I would like to draw some attention to the following article;

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/06/02/working-toward-the-very-low-energy-consumption-building-of-the-future/

I would like to say that it is a well written article by a very creditable institution. So creditable that much of what is produced is the foundation of policy. There is a lot to be learned from the article but that’s not what I’m writing about. I want to read in-between the lines. There are two elements that I have identified that our KoolDuct readership would be interested in having a dialogue.

The two elements are bundled in the graphic available on the above link;

Buildings account for about 40 percent of total U.S. energy consumption (costing $350 billion per year) and greenhouse gas emissions.

Notice the sizes of the pie pieces? It does not take a rocket science to see that buildings are the number one consumer of energy. This seems to get lost in the main stream media and in public environmental circles (I usually hear about the CAFÉ standards). These entities seem to forget that the whole pie is the problem.

The second tid-bit is the subsets of the building pie pieces. Notice the cooling and heating is divided? What happens when you stack both heating and cooling? It becomes the largest consumer of the largest pie piece! Now my assumption is that chart was not constructed by a duct work guy! He/ She would have known that your heat and cooling gets distributed through the same system. That system is the common denominator of both Residential and Commercial heating and cooling. Also, known is the waste that lesser quality distribution systems have built into them – please see my previous posts for further discussion.

As most of the readers know KoolDuct is made up of a sandwich of foam between two layers of aluminum. The foam’s R-value is widely advertised and tested as exceeding the R6 and R8 required by most energy codes. What is never discussed is the possible effectiveness of the aluminum skin as radiant barrier!?

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/radiant/rb_01.html

Here is the thought the foam insulation is designed to combat conductive heat (heat by physical contact) and convective heat (forced air) but the unthought-of form of heat flow is RADIATION.

To date I do not know of anyone who has consider the reflective benefits of KoolDuct on top of the convective and conductive properties of the foam. This snippet was just a starter for further discussion.

1. Prioritize Fittings List
   1. Instead of importing with the .PNL file; Use the “Edit Parts List” and set the priority settings. Keep them in clusters (i.e. have fittings 1-3 as priory 1, next 2-6 priority 2, so on and so forth). Then auto nest.

1. Use Different Nesting Strategies
   1. Don’t just use the auto nest (green button) for the best utilization. Use the yellow auto nest button right next to it. Try different strategies and compare the performance.

1. Use Tip 1 & 2 In Conjunction With Each Other.

1. Leave the Computer
   1. Leave the computer while it is performing nesting calculations. Go do other value-added work.

1. Minimize Part Removal Labor
   1. Move pieces nested with a “score cut” along the boards edge to the very edge thus utilizing the board edge.

1. Use Scrap and Nest From Previous Jobs
   1. Using the “Reports” feature to identify all the pieces of the last nest. Save all the pieces from the last sheet of the job (assuming it’s a partial nest) and re-nest it at the beginning of the next job – before importing the new job. Import and using the yellow auto-nest button menu. On the “begin nesting on” drop down menu select "First Nest". This will start the current job nesting on the waste from the last job.

People in the United States and Canada consume 2.4 times as much energy at home as those in Western Europe¹. This makes me wonder why the US seems to be the slowest in adopting and enforcing the tighter energy codes. Why does an obvious energy saver such as KoolDuct get turned a blinding eye from those interested in cutting energy cost? We know that its a tried and true technology. Even in the middle east, 50 percent of new construction is insulated foam board. And, why do we as a country complain about energy cost when we do nothing to reduce global and even local demand?

1. Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2004 Special Focus: The Consumer Society, January 2004,I SBN: 0-393-32539-3

Tiger closures are great for the assembling of KoolDuct and allow you not to use the glue. The problem is its almost impossible to bend the tiger closure in a true 90 degree angle. To combat this, bend the tiger as normal then use a dead blow hammer to set the closure. Doing so will bend the tiger over 90 degrees. The duct will be more robust and considerably squarer. Also, the tape will cover the tiger flawlessly.

