycombpanelsbest , which she founded five years ago.

"I always loved dolls since I was little,We are manufacturing and supplying injectionmoldes & molded parts,The BEDDINGE mattress is made for the beddinges set." the 32-year-old woman said, adding that she shook with excitement when she received her first doll at age one. "As I got older, I started collecting them."

The name Rasbubby Hill comes from Bubby, her nickname, and the name of the childhood playhouse her father Tom Stroh built. The playhouse was surrounded by wild raspberry bushes,Bathroom floortiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. or Rasbubbies, and sat on top of a hill in the backyard of the Strohs' Loveland home.

In January 2007 while Suppes was studying nursing, she came upon clay babies. She decided to try the craft, and after several attempts, established her own method, later realizing she made her dolls backwards from what the typical instruction manual recommended.

"I didn't know there was tutorials out there," Suppes said. "I started with a ball of clay and built on top of it."

Suppes crafts her dolls out of polymer clay without using molds and hand sculpts and hand paints them, spending an average of four hours on each one.

Expecting to get $5, Suppes sold her first doll on eBay for $50 and soon quit school to focus on her craft.

Over time, the dolls -- which typically are five to eight inches long and have soft or clay bodies -- sold for higher prices and now average $300 but can go as high as $1,000 or more.

"All of my dolls are so different," Suppes said.

Suppes doesn't know if the dolls will be boys or girls until she finished them. At that point, she decides on the theme, such as bath, bedtime, teddy bear or monkey.

"I love seeing what little characters come out of each one," Suppes said.

The dolls have their eyes opened or closed and have different expressions, such as smiling or pouting. Or they might be yawning or sleeping.

"I usually don't know what they look like until they're done," Suppes said.

Suppes' mother, Shelley Stroh of Loveland, makes most of the clothes for the dolls, while her father makes furniture, like mini-cribs, highchairs and chairs, that the two also sell separately. Her cousin, Cindy Bannick of Loveland, makes teddy bears and stuffed animals for the dolls to hold.

"It's a whole family effort," Stroh said. "Her dolls are so unique because they have that cute baby doll look we have always loved. ... It's fun to see how the dolls have gotten better and better over the years."

Suppes learned how to make dollhouse miniatures when she was sick as a child and spent three years off and on at Children's Hospital for anorexia nervosa. Today, she makes mini pacifiers, diapers, blankets and other supplies for her dolls.

2012年1月12日 星期四

10 Home Remedies For Hemorrhoids

Why a list of home remedies for hemorrhoids? More commonly known as Piles,Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself ceramictile. it is one of the commonest surgical disorders we humans face. Some theorize it’s a price we pay for being able to stand up and not walk on all fours like our ancestors. Tortuous and enlarged veins of the anus are what piles primarily constitute. The veins enlarge and start protruding from the mucosa and start bleeding.

Typically a painless bleed from the anus,Choose from our large selection of cableties, usually bright red bleeding after moving the bowels, can occur anytime. The pain is due to straining to move bowels and not due to the piles per se. This is the case with internal hemorrhoids. External hemorrhoids are ones where the veins are externally visible and maybe feel like a lump beyond the margins of the anus. They will be tender to touch.

Also, there might be sensation of something coming out from the rectum or a sensation of heaviness and fullness. There might be some amount of burning. Stools might appear mixed with fresh blood or clots or maybe maroon or tarry in color. There might be itching and irrLearn all about solarpanel,itation in the anus.

Sometimes if internal hemorrhoids have been present for a while with invisible blood loss, then the first symptom might be light headedness and generalised weakness due to the consequent anaemia. If there is anal pain while moving bowels which lasts even after the process is over, then it is due to a fissure-in-ano and not hemorrhoids. They are commonly confused with each other and accurate diagnosis of either is necessary to implement correct treatment.

Before we get into some remedies for hemorrhoids, let us contemplate on the causes of this condition:

Chronic constipation leading to straining, pregnancy and childbirth, lifting heavy weights regularly, inadequate dietary fiber, water and lastly obesity are some causes. Also if both your parents suffer from piles, then chances are you too will as this shows a tendency to lax tissue. Congestion of the liver called portal hypertension is a grave condition which leads to piles and needs to be adequately evaluated by a qualified physician, treated in time to prevent other fatal complications.

Avoid anal intercourse. This will definitely worsen the problem.

Avoid straining while moving bowels. Straining is the major cause of piles and will lead to worsening of bleeding. Instead try relaxing and let gravity do its job.

Avoid standing for too long. Just like varicose veins of the legs, these varicosities also worsen with prolonged standing as the blood pools in them.

Avoid having canned and processed foods. They are low in dietary fiber and thus will lead to constipation and worsen piles.

