Archive for October, 2009

Are you Remodeling or Adding-On to Your Home? If so our Home Performance with Energy Star evaluation/inspection is for you!

The Idaho Office Of Energy Resources offers a five-year loan at a low 4% interest for the Home Performance With Energy Star program.

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Inspection - Guarantees the Five (5) required elements to insure that your home meets ENERGY STAR specifications.

 Homeowner-Builder-Remodeler-

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® is a national program designed to help homeowners make their existing home more energy efficient and bring their home up to ENERGY STAR performance standards for:

1. Comfort

2. Safety

3. Health

4. Durability

5. Energy Efficiency

A Home Performance Specialist (EARTHSAVERSO2) certified by the Office of Energy Resources can diagnostically evaluate and pre-test your home for targeting improvements of greater impact and profit that can often be made during a remodel / addition at a substantial reduction in cost increasing the efficiency and value of your home.

After all ENERGY STAR improvements are completed for the remodel a post-test by the HPS will guarantee that the improvements specified by the pre-test were satisfactorily achieved during the remodel. The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR certification process guarantees performance from your home as intended to provide comfort, safety, healthfulness, durability and energy efficiency for you and your family.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT EARTHSAVERSO2 AT 208-743-2132

 

Serving: Lewiston, Clarkston, Pullman, Moscow & Surrounding areas/Idaho/Washington

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http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/energy-efficiency/how-to-make-your-home-energy-efficient.htm

by Zolton Cohen

Inside this Article

• Sealing the Exterior
• Sealing the Interior
• Weatherstripping Doors
• Sealing Windows
• Sidewall and Garage Insulation
• Eliminating Ice Dams
• Attic Sealing and Insulation
• Upgrading Attic Insulation
• Cleaning and Maintenance
• Water Conservation

In this article, we’ll show you a variety of ways you can seal leaks and improve insulation to make your home cozier and more energy efficient. Once you’ve sealed and insulated the weak areas, the work doesn’t stop there. We’ll show you how routine cleaning and water conservation can increase energy efficiency and save you even more money on your energy bills. Begin the improvement process with the following basic sealing guidelines to help you secure your home’s exterior.

Testing for Leaks

 

Technicians use a “blower-door test” to accurately measure air leakage in houses. The test involves sealing a portable, frame-mounted fan in an exterior doorway to the house. Any known openings to the outside, such as the fireplace flue; bathroom vent fans; and the flues to the water heater, furnace, or boiler are temporarily sealed.

 

After the sealing and setup is complete and the blower fan is switched on, it is possible to measure with precision how much air is entering the house through all the various “unintended” cracks, gaps, and holes in the exterior envelope. Using devices called smoke pencils, technicians can pinpoint areas where air is entering the house while the blower door is in operation.

 

While every home is different and each has its own set of leakage points, there are areas where infiltration shows up repeatedly in blower-door tests. These often include the seam between the top of the foundation wall and the wood framing that runs above, around, and through doors and windows; along baseboards; through electrical receptacles and switches mounted on exterior walls; and around fireplaces, laundry chutes, attic hatchway doors and pull-down stairways, whole-house fan installations, and pipe and wire chases. A homeowner can go a long way toward increasing energy efficiency by locating and sealing up as many of these entry points as possible.

 

You don’t necessarily need to have a blower-door test done on your home in order to locate the unsealed areas that are leaking air. Knowing that these points of air entry have been routinely and consistently identified in other houses gives you a start on where to look for gaps and cracks in yours. A windy day outside can be helpful in this endeavor. Wind can push air into the house through unseen and unnoticed holes to the point that you can feel the air movement.

 

Checking Exterior Sheathing

Before plywood and oriented strand board (OSB) were invented, homes were built entirely with solid board lumber. The exterior was sheathed underneath the siding with wide boards that, over time, shrank and cracked. All these cracks — and the many others inherent in most homes — are pathways through which air can enter or leave a house. Sidewall sheathing is covered with siding, so all those cracks that appear in and between wide boards on older homes are hidden and inaccessible.

Air enters the sheathing through cracks in the siding; around windows and doors; and through other openings in the exterior envelope that include kitchen and bathroom vent fan louvers, dryer vents, holes bored for air-conditioning lines, electrical and gas service wires and pipes, along the underside of the lowest course of siding, and through other holes. Any time you can find and seal a crack on the exterior of a house, you go a long way toward reducing air infiltration and exfiltration on the inside.

 

Because of the large size of plywood and OSB sheets, there are relatively fewer seams in the sheathing on newer homes. And the use of products like house wrap on new construction has further reduced air infiltration. Consequently, most new homes are more airtight than older ones. But although the sheathing might be more airtight in a newer home, there are still many places where air is getting in and out. Finding and sealing those leakage points not only reduces drafts and energy usage, but it also helps keep out insects and other pests.

 

Filling Holes Around Lines

HVAC system installers need to bore a large hole through the exterior wall of the house in order to pass refrigerant lines through to the compressor outside. Most take time to caulk the hole around the lines, but the caulk fails over time, often leaving a gap where air (and insects) can infiltrate the house. A few minutes spent with a caulk gun will close the gap and shut off the flow of outside air into the house.

