Super-Insulation

for
Peak Oil, Supply & Demand
Zero Energy Buildings

Yestermorrow
Design / Build School
Bill Hulstrunk (bill@nationalfiber.com)
John Unger Murphy (john@murphyscelltech.com)
•We are depleting our supply of easily extracted, inexpensive fossil fuels
•The world uses 1000 barrels of oil every second
•We are using 2.3 barrels of oil for every barrel we discover
•China and Indian account one third the world’s population, their energy
demand will double in the next two decades
•As reserves decline and demand increases, prices will inevitably rise

Annual World Oil Production Between New Discoveries and Well Production

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 Advanced Recovery, Tar Sands, Oil Shale, Coal
The Easy Stuff is Already Gone! and Nuclear Could Help…

Arctic and
deep water
Strip or open pit mining destroys No nuclear power plants are
exploration is
and contaminates streams and privately insured
expensive
pollutes ground water

No “clean coal” plants currently exist

and none are waiting to be built

Coal based fuels increase

greenhouse gas emissions by a
factor of three over oil and gas

…But at What Price! Global Climate Change

Toxic Waste

Pollution
Soil Destruction
US Building Industry:
Climate Change •Is responsible for 48% of total energy consumed
•Uses 40% of all extracted natural resources
Radioactive •Produces 36% of all CO2 (560 million tons per year)
Waste •9% of global CO2 emissions
•Emits the majority of SO2 produced
Oil Spills
•Consumes 68% of all electricity produced

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 Rising Global Temps Increase Severe
Weather and Supply Disruption

•109 oil wells were destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita

The History of Building Insulation

Slide stolen from John Straube

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Commercial Building Efficiency Residential Energy Use

The Renewable Energy Path… …Can Only be Achieved by Conservation and Efficiency
It costs less to reduce energy need while maintaining
function than to build new energy production

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 How Our Buildings can Change
The Renewable Path
Everything
We cannot move to a renewable based economy without improving the the
!
efficiency of our current building systems. These efficiency ! Imagine your home as a zero energy building
improvements are the foundations on which we can build a renewable
renewable
based economy upon. They also are the least expensive ways of ! In what ways does this impact your life?
meeting our future energy needs.

Cost of Energy Generation ! Now imagine this for your neighborhood … your
! Efficiency Improvements $0.10 - $1.00
! Envelope Improvements $0.50 - $1.50 town … your state … our country … and our world.
! Passive Solar and Day Lighting $0.50 - $1.75 ! Imagine what this means to your children and your
! Solar Hot Water $2.00
! Wind $4.00 children’
children’s children.
! Photovoltaic's (Solar Electric) $6.00
! For every dollar you spend on efficiency, you save 3
Equipment cost to save or deliver 1 kWh per year to 5 dollars on your renewable energy systems

The Problems with the First

Early Attempts at Energy Efficiency
Generation of Net Zero Homes

•Over glazing created huge temperature swings from day to night
•Cumbersome movable insulation, huge solar arrays and complex
thermal storage schemes created maintenance headaches
•Other super insulated homes had few windows, moisture and IAQ
problems
•Many depended upon massive solar arrays and
overly complicated and expensive heating systems
in order to make up for envelope deficiencies
•The cost of these homes is prohibitively expensive

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Two Strategies for Achieving Net Zero Solar Roof Exercise
1. Retrofit our existing “code built” buildings
with massively large, complicated and
expensive mechanical and renewable energy
systems.
or
2. Build super insulated buildings outfitted with
efficient lighting, appliances and small,
simple and inexpensive mechanical and 1. Add together all the energy that your existing home uses and convert
convert to
renewable energy systems. Kwh
Take half your roof area and multiply it by 0.7 to get your solar
2. solar
generation in Kwh/Yr
Kwh/Yr
3. Divide your total energy use by your solar generation to see how many
roofs you need to get to Net Zero

Figuring Out Your Home’s MPG Where Does Our Heat Go?
Standard Construction:
! Btu/Sqft
Btu/Sqft/HDD
/HDD (Heating Heating 1800 sqft House Heated
Index) gives us a way to with Propane at
compare one building to Building Type Index $3.50/gallon

another Inefficient 20+ $5,500 per year to heat!

