Recently in Weatherization Category

Insulation is one of the highest payback improvements you can make to a building -- at both new construction and remodeling time. Radiant barriers are a new approach with additional heat resistant benefits.

Heat Transfer

Conduction

Direct heat flow through a solid object like a roof, wall or ceiling.

Convection

Heat movement through air that occurs when air is warmed. Warm air expands, becomes less dense and rises.

Radiation

Movement of heat rays across air spaces from one warm object to another less-warm object. Wood stoves give off radiant heat, for example.

We hear about radiant barriers in applications such as the heat shielding ceramic tiles on NASA shuttles. And the aluminum foil used on baked potatoes. Those are "radiant barriers" that keep heat in... or out.

Heating air is expensive! Cooling air is also expensive -- so it makes sense that if you don't have to condition air as much, you'll save on your utility bills.

Insulation and radiant barriers are used in buildings to keep heat in during the winter...and keep heat out during hot periods and seasons. But most buildings weren't optimized for energy efficiency in both hot and cold temperatures.

Radiant Barriers for Buildings

The bright aluminum surface of radiant barrier products provides insulation properties in two ways:

• The reflective surface reflects long wave radiant heat that strikes it -- up to 97% of all radiant heat.
• Close contact, but non-touching, allows reradiation to happen, and when you reduce the amount of heat that "gets through" the radiant barrier, you will have less convection taking place.

Read more about radiant barrier effectiveness.

On the basis of Frost & Sullivan's independent research, 2008 U.S. HVAC Contractors' Choice: Which Manufacturer Passes the Test...

Trane emerged as the overwhelming leader in the chiller product category among U.S. HVAC contractors.

"Roughly seven out of ten U.S. HVAC contractors ranked Trane as a top chiller brand," says Frost & Sullivan Project Manager, Krishnendu Roy. "While 71 percent voted Trane as one of the top three chiller brands, what is significant is that 40 percent ranked Trane as the number one chiller brand - a 29 percent lead over the nearest competitor."

A positive reputation, coupled with loyal customers, is what positions Trane as a leader. Of the 36 percent of U.S. HVAC contractors' who reported using Trane chillers for non-residential projects/installs, all agreed that Trane was one of the top chiller brands.

The largest proportion of those surveyed said that the manufacturer's sales person is the most important source of information when deciding on purchasing an HVAC component (80 percent).

Interestingly, 22 percent made independent decisions for buying an HVAC component, while 56 percent reported that the decision for HVAC brand were jointly decided along with their customers. Thus, it appears that HVAC contractors have strong influences in choosing brands of HVAC components

The Frost & Sullivan HVAC Contractors' Choice Award is conferred on the company that has demonstrated excellence. The recipient has distinguished itself through its proactive strategies that position it to emerge or continue as an industry leader.

The Choice Awards measure the best brands based upon the highest brand perception index (BPI) score. The BPI is calculated by multiplying the weighted mean score and loyalty index score. Award recipients must have BPI scores of 10 or greater. Trane received a 10 BPI score for Overall Best Brand of Chillers.

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Trane

Trane has over 55 years of experience providing chillers to the commercial market. Trane offers scroll, helical rotary, centrifugal and absorption chillers in capacities from 20 to 3950 tons, cooling towers and packaged combinations of all the above. Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand, improves the performance of homes and buildings around the world with solutions to optimize indoor environments with a energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, building and contracting services, parts support and advanced controls for homes and commercial buildings. For more information, visit www.trane.com.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan,  enables clients in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides research and best practice models to drive growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com

A new study by energy efficiency company, Johnson Controls Inc.,  took a look at the effect workplace comfort has on employee productivity and energy conservation.

"Employers may be tempted to turn down the thermostats this fall, but this quick fix could lead to hidden costs," said Clay Nesler, Johnson Controls' vice president. "Energy efficient systems and equipment is the win-win alternative, allowing businesses to save energy and money without sacrificing workplace productivity."

• 69% of the 800 US office workers surveyed for the study said they are "willing to sacrifice" their preferred ideal temperature on the job if that helps conserve energy.
  