Caulking the Exterior

Some people find that once an older home has been freshly painted, they suddenly feel warmer or “cozier” inside during the winter. That may be because the painter who worked on the house took time to caulk cracks, gaps, and other holes in the home’s exterior “skin.” While minute gaps around doors and windows might not seem as though they could possibly add up to much, under certain conditions it is surprising how much air they can let into and out of a house.

 

Consider a windy day. Wind drives air into gaps and around obstructions. Add rain to the mix, and you’ve got the recipe for both water and air infiltration. So caulking pays off in regard to both energy savings and building preservation. That’s why you don’t need to wait until it’s time to paint to caulk visible openings on the exterior of your house.

 

 

 

Securing the Perimeter

The wooden framing in most homes rests on top of a solid concrete or concrete block foundation. In homes built before 1980 or so, the lowest section of wood, called the “mud sill,” rests directly on top of the concrete. While the connection is secure from a strength standpoint, in terms of eliminating air infiltration, things could be much better. The problem is the rough and variable surface of the top of the foundation wall. While there are many areas where the wood presses down tightly, other areas may leave a gap through which wind can enter.

 

The gaps, which collectively might add up to a hole the size of a basketball in the exterior envelope, can usually be sealed with either caulk or cans of spray foam. This procedure, which can be done either on the inside or outside of the house (depending on which offers the best access) requires that you first brush away the dirt and cobwebs from the concrete and wood so the caulk or foam will stick to both surfaces.

 

From that point on it’s just a matter of aiming the caulk tube’s tip or spray foam applicator tube at the gaps and gunning them full of caulk or foam. It’s a job that doesn’t have to be neat or precise, just thorough. Once you’re finished, you will have stopped up one of the leakiest places in the home.

 

In newer homes, the gap between the mud sill and the top of the foundation wall is filled with a thin, compressible length of foam material. The foam creates an airtight seal that does not need remedial caulking or foaming. However, it’s worth checking along this area anyway, as occasionally the foam sealer didn’t get placed exactly where it should have been. Also, the top of the foundation wall might be too uneven for the foam to fill the gap, someone might have forgotten to put it in place, or it might stop short of the corners. In any of those cases, a shot of caulk or foam can quickly remedy the problem.

In the next section, we’ll discuss some basic sealing techniques you can use indoors to help make your home more energy efficient.

Sealing the Interior

Baseboards and Floors

Gaps are often left between baseboards and hard floors, such as tile, hardwood, or laminate flooring. These gaps can be successfully and neatly filled with latex caulk, thus preventing air from entering the home at foot level.

Gaskets Can Block Drafts

Wind can sneak in through tiny gaps and cracks that you don’t even know are there. Often, the first time you’re aware of such a problem is when you flick a switch or plug an electronic device into a receptacle mounted on an exterior wall. Not only does the switch or receptacle feel cold, but it’s sometimes possible to actually feel a cold draft blowing into the room.

 

You can block many of these types of drafts from inside the house by purchasing and installing inexpensive switch and receptacle gaskets from a hardware store or home center. The gaskets, made of nonelectrically conductive fiber matt material, fit snugly around the switch or receptacle after the cover plate is removed. With the gasket in place the standard cover plate goes back on, creating an airtight seal against the wall. For the cost of just a few cents each, gaskets are a worthwhile investment in energy saving and comfort.

 

Caution: To avoid electrical shock, you should remove cover plates from switches and receptacles only after power has been shut off at the main service panel to the circuits where work is being done. Other than that, each gasket installation will require about two minutes of your time.

A Canister of Trouble

 

 

Attics and the Stack Effect

 

The floor of an attic is an important battlefield on the energy conservation front because of a phenomenon known as the “stack effect.”

 

Warm air rises. That much is nearly universally known; it is the reason hot air rises up a fireplace flue or “chimney stack.” What isn’t so commonly recognized is that rising warm air creates pressure at the top of whatever is containing it. In a household situation the top-floor ceiling acts as a containment barrier to rising warm air. As such, any small hole or gap in that area is subject to pressurized warm air trying to escape.

 

Warm air loss due to the stack effect has another consequence. As air exits through the top-floor ceiling or other holes, it creates a slight negative pressure inside the house. The air leaving has to be replaced, and that air comes from outside the house: cold, dry air. The incoming air has to be heated, and that’s when your furnace or boiler comes on.

Up the Flue

Builders occasionally run into difficulty framing and sealing an opening around a fireplace. There needs to be clearance between the wood and the masonry or metal, so the framing can’t fit tightly against those materials. That means the finish wall material — usually drywall or plaster — is supposed to bridge the gap for fire safety and also provide an airtight closure. Comprehensive sealing in this area, however, can sometimes be neglected. In some cases that means there are gaps around fireplaces that allow air to leave the house easily.

