Transcript BUILDING ENVELOPE INSULATION

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BUILDING ENVELOPE
INSULATION
RECOMMENDED DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDE
SPECIFICATIONS
Objective
Show the benefit that SPEC-Foam will
provide energy savings, quieter living
environment, easier temperature control,
less drafty interiors, reduce dust and
pollutants and provide a controlled
environment thus reducing and/or
eliminating the potential for mold growth.
U.S. Department of Energy
• Don’t rely on insulation: “The most common insulation,fiberglass,
DOES NOT STOP air leakage.In older homes, dirty fiberglass is a
telltale sign of air movement ( It simply collects dirt like a filter )”
D.O.E.
• “While most new houses have good insulation levels, it is often poorly
installed, in general, gaps and compaction of insulation reduce its
effectiveness”….D.O.E 2000
• AIR INFILTRATION: “Air leakage is outside air that enters a
structure uncontrollably through cracks and openings. It is UNWISE to
rely on air leakage for ventilation. During cold or windy weather, too
much air may enter a structure and during warm or calm weather, to
little. Also a leaky house that allows moldy, dusty attic crawlspace air
to enter is NOT HEALTHY….D.O.E.
U.S. Department of Energy
• “Water vapor condensation is a major threat to the structure of a house,
no matter what the climate, in cold climates pressure differences can
drive warm moist indoor air into exterior walls and attics. The air
condenses at it cools.The same can be said for southern climates, just
in reverse. As the humid outdoor air enters the walls and encounters
cooler wall cavities, it condenses INTO water. This is the main reason
why some buildings in the South have problems with mold and rotten
wood after they’re retrofit with air conditioners.” D.O.E. July 2000
• “In a 100 sq. foot wall, 1 cup of water can diffuse through drywall
without a vapor barrier in a year….but 50 cups of water can enter
through a 1/2” round hole. In fact, sealing air leaks is 10-100 times as
important as installing a vapor barrier”…D.O.E.
• “GOOD AIR SEALING ALONE MAY REDUCE UTILITY COSTS
BY AS MUCH AS 50% WHEN COMPAIRED TO HOUSES OF THE
SAME TYPE AND AGE” ….D.O.E.
Water Vapor Diffusion
• Water vapor diffusion is the migration of water through a solid material
in a vaporized state. Water vapor migrates from areas of higher
absolute humidity to areas of lower absolute humidity. ( From warmer
to cooler climates) Construction materials will allow passage of water
into or out of a structure by way of vapor diffusion leading to
condensation and moisture on the cold side of the structural assembly,
commonly known as dew point.
• Controlling vapor can be accomplished with the application of a vapor
barrier.The vapor barrier should be applied on the exterior side of the
assembly in warmer climates and on the interior side of an assembly in
colder climates. A ‘true” vapor barrier eliminates the migration of
water molecules into a wall assembly and eliminates condensation
within the assembly. Great care must be taken to insure that vapor
barriers are not placed on “the wrong side” of an assembly. Mixed
zone states, like Georgia, should not have a vapor barrier on either
side…because of our half year seasons.
SPEC-FOAM compared to Fiberglass
Airtight SPEC-FOAM insulated wall R-value compared to traditional
fiberglass
45
ORNL performance check
between whole building
thermal performance criteria
and exterior wall measured
clear wallR-value thermal
bridging, thermal mass and
airtightness
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
SPEC
Fiberglass
5
0
Atlanta
Miami
Denver
Minn
Average Specification Guidlines
• ASTM E-84- Compiled from information
completed on Steiner Tunnel Tests @4.5”
• Flame Spread: 20
• Smoke Development: 400
• Class 1
• R-Values between R-3.8 - R-7
• .5 pound per cubic foot foam: R-3.8
• 1.5-1.7 pound per cubic foot foam:R-6.5
• K-factor ASTM D-1900 @74º: 0.135-0.145
SPEC-FOAM and wall strength
Racking force, shearing loads and lateral loads caused by wind, snow, and changes
in live loads generate compressive force. Although common and customary
building practices are followed and enforced by code officials, many times homes
are built to minimal standards. Minimal standards are usually safe but may be
noticed by unsuspecting homeowners during habitation of the structure.
Compressive force will distort a wall from a rectangular shape to an offset
parallelogram. SPEC-FOAM foam will provide 2.5 to 3 times the racking
strength to identical wall assemblies of different construction.
Identical 8’x8’ models are tested with
Horizontal / lateral force is applied in
400 lb. increments until failure is
observed.
