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Issue 9, Volume 2

September 25, 2004

13 SEER: Raising the Standard...Literally
by Jennifer Boyle

 The verdict is in, and the new standard for residential air conditioning units will be a minimum of 13 SEER, effective January 23, 2006. (SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.) In 2001, the 13 SEER standard was proposed by the Clinton Administration but weakened to 12 SEER in 2002 by the Bush Administration. After a lengthy legal battle, higher efficiency prevailed! Congress established the last standard, 10 SEER, in 1987.  After 17 years it’s high time for an upgrade. 

But what does this mean for the HVAC industry?  It means more education and training, in order to capably inform homeowners of the benefits of 13 SEER.  “The primary communications challenge is to provide HVAC contractors with clear and simple marketing tools that effectively explain to end users the benefits and advantages of more efficient home comfort systems,” said Ed Raniszeski, director, Market Development and Communications, Rheem Air Conditioning Division (Fort Smith, AR). “Those of us who have increasingly endorsed the ENERGY STAR mantra now have a golden opportunity to make greater efficiency a broad-based reality.”

 There are numerous benefits to a more sophisticated comfort system, “I think it’s very short-sighted of this industry to consider selling on efficiency alone,” states Doug Young, Vice President and General Manager, Lennox Residential. “To offset initial upfront costs of equipment that is 13 SEER or higher, contractors will need to focus their message on value, system features, winter operational savings, humidity controls, and quiet operation,” recommends Bill Hanesworth, Vice President, Sales, Rheem Air Conditioning Division.

 In addition to the many benefits for homeowners, there will be a measurable decrease in damage to the environment. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE),

 “Energy use by new air conditioners will be reduced by 23% relative to the current standard.  This will reduce the peak demand for electric power by 41,500 Megawatts by 2020 (equivalent to 138 typical new power plants of 300 MW each) and save consumers approximately $5 billion over the 2006-2030 period.  It will also reduce air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions, saving 7.2 million metric tons of carbon in 2020, which is equivalent to taking more than 3 million vehicles off the road.”

 Although the new standard is not going to eradicate air pollution or fossil fuel depletion, it is a healthy start in the right direction.  Perhaps in 17 years when it’s time for the next standard revision, it will be for zero-energy units that actually clean the air.  There’s nothing wrong with thinking big!

“Zero-Energy Homes”
by Jennifer Boyle

The term is often used, but what is a zero-energy home?

A zero-energy home is one that produces as much energy as it consumes. It applies to buildings that bank energy generated on-site and feed it into the local electricity grid to be taken out of the grid when needed.  The most common example is photovoltaic panels that generate and feed energy into the grid during the day to be pulled out as electricity at night.

Surprisingly, the cost to apply energy-saving technologies is relatively low, adding around 10-15% to the initial building cost, but when factored with the savings on utilities over time, the units pay for themselves.  And there are many ways to achieve energy equilibrium, including climate-specific design, solar heating and cooling, natural lighting, efficient appliances and smart ventilation strategies. The costs vary depending upon the selection of components. 

So what are some of the major obstacles in mainstreaming zero-energy homes?  House size is a big one. According to Iain Walker, executive editor of Home Energy magazine, “When designing a zero-energy home, the best place to start is with load reduction.  And let’s face it, a 2000 sq. ft. house with its smaller envelope is bound to have a lower load than the 3,500 sq. ft. house that is typical in most new housing developments.” He then goes on to explain, “…it seems to me that what is really holding us back is education of both the consumer and the building industry.  To get a lot of zero-energy homes built, DOE will need the cooperation of the building and contractor industries- and need look no further for how to do this than to another DOE/EPA program, ENERGY STAR.”

The technology is here, but Iain feels that builders and contractors need an incentive to really push zero-energy building practices.  Many incentives are already available, such as tax credits and special mortgages, but once again, it’s a matter of getting that information in the mainstream.

Inspector’s Corner
By: David B. Walker – National Operations Director

“THE GARAGE-TO-HOUSE CONNECTION”

   There are various elements concerning “New Home” construction. Some of them include safety, durability, health, and liability. The two we want to discuss briefly are “safety”, and “health”. When thinking of safety the first thought always leads to establishing an environment that is safe, as well as healthy for the occupants of the home. One area that draws a tremendous amount of concern for most homeowners is “Carbon Monoxide” poisoning.