Green is a Pull Through

“Treehuggers” is a common term I hear from the seasoned in the contracting business. I do not see eye-to-eye with this attitude. Yes, the LEED paperwork and ‘Green’ intercity are work; but not pointless work. As you can read in yesterdays post below there are dollars in this for all. This extra work is not an unpaid extra. It represents business growth for contractors pursue it and total industry growth. I count 23 LEED credits that an HVAC contractor can help a customer achieve. The market is asking for green, governments regs are forcing it¹ and economic forces are assisting it². “Treehugger” carries the connotation of contractors seemly fighting the green movement. My advice is a simple one; when the market asks for something and is willing to pay don’t fight the current. The green movement is a pull through.

1. Article on new MPG restrictions. Please see http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080423/ap_on_bi_ge/fuel_economy.html

And

http://www.wfaa.com/projectgreen/greenarticles/stories/green080423_ph_fueleconomy.91608a89.html

1. Resource of Price trends of energy sources.

http://www.doe.gov/pricestrends/index.htm

Here is an artical that I feel our readers will enjoy. Below is just a synopsis. The full article is available at http://www.usgbc.org/News/USGBCInTheNewsDetails.aspx?ID=3637.

Title:
CoStar Study Finds LEED, Energy Star Bldgs. Outperform Peers

Author:
Andrew C. Burr

Source:
CoStar Group

Date Written:
3/26/2008

"A new study by CoStar Group has found that sustainable "green" buildings outperform their peer non-green assets in key areas such as occupancy, sale price and rental rates, sometimes by wide margins.

The results indicate a broader demand by property investors and tenants for buildings that have earned either LEED® certification or the Energy Star® label and strengthen the "business case" for green buildings, which proponents have increasingly cast as financially sound investments.

According to the study, LEED buildings command rent premiums of $11.24 per square foot over their non-LEED peers and have 3.8 percent higher occupancy.

Rental rates in Energy Star buildings represent a $2.38 per square foot premium over comparable non-Energy Star buildings and have 3.6 percent higher occupancy.

And, in a trend that could signal greater attention from institutional investors, Energy Star buildings are selling for an average of $61 per square foot more than their peers, while LEED buildings command a remarkable $171 more per square foot."

I have been looking at ways to achieve LEED E.B. credits through the use of KoolDuct. Here are the ones that I found:

E.A. Prereq 2: Minimum Energy Performance

E.A. Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance

E.A. Credit 5.4: Emission Reduction Reporting

E.A. 3.1 – 3.2: Optimize use of IAQ products

If anyone can help add to the list please add it to the blog.

More LEED related information please see the US Green Building Council’s website

http://www.usgbc.org/

I do know that USGBC used KoolDuct in their headquarter building to help the building be certified to LEED platinum status. Does anyone know how they used it/ what credits did they earn with it?

For anyone that would like to read the research on the topics mentioned here I would suggest this link.

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/ 

The Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information provides free public access to full-text documents and bibliographic citations of Department of Energy (DOE) research report literature. Documents are primarily from 1994 forward and were produced by DOE, the DOE contractor community, and/or DOE grantees. Legacy documents are added as they become available in electronic format.

We here at GoMech spend a lot of time pondering the world of KoolDuct. During a normal, random, conversation it turned to my previous post. 806 billion kWh is impressive it translated into about $207.78 saved in energy (I’m assuming electrical energy at 8.5 cents per kWh) per person in the US. This is great, but the argument is this is not realistic. I would agree. It would be not only difficult but unfeasible to deconstruct every business and residence in the US and replace it with KoolDuct to pursue these savings. The main point still stands – new construction and renovation should be using this product. The savings does imply a second point. If the US was not so far behind the rest of the world in the use of insulated foam panels, these savings would already be built in the current US infrastructure – more to come.

There is also another argument. These savings can be met with other products such as resealing joints with standard duct tape, etc. And again I would agree that this would produce these savings. I hope people do take action on this. Although, people will be missing other savings not implied in my post. These include and not limited to; indoor air quality gains (IAQ), the savings of the insulation (we have only been speaking to the sealing of ducts), install cost and longevity.