Take time to look inside and around fireplaces with a good flashlight to see whether there are any holes and gaps that need to be sealed with spray foam, fireproof caulk, or other filler material. Not only will this reduce the amount of air leaving the house via these pathways, but it can also protect areas from sparks or embers leaping out of a fire.

Weatherstripping around doors can help keep drafts out of your house, which can keep your heating and cooling bills under control. In the next section, we’ll discuss how to better secure your doors.

Home Inspections and why they are important…

Let me introduce my self, my name is Brook Beierle and I am a certified Building Performance Specialist at EarthsaversO2. I have several thoughts on why people should have inspections done on new and existing homes. You see as a third party inspection company, EarthsaversO2 does not sale any products only a service. You see a window company’s will inspect your home and sale you windows. A heating & air conditioning contractor inspects your home and they will suggest you upgrade your furnace or air conditioner. Is this what your home or building really needs to improve the energy efficiency and occupants indoor air quality? That is where are services come to your benefit! Our company will only consult you with cost effective home/ building improvement suggestions.

Why hire a Building Performance Specialist for New Homes?

I have inspected new homes that have and not had third party inspections services while being built. You see its not the people that make homes fail, it is the process! Most contractors spend efforts producing quantity not quality homes. A home that is Energy Star or built Green does not have to cost more. The first step to having a green energy efficient home is having the builder hire a third party verification company. By eliminating guesswork and applying building science many issues are prevented. Several homes that I went into for homeowners after they were built had serious energy robbing air leaks and potential health issues. These issues all can be dramatically prevented with prevention during building process. You see a builder does not always no everything about each trade they hire. That’s why they hire sub contractors. Sometimes the sub contractors are not up to date with standards…. Inspections & performance testing during construction and at completion is the only way to really control quality control.

Why have a Home Inspection for existing home?

Everyone works very hard to earn the money that pays the bills. What people do not realize how much money is being wasted in leaks out of the home year after year. Problems consist in many different areas in existing homes. With the right test such as a duct leakage test, infrared imaging and detailed inspections we then can evaluate and recommend cost effective improvements. Also it is important to understand that your homes indoor air quality is often worse then outside!

Don’t wait any longer! Contact EarthsavesO2 today for your new or existing home/building needs.

Brook Beierle

EarthsaverO2

Serving Lewiston, Clarkston, Pullman, Moscow/Idaho/Washington

EPA Announces Energy Star Homes Reach Nearly 17 Percent Market Share for 2008

Release date: 07/02/2009

Contact Information: Enesta Jones, jones.enesta@epa.gov, 202-564-7873, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that nearly 17 percent of all single-family homes built nationally in 2008 earned EPA’s Energy Star label, up from 12 percent in 2007. Both home builders and home buyers are continuing to invest in high performing homes that save consumers money on their utility bills and help protect the environment.

“Every year more Americans decide to cut their energy bills and help keep the air clean in their communities by buying a new home that has earned EPA’s Energy Star. Features like properly installed insulation, high-performance windows and high efficiency heating and cooling can reduce home energy needs by 20 to 30 percent, saving American families thousands of dollars on their utility bills,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Even in a difficult market, the interest in Energy Star qualified homes keeps rising. We’re helping builders and homebuyers to protect the environment, safeguard our health, and move the country into a low-carbon energy future.”

In addition, market share for Energy Star qualified homes was 20 percent or greater in 15 states in 2008, including Ariz., Colo., Conn., Hawaii, Iowa, Ky., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Okla., Texas, Utah, and Vt.

Nearly 940,000 Energy Star qualified homes have been built to date, with more than 100,000 of these constructed in 2008. In 2008 alone, American families living in Energy Star qualified homes locked in annual utility bill savings of more than $250 million — saving over 1.5 billion kWh of electricity and 155 million therms of natural gas while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of nearly 350,000 cars annually.

To earn the Energy Star label, homes must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by EPA. Typically they include energy-saving features such as:

• Effective Insulation Systems
• High-Performance Windows
• Tight Construction and Ducts
• Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment
• ENERGY STAR Qualified Lighting and Appliances

More information about Energy Star qualified homes: http://www.energystar.gov/HomesMarketIndex

ATTENTION RESIDENTIAL HOME BUILDER’S!  BUILD ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED HOMES TODAY!

Being an ENERGY STAR Builder will:

• Increase sales and profits by offering homes that are valued more highly by homebuyers
• Improve customer satisfaction and reduce callbacks by providing a home that has been performance tested.
• Receive Incentives from power company’s /Cooperative marketing funds
• Receive Marketing & promotional materials
• Enhance Reputation as a quality builder of homes that earn the trusted ENERGY STAR label
• List your business on the Northwest and National Energy Star websites
• As a Energy Star builder you will receive incentives from local utilities
• (Tax Credit homes can also be certified. Builder receives a $2000 tax credit for each home)
• (There is also a existing home program called Home Performance with Energy Star that can allow your customers to receive low interest loans from the state of Idaho or Energy Improvement Mortgages from many lending company’s.)