! Calculate the number of Average 13

Btu’
Btu’s you home uses for Code Compliant 7
heating Energy Star 5
! Divide this by the number of
Very Efficient 2
heated Sqft
Super Insulated 1.5
! And divide this number by
you heating degree days, use Net Zero 1
7800 for Burlington VT Passive House 0.5

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 Priorities for Existing Homes Investing in Your Home
! Insulating attics with little or no insulation Payback costs for adding R-40 cellulose to your attic:
! Air sealing your attic (It costs you $200 -$350 /1000 cfm50)
! Sealing and insulating heating / cooling ducts in Uninsulated: 0.5 years
unconditioned spaces
R-11 Fiberglass: 2.2 years
! Adding insulation to your exterior walls
! Insulating the walls or ceiling of your basement R-19 Fiberglass 4.3 years
! Replacing your refrigerator if it is more than 15 years old
R-30 Fiberglass 5.5 years
! Replacing your furnace filter
! Replacing incandescent lights with CFL’CFL’s
! After addressing the above issues, have your energy load
recalculated to see if you can downsize your heating system Many of our homes and
nozzle or orifice size buildings are still not insulated!

Based upon fuel oil at $2.60/gallon

Super-Insulation Goals Benefits of Super-Insulation

! Walls: R-
R-40 ! Resistant to future fuel price fluctuations
! Ceiling: R-
R-80 ! Reduced carbon footprint
! Basement Walls: R-R-30 ! Improved energy security
! Basement Slab Floor: R-R-20 under and edge ! Economical, increased construction costs will pay for
! Windows: R-R-10 center of glass (Quad Pane w/ Xenon) themselves over time
! Air Tightness: (0.05 ach @ natural) ! Reduced heating / cooling equipment and distribution
system sizing and costs
! HRV: 50 cfm 65% recovery efficiency
! Improved occupant comfort and very uniform indoor
! 5 Btu heating design load / sqft floor area* temperatures
* Note: In smaller buildings, it is difficult to reach the 5 Btu/sqft
Btu/sqft design ! Improved indoor air quality
load due to the higher shell to floor area ratios
! Much quieter inside

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 Cost vs Price Earth Based Insulations
•While the initial price is higher for these improved
envelope improvements, the reductions in heating ! Dirt / Clay / Mud have an R-
R-value of 0.35 per inch
& cooling costs quickly pay for themselves.

! Adobe: 10 in. (R-

(R-3.5) to 30 in. (R-
(R-10.5)
! Cob: 6 in. (R-
(R-3) to 36 in. (R-
(R-15)
! Rammed Earth: 12 in. (R-(R-4) to 24 in. (R-
(R-8)
! Their high thermal mass makes them appropriate for the Southwest,
Southwest,
unfortunately not the Northeast
Graph courtesy of Efficiency VT

Fiber Based Insulations Wood Based Insulations

! Straw has an R-Value of 1.5 per inch ! Solid wood has an R-
R-value of about 1 per inch
! Saw dust has an R-
R-value of 1.5 to 2.2 per inch

! Straw Bale 18 in. (R-27) to 23 in. (R-35) ! Log Cabins: 6 in. (R-
(R-6) – 16 in. (R-
(R-16)
! Straw Clay 12 in (R-18) ! Cordwood: 16 in. (R-
(R-20) – 24 in. (R-
(R-30)
* Connections between the floor, walls and ceiling can be very drafty
drafty *As the wood shrinks, gaps form causing drafts and air leakage

