Roundtable on Insulation
Brendan O’Neill,
Posted
05/17/2010
MA:
Why should a metal building specifier choose one type of insulation
over another?
Mike McLain, General Manager, Bay Insulation: There are
several critical issues that must be considered before making this
decision. What is and/or what might be the "end use" of the
structure? Will it be conditioned, semi-heated, unconditioned or a
low energy building space. Each of these conditions as well as the
geographic location of the structure will determine the thermal
performance requirements of the building envelope. The performance
requirements of the roof and wall envelope will determine the
various solutions that are available and applicable. These
solutions each have their own features and benefits the least of
which is satisfying the code and standard requirements. Other
features regarding economy, installation, appearance and durability
are also considerations.
Dan
Harkins, CEO, Thermal Design: Design build contractors and
architects should first determine what the most economic energy
design is for a particular building and use. Nearly 100 percent of
the time, maximizing the installed thermal performance utilizing
fiber glass insulation is the best and least expensive option. This
is easy to do with structural member depths of eight to 10 inches
in depth. An installed R-30 or better can be easily achieved. This
does not mean compressing the insulation, but installing it in a
manner that maximizes the installed thickness and installed thermal
performance. Installing the insulation in a compressed manner is
simply a waste of time and resources and does not result in any
significant energy savings, nor collateral savings of other
systems. Many owners are misled that simply paying for more
insulation and installing it results in the corresponding
performance increase. This is only true if the insulation is
installed at the proper installed thickness and sealed effectively.
Any system that creates the space for the inexpensive fiber glass
insulation to fully expand and isolates the conductive metal
framing members from the conditioned space will perform well. The
direct result of achieving good insulation performance is about a
50 to 60 percent savings in HVAC equipment, gas piping, wiring
circuits, etc. Bright white colors also result in 25 percent or
more savings in lighting equipment, wiring and lighting energy use,
which often are the largest energy use in metal buildings.
Generally, upon careful analysis, the savings of HVAC, lighting
equipment, wiring, etc. offset most or all of the added cost to
insulate properly to the higher level.
For any specific use, there are typically several choices to be
made for various end use reasons. Products suitable for the
particular use first must be selected. Then, a life cycle economic
cost vs. benefit analysis should be done with the suitable products
to determine the most economic of the qualified products to use. In
all designs however, the installed performance claims of the
product is what is relevant and only those should be
considered.
Products which make advertised performance claims based upon "back
of the truck", "to the job site", or have warranties which are void
when a product is installed are products that should be avoided.
Products that don't perform, that do not have detailed installation
instructions on how to achieve the advertised "installed
performance claims, or that do not provide advertised" installed
performance claims" should not be even considered. Advertised
"installed performance claims" provide protection under federal and
state laws for the purchasers, installers and users of the
products. Always use products that publicly advertise the verified
installed product performances for the particular method of
installation and that provide detailed instructions of how the
product is to be correctly installed to achieve those advertised
performances.
Do not use products that cannot be honestly relied upon for the
proper sizing of HVAC equipment, lighting equipment, and other
collateral design criteria which rely upon the "installed
performance" of the insulation products and methods selected. If
there is one rule that designers should use, it is this: "Only
consider reputable products and companies that are advertised
across state lines and warrant the installed performance of their
products." There is a reason why some products avoid such claims
and that is that they are not reliable or do not perform as
advertised after installation. Product sellers need to stand behind
the installed performance and they need show installers how to
properly install their products to achieve the predictable and
advertised level of installed performance from each such product.
If the performance can't be relied upon, then it is impossible to
properly size design the optimal related systems such as HVAC,
lighting, electrical, etc.
Blaine
Bancks, LEED AP, High-R Insulation Systems: The biggest
question is, 'what's the intended use for the building?' If it's
going to be a cooler for flowers or something like that, you're
going to have to have a building envelope that is well insulated.
If the space is semi-conditioned for dry storage, then you can do
minimal insulation. But that's why you have to choose different
systems-it depends on what you're doing with the space.
MA: What are the newest innovations in insulation for
metal buildings?
McLain: The newest innovation is thinking of insulation
as potentially having an impact on the structural design of the
building in particular when it comes to secondary bracing details
and techniques.Consideration must be given to provide larger
unencumbered spaces to install more material and assure expected
levels of recovery in order to optimize cost and performance.
Insulation is all about saving energy. A metal building with a
standing seam roof that is properly insulated with an integral
daylighting solution will provide the owner and occupant with years
of reliable service that will offer an innovative solution to the
performance expectations that exist today and well into the
future.