• 45% said they think their employers are not doing enough to make their offices more energy efficient.
• 78% of workers said their productivity falls when they feel too cold or too hot at the office
• 98% said their offices are too hot or too cold at some point.

Solutions to Workplace Comfort

The study found that as a result

• 49% said they use a fan when they feel too hot,
  
• 28%  use a space heater
• 30% said they leave their office building to warm up or cool down by taking a walk.
• 41% report their discomfort to an office manager or facilities worker
• 69% try to remedy the situation by adding or removing a layer of clothing.

The findings provide further insight into employee behavior and workplace conditions.

Many homes have moisture, combustion safety or indoor air quality problem that result from inadequate or non-functional energy systems.

• It is estimated that 40% of basements in Canada are damp and for children, the health effect of living in damp environments is equal to exposure to secondhand smoke (Fugler 2007).
• One in 15 homes in the US has elevated radon.
• 64 million homes have lead-based paint somewhere in the building.
• Over 20 million Americans have asthma and in 1990, asthma was the cause of 4500 deaths annually.  Many asthma triggers are found in indoor environments.

Energy improvements can potentially exacerbate or create new problems as well as fix existing problems.  We need a trained workforce to properly install energy efficiency projects.

Information and misinformation abounds and is often contradictory.  This can be overwhelming for home owners.

In many cases, true efficiency improvements are not the function of mere presence of a high efficiency product -- but rather, its appropriateness and correct installation.

Certification and quality assurance programs offered by organization help support a trained workforce.  These organizations offer programs:

• NATE
• BPI
• ACCA
• EPA Home Performance
• Energy Star

Three paradigms influence residential energy efficiency efforts:

1. the products
2. whole house or home performance
3. sustainability strategies

Product Rebate Programs

Products that sport rebates for high-efficiency models such as Energy Star rated appliances, CFLs, LEDs and high performance air conditioners can lower product costs and increase adoption.

Rebate programs can ramp up quickly, are easy to deploy, and fairly easy to evaluate.  While widget-based rebate programs have relatively low savings per unit, the high nuber of units and low per-unit transaction cost can yield significant and cost-effective energy reductions, particularly if the market is truly transformed after the removal of the incentive. 

One problem of rebate programs is that they usually do not address site-specific selection/application, installation, measure interaction or deal with side effects.  Because of these limitations, rebates can sometimes result in lost opportunities for more significant alternatives and create negative side effects.

Home Performance Programs
 
The whole house or home performance paradigm focuses on building system performance ith energy reduction as one part of the greater whole.  To date, whole house programs have mostly been delivered through low-income programs and are beginning to filter into for-profit energy efficiency programs. 

Typical costs range from $3-$35,000 per house; and energy reductions range from 5-35%.

A home performance job may include work and cost tht is directed to solving problems such as correcting a wet basement or crawl space, which may not generate direct energy savings.

Sustainable Paradigm
Current and long erm impact on the community and larger environment are considered in a sustainable paradigm that assesses the life cycle of building components and products consumed in house operation.  Land use, water use, and site environmental impact, as well as building durability and energy use are examined.  This is a "green building" approach.

Interest in USGBC and ASID's green guideline for existing homes, REGREEN, released in 2008 has exceeded the expectation of the developers (Yost 2008).

Deep Energy Reduction Paradigm

The deep energy reduction paradigm builds on the strengths of the previous paradigms.  The deep energy paradigm fits well in a sustainable paradigm that incorporates a design centered approach and inclusion of impacts beyond the homeowner's site.

While many strategies can be used to achieve deep energy reductions, universal principles are emerging.  To summarize them:

• A systems approach is necessary to optimize on-site and off-site benefits and interactions
• Good indoor air quality and building durability are integral elements
• Performance must be verified with a combination of diagnostic equipment and actual measurement of all benefits.
• Occupant behavior and community solutions are an integral part of the strategy
• Deep energy reductions should be viewed as an ongoing process to ensure proper maintenance and operation
• A trigger event can capture opportunities as they emerge, ie: roof, siding or HVAC system replacements.

