Air sealing for Deep Energy Savings!
by Kert Heinecke , Feinmann Inc.
Green building in its current manifestation is primarily hype. The market, quick to jump on the bandwagon, has focused primarily on tangible products that may draw envy from neighbors, but do little to actually preserve precious resources and reduce your energy bills. The real decision to go ‘green’ should start with the decision to minimize the home energy footprint. Growing consensus among building scientists suggest that the first major step to improving a homes energy efficiency is home air sealing, and it is feasible for all existing homes. When you add the current tax credits and utility company rebates to the equation, the opportunity to take this first step towards the energy smart home is nearly impossible to ignore.
So why Air Seal?
Starting back with the energy crisis of the 1970’s and continuing into the 80’s, there was a push in the building industry to make homes more energy efficient by increasing the R-value of the building envelope. The thinking at the time was that if we add more insulation, and thereby increase its R-value (a measure of a materials resistance to heat flow) we could slow down the heat loss that is conducted through the building envelope. While this thinking was right on and took us a step in the right direction, it failed to consider the complete heat transfer picture. More recent studies have now concluded that houses will continue to under perform thermally unless air leakage has been addressed.
A tight building envelope, one that has been properly air sealed, can provide numerous benefits to its owners and the environment. Energy conservation quickly rushed onto everyone’s radar last year as the cost of fuel skyrocketed. As we see the cost of energy continue to rise, conserving energy and reducing our energy bills will continue to be at the forefront of the public consciousness. In several recent projects, we have seen energy bills reduced by as much as 30% through the implementation of strategic air sealing.
In New England, where cold winters and chilly evenings are a given, we can all appreciate the value of occupant comfort as we are forced to put on sweaters or sit under blankets to combat a winter chill. Leaky window sashes and doors that lack weather stripping are obvious sources of drafts. On the other hand, the less apparent sources, the smaller gaps and cracks that exist in all structures seem to small to be concerned with. When added together, all of these smaller gaps can equal the size of a typical window sash or larger being left wide open in the middle of winter. While sweaters and blankets have become iconic symbols of winter coziness, no one would choose to wear a sweater instead of closing the window.
Perhaps one of the strongest arguments for air sealing is building durability. The greatest contribution we can make towards green building and resource conservation i...
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