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 Cotton or Denim Batts
•These insulation batts are made from recycled
cotton or denim cloth that have borates added for
their fire and mold resistance.
•Dense fiber structure blocks air much better than
fiberglass batts, but makes it very difficult to cut
and to fit around framing, pipe and wire
obstructions.
•These products have an R-value of 3.5 per inch.
•Low embodied energy
•Recycled content of 85%.
Loose Fill Cellulose in Attics
Cellulose
! Cellulose is made from newspaper that has been fiberized.
fiberized.
! Can be installed as loose-
loose-fill in attics, sprayed into open
wall bays or injected into enclosed wall or building
cavities.
! Spray and dense pack cellulose is installed at 3.5 lbs/cuft,
cannot settle and will effectively block air leakage.
! Fire retardants are either all boric acid or blended with
ammonium sulfate. Fire retardants extremely effective,
permanent and will not degrade over time.
! R-value 3.8 per inch in modern cellulose insulation.
! Very low embodied energy, 750 btu/lbs.
! Over 83% recycled content.
Dense Pack Cellulose Behind Insulweb
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 Dense Pack in Existing Buildings Installation Equipment
! Modern “tube insertion”
insertion” installation techniques and more ! Modern dense pack cellulose requires more power
powerful equipment have overcome these issues. Bag counts than you are going to get from small rental
and coverage charts allow installers to verify installed machines.
densities and coverage. Properly installed cellulose will not
settle in walls or enclosed building cavities.

Settling Issues Spray Applied Cellulose

! Older cellulose and blown fiberglass application techniques used very
small installation holes, typically one inch, and a short nozzle to blow
the insulation into the wall. Even though they may have achieved
achieved
adequate installation density right at the hole, several feet away
away from
the hole, densities dropped to the point were they were below thethe
materials settled density. Over time, the insulation sometimes settled
and gaps developed usually at the tops of the wall assemblies.

Cellulose Fiberglass

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Cellulose Spray Truck & Equipment Rigid Foam & SIP’s
! Manufactured from petroleum products taking on many forms.
! Expanded Polystyrene (Bead Board): Can be brittle, R- R-4 per inch.
! Extruded Polystyrene (Blue Board): Closed cell sheet foam, R- R-5
per inch.
! Polyisocyanurate (Celotex
(Celotex):
): Usually foal or paper faced. R- R-value
degrades to about R-R-6 per inch as blowing agent escapes.
! Structural Insulated Panels (SIP
(SIP’’s) have 3 in. to 12 in. foam cores
faced with oriented strand board (OSB) or drywall.
! All foam products are combustible and produce toxic smoke when
burned.
! Foam must be covered by code by a 15 min. fire barrier.
! Foam sheet products and SIP panels need to be air sealed on all
four sides to be effective.
! Very energy intensive to produce, 30,000 – 40,000 btu/lb.
! Low or minimal recycled content (0 to 5% typical).

Spray Polyurethane Foam

(Closed Cell)
! Manufactured from petroleum products and CFC’ CFC’s.
! High densities 1.5 - 3 lbs/cuft is a superior air barrier.
! Cavities must be open
! Foam very difficult to trim off and therefore rarely fills
entire cavity.
! Under most applications does not require the installation
of a vapor barrier – mold/mildew/moisture resistant.
! Very expensive but useful when space is at a premium.
! R-6 to 6.5 per inch, will degrade slightly as CFC blowing
agents outgas.
! Very high embodied energy, 48,000 btu/lb.
! Very low or no recycled content.
! Must be covered in exposed locations with 15 min fire
barrier.

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 Icynene Foam
(Open Cell)
! Manufactured from petroleum products.
! Lower density 0.5 - 1 lbs/cuft, air blocking ability
dependant upon thickness.
! Sprayed into open cavities.
! Foam expands significantly and may push wires out or fill
electrical boxes.
! Foam easily trimmed off, but creates significant waste.
! R-3.6 to 4 per inch.
! High embodied energy, 30,000 btu/lb.
! Icynene has no recycled content, some bio-
bio-based products
may contain up to 17% soy or organic content.
! Must be covered in exposed locations with 15 min fire
barrier