Your customers will:

• Save money on energy costs for years to come
• Have a more comfortable indoor environment with even temperatures from room-to-room
• Contribute to a healthier natural environment and help reduce global warming
• Be eligible for Energy Efficient Mortgages
• Benefits from healthier indoor air resulting from performance-tested duct work and improved more controlled ventilation.
• Have peace of mind knowing their home has been certified by an independent third party
• Have a home that appraises higher then standard code home & a better Resale value

READY TO JOIN ENERGY STAR?

1. There is no cost to partner with EPA’s Energy Star or to use the programs promotional materials.
2. Here’s the partnership process for builders:
3. Fill out partnership agreement.
4. Work with a local Home Energy Rater(EarthsaversO2) to ensure that your homes are designed and built to meet NORTHWEST ENERGY STAR prescriptive path and guidelines.
5. Have your homes inspected, tested & certified by your Home Energy Rater(EarthsaversO2)

TO LEARN MORE CALL: 208-743-2132 or email brook@earthsaverso2.com

Our company will work with Builder in Lewiston, Moscow Idaho & also Clarkston, Pullman Washington. We will also work with builders in the surrounding areas.

          

Bellow are good reasons why to have a home inspection done.

Common Home Problems and Solutions

Courtesy of www.energystar.gov

 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:                                  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 (202) 586-4940                                                           Monday, October 19, 2009

 Vice President Biden Unveils Report Focused on Expanding Green Jobs And Energy Savings For Middle Class Families

  - Vice President Biden today unveiled Recovery Through Retrofit, a report that builds on the foundation laid in the Recovery Act to expand green job opportunities and boost energy savings by making homes more energy efficient.  Joining the Vice President today were Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy; Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor; Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

  At a Middle Class Task Force meeting earlier this year, the Vice President asked the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to develop a proposal for Federal action to lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry. In response, CEQ facilitated a broad interagency process with the Office of the Vice President, eleven Departments and Agencies and six White House Offices to develop recommendations for how to use existing authority and funding to accomplish this goal.  These recommendations are described in detail in the Recovery Through Retrofit Report. 

 “Recovery Through Retrofit is a blueprint that will create good green jobs – jobs that can’t be outsourced, and jobs that will be the cornerstones of a 21st-Century economy,” said Vice President Biden.

 “And, thanks to the Recovery Act’s unprecedented investments in energy efficiency, we are making it easier for American families to retrofit their homes – helping them save money while reducing carbon emissions and creating a healthier environment for our families.”

 “This report builds on the foundation laid in the Recovery Act to expand green job and business opportunities for the middle class while ensuring that the energy efficiency market will thrive for years to come,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

 “An aggressive program to retrofit American homes and businesses will create more work, more savings, and better health for middle class Americans.”

 Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower total associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually.  Retrofitting existing homes also has the potential to cut home energy bills by $21 billion annually.  Yet, despite the real energy cost savings and environmental benefits associated with improving home energy efficiency, a series of barriers have prevented a self-sustaining retrofit market from forming.  These barriers include a lack of access to information, financing and skilled workers. 

 The recommendations and actions in this Report have been carefully designed to help overcome these barriers and to leverage Recovery Act funding to help ensure that the energy efficiency market will thrive long after the Recovery Act money is fully spent.  

 Some recommendations in the report include:

 *        Provide American Homeowners with Straightforward and Reliable

Home Energy Retrofit Information:  Consumers need consistent, accessible, and trusted information that provides a reliable benchmark of energy efficiency and sound estimates of the costs and benefits of home energy retrofits.  

 *        Reduce High Upfront Costs, Making Energy Retrofits More

 Accessible:  Access to retrofit financing should be more transparent, more accessible, repayable over a longer time period, and more consumer-friendly. 

 *        Establish National Workforce Certifications and Training

 Standards:  A uniform set of national standards to qualify energy efficiency and retrofit workers and industry training providers will establish the foundation of consumer confidence that work will be completed correctly and produce the expected energy savings and benefits.  Such standards should incorporate healthy and environmentally friendly housing principles, as outlined in the report titled, the Surgeon General’s Call to Action To Promote Healthy Homes (2009).

 Proper certification and training standards will ensure that retrofitted homes are healthy homes.  Consistent high-level national standards will spur the utilization of qualified training providers that offer career-track programs for people of all skill levels, promote and expand green jobs opportunities and facilitate the mobilization of a national home retrofit workforce.

 To read the full report and recommendations, please go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Recovery_Through_Retrofit_Final_Report.pdf 

 “As Secretary of Labor I’m working to help build the clean energy economy of tomorrow by investing in our workers today,” said Secretary Solis “Training for green jobs can empower workers to climb the career ladder, sustain a family and provide a secure retirement. Through Recovery through Retrofit, we’re committing to meet the needs of workers, employers and homeowners, so we can shape our clean energy future into one that supports working families and is inclusive of the diversity of our nation.”