Home remedies for hemorrhoids:

Figs – Fresh figs are high on fiber and carbohydrates. Consume fresh figs or figs soaked overnight in water. Strain the water and consume it daily twice for a month to see significant results in hemorrhoids.See more tags at loseweightfastonsale.World's Leading microinvertersystems Provider,

Milk – Consuming a glass of warm milk with a teaspoon of ghee in it soothes the large intestine and helps smooth bowel movements, thereby reducing piles. Milk is one of the primary remedies for hemorrhoids.

Buttermilk – Buttermilk with a pinch of rock salt is known to relieve constipation and effectively reduce piles.

Sesame seeds – Boil 15-20 sesame seeds in a glass of water. Strain it and let it cool. Consume this concoction twice daily for a month to see results with hemorrhoids.

Onions – Consuming raw onions or soaked onions can help ease the blood flow and inflammation. Have an onion twice daily to relieve piles.

Radish – consuming radish juice twice daily for at least a month shows significant relief in piles.

Mango – Wash and grind mango seeds into a powder. Consume this as it is or with water twice daily to relieve the bleeding of piles.

Aloe vera – Application of aloe vera gel directly on the anus soothes the inflammation, relieves the burning and acts as a lubricant for smoother bowel movements.

Witch hazel – Apply witch hazel using sterile cotton pads and leave them for a period of 2-3 hours. Repeat this twice daily to shrink the swollen veins.

Tea – Brew a tea of collinsonia or stone root, goldenseal root and yarrow, together or separately. Strain and cool the concoction. Apply over the piles using a sterile cotton ball. Repeat this 2-4 times daily. This shall relieve the burning and the bleeding.

While we’re hoping our list of home remedies for hemorrhoids are handy, remember that if not treated in time, piles might get thrombosed, strangulated or infected. If none of the remedies above help, refer a qualified homeopath, naturopath or conventional medicine doctor.

China toy factories face troubles

Hong Kong’s plastic toy factories face tough conditions, squeezed between weak markets overseas and rapidly rising wages and costs in their mainland China factories.

In interviews at the recent Hong Kong Toy Fair,Muyoung mould specializes in manufacture plasticmoldingonsale, the world’s second-largest toy exhibition after the Nuremburg International Toy Fair in Germany, local plastics executives and industry leaders struck tones somewhere between caution and pessimism.

Looking at the numbers it’s easy to see why: The global toy market grew only 1 percent in 2011, according to market research firm NPD Group, and the head of the Hong Kong Toys Council estimates local factories will see only 1 percent growth this year.

Add in wages in Chinese factories going up 15-20 percent a year, labor shortages, and other rising costs, and toy factory executives said they have no breathing room.

“2011 was a disaster for the toy industry overall,” said Lawrence Chan,The magiccube is an ultra-portable, chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-based plastic toy maker Wynnewood Corp. “The first half of last year was unbelievably bad. It hurt most of us.”

Hong Kong is the world’s second-largest toy exporter, and along with mainland Chinese firms, make up by some estimates 70 percent of world toy production. Hong Kong firms have substantial toy production in the Pearl River Delta region around Guangzhou.

Yeung Chi Kong, executive committee member of the toys council and vice chairman of plastic toy maker Blue Box Group, predicted that Chinese factory wages would rise 15 percent this year, after going up 20 percent each of the last two years.

China’s strengthening renminbi also rose 5 percent against the U.S. dollar in 2011, which added another 3 percent to factory production costs, he said. Raw material costs for plastics, metals and cotton also have risen.

“I am seeing a lot of badly run factories going out of business, leaving the cream of the crop,” Yeung said.

He and other Hong Kong toy factory executives at the Jan. 9-12 fair called on toy brand owners to accept higher prices to ensure quality. But Yeung also urged toy factories to treat workers better, upgrade management systems and invest more in automation.

“In the mainland in the last 30 years, we have gotten used to hiring more workers” to solve a problem,5 hours ago by electriccarjackes on the bright side for the heal. Yeung said.

From interviews with toy brand owners, however, it seems unlikely they’ll accept much in the way of higher prices.

Canadian plastic action figure maker Round 5, for example, said it was very aware of problems facing the Chinese injection molding factory it contracts with for production, and is working to address them, but toy retailers are not accepting higher prices.

“We definitely feel the labor shortage,” said Barron Lau, CEO of Markham, Ontario-based Round 5, which has licenses to produce Bruce Lee action figures, among others. But, he said, “Retailers keep our price steady. We have to eat the costs.”

The shortage of workers in Pearl River Delta toy plants means orders that used to require four-month lead times now require six months,It has downgraded price targets for David Jones honeycombpanelsbest , complicating his company’s planning, he said.

China’s higher costs had some toy factories elsewhere in Asia seeing opportunities.Looking for coldsorestreatments?