Insulated Concrete Forms Fiberglass

! The insulation value for ICF’
ICF’s is
for the foam only, typically 2 in. ! The most common insulating material (90%).
(R-
(R-10) to 4 in. (R-
(R-20) ! Made from spun glass fibers available in either batts or blown
! The concrete itself has a very low in. Binders for fiberglass are formaldehyde based.
R-value of 0.07 per inch ! Fiberglass is not combustible, but will melt at temperatures
over 1000oF. The asphalt coating on the kraft and foil batts is
! You will only get a “mass flammable and must be covered with a 15 min. barrier.
enhanced R-R-value”
value” if you live in ! Laboratory R-R-value per inch ranges from 2.2 for blown to 3.2
a climate where the average for standard batt up to 3.8 for high density batt or blown in
outside temperature fluctuates blanket system (BIBS). Installed R-R-value performance
typically very low due to their low density.
around your indoor temperature
! Requires careful vapor and air barrier detailing
(i.e. New Mexico)
! Very energy intensive to manufacture (12,000 btu/lbs)
! Low recycled content up to 25% with some products

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 Conduction
•Heat flow by direct contact
•As temperature doubles, heat flow also doubles

Snow Melt Patterns

! After a light snowfall, look for snow melting
on your roof.

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 Determining R-Value Effects of Voids and Gaps
! Insulation voids or gaps have a
profound effect on insulation
! R-value: The measure of performance.
a material’
material’s ability to ! CSG, the Energy Star provider
impede the transfer of in many States determined that
heat 5% void area is considered
! R-values are determined typical for batt installations.
in the laboratory using a ! A 2 x 6 wall with 5% void area
“Calibrated Hot Box”
Box” will reduce its installed
performance from R- R-19 to R-
R-11.
! A R-
R-38 attic with the same void
area will decrease its installed
" Unfortunately, these laboratory tests do not take into performance by 59% resulting
account the effects of wind washing, air infiltration / in a pitiful R-
R-15.6!
exfiltration or convection within insulation

Partially Filled Building Cavities Thermal Bridging

•Wood: R - 1 per inch
! Insulation products that do not fully fill the building •Concrete: R - 0.07 per inch
cavity suffer from: •Metal: R - 0.004 per inch
! Reduced installed performance
! Pathways for flame, air, odor and moisture movement
! Increased thermal bridging

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 Convective Effects Reduce
Convection
! Heat flow by moving air
Insulation Performance
! Convection occurs as temperatures change the buoyancy of air
within low density materials (i.e. fiberglass) and around the
edges of batt type insulation products.

Convection short circuits insulation performance!

Radiation Radiant Barriers

! Heat transfer by electromagnetic waves ! Radiant barriers work best with higher
Heat radiates from warmer to cooler surfaces
temperatures, typically they provide an R-1 in
!

! The larger the temperature difference, the greater the radiative effect
and the more likely discomfort will be experienced the winter and an R-5 during the summer.
These effects are most noticeable in areas with poor insulation and
!

or in low density insulation materials

! They must be kept clean and shiny and have at
! Mean radiant temp. influences comfort 40% more than air temp. least a one inch airspace in front to work.
! In northern or heating dominated climates,
insulation is cheaper and easier to maintain
over the life of the building.

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 How Insulation Works Air Leakage
! Insulation works by trapping air or gas between its
fibers or pores.
! Still air has an R-
R-value of about 5 per inch.
! The R-R-value of glass, wood and plastic surrounding
this still air is much less.
! Once this entrapped air starts to move through air
# Building are constructed of thousands of pieces of
movement or convection, the insulating value of the material all with joints, edges and gaps between them
material plummets! (i.e. HOLES)
# House wraps and building papers are not installed in a
way that make buildings air tight. They all have unsealed
edges and should be considered as part of the rain screen
and not as an air barrier

