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FINALLY! A Comprehensive book on Home Performance Diagnostics! Over the last few years, we have seen our industry go from:
“So what do you guys do?” -to- “WAIT I HAVE TO DO-A-WHAT TEST?!?”
In a quickly evolving industry, it is hard to keep up with changing energy code requirements, professional certifications, testing procedures, and the tools/equipment that is related. We, as a training center and home performance diagnostics company, have struggled to find a definitive resource that outlines what the test are, how they work, how to perform them, and how they should be interpreted. There are equipment manuals, there are books on ‘energy auditing,’ but what about a complete step-by-step guide than can walk someone through ALL of the home performance diagnostic testing that they would need to know how to so in our industry?
Enter Home Performance Diagnostics here: 
Over the course of the last year, our Technical Director Corbett Lunsford, has quit sleeping altogether to devote all of his mental energy to compiling this book. With years of hands-on experience from the field, he has fine-tuned his skills using home performance diagnostic equipment and is ready to share all of his lovely secrets with the world. Our industry is already seeing a rapid increase in interest and acknowledgement from builders, contractors, inspectors, architects and other related parties in the construction industry. We, as a company, truly see the need to elevate the working knowledge of our industry and think that Home Performance Diagnostics is an invaluable tool to do so. The book is intended for anyone in residential construction. Whether you will or will not be performing the diagnostic test contained within, it is imperative that you know what the test are, how they work, and what they mean. Simply put – if you don’t keep up with this stuff, you will quickly be left behind! The Illinois adoption of 2012 IECC is proof of this, so study up folks!
Here is a basic overview of the book:
In short – It covers almost all diagnostic testing you would want to do in a the home performance industry. Each test is introduced to you with the basic concepts and materials or tools that are required. Before testing, a preparation section outlines the important steps that need to be done to ensure the test is performed safely and in a manner that is aligned with the manufacturers intentions. The testing section is very detailed and flows in a linear, consecutive fashion with step-by-step instructions that touch on EVERY point so nothing is missed. After all testing is complete, an interpretation section makes sense of the results. It explains what the results mean, how to communicate the results, how to perform additional calculations (if necessary), and how the results relate to various standards or codes. Each calculation is followed with an example for further clarification. Any figures, graphs, or tables required for the results to be properly interpreted are found in this section or are referred to in the appendix. The best part? EACH STEP HAS A HIGH DEFINITION PHOTO ASSOCIATED WITH IT! We felt this was necessary to aid in clarification…
Recently, we have added a few additional items to support the needs of trainers or instructors who wish to use the book as a resource for their own students in a curriculum-type setting. Some key things for trainers:
1) Questions/Quizzes with unique solutions for every section of the book
2) Discussion and Critical Thinking topics for conversation in the classroom that are intended to further the students knowlegde
3) A ‘difficulty matrix’ that outlines the relative difficulty of each test, as well as the required prerequisites that the students should have mastered
4) A trainers guide to ‘Home Performance Diagnostics.’ This clearly states what is in the book, how it is laid out, what other resources are available, and how to get in touch the Corbett himself
To grab a copy or preview the book, follow this link.
For Trainers, follow this link for the additional material. Don’t forget we offer special discounts for bulk orders!
Here it comes folks – The Illinois adoption of the 2012 IECC will be in full effect come June 1, 2012. Regardless of who you are – I will assure you that this is a great thing and you will either directly or indirectly benefit from this.  For those who are familiar with the 2009 IECC, but have not had the opportunity to attend a training session or thumb through the published version for the 2012 IECC (which is now wonderfully bound with commercial provisions AND the ASRAE 90.1-2010 standard), I have some great resources for you. I recently stumbled across a pretty concise document that outlines some the major, minor, and negative changes in the code as it relates to energy efficiency (and note that this documents is only related to efficiency items). Overall, the consensus is that the 2012 IECC is inherently more efficient than the 2009. Click here to read on. Some brief highlights include:
• Increase in prescriptive insulation requirements in all assemblies (as low as 12% increase for fenestration and as high as 33% for mass walls!)
• A larger fraction of exterior wall area is allowed to have reduced continuous insulation (40% from 25%) when structural sheathing is used to maintain an even thickness. However, 2012 IECC does not allow the elimination of continuous insulation in areas where structural sheathing is used like the 2009 code did.
• Mandated blower door testing with much stricter tightness limits (2009 did not require pressure testing, therefore not enforcing tightness limits)
• Ventilation fans now must be more efficient (there were no upper limits in 2009)
• A greater fraction of installed lamps must be high-efficacy (from 50% to 75%)
• Tighter limits for duct leakage testing (although 2012 does NOT mention testing ducted systems for leakage to outdoors, only total leakage. Additionally, building cavities may no longer be used as supply plenums)
• Hot water pipe insulation and length of run (all pipes to be insulated unless they have ‘sufficiently low volume.’ In order to achieve the defined ‘sufficiently low volume,’ you must reduce length of run.)
• Definition of skylight was changed from glazed fenestration less than 75 degrees from horizontal to any glazed fenestration less than 60 degrees from horizontal. This bumps more glazing into the ‘vertical’ glazing category which has more stringent requirements
• Ventilated attics with air permeable insulation are now required to have baffles at the eaves (it’s baffling that this wasn’t required before!)
Some changes that negatively impact energy efficiency are:
• Steel framed wall insulation (there is now a distinction between studs 16” and 24” OC which in some cases has increased overall U-Value)
• Location of air barrier (2 things – air permeable insulation is not allowed to be located outside the air barrier, and common walls between dwelling units are not required to be air sealed.)