It's important to identify and target communities or situations that offer the combination of lowest costs and/or greatest benefits, access to resources and motivated occupants.

SOURCE:  Linda Wigington, Affordable Comfort, Inc; "Deep Energy Reductions in Existing Homes; Strategies for Implementation"

Based on an industry conference that identified challenges and solutions for energy efficiency, these are some of the many benefits to a community -- and residents -- for a robust energy efficiency program.

1.  Investing in existing homes maintains and builds on embodied energy and resources already invested.

2. Comprehensive retrofits have the potential to increase building durability, improve indoor air quality, increase comfort, correct health and safety problems and reduce noise and pests.

3. Reduced residential energy use eases strain on energy supplies and distribution networks.

4. Lower loads make it easier and more cost effective to meet a home's energy demands with renewable sources.

5.  Lower utility and maintenance costs mean more money is available to the household for investment or spending on goods and services more beneficial to the local economy.

6.  Lower utility costs reduce the cost of home ownership and can increase home affordability.

7. Low load homes buffer and protect occupants from outdoor temperature extremes that occur during power outages and/or severe weather events and from spikes in energy prices.  This can affect extreme health and survival rates.

8.  Through aggregation of benefits, benchmarking and feedback, occupants can see the impact of their actions, providing a way to reinforce lifestyle choices.

9. Deep energy reductions in existing homes can stimulate product development and deployment  that benefits broader residential and small commercial sectors of the economy.

10. Deep energy reductions enable occupants to reduce their personal energy use and carbon footprint.

11.  Deep energy savings can make the US more energy independent and reduce international tensions.

Creating a common language for measuring and evaluating energy efficiency would be helpful.  We have better measures for car performance, such as "miles per gallon".   The equivalent measure for homes and buildings could be "energy use per square foot", as well as "energy use per household", "peak load per household" or "energy cost per household."

Indices of energy performance are needed to provide transparent, inexpensive ways for a homeowner, community or program to benchmark the performance of a home based on actual consumption. 

Professional training programs focus on providing training for certification and are designed to help professionals increase their knowledge and abilities. There are two main categories of certification courses including new homes and existing homes.

New Homes

Three organizations provide certification courses on new homes. These include:

• Energy & Environmental Building Association (EEBA) is an international organization that provides educational products and services for improved building performance to its members. Members of EEBA have the can register to participate in a "Master Builder" certification program. The program is offered year round through EEBA's Institute of Building Technology. Topics covered in the program include: Building Design Basics, Codes Comprehension, Design Components, Green and Sustainability, Commissioning and Testing, Indoor Environments and Health and Mechanical Systems.
  
  
• Residential Energy Services Network (RESNAT) is comprised of a national group of mortgage companies, real estate brokers, builders, appraisers, utilities and other housing and energy professionals interested in increasing the number of families qualified for homeownership through the expansion of mortgage financing options and home energy ratings. RESNAT in collaboration with other organizations offers its member the opportunity to enroll in a home energy rater certification program based on the HERS Rating Method.
  
  North American Technician Excellence (NATE) offers tests to both Installation and Service technicians. Posted on their website are course descriptions. NATE has a network of hundreds of Testing Organizations across the country, and testing takes place all year.

Existing Homes

A number of state and local government agencies as well as private companies offer weatherization certification programs for their residents. For additional information, please see your local governments' web site or click on the corresponding link above.

Good Installation Practices.

In order to have energy efficient products work well, they need to be installed well. The North American Technician Excellence (NATE) is an independent non-profit that provides comprehensive, nationwide testing and certification for HVAC technicians who work on or install residential and light commercial equipment and systems. NATE training, endorsed by the U.S. Department of Energy, increases the number of technicians skilled in the proper installation and service of HVAC equipment, which ensures that equipment runs at peak efficiency and helps achieve energy efficiency goals.


SOURCE:  HUD

Strategies for net zero energy vary by household, climate, region and housing type.