Building Pressures Rigid Insulation Products

! Rigid insulation products like foam sheathing require
! Air moves through building assemblies due to
pressure differences created by: air sealing around all four sides. Without this labor
! The “Stack Effect”
Effect”, where warm buoyant air rises intensive process, air simply moves around these
exiting the top of the building, creating a negative materials rendering them ineffective.
pressure which draws cold air into the bottom of the
structure ! Also rigid insulation materials can be brittle and are
! Wind blowing against the building allowing air prone to cracking as the buildings move by wind,
infiltration on the windward side and air exfiltration on
the leeward side
temperature or seismic activity.
! Mechanical imbalances in heating, cooling and
ventilation systems generating positive and negative
pressures within the building enhancing air leakage,
high fuel costs, moisture and comfort issues
! HOLES + PRESSURE = AIR MOVEMENT
! If we do not have an continuous air barrier, we will
not have effective insulation.

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 Don’t Forget to Seal all Wood to
Air Sealing
• The goal is to tighten up our
Wood Connections
buildings as much as Unsealed, these seams penetrate directly through your insulation system!
possible than add ventilation
• Buy a high quality foam gun
and caulk gun and use them!
• Seal all wood to wood
connections (bottom plate to
sub floor, multiple ganged
framing members, etc.)
• Seal all pipe, wire and duct
penetrations
• Seal around all window and
door openings with minimally
expanding foam
• Weather strip all doors,
hatches and pull-down
stairways

Air Tightness Testing and Costs Vapor Barriers

! All super-
super-insulated buildings
should be tested with a blower
door and achieve an air tightness
of at least 0.05 natural ach
! The typical new house has an air
tightness of about 0.5 nach
! Every 1000 cfm@50pa costs you
$200/year if you heat with oil and
$335/year if you heat with
propane
! Air leakage alone costs the
typical new homeowner over
$700/year with oil heat, and
$1200/year if heated by propane

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 Moisture Movement Over the course of a heating season…
! Moisture moves two ways, by air movement and
through diffusion. Of these, air movement is the
primary transport mechanism accounting for over 98%
Diffusion = 1/3 Quart Water
of the total
! Poly vapor barriers are typically full of holes, gaps and
seams which fail at the most critical areas, outlets,
overhead lights and framing junctions, allowing warm
moist air to flow through it and into the building cavity
1 in.2 Hole = 30 Quarts Water
! Dense insulation materials that block the flow of air, (Typical size hole around each electrical outlet)

reduce moisture flow by 98% and can eliminate the need

of poly vapor barriers •Diagram from Building Science Corp. Builder’s Guide for Cold Climates, 2001

Moisture Laden Air Causing Rot and Mold

Condensation, Rot & Mold Vapor Barriers in the Summer

Poly vapor barriers are problematic during the

summer as warm moist outdoor air condenses on the
cold surface of the poly in air conditioned buildings.
Poly vapor barriers are not the answer!

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 How Insulating Materials Respond to Moisture Roof Ventilation
! Glass based insulation does not have moisture storage ! Lower density materials such as fiberglass do not block the
capacity. While this sounds attractive, it provides no movement of warm moist air through the insulation.
resistance to moisture passing through it, where it ! As this warm moist air reaches the roof sheathing, it condenses
condenses on the cold outside surface in the winter and the forming liquid water, mold and rot.
cool inside surface in the summer. ! Current ventilation codes are designed to help remove moisture
that air permeable insulation allows through.
! Foam is hydrophobic, repelling moisture into the more
sensitive wood or metal structure surrounding it. ! Unfortunately, venting does not always work leading to ice dams
and poor insulation performance.
! Cellulose is hygroscopic dispersing moisture throughout the
material and preventing liquid water from accumulating. It
also has significant moisture buffering capacity allowing
cellulose to absorb and release moisture depending upon the
season.
! Whatever insulation you choose, proper moisture
management practices are critical to building longevity and
occupant health.