 “I am proud to join my colleagues today in announcing Recovery through Retrofit,” said Secretary Donovan. “It will allow us to work closely together to remove barriers to creating more energy efficient homes for American families.  This initiative will not only lead to cost savings for homeowners and reduce negative environmental impact, but will also be a powerful vehicle for economic recovery by creating quality middle class jobs and lasting neighborhood benefits. This is another demonstration of HUD’s commitment to creating jobs for the new economy in high growth industries by encouraging and investing in “green” building and energy retrofits.”

 “This initiative will not only result in considerable cost savings for homeowners on their energy bills, but also put resources in the hands of green sector small businesses who will in turn create good-paying jobs in communities across the country,” said SBA Administrator Mills.

 EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who was unable to attend this event due to travel added, “This is the Recovery Act at work.  Communities will benefit from good jobs, families will benefit from lower energy bills, and we will all benefit from reduced air pollution and a growing green economy. Our Energy Star program can help families cut up to 30% off their energy bills — saving the average household more than $700 a year through efficiency investments.  EPA is proud to be working with all of our partners to help people save money when they need it the most, and build a new foundation for prosperity through a growing green economy.”

 The Department of Energy today also announced $454 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for energy efficiency efforts nationwide.

 The Department is now accepting applications for a new $390 million “Retrofit Ramp-Up” program that will deploy innovative approaches to energy efficiency building retrofits. These Recovery Act funds will help create new partnerships to deliver energy bill savings to entire neighborhoods and towns.  Bringing energy retrofits to whole neighborhoods at a time will simplify the process for homeowners and significantly reduce costs. When applied on a national scale, the program could save billions of dollars annually in utility bills for households and businesses and create thousands of jobs across the country. In addition, the Energy Department announced $64 million in energy efficiency funding for cities, counties, and Indian tribes.

 “The Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative is designed to slice through the barriers identified in this report – inconvenience, lack of information, and lack of financing – and to make energy efficiency easy and accessible to all,” said Secretary Chu.  “We want to make our communities more energy efficient, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood — eventually expanding to entire cities and states.  We can literally bring energy efficiency to the doorsteps of the American people.”

 Separately, the Department of Energy will accept state proposals to use State Energy Grant or Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant funds for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) pilots.  This is an innovative model which allows communities to provide financing to homeowners to install renewable energy systems and retrofit buildings that can be paid off over time on their property tax bills.  Today, the White House is announcing a “Policy Framework for PACE Financing Programs” developed through an interagency process to ensure that effective homeowner and lender safeguards are included in PACE programs.

 

 

-DOE-

Insight

Vocabulary

By Joseph Lstiburek

Building Science Insight 024: last updated 2009/10/10

If we don’t call things by their right names we don’t really understand how things work.¹ If we don’t understand how things work how can we prevent problems from happening? Or how can we fix problems when they do occur? And how can we possibly make things work better?

We are all guilty of bad-name-itus, but the Model Building Codes take the cake.² They are examples of bad wording and misunderstandings. We mostly put up with the bad wording and misunderstandings in code documents because they also are the law of the land and therefore scary. In one chapter alone of the International Residential Code the same enclosure element is called three different things—none of which are defined. Why this occurs particularly in the Model Building Codes should be no surprise if you understand how they are made, modified and adopted. The fact that the Codes work as well as they do is due more to the good will of the Code Officials³ than the brilliance of their terminology.

I am going to attempt to do something completely arbitrary, unilateral, annoying to others and otherwise typical for me because we have to start somewhere to clear up the mess. I am going to take a run at this language thing and try to get everyone to agree.  Each one of the terms we typically use or should use needs to be not just defined but defined with a performance metric. This is not easy, but necessary. Here goes.

They are building enclosures—they are not building envelopes. You put letters in an envelope not people. Building enclosures need four principle control layers: a water control layer, an air control layer, a vapor control layer and a thermal control layer. These control layers can be combined in one material or be separate.

For example a liquid applied water control layer can also be the assembly air control layer and vapor control layer (Figure 1). In some assemblies closed cell high-density (2 lb/ft³) spray polyurethane foam can be the assembly water control layer, air control layer, vapor control layer and also thermal control layer (Figure 2).

 

Figure 1: Institutional Wall – Combined water control layer, air control layer and vapor control layer in single material. The thermal control layer is located exterior to the other control layers.

 

Figure 2: Spray Foam Wall – Water control layer, air control layer, vapor control layer and thermal control layer combined in one material. Key to make a building work is the connection between the field of the wall and punched openings such as window glazing and connections to roof assemblies. But that discussion is for another day.

 

In a typical residential example shingle lapped asphalt saturated kraft paper or asphalt impregnated felt is the assembly water control layer. The fiberglass batt cavity insulation is the assembly thermal control layer. The glued and gasketed gypsum board is the assembly air control layer and the paint on the interior surface of the gypsum board is the assembly vapor control layer (Figure 3).

 

Figure 3: Residential Wall – The water control layer is on the outside. The air control layer and vapor control layer are on the inside. The thermal control layer is in the middle.