Passive House Institute

The passive house standards in Germany and Austria have demonstrated that performance and cost savings can result when peak heating loads are reduced significantly.

Building Sciences Corporation completed a comprehensive renovation of a 100 year old home that resulted in a 60% energy savings while increasing the living space by 80%. (Pettit 2008)

Energy Efficiency Strategies That Work

A deep reduction approach with comprehensive insulation and air sealing can make a conventional furnace and air circulation system unnecessary, thus using simpler technical solutions to combustion safety distribution systems, durability and indoor air quality.

A deep energy retrofit could eliminate a conventional chimney, furnace and attic ductwork and replace these building elements with a mechanical ventilation system that manages indoor air quality and moisture control.

The Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently published a study, "Approaching Net Zero Energy in Existing Housing" and concluded that climate, housing stock, energy loads, solar gain and occupant behavior all contribute to the feasibility of reaching net zero energy use in existing homes.   With no incentive available, it is not cost effective to achieve net zero energy in most Canadian housing.

Energy Efficiency Justification

Solving problems with wet basements, radon, outdated mechanical equiment and inadequate indoor air quality can help justify energy efficiency choices.

Reducing heating loads is relatively easy.  It is more challenging to achieve deep reductions in baseloads and cooling loads which are more dependent on occupant behavior and lifestyle.  Motivated occupants are essential.

The California energy crisis of 2000-2001 resulted in a 15% reduction in electrical energy use that was primarily the result of occupant behavior, not technology.  The actions of a small number of supersavers and modest efforts by many residents were deemed responsible for the reduction.

Utility programs can substantially reduce energy use with energy efficient features such as low-e windows and building enclosure improvements that focus on reducing air infiltration and upgrading insulation performance.  Also helpful are replacement of heating nd cooling systems, duct leakage reduction, and use of other controls for electrical and cooling loads.

Community Solutions

Homeowner choices sometimes affect lifestyle choices significantly.  Possible strategies can include use of renewable energy supply or a change in the use of space or the number of people in a home.  Highly effective choices can include co-housing with efficient shared cooking, water heating, clothes washing and entertainment facilities.

Reduce the Load First

Marc Rosenbaum suggests a simple maxim, "Invest as much as you can afford to reduce the load, even if it means completing a project in phases."  These load-reducing options that can help achive optimum results are major systems such as siding and roofing. 

Choices for Thermal Comfort

Thermal comfort accounts for 25 - 80% of residential energy use.   Some of the options available include:

Community Solutions

• Comfort centers
• Cogeneration or micro-cogen
• Community thermal storage
• Community-based renewable energy supply
• Use of waste heat from industrial processes
• GHG reduction campaigns
• Feedback, benchmarking, aggregation
• Competitions and challenges
• Technical, financial and regulatory support

Behavioral Choices

• 24/7 set point adjustment or setback
• Apply comfort zone
• Change use of space with new thermal boundaries
• Adaptive comfort (clothing, surface temperature, air movement)
• Increase occupancy
• Reduce internal gains with behavioral cooling loads
• Decrease occupancy size with relocation or demolishing space

Technical Solutions with Higher Cost

• Superinsulation (walls, ceiling, floor, foundation - climate specific for R25-R80)
• Efficient windows  (U 0.1 to 0.3)
• Super air tightening  (0.2 CFM/ftx2 floor space)
• High efficiency mechanical ventilation
• Ultra high efficiency HVAC system
• Automatic movable window insulation
• Highly insulated doors

Technical Solutions with Lower Cost

• Fill cavities with insulation
• Air sealing
• Do-it-yourself superinsulation
• Seal / insulate attic ducts or eliminate ducts
• Point heat or cooling source
• High performance storm windows
• Manually controlled movable window insulation
• Reduce internal gains with technical fix of cooling loads
• Control systems to optimize comfort, indoor air quality and humidity

On-Site Renewable Energy

• Increase solar gain through windows
• Sunspace or solar buffer to reduce heat loss
• Active solar thermal
• Solar PV
• Wood heat
• Trees vegetation or other shading to reduce cooling loads

Deep energy reduction is needed in the vast majority of housing stock.  To weatherize homes is to save energy and make homes more comfortable...and that saves money for the homeowner and the utility infrastructure.

