Month: September 2016

September 23, 2016

ThermalBuck to Exhibit at EEBA in Dallas, Sept. 27th-29th

ThermalBuck will exhibit at the 2016 Energy & Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) Conference & Expo in Dallas, TX, on September 27th – 29th.

“Sustainable Building” may seem like a recent concept, but for over 30 years, EEBA has been a well-respected platform for collaboration and education across multiple fields in sustainable building. EEBA members are committed to being “good stewards of the resources used in the construction of residential and light commercial buildings.”

The EEBA Conference & Expo isn’t a typical trade show, in that the expo hours are a small portion of the event. Much like EEBA itself, the conference is truly all about collaboration, and education. Over 90 presenters will offer informative sessions over three days, multiple networking opportunities, and because it’s Texas, a little bull-riding for good measure.

Notable presenters include Martin Holladay, Green Building Advisor, known for his weekly blog “Musings of an Energy Nerd”, and Achilles Karagiozis, Owens Corning, who developed some of the most advanced hygrothermal models worldwide – including WUFI.

The event wraps up with a closing presentation featuring well-known Texas builder Matt Risinger (originally a Pittsburgh native, extra points in our book). Matt is a nationally known and respected expert in building science for hot/humid climates. With his successful blog “Build with Matt Risinger”, fast-growing You-Tube following, and marketing savvy, Matt truly emulates the ideal EEBA standard – a mix of responsible building practices in the design, marketing, and execution of the building process.

If you’re in the Dallas area next week, be sure and visit ThermalBuck at the EEBA show. For a schedule of the 2016 EEBA Conference program, click here.

Throughout the year, EEBA presents educational sessions across the U.S. Their courses often qualify for CEU credits for AIA, AIBD, BPI, RESNET, NAHB, and is approved by the USGBC for GBCI CE hours towards LEED credentialing. To keep up-to-date with sessions in your area, visit eeba.org.

September 22, 2016

ALPEN Window Installation at NAPHC2016 to Feature ThermalBuck

Alpen High-Performance Products will feature a window installation with ThermalBuck at the 11th Annual North American Passive House Conference Sept 21-25th in Philadelphia, PA.

Known for manufacturing super-insulating, thermally efficient residential and commercial fiberglass windows & doors (as well as architectural glass), this Colorado-based window manufacturer has over 30 years of experience in glazing technology, and an excellent reputation for craftsmanship and performance.

In 2013, Alpen HPP was the very first manufacturer to receive certification under the Passive House Institute -US (PHIUS) Certified Product Performance Data Program. This certification uniformly and independently verifies product performance for use in the passive building industry.

Alpen HPP has since been joined by 10 other major window manufacturers in receiving this certification, including Intus, Marvin, and Zola.

Continuous insulation throughout the building envelope without any thermal bridging is one of the key building-science principles of a passive building. Testing an installation of their 725 Series window with ThermalBuck, is just one of the ways Alpen is committed to finding the best ways to solve their customer’s challenges, and continually provide exceptional service.

The PHIUS is a non-profit organization committed to making high-performance passive building the mainstream market standard. It’s membership-based branch, the Passive House Alliance US (PHAUS) was formed in 2010, and now supports over 800 members across the US. For more information on the key building-science principles of a passive building, please visit phius.org.

September 9, 2016

Building Codes – Get Into the Zone

Building codes provide the minimum requirements for what all builders have to do (in order to follow the law, that is) when constructing and maintaining buildings.The variances between building codes in different states or even different regions within states has everything to do with one main consideration – the climate.

Climate has a significant impact on building codes, energy codes in particular.

What makes perfect sense for good moisture management in one climate varies wildly from that of another region. It can even be quite different within one state. California is the most varied state – Marine, Hot-Dry, Mixed-Dry, and Cold. Builders really have to understand the particular climate they’re working with in order to follow good building science principles.

ICC Climate Zone Map

Surprisingly, prior to 2004 there was no universal climate zone map for the U.S. for use with building codes. At that time, ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) used 38 different climate groupings, while the IECC used 33 different zones based on county boundaries. That’s a lot of climate chaos.

Recognizing the need for an easier way to define climate, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (in conjunction with Building America) prepared a simplified map, and the 2004 IECC Supplement was the first model energy code to adopt this new climate zone map (map from ICC shown above).

Temperature & Humidity

Temperature and humidity are the two primary factors that influence the 8 climate zones in the U.S. Each of the eight zones are further divided into five climate “categories”:

8 Subarctic (Alaska only)
7 Very Cold
6 Cold
5 Cold
4 Mixed Humid or Mixed Dry
3 Hot-Humid or Hot-Dry (some Marine)
2 Hot-Humid or Marine
1 Hot-Humid

If you’re a true building science guru, you’ll want to better understand something called “degree days”, or accumulated temperature calculations. The Energy Vanguard Blog has an excellent piece by building science expert Allison Bailes III, that dives deeper into temperature and moisture divisions.

Climate-Based Resources for Builders

Considering that several states are in multiple climate zones, the DOE Building Best Practices Series issued the “Guide to Determining Climate Regions by County”, a helpful resource for builders listing every county within that state, and which climate category to follow in each county.

There are multiple climate-based Best Practices guides available for builders through the DOE Building America Program, which focus on real-world case studies that demonstrate solutions to improve whole-house energy performance for new and existing homes in the five major climate regions.

For a direct link to these climate-based case guides for all climates, visit energy.gov.

The DOE Building Technologies Program works to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the U.S. through educating builders on better building practices, and technological advancements in materials and techniques. Energy-Star and Zero-Energy Ready are just a a few of their recognizable efforts in place and on track to meet significant goals by 2020.