A FIELD STUDY SETUP OF FOUR HOMES HAVING NON-VENTILATED AND SEMI-CONDITIONED SEALED ATTICS

The University of Florida(UF)and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL)are evaluating the hygrothermal(heat and moisture flow)performance and durability of sealed attic construction where open cell spray polyurethane foam(ocSPF)insulation is applied directly to the underside of the roof deck.During the 2015-2016 fiscal year and with financial support from the Florida Building Commission(FBC)and the Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association(FRSA),UF and the ORNL Building Technology Research Integration Center(BTRIC)completed Phase I of a study that setup four residential home demonstrations in Florida climate zones CZ-1A and CZ-2A.Field measurements for the homes are listed in Table 1.The four homes are instrumented for measuring temperature and relative humidity of the indoor living space,the outdoor air and the attic air.In addition,the temperature,relative humidity and moisture content of the roof sheathing are being monitored and recorded by remotely-accessible data acquisition equipment.Air leakage tests on the whole house,on the sealed attic and in the HVAC ducts were conducted on all four homes,Table 1.Digital and infrared images were captured to document the thermal performance of the sealed attics.Field tests commenced on June 1,2016.Data acquisition will continue for one full year to document heat and moisture flows,which,in turn will be used in a second phase of work to benchmark an analytical tool kit for predicting the heat and moisture flows in Florida’s hot and humid climate.The second phase of work is pending approval by the FBC.

POWER CONSUMPTION COMPARISON OF FIVE BUILDING ENVELOPES IN THE NORTHERN PRAIRIE CLIMATE OF MANITOBA

The energy efficiency of a building depends on building envelope performance.The results presented in this paper are the first of a long-term building envelope research project at the Alternative Village at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg,Manitoba,Canada.Five test buildings were constructed using the following systems:two wood frames with fiberglass batt insulation and dense pack cellulose,one polyurethane structural insulated panels(PUR SIP),and two with the Stay in place PVC concrete form building system using 102mm and 204mm of concrete externally insulated with 102mm of expanded polystyrene foam.All of the buildings had a common foundation and roof system with a footprint of 23.8 m2.Blower door tests were conducted to determine air tightness.Each structure was heated with an electrical resistance heater and maintained at a constant internal temperature.The thermal gradient through the wall and power consumption were monitored.The study period discussed in this report represents the main heating season from October 2011 to April 2012 consisting of 209 days.Based on the power consumption,the PUR SIP consumed the least at 2498 kWh,while the 204 mm Stay in place PVC concrete form building used the most at 2898 kWh for the same time period.The thermal gradient through the cross section of the wood frame structures was compared through the cavity insulation and at the stud.It was found that the cellulose building provided better thermal resistance along the stud when compared to the fiberglass batt insulation.