Cellulose and Foam in Unvented Cathedral

Ceilings Sound Control
! Unvented roof assemblies work when you have a dense insulating
material (i.e. dense pack cellulose or foam insulation) that blocks
blocks the The Sound Transmission Coefficient (STC) for common
movement of warm moist air. insulating materials in a 2 x 4 wall assembly with a single
! Unvented roof assemblies perform better through thicker insulation
insulation layer of ½ inch sheetrock on each side
and with dense pack cellulose can improve building durability by
providing enhanced moisture management. Cellulose Insulation: 41
Fiberglass insulation: 38
Mineral Fiber Insulation: 38
Icynene Insulation: 37

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 Fire Resistance Materials that Work
! Cellulose insulation is a Class 1 or A material. ! Spray or pneumatically applied materials like spray foams
! Flame spread refers to the speed at which flame spreads and cellulose insulation fill around obstructions and fully
along the surface of a material. fill irregularities in building cavities.
! Smoke developed refers to the amount of smoke that is ! Higher density materials such as spray applied and dense
produced when the product is burned. With foam pack cellulose insulation offer high installed densities (3.5
insulation burns, it produces substantial amount of toxic
smoke. lbs/cuft) blocking the transmission of heat, and airborne
moisture.
! In both cases, the lower the number, the safer the
product.
Flame Spread Smoke Developed
Cellulose 15 5
Fiberglass 25 50
Icynene 25 450

New Construction
Conventional Framing
Advanced Framing Details
Conventionally 2 x 6 16” o/c framed buildings
! Reduce thermal bridging through framing by moving
• The framing can account for over 35% of the total
wall area
to advanced framing 24”
24” o/c
• This reduces the overall performance of your R- 20 ! Align wall studs and rafters (stack framing) to reduce
insulations, to R -12 the number of headers and double top plate

Advanced 2 x 6 24” o/c framed buildings

• The framing accounts for 20% of total wall area
• Your R - 20 insulation will have a R - 15

Image Courtesy of Fine Homebuilding Magazine Dec. 2009

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 Header Details: Non Load Bearing Header Details: Load Bearing
! Size header thickness based upon the loads and span
•Eliminate headers above windows and
and recess them to the outside so that you can fill the
doors on the non load bearing walls. inside cavity with spray applied or foam rigid
insulation.
! Use hangers to eliminate jack studs.

Corner Details Interior Partition Walls

! Eliminating boxed corners and replacing them ! Use ladder blocking to eliminate thermal
with three stud framed or clipped corners. bridging at partition walls.

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 Shower and Tub Enclosures Taking Walls to the Next Level
! Cover the exterior wall with a rigid air barrier ! There are several ways to improve the
before installing shower and tub enclosures to thickness and performance of wall assemblies.
hold insulation in place and to prevent air ! Staggered Wall
! Strapped Wall
movement
! Double Wall
! Larson Truss Wall
! Internal and Exterior Foam Sheathing

Staggered Wall Strapped Walls

Advantages:
Allows increasing of wall thickness by 1.5, 2.5 or 3.5 inches.
•Reduces thermal bridging
Advantages: Disadvantages:
•Fairly Easy to Construct •Reduces thermal bridging •Can be time consuming to construct
•Easily to construct •Vertical nailers must be installed for sheetrock
Disadvantages: •Doors and windows require separate framing
7” = R-26
•Insulation thickness limited to top and
8” = R-30
bottom plate thickness
•Thermal bridging still at top and bottom
plates
•Uses as much wood as a double wall
2 x 8 = R-28
2 x 10 = R-36 9” = R-33
2 x 12 = R-42
Source: The Superinsulated Home Book, Ned Nissan, John Wiley & Sons, 1985 Source: The Superinsulated Home Book, Ned Nissan, John Wiley & Sons, 1985

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 Image Courtesy of Fine Homebuilding
Magazine Dec. 2009

Double Wall
Two separate stud walls are constructed
with a variable insulation space in
between. Only one of these walls needs
to be structural. 10” = R-37
Advantages: 11” = R-41
•Eliminates thermal bridging 12” = R-44
•Infinitely variable thickness
13” = R-48
Disadvantages:
•Uses a lot of wood and is expensive

Source: Marc Rosenbaum P.E.