In Taiwan — where factory wages are still much higher than mainland China but have been flat over the last decade — the rising costs in China could bring business back, said Meiko Wang, sales manager with Cyber Giant Enterprises Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of plastic ride-on toys in Tainan.

But executives of several factories from Taiwan, Korea and elsewhere in Asia said they had not seen much movement of toy orders from China.

One longtime toy industry analyst, Jane Zimmy with NPD Group Inc. in Port Washington, N.Y., said she was skeptical that much production would leave China, even with higher costs.

Zimmy, who has followed the industry for 30 years, said toys increasingly have substantial electronic components that require skilled manufacturing and strong supply chains, which is hard for lower-wage countries to match.

“Moving the production processes is pretty complicated,” she said, noting, for example, that the production lines for popular toy tablet computers like the LeapFrog have many of the same requirements as manufacturing iPads.

It’s a point echoed by others at the fair, including Round 5’s Lau. He said that while Vietnam and India are sometimes mentioned as alternate locations for making toys like his PVC action figures, they lack the infrastructure, supply networks and experience of China.

Solar energy finds a home on Iron Range

The sun continues to shine on Minnesota’s fledgling solar panel industry even as high-profile bankruptcies in the business capture headlines and as China muscles in on markets.

More than 100 contractors,Find the Farm cubepuzzles at the Melissa and Doug online store. renewable energy experts, civic leaders and local residents toured Silicon Energy’s new solar panel manufacturing plant here on Wednesday to see how the Iron Range’s newest industry is growing. The event was sponsored by the Northeast Region Clean Energy Resource Team, an organization that promotes renewable and sustainable energy.

The Silicon Energy plant here started production in earnest in November and now employs 15 people assembling solar panels designed for homeowners, the military, small businesses and schools.

Silicon Energy started in 2007 with a home office and production plant outside Seattle and chose the Iron Range for their first expansion. So far they have weathered a slow economy and intense competition from inexpensive Chinese solar panels by promoting quality over cost.

While the race to produce the cheapest solar panels helped bankrupt three big U.S. manufacturers last year, Minnesota’s two panel makers say they have a plan for the long haul.

“Most of the (solar panel) industry is going down the road of cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. But we’re going in another direction,” said Gary Shaver, Silicon Energy president, at Wednesday’s event. “You can call it a niche market,CBMI is leading the world in preventing cheapipodnanoes , if quality is a niche. But we’re trying to sell quality to everyone because in the long run it makes better economic sense.”

The company’s hallmark is durability, with the guts of the sunlight-to-electricity system sealed between two panels of glass. The panels are virtually unbreakable, withstand severe weather and shed snow faster than competitors’ units. The company claims to have the only 40-year durability rating in the business, with no exposed metal parts to rust or plastic to crack.

Their target market is the Twin Cities, but they also are shipping across the Iron Range and as far as Indiana.

“It’s the highest-quality, best looking panel on the market,” said Rebecca Lundberg, a Twin Cities solar installation contractor. “You’ve got a local company that makes a beautiful product, and that’s good for Minnesota.We provide you a big discount on Catsuits & zentai,”

Shaver said he’s pleased with the slow but sure startup to the company’s Minnesota expansion and vowed to expand the company at a sustainable rate, adding additional lines and workers as demand picks up.

Silicon Energy received ample public incentives to build the 25,000-square-foot plant here. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board offered a $1.5 million loan. The IRRRB also approved a $3.6 million loan to the Economic Development Authority of Mountain Iron to construct the plant for the company. Silicon Energy is the first tenant in the city’s Renewable Energy Park.

The Mountain Iron plant is the second solar manufacturer in the state, behind TenKsolar that opened in Bloomington in August 2010.

Joel Cannon, CEO of TenKsolar, said his business continues a “lumpy” pattern of growth despite an industry shakedown last year that saw Solyndra of California, Evergreen Solar of Massachusetts and SpectraWatt of New York all file for bankruptcy, with Solyndra’s $527 million federal loan package spurring public outcry.

Those companies may have been hardest hit because of the growth of low-cost Chinese panels, but also because their products didn’t stand out in the crowd, Cannon noted.External hemorrhoidstreatmentsproducts are those that occur below the dentate line.If you have akidneystones,

“The companies that saw problems, I think, didn’t really have a panel that differentiated them from anyone else. They also had very high capital costs and couldn’t compete with their high cost profile,” Cannon said. “This is a $60 billion industry globally and the growth is still there. It’s only going to get better for companies that have a product that stands out.”

TenKsolar had more than $10 million in sales last year and has grown from 50 to 140 employees in the Minneapolis suburb. The company specializes in compact units for rooftops of businesses and institutions. And TenKsolar officials say their system can produce 50 percent more energy per square foot of rooftop than conventional solar panels.

“We really don’t compete with Silicon at all. Our niche is flat-roof installations and they focus on residential,” Cannon said.