Harkins: Innovations in insulation systems and
products are products that provide multiple functions and warrant
the installed performances. Single products not only provide
thermal insulation, but also provide finishes, light reflectivity,
acoustical absorption, installation safety, high quality vapor
barriers, air infiltration barriers and reinforce the structural
systems of the building's roof and wall systems. Often, the
synergistic benefits come at little added cost and typically result
insignificant collateral system savings. It is not unusual for
superior energy efficient buildings to actually cost less to build
than the energy obsolete designs. It is all about informed design.
The sum of the cheapest components is NOT the lowest cost building
to build, own and use. People that think this is the case are doing
a great disservice to their customers and are building energy
obsolete buildings, needlessly polluting the earth.
Bancks: Spray foam is not brand new. Cellulose or
fiberglass is not brand new. What we're seeing is the hybrid
systems. For example, we do spray foam; we do different systems
beyond High-R. I think the newest innovation is to use the whole
'buffet' of products out there. I know everyone is concentrated on
sustainability,but it's all about energy savings; the best
management of resources. There are a lot of different things you
can do now, where it used to be, 'Oh, you want fiberglass? Or, oh,
you want cellulose?' And that's what you got for the whole thing,
along with the advantages of that system-and the disadvantages.
Just because you chose a single system. Today, you can mix and
match different systems, and our guys can do it all. I don't think
there are any real innovations; it's just the way they're being
used.
MA: Where are the growth markets for
insulation?
McLain: Insulation can no longer be evaluated as a
stand-alone component of the building. Its role must be
re-evaluated and challenged to do more than provide a thermal
barrier, it must also be used to reduce or eliminate random air
infiltration.
Harkins: Growth for insulation in metal buildings
lies in simply changing outdated design practice from 'the sum of
the cheapest components' to the 'lowest cost of ownership.' This
change requires designers to consider the optimal performance of
the entire building and include energy cost. Maximizing the
installed performance of envelope insulation is the foundation of
all energy-efficient metal buildings. Surprisingly, the savings
from correctly designed HVAC, lighting, wiring, service sizes,
finishes, etc. typically more than offset the added cost of
properly insulating. If contractors are not installing eight inches
or more of 'in-place insulation thickness' in the roofs and walls
of their conditioned buildings, they are likely producing an
energy-obsolete building design.
New products and methods of insulating buildings with systems that
provide multiple functions can be extended to all types of
commercial and industrial building types such as truss building
roofs, bar joist roofs, pre-cast concrete roofs and walls, etc.
Variations of these same systems are adaptable for these other
building types and result in superior energy efficiency and
collateral benefits and savings effectively displacing older design
practices. For example a bar joist roof system with a simple
membrane roof covering with an R 50 insulation in the roof
structure itself with a bright white acoustical ceiling surfaces
exposed to the interior and a vented attic space all for a
significant savings over current design practices incorporating
very expensive above deck rigid insulation. High performance wall
products are also available that perform better and are much less
costly than insulated pre-cast panels.
Bancks: Retrofit. What we're seeing is that with
the codification changes, here in Iowa there's a big push for fire
stations, etc.-anything municipal-and they're having a contest for
who can be the most energy-efficient, and that includes upgrading a
building's insulation. With the economy, I've seen it where a
building was foreclosed-it was an old lumber yard-and these new
owners are coming into this metal building with not a stitch of
insulation and having High-R put in there, and it's going to be
climate controlled to be a distribution center for some pretty
high-dollar products. The intended use changes, and because they
bought it fora song, along with the rebate money out there with the
local utilities, it makes financial sense to retrofit these
buildings, and that includes upgrading the insulation.
MA: How does insulation contribute to a metal
buildings being considered green?
McLain: Insulation is at the very core of the green
building movement. It can be the least expensive component of the
project, and have the most significant return on investment with
respect to building a sustainable structure. Certainly there are
other green initiatives that can be adopted by metal buildings and
conventional structures. Light density fiberglass is still the most
economical solution to the ever increasing demands being placed on
a building's performance and impact on the environment.
Harkins: Insulation systems play a major role in
green buildings by leveraging the performance benefits of variable
individual system components to create synergistic savings in
collateral systems. For example, making the interior surface 85
percent light reflective rather than 50 percent saves a tremendous
amount of lighting equipment, wiring, maintenance, energy, etc.