Image Courtesy of Fine Homebuilding

Magazine Dec. 2009

Larsen Truss Wall

10” = R-37
11” = R-41
Non-structural trusses can be used 12” = R-44
to increase the depth or the wall 13” = R-48

Advantages:
•Reduced thermal bridging
•Uses less wood than other systems

•Disadvantages:
•Time consuming to construct
•Extra framing required around
windows and doors

Source: The Superinsulated Home Book, Ned Nissan, John Wiley & Sons, 1985

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 Interior and Exterior Foam
Sheathing Details
Advantages: Can reduce thermal bridging
2 x 6 w/
Disadvantages: Expensive
1” = R-25
•Can be difficult to install interior or exterior
2” = R-30
finishes over foam.
3” = R-35
•Thermal bridging through fasteners can
reduce insulation performance by 39% 4” = R-40
•Unsealed edges can reduce R-value by 80%

Source: The Superinsulated Home Book, Ned Nissan, John Wiley & Sons, 1985

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 Image Courtesy of Fine Homebuilding
Magazine Dec. 2009

Structural Insulated
Panel (SIP)
! Fast construction
! SIP panels can help to reduce
thermal bridging
! The panel to panel
connections must be sealed
air tight
! Perimeter must be tight to
avoid insect and rodent
damage
Image Courtesy of Fine Homebuilding
Magazine Dec. 2009

Selecting Windows Window Orientation

U = 0.49 (R-2) Double Glazed
U = 0.33 (R-3) Double Glazed Low –E Argon
U = 0.18 (R-5.6) Triple Glazed Low –E Krypton

•Limit your use of skylights and west facing windows otherwise these will
dramatically increase your cooling loads in the summertime.
•Large amounts of glazing on the south side will cause high afternoon
temperatures swings without large amounts of thermal mass.

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 Window Types
Even the most efficient
windows will be the weak link
in the buildings envelope.
Windows locations should be
selected based upon views,
ventilation and solar heat gain
potential.
Fixed windows are less
expensive and should be
considered in conjunction with
operable types.
Low Ground Temperatures
•Ground temperatures mimic the mean air temperatures of the area.
•Foundations are made from concrete R-0.13 per inch or stone
masonry R-0.08 per inch, therefore your typical 12 inch foundation wall
has about the same R-value as a single pane window!.
•Uninsulated or under insulated foundations or slabs lose a significant
amount or heat to the cold ground all year long.
•To prevent this heat loss, we should be plan on using at least R-20 or
four inches of foam under your foundation or slab.
•With slabs, insulation along
the edges are as important as
the insulation under the floor.
•Your wall/edge and under slab
insulation should be
continuous to avoid thermal
breaks.

Foundation Insulation Slab on Grade Insulation

•The greatest heat loss will be along
the edge of the slab. In super-
insulated homes built in the
Northeast, you must use 4 – 6 inches
of foam to reduce heat loss and
discomfort.
•The shallow frost protected slab
design shown below is not
recommended due to the almost
unlimited heat sink potential of some
soils.

The soil is saturated below grade and moisture movement always moves from the
outside inward. Interior vapor barriers should never be used below grade.

Source: Marc Rosenbaum, P.E.

Source: Marc Rosenbaum, P.E.

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 A Variety of Roof Insulation Details Lighting and Appliances
Fiberglass should never be used in any
of these details due to problems with air 14” = R-52
permeability, moisture and convection.
! Eliminate all incandescent lighting.
Dense pack cellulose or foam insulation ! CFL’
CFL’s, florescent and LED’
LED’s are
both work well in unvented assemblies the future of lighting.
where the insulation is fully filling the
cavities. ! Use only Energy Star or more
efficient appliances.
21” = R-80
! All of the electricity used in your home is
16” = R-60 eventually converted into heat and add to your
internal heat gains.
! These internal heat gains may be good in the winter,
but can be very bad during the summer.
Source: Marc Rosenbaum, P.E.