Minnesota now has more than 700 solar electric systems installed across the state, up from just 50 in 2002, according to the state Department of Commerce. But the move to solar has been slow. The problem isn’t our weather. Minnesota has about as much solar energy as many southern cities when averaged across the year. And solar panels actually work better on cold, sunny days then on hot days, Shaver said. Snow also makes a good reflector.

Solar’s big drawback has been high startup costs and competition against Minnesota’s relatively cheap electricity rates. With most of Minnesota’s electricity coming from older coal-fired and nuclear plants, our electricity costs as little as 6 or 8 cents per kilowatt hour for businesses, Cannon said. That compares to as much as 18 cents in eastern states, 35 cents in Hawaii and as high as $1 in Los Angeles during peak times, Shaver noted.

“We’re competing well down into the low teens without subsidies. And we hope to have that down to about 8 cents by 2013,” Cannon told the News Tribune.

But when federal and state subsidies are included, solar can make sense even now. There’s a 30 percent federal tax credit for solar systems, and accelerated depreciation adds to the tax benefits. Moreover, Twin Cities’ based Xcel Energy offers a 60 percent rebate for made-in-Minnesota solar systems that helped lure both manufacturers to the state.

Other smaller utilities also offer lesser incentives that help bring the cost down, including Minnesota Power, which offers a $2 per watt incentive up to $2,000.

With zero emissions, local jobs and financial incentives, both companies say Minnesota is poised for solar growth.

“We think we can compete right now,” Shaver said. “Especially when you look at all the benefits of solar.”

Achieve winter home comfort

If you're a homeowner, you probably know that home winterization is essential if you want to increase energy efficiency and comfort during the winter. In addition to the usual quick fixes, there are a few important tasks to keep in mind when preparing both the interior and exterior of your home for the harsh weather ahead.

Believe it or not, the roof plays a big role when it comes to controlling the comfort in your home. Even more, heavy snowfall and ice can lead to severe damage throughout your home if you don't have a healthy roof.

Winter weather can cause the creation of ice dams. Walls of ice form at the edge of the roof when snow melts and runs down the roof, reaches the cold eaves and refreezes. If you don't have the proper protection, the ice pushes under the shingles, which will cause leaks into the attic or along exterior walls, resulting in water damage that can be expensive to repair.

Make sure you keep an eye out for icicles on your roof throughout the winter. Safety should always be your first priority. Icicles are dangerous because not only can they break off and fall from the roof,Choose from our large selection of cableties, but the weight of the icicles can also cause a gutter or awning to fall. If you're worried about potential damage, hire a roofing contractor to inspect your roof to remove icicles or make any repairs before problems arise.This profile page summarizes all known activity of the domain billabongboardshortscloths.

If your roofing contractor determines you need a new roof, use Owens Corning Deck Defense underlayment and WeatherLock Self-Sealing Ice & Water Barrier Products in conjunction with high-performance shingles to help shield your home from moisture infiltration. These two layers of a roofing system are important because they provide extra water-shedding protection under the shingles.

"Ice and water barrier products directly beneath the shingles stop water from getting into the house," says Mel Sancrant,There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle, product technical specialist at Owens Corning. "But, it's also important to maintain adequate insulation in your attic to prevent ice dams by making sure you keep the attic at the same temperature as the outside with proper ventilation and insulation."

In the winter, the warm moist air generated by laundry, showers and other household activities can cause moisture build-up in the home. This moist air becomes a water vapor that transfers through your ceiling into the attic. Proper ventilation helps remove the moisture while it's still a vapor and exhaust it out through the vents located at the top of the house.

Insulation will help maintain a comfortable temperature inside the home and promote energy efficiency. It can also reduce the amount of heat loss in your home if installed according to the Department of Energy's (DOE) recommendation for your region. Excessive heat loss through your attic can contribute to ice damning,Ventilation fans are the workhorses of these panasonicventilationsystem, so proper ventilation and a well insulated home is part of a healthy roof system.

To determine if you need more insulation, simply measure what you have.If you have a kidneystones, Most experts agree your attic should have at least a 19 inch deep layer of insulation or you could be wasting money. If your attic falls short of the DOE recommendation for your region and the type of heating and cooling system you have installed, then add another layer of insulation. The DOE's Energy Star website features a chart that clearly showcases the recommended level of attic insulation in each region in the United States.

There are other ways to make energy-efficient updates to your home, such caulking, weather stripping or adding an attic stairway insulator, to easily and effectively increase comfort and reduce heating costs.

A home energy audit with a qualified professional ensures a thorough inspection. In addition to helping you identify if your home is properly insulated and air sealed, the professional will shed light on ways you can conserve hot water and electricity.

Ensure your home has a healthy roof, proper insulation and an adequate air sealing system if you want to achieve an optimal level of comfort and energy efficiency in your home and protect it from the elements this winter.