There are a slew of other changes, but I’m not going to get into all of them here. I suggest you read the article, but if you don’t feel like doing so, here is an interactive webinar-style training from the Energy Center of Wisconsin (presented by Darren Meyers) to get you up to speed:
Part 1
Part 2
Thanks for Reading!
So we all know about The Energy Star for Homes program, but what about Energy Star for multifamily buildings? Well, in August of 2011, Energy Star launched their first ever program for Multifamily Buildings. As you can imagine, it is much more intensive than the program for homes, but the overall process is very similar. The program follows a two-path format for certification. Both paths (prescriptive and performance) have similar rules to the homes program.
Essentially, the prescriptive path is a predetermined formula for an efficient building in a given climate zone. Energy Star gives us guidelines, we design and build to the guidelines, and verify that the building was actually built as designed by various site visits and extensive performance testing. If the building is 100% compliant with the prescriptive requirements, it is then awarded certification.
Unlike the prescriptive path, the performance path does not provide strict guidelines for every aspect of the building. Instead, the designer has much more flexibility in finding ways to create an efficient multifamily building. However, the drawback to this method is that an extremely comprehensive energy model must accompany the design to prove that the building is at least 15% more efficient than a reference building built to ASHRAE 90.1-2007 standards. It should be noted that regardless of path chosen, all buildings in the Energy Star Multifamily High Rise Program must meet the minimum guidelines set aside in a prerequisite checklist. Additionally, both paths require benchmarking the energy usage of the whole building for two years.
Why would you want to go through the hassle of the program if you can continue to build as you always do? BUILDING BETTER IS THE ANSWER! If you are not only the developer, but also intend on being the owner of the building, then you should build the best product you feasibly can. Also, dependent on your location, many new multifamily buildings must meet certain ‘green criteria’ in order to be approved, so why not take advantage of a performance based program that will save you from numerous headaches down the road? The additional cost and time involved is merely a drop in the bucket when looking at the big picture.
Currently, Green Dream Group is working with Ryan Companies, a really great all-in-one design-build firm, to build the very first multifamily building to be labeled Energy Star in Illinois! We are very excited to be involved in this process are looking forward to taking on more of them in the future. Although it is quite a change from the Energy Star for Homes program, we have found this program to be in line with our skill set and long-term goals for the company as a whole. On top of that, it has been a really great learning experience.
As probably observed, this blog post is very basic. If you are looking into the program or would like to know more information, feel free to contact us with questions or visit the Energy Star Multifamily High Rise website.
What makes a home ‘High Performance?” If a home is considered “high performance,” what does that mean to the homeowner? How do I know how my current home performs? If I am building a new house, what steps should I take upfront to ensure that my home is the best it can be? If you are curious about any of these questions, please keep reading!
As put by our Technical Director, Corbett Lunsford, a high performance home perfectly controls heat flow, airflow and pressure, moisture, and air quality. This is achieved through careful design and attention to detail using building science principles. Over the last century, the United States has largely ignored many of the basic design considerations that comprise a healthy, efficient home. In addition, we will (literally) do almost anything to keep energy cheap. It is to the benefit of the builder, homeowner and tenants to have an efficient, healthy home, so why aren’t we all building better?
The single biggest investment that most Americans will ever make in their life is their home. Considering the extended periods of time spent in the home, and the likelihood of raising children in the home, wouldn’t you want your home to be comfortable and healthy? Although there isn’t much curb-appeal to the fine detail that make a home high performance, it still adds significant value to the home. I will tell you that I personally will never buy a home without knowing a HERS index for it first (if you don’t know what a HERS index is, click here). As the public becomes more aware of what a HERS index is, the importance and value of that number will tie directly with the value of the home. While the HERS index is great for energy efficiency, it doesn’t quite encompass all of the interconnected systems and health considerations. High performance is much more than just energy efficiency.
It is my advice to homeowners (especially to anyone who is about to build a home) to have a completely thorough analysis of the building from a performance contractor’s perspective. Your money, your time, your family, and your comfort deserve it!
I am from Virginia, and we like wine there. I personally love BS (building science, that is…) and so does Wisconsin. Wisconsin also loves cheese. Wine and cheese – I don’t need to elaborate there. Moral of the story? I can’t wait to go the Better Buildings, Better Business (B4) conference in Wisconsin Dells February 29-March 2! Didn’t see that one coming did you?
A few weeks ago, The Energy Center of Wisconsin brought the B4 conference to Illinois for the first time ever. It was also my first time attending the conference but I can assure you it was one of the most magical moments of my life. Think about it – The best products, the smartest people, and the hottest topics in residential building performance all in one place! Oh, and apparently there are water slides at the Wisconsin conference too? At the Illinois conference, there was definitely too much good stuff going on at once to keep sane, so I need to brace myself for the Wisconsin conference since it is going to be much larger than the one here. The workshops were incredible! So much information crammed into bite-sized sessions! The topics are so broad and cover so many aspects of building science and energy efficiency. Also, the vendors go beyond your typical banner-and-booth style expo – this is all out. Each vendor brings products and many do demonstrations as well. Not entertained yet? Well, just wait until dinner and drinks then!
This is our first time having a booth at the Wisconsin B4 conference, and we are ready to give you everything we’ve got. A new book, new trainings, new attitude, and NEW SHIRTS! But honestly, we are just happy to be a part of the Better Buildings Movement. We are there to learn and move our industry forward just as much as we are there to move our company forward. If you are at the conference, please stop by and say hello!
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