 

Stop with this water resistive barrier, weather resistive barrier, house wrap, building wrap and building paper stuff. Enough already. What is this layer supposed to do? Control the water. It is a water control layer. End of story. Where did this weather stuff come from anyway? What part of the weather are we resisting? And we don’t need the word “resistive”—it serves no purpose except to make sentences longer. And spare me the “wrap” thing. What are we doing? Wrapping presents? And stop with the paper stuff—the layer is not always paper.

The air control layer is a pretty easy one to deal with—most of us get the concept. The hard part is defining it and getting agreement on the definition. We are close. It would be real easy if everyone would just let me be in charge. OK, so the world does not work that way. Here is my stab at it. Air control layers are materials or assemblies of materials that control airflow between a conditioned space and an unconditioned space or between units in multi-family and apartment construction. Done. We can also clear up the confusion surrounding an additional term right now. An air-impermeable material can be used as an air control layer. Whew. We can continue to argue about the metrics of the materials, assemblies and enclosures, but at least the terms are going to be used correctly.

The vapor control layer thing is the hard one to get straight. And I have been all over the map on this one over the course of my career. But I think I finally have it right. A vapor control layer is the component (or components) that is (or are) designed and installed in an assembly to control the movement of water by vapor diffusion. One of the reasons it is complicated is that in many cases we do not want (or need) a complete barrier—we merely want to slow the rate down—and—even more complicated we sometimes we want to let things out in the opposite direction. That is where the term “control” comes into play. There are different degrees of “control.” We refer to the different degrees as “classes.” A vapor control layer class is a measure of a material or assembly’s ability to limit the amount of water that passes through the material or assembly by vapor diffusion.

There are presently three “classes” of vapor control layer defined in the Model Building Codes. Unfortunately, the term used in the Model Building Codes is “vapor retarder class,” rather than vapor control layer class, but the codes do have the metrics right—after many years of “deliberation”—and “deliberation” is the polite way of describing the process.

Over the years I have used all kinds of terms for this control function: vapor barrier, then vapor diffusion barrier, then vapor retarder,⁵ and then vapor diffusion retarder and finally vapor control layer. I think vapor control layer is best because that is actually what it does.

The last annoying one is thermal control layer. The Model Codes currently use “building thermal envelope” in the part of one chapter and then promptly use thermal barrier in another part of the same chapter followed by something called a “thermal boundary.” Let’s be consistent shall we? Pick one— pick thermal control layer and be done. You already know how I feel about “envelope.” I am less annoyed with “boundary,” but let’s stick with one term. So what is a thermal control layer? Easy. The component (or components) that is (or are) designed and installed in an assembly to control the transfer of thermal energy (heat).

OK, I feel much better now. My bartender said that I had to deal with my “issues” openly. Only one issue left—there is no rational numerical performance metric for a water control layer. Talking about the resistance to 25 inches of standing water is obviously madness (yes some products are rated this way), as housewrap products rated this way leak when they are installed on a wall with staples. Roofs actually do resist standing water but don’t have a rating. I am punting on this one and asking for input. Email me your thoughts on this (joe@buildingscience.com). Do we go the way of the window industry? Or is there a better other way? I promise to write about this later based on what I get. If I don’t get anything I will make stuff up⁶—it has been known to work for me before.

 

Dr. Joe’s Simple Glossary

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Air control layer

Air control layers control airflow between a conditioned space and an unconditioned space or between units in multi-family and apartment construction.

Air control layer system

The air control layer system is the primary air enclosure boundary that separates indoor (conditioned) air and outdoor (unconditioned) air. In multi-unit/townhouse/apartment construction the air control layer system also separates the conditioned air from any given unit and adjacent units. Air control layer systems also typically define the location of the pressure boundary of the building enclosure. In multi-unit/townhouse/apartment construction the air control layer system is also the fire barrier and smoke barrier in inter-unit separations. In such assemblies the air control layer system must also meet the specific fire-resistance rating requirement for the given separation.

Air control layer systems typically are assembled from materials (such as gypsum board, sealant, etc.) incorporated in assemblies (such as walls, roofs, etc.) that are interconnected to create enclosures. Each of these three elements has measurable resistance to airflow. The maximum air permeances for the three components are listed as follows:

• Material      0.02 l/(s-m²)@75 Pa
• Assembly    0.20 l/(s-m²)@75 Pa
• Enclosure    2.00 l/(s-m²)@75 Pa

Materials and assemblies that meet these performance requirements are said to be air control layer materials and air control layer assemblies. Air control layer materials incorporated in air control layer assemblies that in turn are interconnected to create enclosures are called air control layer systems. Note that sometimes assemblies can meet the assembly requirements without using materials that meet the material requirement. And sometimes enclosures can meet the enclosure requirements without meeting either the material or assembly requirements. Materials are tested according to ASTM E 2178 or E 283. Assemblies are tested according to ASTM E 2357. Enclosures are tested according to ASTM E 779 or CAN/CGSB—149.

Air-impermeable material

An air impermeable material is an air control layer. An air-impermeable material has an air permeance equal to of less than 0.02 l/s-m² at 75 Pa pressure differential when tested according to ASTM E 2178 or E 283.