   One great addition to any new or existing home is the application of CO detectors. These small, inexpensive devices have saved many lives in this modern time of construction. CO is released by combustion appliances, automobiles, and cigarettes as a product of incomplete combustion. CO is the largest cause of injury and death from gas poisoning, which results in approximately 500 deaths per year. There are symptoms of “low-level” CO exposure. This type of exposure has symptoms relating to the flu, and most times goes unnoticed.

   In this article, we want to look at the possibilities of CO concentrations from the “garage” that enter into the “home”. The EPA’s suggested maximum 8- hour exposure is 9ppm (parts per million) in room air. Room levels of CO at or above 9ppm are usually associated with the use of “malfunctioning” combustion appliances contained within the living space, or connected somehow to the living space.

   Taking into consideration the “Garage-to-house” connection – it is highly important that none of the exhaust fumes from the initial start-up of the vehicle are allowed to infiltrate the conditioned space (living space). Most studies show that it takes anywhere from 45-60 seconds for automobiles with catalytic converters to warm-up, in order to properly reduce the CO emission.

   There are several ways these CO emissions can enter the conditioned space. The first would be through any construction application designed for the HVAC system to be located in the garage. The potential for these fumes to enter various openings is great. Any gaps, voids, or openings at seams, transitions, or duct connections are infiltration points for the CO to penetrate through the HVAC system. Thus, the blower becomes the source for distribution of CO throughout the home. Another area of infiltration would be through unsealed entry doors to the conditioned space. Threshold sweeps, as well as weather-stripping around the door opening can help. One common application found in new construction is return-air grills found just inside the entry of the conditioned space from the garage. Each time the door is opened the warm, vapor filled air (possibly CO filled air) is drawn into the HVAC system, and distributed amongst the home.

   Another infiltration point is through the “common” wall separating the conditioned space and the garage. These walls are sometimes un-sealed around the light switch and outlet fixtures (this applies to garage ceilings as well). Many garage walls are never trimmed or sealed near the connection between the drywall and the sole plate of the wall. Sometimes, when the garage ceiling is actually a “cold floor” for an above room, the ceiling joists run continuously from the garage ceiling, into the conditioned space of an adjoined common room. Usually, these joists are un-blocked and open to carry an enormous amount of uncontrolled unconditioned air into the home. (High infiltration readings usually detect this along with zonal pressure testing.)

   Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a class on this very subject at a national conference. Stephen Klossner and Phil Kaluza were involved in a study done in a particular northern state of the United States. Their study showed that the “garage connection” was the primary source of CO infiltration for 74% of the homes tested. The garage-to-house leakage ranged from 124cfm to over 2000cfm. This in turn represented approximately 80% of the “total” air leakage into the home. The top three sources found in this study that contributed to CO detection in the house were:

1). Garage-to-house connection

2). Gas ovens

3). Back-drafting

  As you can see, there are various sources for CO contamination found in homes. It may be that the garage-to-house connection is the one that is severely overlooked. So, what are some of the remediation techniques available? The easiest would be to “disconnect” the garage. This may not be applicable because of design protocol. The other would be to remove any HVAC appliance from the garage – and if they “must” be installed in this area, make certain they are totally sealed and airtight (this may not be possible due to design and installation practices). Next, be sure the “common wall” area is also sealed to minimize the infiltration across this pressure plane, as well as blocking open joist areas that connect from the garage to the conditioned space. Finally, providing CO detectors within the home located in the proper areas is a great idea for any builder. The easiest way to know how good your “Garage-to-House” connection is, we recommend having your homes performance tested. We at Guaranteed Watt Saver would be more than happy to provide this service for you. If you would like to schedule a test, or ask questions concerning this or any article please contact us at 1-888-488-0206, Monday through Friday – 9:00am – 5:00pm.

Announcements...

Attention Builders –
GWSSI has received notification that GreenFiber is discontinuing their Engineered For Life Program effective November 1, 2004. They will continue to support all guarantees issued prior to this date but will no longer offer the program. If you are interested in other guarantee or advanced building science programs, please contact GWSSI for more information.

We are participating in the Greater San Antonio Builders Show from Sept. 29 thru Oct. 3

The EEBA/Sunbelt Builders Show will be taking place October 20-23. We will be cooking at a BBQ for the Zero Energy House Tour during this show. If you are interested in attending, please sign up at their web site at http://www.sunbeltbuildersshow.com/

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