SPEC-FOAM and wall strength
Wind Wash
Wind wash is also air intrusion. Unlike air infiltration,
wind wash occurs when wind drives air into a wall
cavity and then exists out of the same orifice. The
interior envelope of the structure has not been breached,
but the stability of the internal wall thermal gradient has
been disrupted.
Wind wash can undermine and reduce total R-value with a
wall assembly using traditional insulation. Wind Wash
can occur separately from intrusion. SPEC FOAM
eliminates wind wash and the need for exterior house
wraps and barriers.
Blower Door Testing
The introduction of blower doors to weatherization providers has greatly increased their effectiveness by allowing
them to accurately locate the holes in the building envelope where outside air infiltrates indoors. (Credit: David
Saum, Infiltec)
Blower doors are variable-speed fans equipped with a frame and shroud that permit them to fit inside a
variety of doorframes. The instrumentation includes pressure gauges that enable the operator to determine the flow
of air through the fan as well as the pressure the fan induces on a dwelling. Since leakier houses require more airflow
to induce a given pressure difference, blower doors can measure the relative leakiness of a house.
Blower doors can also reveal the location of many leaks, thus providing a clear target for air sealing. When the job is
partially or fully complete, blower doors also provide technicians with quick feedback on the effectiveness of their
work. In addition, blower doors can help diagnose which parts of a house do not need to be sealed. This allows
weatherization crews to focus on the real problems.
Blower door technology has contributed significantly to the evolution of weatherization and building science. Before
the advent of this technology and the detailed analysis of patterns of convective energy losses that it allows, most air
leakage was thought to occur toward the mid-height of the conditioned building envelope, primarily through doors
and windows. Accordingly, DOE and weatherization professionals advocated weatherstripping and caulking in those
areas. In fact, blower doors do reveal leaks from doors and windows, although their effects are amplified, since small
areas result in high-velocity air currents.
However, leakage from doors and windows represents a relatively small percentage of convective losses in most
dwellings, and serious leaks tend to occur at the bottom and especially at the top of the conditioned envelope. As a
result of the widespread use of blower doors, weatherization crews increasingly seal the air in attics and basements
where most air infiltration into the house takes place.
Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?
The introduction of
blower doors to
weatherization providers
has greatly increased
their effectiveness by
allowing them to
accurately locate the
holes in the building
envelope where outside
air infiltrates indoors.
(Credit: David Saum,
Infiltec)
Air Leakage Rates
Oikos
To discuss the impact of air leakage, it’s helpful to have a
unit of measurement. One common unit is “air changes per
hour” (ach), which refers to the number of times in an hour
that a volume of air equal to the volume of the house will
pass through the building. Here’s a simple example. The
footprint of this house is 40 ft. by 45ft. (1800 sq. ft.), and the
ceilings are 8 ft. high. (40 x 45 x 8 = 14,400 cu. ft.)
If the air leakage rate of this house is 0.5 ach, then half its
volume (7,200 cu. ft.) of air would move through it in an
hour. That’s 120 cu. ft. per minute. (7,200 cu. ft./hr. ÷ 60
min.)
Air Leakage Rates
Oikos
Here’s another way to look at the difference that air sealing can make.
Imagine that all the leaks were combined into a single hole in the wall.
That typical 1800 sq. ft. house would have a hole about 120 sq. in., or
10 in. x 12 in. Standard air sealing would reduce the whole to 60 sq. in.,
while advanced air sealing would cut it to about 35 sq. in. For
comparison, the area of this page is about 94 sq. in
The heating load due to air leakage can make up about a quarter to a
third of a home’s total space heating requirement. Often in newer
homes built with more efficient windows and doors and higher levels of
insulation, little attention is paid to air sealing. Builders believe they
construct “quality” homes and don’t believe that a little air leakage is
“that big a deal, after all, a house has got to breathe.”
Oikos Green Building
Source
Leaky Air Ducts
Forced air heating and cooling systems are another major source of air leakage. They affect air leakage
rates in two ways: through leaks in the system components and by creating a pressure difference
between parts of the home and the outside.
Recent studies indicate how severe the problem is:
In one study, homes with forced air distribution systems used 16 percent more
energy than homes with zonal electric heat. All the homes had similar insulation
levels.
Ducted air distribution losses cut heating and cooling efficiency by 25 to 40 percent.
In one study, the cracks and openings in ductwork represented 13 percent of the
house leakage area. But when the furnace blower operated, ducts accounted for 70
percent of the air leakage.
Duct leakage commonly reaches 350 cubic feet per minute during blower operation.
During operation, air pressure inside ducts reaches 50 pascals (0.2 in. w.g.). That
pressure can create 25 times more air leakage through a hole in the duct than the
same size hole in the building shell. So, a one square inch hole in a duct is equivalent
to a 25 square inch hole in a wall.