Air-permeable material

An air-permeable material has an air permeance greater than 0.02 l/s-m² at 75 Pa pressure differential when tested according to ASTM E 2178 or E 283.

Building enclosure

The system or assembly of components that provides environmental separation between the conditioned space and the exterior environment. Note: The enclosure is a special type of environmental separator. Environmental separators also exist within buildings as dividers between spaces with different environmental conditions.

Conditioned space

The part of the building that is designed to be thermally conditioned for the comfort of occupants or for other occupancies or for other reasons.

Indoor air

Air in a conditioned space.

Outdoor air

Air outside the building.

Pressure boundary

The primary air enclosure boundary separating conditioned air and unconditioned air. Typically defined by the air control layer system.

Thermal control layer

The component (or components) that is (or are) designed and installed in an assembly to control the transfer of thermal energy (heat). Typically these are comprised of insulation products, radiant barriers, or trapped gaps filled with air or other gases. One quantitative measure of a thermal control layers resistance to heat flow is the R-value. R-values are limited in that they deal with conduction, one of three modes of heat flow (the other two being convection and radiation) and that their range of applicability is typically limited to materials not assemblies.

Vapor control layer

The component (or components) that is (or are) designed and installed in an assembly to control the movement of water by vapor diffusion.

Vapor control layer class

The measure of a material or assembly’s ability to limit the amount of water that passes through the material or assembly by vapor diffusion. The test procedure for determining vapor control layer class is ASTM E-96 Test Method A (the desiccant or dry cup method).

Class I:      Materials that have a permeance of 0.1 perm or less.

Class II:     Materials that have a permeance of 1.0 perm or less and greater than 0.1 perm

Class III:    Materials that have a permeance of 10 perms or less and greater than 1.0 perm

Water control layer

A sheet, spray or trowel-applied membrane or material layer that controls the passage of liquid water even after long or continuous exposure to moisture. (OK readers, gadflies and other building science crazies, I need a performance metric or series of performance metrics. Do we go down the route of the window industry? Or do we go somewhere else? Email me with your thoughts—seriously—lets get this one figured out before the next decade is out: joe@buildingscience.com.)

 

Ginger vs Mary-Ann Pop-culture stereotype* meets building science stereotype. There are choices in life that define you as a human being. There are several of them. Ginger vs Mary-Ann? Yankees vs. Red Sox? The one of particular interest here is “barrier” vs “control layer”? Questions like these drive folks to distraction. There is often no right answer—although folks in each camp are convinced that there is in fact a right answer. Being in one camp myself I will give you the right answer—from my perspective of being right because I am in the right camp… The control of water, air, vapor and heat is accomplished not just by preventing movement or blocking, but by also throttling (regulating) and storing then releasing. Most mass walls control rainwater by storing and releasing penetrating water, not just by providing a barrier to water flow. In numerous building enclosures thermal mass is used to store and release thermal energy. Finally, one of the most ubiquitous “vapor barriers”—the kraft facing on a fiberglass batt regulates vapor flow as a function of relative humidity (see Figure A). How this can be considered a vapor barrier is one of the many mysteries in building science? Figure A: The traditional “vapor barrier” on a fiberglass batt is actually “asphalt-coated kraft paper” that varies in vapor permeance as a function of relative humidity. It pretty much is a vapor barrier only in the absence of vapor. It really functions much like a valve that opens and closes depending on available moisture. In the winter in most older homes the interior relative humidity is in the 20 percent range whereas in the summer the interior relative humidity is in the 50 percent to 60 percent range. So in the winter a kraft faced batt has a vapor resistance of approximately 1 perm—an interior vapor retarder on the correct side of the thermal control layer—reducing outward vapor flow. And in the summer the same kraft faced batt has a vapor resistance of approximately 10 perms—allowing the same assembly to dry inwards. It is interesting to note that latex painted gypsum board works pretty much the same way. And now we have new “smart materials” that are engineered to take advantage of the differences (2nd Generation Vapor Control Membrane). *  Logical oversimplification in which all members of a class or set are considered to be definable by an easily distinguishable set of characteristics…Wikipedia

 