• Energy use in the residential sector accounts for 21% of both the US energy use and carbon emissions, according to the Energy Information Agency.
• There are 124 million dwellings in the US and 13 million dwelings in Canada according to Community Solutions (2007). 
• It is estimated that 60% of the homes that will be present in 2050 are in existence today (NREL 2006). 
• In 2006, $228 billion was invested in US home improvements.

Those are the basic facts that homeowners and industry providers have to work with.

Motivations for weatherization -- optimizing energy use in homes stems from rising energy costs and the need to reduce GHG -- greenhouse gas emissions. 

Affordable Comfort proposes that it is possible to cut energy use in existing North American homes by 70-90%.  The benefits of weatherization, or "deep energy reduction" can deliver benefits over the life of a dwelling -- both cost savings, and comfort of residents with higher indoor air quality and durability.  

Such deep energy strategies require more than technology -- they also require behavioral choices and community-based strategies. 

An ACI Summit was held in 2007 that resulting in a sharing of strategies to promote "deep energy reductions" by 100 housing, building science and energy efficiency experts.

Building industry assumptions are being redefined based on the confluence of political, social, environmental and technical concerns being raised and examined.  Transforming the physical and institutional infrastructure to support rather than threaten community sustainability is seen as necessary...but challenging.

Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Solutions

The solutions lie in how we design, construct, finance, maintain, operate and renovate our homes that have the unrelenting habit of becoming outmoded and inefficient over their useful life spans.

Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Reality Check

We've come to accept several flawed assumptions that have resulted in choices that have been made...such as poorly insulated houses:

Flaw:  The supply and cost of energy and water are predictable.
Reality: In many regions energy and potable water supplies are becoming less certain and more costly. 

Flaw:  Climate and weather events are stable.
Reality:  The earth is a volatile, ever moving planet, and increasingly disruptive weather events (severe rain, wind, ice storms and drought) are predicted to worsen with climate change.
 
Flaw: Energy use is value neutral and our patterns of use and energy sources have no ethical or environmental consequences.
Reality:  The costs of geopolitical conquest, conflict, greenhouse gases and the environmental impact of extraction, generation and consumption are not reflected in the price we pay for energy.  Subsidies for harmful forms of energy have encouraged waste, abuse and economic impacts far beyond the sectors of the economy that focus on energy.     
 
Flaw:  New construction will save the day.
Reality:  It's easy to assume that new building codes would exceed former requirements.  However, the average energy consumption for household in new housing is greater, and growing, than the average energy use of existing homes. 

Flaw:  Energy and other resources are not connected.
Reality:  The link between water and energy has been overlooked.  In the US, one half gallon of water is used to produce each kWh of electricity and 20% of the annual stationary energy consumption is needed to pump, treat, and process potable water and waste water. 

"Saving energy saves water AND saving water saves energy."  Klein 2008)

Flaw:  Energy use can be measures on a per square foot basis.
Reality:  Trends in increasing house size, fewer people per household, and increased use of electricity rather than direct use of fuels are neutralizing the significant efficiency gains that have resulted from better codes, appliance standards, and increased use of energy efficient lighting.

Flaw:  Buildings don't last forever!
Reality:  Buildings represent 85% of the US fixed capital assets with a life expectancy of 50 to 100 years.  They hav ethe slowest turnover of any major kind of infrastructure (Lovins 2007).  Existing homes represent a huge resource and potential for reduced energy use.

Flaw:  Technology will save us!
Reality:  To succeed, a critical complex web of perceptual changes are needed.    We need many strategies that tap our capacity to envision, think, act, create, and implement solutions.  We need strategies that empower the population and industries, informs us as citizens, and provides transparency with feedback processes that make it easy to measure usage and progress against a goal.  We also need to ensure accountability of all stakeholders.   And we need flexibility to accomodate local and regional variables that result from America's vast array of weather patterns, natural resources, economies of scale...and diversity.   
 
