Energy Efficiency & Building Science News
SBC Magazine has discontinued Energy Efficiency & Building Science News.
The newest ICC Sustainability Membership Council subcommittee is calling all interested parties and industry experts to attend a new event on May 28 that will dive into the future of energy efficiency and decarbonization, and that will be held adjacent to the 2019 National Energy Codes Conference.
Soprema has launched a new line of products to address “cool roof” designs to increase the energy efficiency of a building’s roof. Released under the brand ALSAN, these products will also be marketed to extend the life of other roof building products.
The most common mistakes – the places where installers need to always pay attention – are reverse flashing, improper cuts, poor surface prep, and not properly seating the flashing on the substrate.
It was announced recently that German building materials giant Gebr. Knauf KG had completed its acquisition of USG Corporation, paying $7 billion for the gypsum manufacturer.
Since its inception in 1895, the Big Ten Conference has pioneered standards of excellence for intercollegiate sports. It should be no surprise then that the design of its headquarters building in Rosemont, Illinois features the construction industry’s highest performing products. In the Midwest, where temperatures can swing 100 degrees between winter and summer, the effectiveness of a building’s envelope, in particular, is a major factor on interior comfort, energy efficiency, and building durability.
Slab-on-grade insulation. It seems like it should not be so complicated. Yet, slab-on-grade insulation can be arranged in a number of configurations, each with pros and cons. One arrangement may be more conducive to maintaining a continuous thermal barrier from a wall down through its foundation but it allows unsightly exposure along the building perimeter. Another configuration may better conceal the insulation yet it allows an undesirable thermal short along the edge of the slab. A particular solution may provide great continuity of the thermal barrier but be problematic in terms of constructability.
A Maine-based startup hoping to expand the wood fiber insulation market in the U.S. is in the process of buying a shuttered paper mill and hopes to start production of batt, board and blown in insulation next year.
As ICC states the ANSI mark of distinction provides building officials what they need to know to approve an ANSI accredited agency’s technical evaluation report. Why? ANSI demonstrated that each accredited agency has the necessary competencies and has undergone a rigorous accreditation process as defined in IBC chapter 17. Accordingly, the agency meets all code compliance regulations.
What is the definition of authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) found in the building code, and what does this definition mean? The 2018 set of building codes does not provides a definition for AHJ. Therefore, this term will need to be defined using the dictionary or as a term defined in another code.
What is the definition of building official found in the building code, and what does this definition mean? The place to begin to address key definitions, which may be understood differently through interpretation, is from source documents where adoption into law occurs.
Good communication requires a common understanding of the words that we are using. As everyone knows, communication can easily become miscommunication when the same word is being used but the intent behind the words is different.
In the video below, Austin, Texas, home builder Matt Risinger takes a look at the comparative install labor and cost of, "OSB vs. PLYWOOD vs. ZIP vs. ZIP-R."
EERE's Building Technology Office (BTO) has released its 2018 BTO Peer Review Report and announced the 2019 BTO Peer Review will take place April 15–18, 2019.
This TreeHugger has often written about how we should be building out of sunshine, using natural materials with low upfront carbon emissions in their manufacture. Now Blaine Brownell of Architect Magazine explores bio-based materials for insulation. He notes, as we have, that insulation "is drawing scrutiny and disagreement within sustainable design circles."
Spray foam insulation is an energy efficient solution, which can offer a sizeable return on your client's insulation investment compared to traditional fiberglass insulation. With the money your clients will save in energy costs, the more energy efficient spray foam insulation pays for itself within a few years.