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Footnotes

1. Thank you Jim White—you first beat this into me in 1982—I can even remember where—in your office at CMHC in Ottawa where you were one of the big dogs of Canadian housing research. It hit home and this language thing has been irritating me ever since. I was just a kid in 1982 and you had time for me. Thanks for that. You never forget stuff like that and it taught me to always have time for others—especially the kids in our business.
2. ASTM is another shining example. WRB means “water resistant barrier” in one committee and “weather resistant barrier” in another.
3. That’s not a typo, I really mean “Code Officials”—Do you have any idea how difficult it is to administer and enforce a less than perfect document? One which everyone has an opinion on because they saw something on “This Old House”… or because they stayed in a “Holiday Inn Express” once…
4. Agree with me of course, because only I am right. And I am the right guy to do this because I am such a famous guy—the best known building scientist in Westford, MA—the second best known building scientist in my firm—oh, and a few folks know me at the lumber yard…
5. This “retarder” stuff drives me crazy. At the very beginnings of the history of vapor diffusion control—Ruddick (1914), Rowley (1941), Hutcheon (1954)—the term used was “vapor barrier.” The “vapor retarder” thing only started because of a lawsuit in Pennsylvania where the court found the term “vapor barrier” to be a misnomer and this led the weak-kneed cowards at ASTM to adopt the word “retarder” in place of “barrier” rather than telling the court to mind its own business. Reese Achenbach will verify that this story is not an urban legend but true—and you all thought that building science was uninteresting.
6. With water control layers we will probably need a material metric and an assembly metric. And each of these metrics will have to be different for walls, roofs, foundations and slabs. My current thoughts are to test wall assemblies using ASTM E 331 at a pressure difference of 3.0 psf (0.15 kN/m²) for fifteen minutes. Why? Well, the worst windows sold have to meet at least this minimum metric. I figure the worst wall should be at least equal to the worst window. Or, maybe not? Whatever. And then we could have “classes” of walls…like we have “ratings” for windows. Or not.

Legislation Introduced in Senate to Extend Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives and Create Incentives to Having Home Energy Ratings and Certification to Conduct Home Energy Ratings -The $2,000 tax credit for energy efficient homes will expire on January 1, 2010 unless extended by Congress . Bi-partisan legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to extend the $2,000 credit to December 31, 2012 and create a $5,000 credit for homes that use 50% less whole house energy than the 2004 IECC (50 HERS Index). The bill was co-sponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM).

 In addition, the legislation:

•  Creates a $200 tax credit for the cost of a home energy rating
•  Creates a $500 tax credit for the cost of training and certifying home performance auditors to conduct home energy ratings
• Increases the amount of the tax incentive for commercial buildings to $3.00 per square foothttp://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s1637is.txt.pdf to download the legislation. It is critical that your voice is heard in Washington. Contact your state’s Senators and urge to support legislation to extend the tax credit for energy efficient homes. RESNET Joins United Nations in Call for Action on Buildings and Climate Change The Kyoto Climate Change Protocol gave the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the responsibility for facilitating the negotiations for the successor to the international climate treaty which is set to expire in 2011. One of the failings of the protocol was that it did not inadequately effect building energy performance. The United Nations is in the process of negotiating the successor treaty to Kyoto. It is expected that the U.S., China and India will be the parties of the next treaty, The SBCI has issued a call for action for the industry to support efforts to include building energy performance in the international climate treaty.  The call for action finds:
  •   Building have the greatest potential for delivering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cuts, at the least cost, using available and mature technologies.  
  • Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of global energy use and up to 30% of global GHG emissions.
  • Countries must support the building industry to meet their existing commitments to Kyoto Protocol and to the Bali Roadmap.
  • The building industry can deliver significant cost savings and improvements in energy and resource use. It can also create jobs and improve local economies.

   It calls for Copenhagen’s climate change framework to:

  •  Recognizing buildings as a top priority for achieving GHG emissions reductions.
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  • Encourage governments to inventory and set performance goals for GHG emissions from national building stocks.

   

  RESNET supports the call for action and urges the U.S. negotiating team to the climate talks to adopt the principals contained in the call. The SBCI has produced a PDF version of the call to action on buildings and climate change.  It is posted on the RESNET web site at www.resnet.us/UNEP-SBCI-Call_to_Action.pdf  The RESNET network is urged to download the call for action and share it with their partners, peers and allies.

   By working together, the building performance industry can influence the process and make improved building performance a key element in the international treaty.

   Reminder:  October 31, 2009 is Deadline for Voting for Sessions to be Offered at the 2010 RESNET Building Performance Conference

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   RESNET Message on Energy Labeling and Energy Billing Analysis

   

   

   Discussions of building labels worldwide have pointed out the difference between “asset value” labels, which are based on how a building performs at standard operating conditions and “operational value” labels, which are based on measurements of energy consumption using the operating conditions that are in use at a particular time. Most products, such as cars or appliances, are rated using asset value labels with a standardized operational component—for example, cars are rating by EPA miles per gallon (mpg) but are not resold based on the mpg that the seller actually obtained. But for buildings, analysts generally recognize that both results are useful. These two types of labels are very distinct and different ways of characterizing energy use, with different purposes. There have been much discussion and some misinformation on this subject. RESNET has posted a message on this critical issue at http://www.resnet.us/hotnews/2009-09-04-EnergyLabeling_and_EnergyBillingAnalysis.pdf

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   The 2010 RESNET Conference offers strategic options for business challenges and provides a venue where you can obtain usable solutions in an evolving industry. Nowhere else will you find the exceptional range of original content and fresh information for the home performance industry at this unprecedented level of interest in energy efficiency. This year’s conference will merge with the successful North Carolina ENERGY STAR Conference and give attendees a first hand look at building science southern style. . . and some Tar Heel hospitality.  Make plans now for three days of networking, learning, sharing and enjoying North Carolina.

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