Reference: Linda Wigington, Affordable Comfort, Inc (ACI)

Trade associations provide a variety of best practices information such as conferences, newsletters, websites and networking meetings.  Here are some of the many trade associations for building contractors.

• ABC -- Associated Builders and Contractors

• ACCA -- Air Conditioning Contractors of America

• ACEC -- American Consulting Engineers Council

• AGC -- Associated General Contractors

• AIA -- American Institute of Architects 

• APWA -- American Public Works Association

• ASCE -- American Society of Civil Engineers

• ASID -- American Society of Interior Designers

• ASA -- American Subcontractors Association

• AWCI -- Association of Wall and Ceiling Industry

• CSI -- Construction Specification Institute

• NAHB -- National Association of Home Builders

• NAWC -- National Association of Women in Construction

• NECA -- National Electrical Contractors Association

• NFPA -- National Fire Protection Association

• NRCA -- National Roofing Contractors Association

• WAPTAC -- Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center

• AABE -- American Association of Blacks in Energy

Under federal 2009 ARRA funding, California Community Services Division is receiving $185.2 million for the Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program to install energy efficiency and health and safety measures in low-income California dwellings. Of that sum, CSD may use a portion to defray the cost of training workers in weatherization, energy audits, and post-installation inspection standards - all of which are considered "green" jobs.

Over the next 27 months, CSD estimates its local providers will expend approximately $15.7 million ($9.6 million per CSD's estimates and $6.1 million reserve set-aside to be used for the inclusion of new grantees) to support sending their field supervisors, weatherization and energy audit employees, and dedicated subcontractors to CSD-approved weatherization training centers to meet DOE training requirements.

Six Core Subjects of Weatherization Job Training

CSD's weatherization training curriculum consists of 6 core subjects, to include:

Basic Weatherization - instruction on performing the basic and more simplistic forms of energy-efficiency measures, including: caulking, CFL installations, weather-stripping of windows and doors, minor home repairs, etc.

Advanced Weatherization - instruction on performing the more advanced forms of energy-efficiency and health and safety measures, including but not limited to: lighting fixture replacements, window and exterior door replacements, small appliance assessment and replacements, CO alarm installations, advanced forms of minor home repairs, etc.

Diagnostic Testing - instruction on the protocols for carrying-out pressurized diagnostic testing to determine the integrity of heating/cooling duct systems for leakage and the extent of outside air infiltration with indoor condition living space

Combustion Appliance Testing - instruction on the proper testing methods for evaluating the operational safety (carbon monoxide emissions) of combustion appliance located with living spaces and procedures for mitigating appliance hazardous conditions.

Health and Safety Environmental Awareness - instruction on the proper techniques to minimize exposure to lead paint hazards during the course of performing weatherization measure activities, and other safe practices intended to ensure the safety and will being of both weatherization crew members and recipients of weatherization services.

Dwelling Assessment - instruction on the proper method for performing health and safety assessments and energy audits of residential dwellings.

Weatherization Training In The Classroom and Online

CSD's weatherization training curriculum is hosted and delivered at two training centers within the state, the PG&E Training Center located in Stockton, California and the Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County Training Center. CSD will further supplement training center efforts by developing a series of online training courses, employment recruitment tools, and field trainings all intended to further improve the competency and skill of the weatherization workforces. The online training will offer refresher courses and other educational resources to prepare new employees for the classroom training offered at the state's training centers.

Weatherization Green Job Training Recruitment Tools

Recruitment tools will assist agency providers in their recruitment efforts for hiring new staff or retaining the services of subcontractors to ensure that these recruitment efforts result in the hiring individuals possessing basic skills and aptitude to perform weatherization work, and competent subcontractors.

Quality Control

Lastly, CSD will retain the services of a third-party consultant to evaluate the quality of weatherization work and provide infield training to agency employees and subcontractor workforce.

CSD anticipates expending approximately $7.9 million for these various forms of training and technical assistance activities.