www.energystarhomesamerica.com

Issue 4 Volume 3

April  2005

RESNET 2005...
Prospering in a Time of Change
By Samantha Pearson & Stephanie Soule

The GWSSI Marketing Team recently had the opportunity to attend the 2005 RESNET Conference, Prospering in Changing Times, held Feb 27^th through March 2^nd, 2005 in San Antonio. RESNET stands for Residential Energy Services Network and it is the organization’s mission to improve energy efficiency in residential housing and make home ownership more accessible to everyone.

At the conference, GWSSI was presented the 2005 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award in addition to the 2005 RESNET Innovation Leadership Award. Kelly Parker, owner and President of GWSSI, was in attendance to receive both awards. Kelly is a current member of the RESNET Board of Directors and was a presenter for several of the conference sessions.

The information presented was tremendous in quality and quantity and should be of value to anyone in the building industry. However, there are some ENERGY STAR facts that may be of general interest... 
Only ten percent of all ENERGY STAR Certified homes are within the United States and Texas is the leading state  with 130,000 homes certified in 2004. Additionally, more than 60% of the American public recognizes the ENERGY STAR Logo. 

Even with a wide variety of sessions to choose from, the main theme became clear.  We are in a time of change. Hence the name - Prospering in Changing Times.  Following are a few highlights from sessions that will particularly appeal to our clients:

• New Environment for Builders and Raters Minimum Air Conditioning and Lighting Package Efficiency Standards.  The most important aspects of this session were the new requirements for 2006. 
  They include:
  * 13 SEER energy efficient air conditioning system, which equates to a 23% increase in efficiency   
  * Window U-Values will increase
  * No restrictions on window area
  * A proposal for Energy Efficient Lighting Packages (These would require five fixtures or appliances that are ENERGY STAR rated).

• Setting the Standards for Sampling
  The proposed standards for Sampling are as follows: 
  * The restriction placed on builders who build less than 85 homes per year would be removed.
  * The only requirement is that the builder must build seven consecutive homes within 30 days. 
  * The proposed Sample set will test one in seven homes instead of one in six. 
  * There will be more restrictions placed on the raters such as more stringent documentation and archiving practices.
  * There will be a Sampling provider test which must be taken by each rater to ensure proper Sampling protocol.
   
• Selling a Higher Quality Home – The Power of adding Value through the Energy Efficient Mortgages.  The benefits of EEM (Energy Efficient Mortgages) are too valuable to ignore. These types of Mortgages have the ability to give the home buyer more buying power on the front end and give the property a higher appraisal value. This increased appraisal gives the buyer availability to finance upgrades from their Builder.

The Conference was extremely informative and put the ENERGY STAR Program in perspective for the coming year.  The changes are many, but will benefit builders and the ENERGY STAR Program alike, not to mention the homeowner.

Wall Canning/Oil Canning...What is it?
by Jennifer Boyle

Oil Canning: A wavy or bubbled appearance in installed siding as a result of a bad installation caused by nailing the panels too tightly to the wall, thereby prohibiting horizontal movement.

General waviness in vinyl siding is commonly the result of an uneven surface beneath it (usually OSB). The waving or buckling of siding is often called “wall canning” or “oil canning”. Oil canning is also a term used to describe an inherent condition with light gauge cold formed metal products, and should not be confused here. Wall canning is a legitimate concern for builders, especially in mixed-humid climates such as Oklahoma and Texas. The causes are limited to too-tight nailing, improper positioning of nails in the wall or not leaving enough expansion room in receiving channels.  Since these are the only culprits, wall canning is a fairly simple problem to avoid – don’t rush through the job and leave some breathing room between building panels!  Just remember, if the extra time is not taken to install OSB right in the first place and wall canning does occur – the affected siding must be replaced.

Inspector’s Corner
Windows
By: Kenneth Lackey - DFW Manager

Often we encounter windows that have the glazing on the wrong surface. Perhaps this article will help with a better understanding of windows.

   .Window Characteristics:

• Glass assembly:  One or more glass panes with spacers and gaskets, if needed.

• Sash: Serves as a frame for the glass assembly. Sashes are either movable for ventilation or fixed.

• Frame: Surrounds the sash and is the window part attached to the building.

• Rough Opening: Structural framing around the window to which the window frame is attached.

Understanding state-of-the-art window characteristics is difficult because heat flow through windows is complicated.

Conduction, convection and radiation are all important window heat flow mechanisms.

Thermal transmittance (U-factor) and solar heat gain are the most important energy considerations for windows.

Thermal transmittance (U-factor). The window industry describes and rates it’s products by U-factor or thermal transmittance. The U-factor includes heat transfer by conduction, convection and radiation. The U-factor is the reciprocal or inverse of R-value (U=1/R).

U-factor is measured in units of Btus per square foot per hour per degree Fahrenheit. As U-factors decrease, heat flow decreases. Lower U-factors are more energy conserving than higher U-factors.

Solar characteristics:

Solar heat gain shares importance with thermal transmittance as a primary energy characteristic. Solar heat gain through windows can account for up to 40% of the total heat removed by an air conditioner. There are two common factors used to measure solar heat gain.

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC)- The ratio of solar heat passing through the glass at a 90 degree angle. This includes radiant heat transmitted and also the solar heat absorbed and reradiated indoors. Single pane glass has a SHGC of .87

Shading Coefficient (SC)- Compares the solar transmittance of a glass assembly-with its interior and exterior shading devices.

Glass characteristics and assemblies:  Energy-efficient windows use three strategies to improve the R-value of glass: multiple panes, gas fillings and special coatings. The very best windows combine two or more of these strategies. Low-e coatings retard the radiant heat flow through the more advanced multi-pane windows called Low-e windows. These low-e coatings are designed for either heat dominated climates or cold dominated climates. The cold weather variety is designed to minimize the U-factor, while the warm weather variety is designed to minimize SHGC.

Hopefully, this has helped for a better understanding of our windows. Please contact GWSSI for further assitance.

Announcements...

Attention Builders:
Oklahoma City hosted an EEBA Houses That Work Educational Series on Friday, April 15th.. This year’s speaker was Mark Laliberte, an EEBA Certified Trainer. The session was extremely successful with attendance exceeding 130 individuals. We’d like to thank everyone who turned out to make this session such a success!

Announcing the upcoming 2005 Affordable Comfort Conference in Indianapolis, IN.  The conference will be held at the Marriott Downtown Indianapolis from May 16 - 21, 2005. For more information, please visit www.affordablecomfort.org.

 

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