A building’s air leakage rate can triple when the furnace blower is turned on.
Oikos Greeen Building
Source
Leaky Air Ducts
If the ductwork or the air handler is outside the heated
space, air will leak through the joints, seams, filter slots,
plenum connections and maintenance openings, unless
they are properly sealed. The leakage is greatest when
the system is on, because the blower creates higher
pressure differences between the inside and outside of the
duct.
But there is some leakage even when the fan is off. Ducts
are commonly located in crawlspace, basements, or attics,
but the air in ducts is really inside air. Warm indoor air
rises into return ductwork in the attic even with the blower
off. This air can then leak into the attic, which contributes
to the stack effect. Likewise, openings in supply ducts in
the lower portion of the home allow air to enter from the
crawlspace or unheated basement.
Oikos, Green Building
Source
Differencial Pressures
A forced air system works by creating a difference in pressure between the
area where the supply registers are located and the area where the returns are
located. A home with a typical duct layout has a positive net pressure around
the perimeter of the home and a negative net pressure near the center. For
example, bedrooms are usually pressurized and the hallway is depressurized.
Higher pressure inside the bedrooms compared to outdoors pushes
conditioned inside air out through openings in exterior walls. Outside air is
pulled into the central portions of the home where negative pressure
dominates. Air commonly comes from the crawlspace, through openings in the
floor for plumbing and through the ducts themselves.
Poorly designed duct systems can contribute to the problem because the air
flow between supply and return isn’t balanced. (The registers don’t supply the
same volume of air that is drawn into the return grille.) Even well designed
systems may have only one or two returns. So, closing doors between supplies
and the return makes matters worse.
Stack Effect
Oikos Green Building Source
•Openings alone don’t cause air leakage. There must be a
force to push air through the holes. (This is why a leaky
houses can’t be counted on to ventilate themselves naturally
or “breathe.”) Two natural forces cause air to move in and out
of buildings: stack effect and wind.
•Over the course of a year, the stack effect causes the most
uncontrolled air leakage in the average house. As air becomes
warmer it also becomes less dense. In wintertime, air inside is
warmer and less dense than air outside. The difference in
densities causes the warmer inside air to rise toward the
ceiling where it escapes to the outside. At the same time,
colder outside air enters near the floor.
Negative and positive pressures
Wind forces operate as you might think. On the
side facing the wind (windward), positive pressure
forces air into the building. On the other side
(leeward), wind passing around the house creates
negative pressure, which pulls air out of the
building. Wind effects vary with local shielding and
terrain conditions at the site. A building at an
exposed site may have wind-induced air leakage
three to four times as large a more protected
building.
BTU Loss and Heat Retention
Studies by the Corbond Corporation
COMPARE
CLOSED CELL
FIBERGLASS
CLOSED CELL
68 degrees interior
2x4” wall
2x6” wall
2x6”wall
18 degrees exterior
296 BTU/HR
295 BTU/HR
135 BTU/HR
350 BTU/HR
790 BTU/HR
150 BTU/HR
576 BTU/HR
763 BTU/HR
273 BTU/HR
654 BTU/HR
1461 BTU/HR
324 BTU/HR
NO WIND
18 degrees exterior
15 MPH WIND
-25 degrees exterior
NO WIND
-15 degrees exterior
Mold, Mildews and the such...
The last word a contractor wants to hear….MOLD. Mold in
buildings is an ambulance chasers dream.
SPEC- Foam insulation will not support mold growth.
Air contains water vapor. When infiltrating or exfiltrating water vapor is cooled to
dew point, condensation occurs and vapor will accumulate to form water droplets.
Vapor migrates from higher absolute humidity to lower absolute humidity.
Vapor barriers only increase the likely hood of condensation and a provides a perfect
breeding ground for MOLD. Only in regions with annual directional vapor drives can
a vapor barrier be installed on the proper side. Mixed regions should never have a
vapor barrier installed.
Mold, Mildews and the such….
SPEC Foam insulation is an excellent air barrier. Gaco
Foam eliminates air infiltration, exfiltration, wind wash
and heat loads. Because there is isolation between the two
temperature gradients, dew point is never reached and
water droplets never form.
MOLD CANNOT GROW!!!
Gaco Foam insulation will not rot, corrode, or degrade over
time. Mechanical leaks such as windows or roof leaks will
not affect the performance of Gaco Foam insulation and
will cure to dry after the mechanical breach has been
repaired. On occasion Gaco Foam has eliminated water
migration into a structure and protected important internal
properties.
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Contact
Foam Supplied By S.P.E.C. Technologies 770-274-9888