Obtain such savings with four or five different building systems
and the buildings actually can cost less to build and operate.
Another example is the bright white ceiling that no longer needs to
be painted saving 50 cents or more per square foot of surface
area.
Bancks: Take for example the LEED program. In
order to be LEED certified, you have to do your prerequisites, and
then you have to do your credits. One of the prerequisites is
energy-efficiency. So that's how metal buildings become 'green.' Of
course steel is a very good way to go, from a natural resource
standpoint, and you can use recycled materials and pretty
cost-effectively build a structure. But when you tie in the
building envelope insulation, it makes that a very efficient
environment; a very comfortable environment, and everybody wins.
The occupants are happy, thermal comfort expectations are met; when
the building owner looks at his monthly bill, it's much less than
if it wasn't properly insulated or if you take a minimalist
approach. So, the overall value of the property is enhanced, and
insulation is a huge part of that. You've got to stop the transfer
of energy to control your space, control your budget and you'll
have happier people.
MA: What affect will the new codes and regulations
have on insulation for metal buildings in the near
future?
McLain: In terms of the next few years there will
certainly be a higher level of demand placed on the thermal
performance of all but the low energy building spaces.
Harkins:New codes and regulations will
essentially correct the overstated performance of obsolete methods
which have been grossly misrepresented as to their installed
performances by industry in the past. Nearly every conditioned
metal building that has been constructed since commercial energy
codes have been enacted due to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 do not
meet the thermal performance intent of the energy codes because of
incorrect modeling and non-representative thermal performance
testing. Most of these false performance values are being corrected
in the new energy standards and dependent codes. Any methods that
continue to be misrepresented will not go unchallenged by parties
interested in honest representations of all products. The effect of
the correction of the performance values of various methods will be
a paradigm shift from obsolete methodologies to methods and
products that actually perform as represented. Ironically,
increasing thermal performance can be done at little or no added
cost. This has been true for nearly 30 years as Thermal Design has
been doing this and teaching contractors how to do this. This
change to representative "installed" thermal performances will be a
major advancement for pre-engineered metal building industry.
So we see the paradigm shift to products and methods that actually
perform being something that should have happened 25 years ago, but
for the overstated performance claims of compressed insulation
products. We predict that liner systems will quickly take over the
market as the preferred and least expensive methods to insulate
metal building roofs and walls. The collateral savings offset the
added cost of superior insulation making them cost no more than the
obsolete building of the past. Thermal Design is the leading expert
in liner systems technologies and has all of the expertise needed
to help designers specify and construct buildings that are super
energy efficient for little or no added cost.
The paradigm shift is that compressed insulation will not meet new
minimum thermal performance requirements and new methods must be
employed that actually perform. About 95 percent of the conditioned
buildings will not get permits issued nor pass energy code
requirements without using products that actually perform. We
predict that there will be a greater demand for metal buildings
because of their superior energy performance for essentially no
added cost.
Bancks: ASHRAE wants to change a lot. They don't
just want to take a step; they want to take a leap. That was all
supposed to be finalized this past January and it looks like
they're backing off on some of their loftier requirements-some of
it is unrealistic. You can only go so far. I think there has been
some careful consideration by people in the metal building industry
and insulation, working together to have a realistic approach to
what the code should be. We can always improve, but to say in
another five years was want another 20 percent-I don't think it can
be done. The best time to do it right is the initial time. You can
go back and retrofit some things, but not everything, and not
cost-effectively. The new codes are making insulation a very
important aspect of metal buildings.
MA: What advancements do you expect to see in the
insulation market over the next year or two?
McLain: The 2010 ASHRAE standards will be published and
adopted across the country and be the basis of many commercial
energy codes. However, the adoption of every aspect of the
standards will probably continue to meet with mixed results when
comparing state to state. Some states will take a more aggressive
posture, others not. Currently five different releases of the
ASHARE standards are in play across the country.
Harkins: Major changes will take place in the
insulation market and the entire metal building industry as the new
energy codes move requirements beyond the capabilities of the
traditional products and methods. Also there will be more
accountability in the installed performance mandated which will
create major consequences for designers and contractors that do not
produce conforming installed systems. Existing traditional methods
of insulating metal buildings have been proven to perform
significantly less than advertised, and they have not met the
intended minimum thermal performance requirements of existing
energy conservation codes.
Building permits will likely not be issued in the near future for
buildings using those traditional methods and products. Building
owners will refuse to pay for their buildings if they do not at
least get one that meets the minimum code requirements. It is not
known at this time how the millions of buildings will be fixed that
have the poorly performing, misrepresented products used in
them.
