April 29, 2013 - Johns Manville has launched the JM Insulation Project Guide, a mobile tool and website to guide homeowners and insulation professionals select products and practices to meet project needs. The JM Insulation Project Guide takes site visitors through a four-step process to select, purchase and install JM insulation products. After selecting an area in the home, site visitors can add the room dimensions before choosing to tackle the project themselves or find a qualified installer. The JM Insulation Project Guide will then suggest insulation products, the estimated amount of insulation products needed and any other tools and equipment that would be helpful. The JM Insulation Project Guide is accessible from any smartphone and does not require an application download.

April 23, 2013 - ACEEE (The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy) and New Society Publishers have published the 10th edition of the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings—with the motto “Save Money, Save the Earth”. According to the Consumer Guide, achieving energy savings in the home is more than replacing older appliances, but rather performing home energy audits and taking advantages of utility’s energy efficiency incentives. With updates to the lighting, home electronics, building envelope, and water heating chapters, the new edition helps homeowners and renters decide which improvements will yield results and help them incorporate energy efficiency into future projects. The book can be ordered directly from New Society Publishers or major retail booksellers.

March 20, 2013 - GAF has announced CREST—the Cool Roof Energy and Sustainability Tool—to help contractors, consultants and building owners compare the energy cost savings of different roofing systems options. CREST is mobile-enabled, with preloaded utility cost information by postal code. According to GAF, CREST allows the building professional to print a customized report that includes images of the building site from publicly-available, internet-based mapping services, and searches rebates to the postal code level, including municipal and utility rebates, to help offer a truer sense of the real costs and benefits of different roofing system decisions. To help ease the process of projecting peak energy loads, CREST queries both the Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) “CoolCalc” and “CoolCalc Peak” calculators in a single step.

December 18, 2012 - ASHRAE’s latest Advanced Energy Design Guide (AEDG) for Large Hospitals boasts recommendations for achieving 50% energy savings when compared with the minimum code requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The guide focuses on standard mid-to-large-size hospitals that would typically be at least 100,000-sf. in size. Included in the guide are recommendations for the design of the building opaque envelope; fenestration; lighting systems; HVAC systems; building automation and controls; outdoor air requirements; service water heating; measurement and verification; and plug and process loads, including kitchen equipment.

ASHRAE

October 22, 2012 - According to a recent report by Principia, the North American demand for stucco and EIFS (exterior insulation and finishing systems) is projected to grow from 1.1 billion sf. valued at $1.9 billion in 2011 to 1.4 billion sf. valued at $2.4 billion in 2014, a CAGR of 8% in volume.

October 19, 2012 - Industrial Nanotech has developed a clear thermal insulation and mold resistance coating called Nansulate Energy Protect. According to the company, the coating offers an easy way to retrofit buildings for energy efficiency by painting the walls, ceilings, or windows with the clear protective sealant, which also protects surfaces from mold, moisture, and UV. On windows, the coating allows approximately 92% of visible light through and frosts windows for security, it adds. The product boasts an average reported energy savings of 15-30%.

INDUSTRIAL NANOTECH

September 25, 2012 - Now that we're more than halfway through September, the autumn weather feels like it's quickly approaching. If you happen to be away from home, but left a window open, either deliberately or accidentally, you may be in for a wet surprise when you come home.

September 24, 2012 - The Ottawa Courthouse in our nation's capital says it has completed a new green roof–consisting of a living landscape that supports 60 varieties of plants–to help reduce energy costs and improve air quality.

September 10, 2012 - Emma Macmillan writes a new kind of roof-and-attic system field-tested at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) keeps homes cool in summer and prevents heat loss in winter—”a multi-seasonal efficiency uncommon in roof and attic design”.

August 21, 2012 - Pactiv Building Products describes its new GreenGuard extruded polystyrene (XPS) PlyGood R-2 insulative sheathing as a cost effective solution to meeting the increased wall insulation requirements of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). According to Pactiv, the insulate sheathing reduces thermal breaks, raises the overall effective R-value of the wall system and reduces the opportunity for moisture accumulation at moisture sensitive wall components. The R-2 sheathing product is 7/16" thick and available in two sizes— 4’ x 8’ (PG48) and 4’ x 9’ (PG49). 

PACTIV