Ventilation Systems Super-Insulated Annual Heating Costs

# Ventilation and air leakage represent a significant portion of our buildings heat loss, For your 1800 sqf home
therefore we should use heat recovery ventilation in super insulated buildings
# “Natural”
Natural” (uncontrolled) vs controlled ventilation Oil: $498
# Construction moisture releases thousands of gallons of water during
during the first two years
# Spot ventilation for occupant generated moisture loads (Bathrooms,
(Bathrooms, Kitchen) Propane: $586
# Types of systems:
# Exhaust Only: Continuous duty bath fan on a timer or fan delay switch
# Heat Recovery: Two speed fan with heat (HRV) or heat and moisture
switch ($200)
moisture (ERV)
Electric: $536
recovery ($1000+)
Wood: $208
Pellets: $269

How much are you willing to spend on a

heating system requiring 12.6 kBtu’s/Hr?

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 Heating Costs Compared Heating Systems
1800 sqft House Heated with Propane at $3.50/gallon Space Heating / Cooling: Hot air distributed by natural convection (wood stove),
by gas fired fan mounted inside unit (wall mounted), electric baseboard (2 ft.),
radiant resistance panels, or cooling by window / wall mounted a/c units
Boilers: High efficiency hot water (wall mounted or direct vent hot water heaters),
distributed by baseboard (10 ft.), radiant floors or fan coils. Combined heating
and DHW systems can also be combined with solar thermal collectors
Heat Pump Systems: Electric powered (ductless minisplit air source heatpump),
expensive for small expected loads but provide heating and cooling
Remember: Size correctly, point source heat works well in open plan super
insulated homes, no need for perimeter distribution systems and keep it simple,
the less complicated it is the easier it will be to maintain

Standard Construction: $5,500/yr Super Insulated Construction: $586/yr

Super-Insulated Example
R-44 Wall: $11,300
Common Construction Blunders
R-60 Ceiling: $500
R-15 Bsmt Wall: $3,000
R-30 Bsmt Ceiling: $350 ! Using low density or batt insulation materials like fiberglass
R-5 Windows: $2,700 ! Uninsulated metal framing on exterior walls
Adv. Air sealing: $800
! Too much framing, metal or wood
ERV: $1,000
Total Upgrade: ~$20,000
! Separation of insulation and air barriers
! Using kraft facing or poly as an air barrier
Simple Payback ! Little or no foundation insulation
Standard Home: $5,500 ! Using recessed “can lights”
lights” lights in insulated cathedral ceilings
Super-Insulated: $586 ! Running distribution ducts or pipes outside of conditioned space
Heating Savings:$4,914 ! Use of unvented combustion appliances
! Glass exceeding 15% of floor sqft
$20,000 / $4,914 = 4 years ! Large amounts of unshaded west facing glass
! Too much thermal mass
! Using to complicated, expensive or complicated mechanical systems
systems

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Robert Riversong Robert Riversong

Some Super-Insulation References

! Energy Smart Walls: R-R-40 and Beyond, Fine Homebuilding, Dec. 2009
! Building a Tight House, Journal of Light Construction, June 2009
! Planning Wisely for a Off the Grid House, Home Power, Oct. 2009
! Green from the Ground Up, David Johnson & Scott Gibson, Taunton Press,
2008 (ISBN 978-
978-1-56158-
56158-973-
973-9)
! The Superinsulated Home Book, Ned Nisson & Gautam Dutt, Dutt, John Wiley &
Son, 1985 (ISBN 0-
0-07-
07-055786-
055786-1)
! The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling, Danial Chiras,
Chiras, Chelsea Green.,
2002 (ISBN 1-
1-93149-
93149-812-
812-1
! The Owner-
Owner-Builder Experience, Dennis Holloway and Maureen McIntyre,
Rodale Press, 1986 (ISBN 0-0-87857-
87857-643-
643-6)
! Building Green, Clarke Snell and Tim Collohan,
Collohan, Lark Books, 2005 (ISBN 1-
1-
57990-
57990-532-
532-3)
! Insulate and Weatherize, Bruce Harley, Taunton Press, 2002 (ISBN 1-56158-
56158-
554-
554-8)

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