Contractors should be aware of the consequences of using products
known not to perform as represented, such as 'over-the-purlin' and
'sag-and-bag' metal building insulation methods 'Filled cavity
systems.' Also known as 'long tab systems,' these systems do not
perform well and have serious safety concerns, practical
installation issues and condensation problems associated with
them.
For example, proponents of faced insulation claim that installers
will feed the laminated insulation under all of the bracing between
the purlins and slice the vapor retarder facing upward on both
sides around each purlin brace so the long tabs can be sealed to
the tops of the purlins and then mysteriously have the sliced long
facing tabs somehow patched from the underside up around the braces
with tape. In actual practice this will likely never be done, and
even if it could be accomplished, it would not likely offer an
effective seal or permanence as tape almost always releases over
time. Filled cavity / long tab insulation assemblies will most
likely be compressed over the braces with severe loss of thickness
and performance and will not comply with the minimum thermal
performance requirements of the energy codes. So unrealistic claims
have been made to get obsolete products and methods past the point
of sale, but which will likely never perform as claimed. This is
just another misleading claim being made to preserve the old
paradigm. Even the full thickness of insulation installed in a
filled cavity" or "long tab" insulation method is unlikely to meet
new code minimum thermal performance requirements even without
bracing interference. The state of the art for insulating metal
building roofs and walls are Liner Systems like Thermal Design's
Simple Saver System which is designed to be practical, inexpensive
and perform well.
Bancks: The energy thing will not go away.
Alternative energy is important- I think we are going to have
alternate sources, but still, whether you use wind or oil, you want
to be as efficient as possible because there's still that cost of
production, delivery, etc. The energy issue is going to be here
from here on in. We're going through the 'awareness' phase, and
soon we're going to change from awareness to 'implementation.' I
think you're going to see people implement the technology that's
available as far as insulating a building-whether it's metal, wood
or masonry-to be more energy efficient. It's all going to adhere to
the new codes which will raise the bar. And it will make spaces
better for the occupants, so I think it's a win-win and it will be
improved in the long-term.
MA: What sets your company apart from your
competitors?
McLain: Many of the products we offer are available in
the market from other sources. Our expertise resides in the ability
to recommend the appropriate solution. We are the only company in
the entire industry that offers the widest breadth of products and
services supported by a consultative sales force that will assist
those in the decision making circle of all the options and their
potential impact. We are concerned with the entire building
envelope and in addition to providing the broadest array of
insulation methods and solutions, we provide exterior doors with
urethane cores, insulated head and jambs, windows and have
daylighting solutions for the industry.
Harkins: Thermal Design's Simple Saver System has
been developed and constantly improved to provide the ultimate in
synergistic benefits to the designers, installers and users of the
product. With 30 years of research and product development. Our
products do not have added urea nor formaldehyde compounds which
have been shown to be offensive, toxic and very likely
carcinogenic. Thermal Design recommends only the use of high
quality, quick recovery, JM Formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation
with its advanced acrylic binder. This product costs a little more
than other fiber glass products, but will not off-gas a urine odor
if exposed to high humidity or gets wet.
The Simple Saver Systems are ASTM C 1363 hot box tested. Our
company and it's licensed distributors will be providing all of the
Synergy Design services that designers and contractors need to
optimize the energy efficient design of their buildings,
considering all collateral systems. We also have developed and
offer special high efficiency HVAC products, lighting fixtures,
control systems, energy management programs, safety and security
products to make the whole energy system of the building into one
inter-working whole building system.
Thermal Design has mastered the art of energy efficient, whole
building design and construction of metal buildings. We are now
adding the power generation products of wind generators and solar
panels to our product offerings to make "Net Zero Energy" use
buildings. We have our first 20,000 square foot Net Zero Building
under construction and it should be completed by June 30th,
2010.
While competition is just now bragging about discovering liner
systems as their own inventions, we have been mastering these for
thirty years and no one does it better or safer than Thermal
Design. Thermal Design and its licensed distributors will provide
the services and products to design and build the lowest cost
buildings to build and operate for the building owner.
Bancks: We try to offer a good/better/best
approach. We try to offer the best solution to the end user that is
available. We want to be a resource and problem solver for our
customers. That's the culture here. Become that resource; be that
problem-solver; slow down and listen. What does that customer want?
What are the objectives that need to be met? That approach will get
us long-term business.
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