Energy efficient solution: how to build the perfect home

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What should the house be like? The answer, it would seem, is simple: light, reliable, comfortable. However, even having achieved these qualities, the house will not be perfect. In order for housing to meet modern requirements, it must also be energy efficient, which means it must be as economical as possible. How to make a house that will not “eat up” energy in vain - read on.

Why is building tightness so important to energy efficiency?

It is quite simple to characterize an energy efficient house - it is a structure in which heat loss due to the high degree of thermal insulation and high tightness and thus reduced power usage. In other words, this is a house where the heating system effectively heats the room and does not waste heat on heating the street.

Energy efficiency of any building is not only a high degree of thermal insulation of walls, roofs and ceilings; it is directly related to the air permeability of these building elements, often called envelopes. The air permeability (or tightness) of a building is an indicator of how much air will get from the room to the street, or vice versa.

Tightness is measured by the degree of uncontrolled air leakage through the building envelope. Heat loss due to low tightness, according to experts, can reach significant values. For example, walls and floors that are insulated, but not tight enough, can additionally lose up to 7% of heat; and the most energy-consuming elements of a building are windows and a roof. And if they are also leaky, then through them 16% more heat will go away than that of sealed ones. Accordingly, the less air a building loses, the higher its energy efficiency will be. And with increased energy efficiency, heating costs are reduced. According to research by BRE (developer of the "green building BREAM" standard) carried out on test houses - if the tightness increases by 2.3 times, then the thermal energy consumption decreases by 15%.

Builders often underestimate the impact of airtightness on a building's energy efficiency. They believe that it is enough to have a thick thermal insulation, and the choice of the correct vapor barrier, tapes and the quality of installation is "the tenth thing." With this approach, condensation and mold can form in the insulation, and frost may appear in the corners in the cold season.

The tightness of an energy efficient home is a well-designed and balanced system that eliminates air leaks and regulates humidity in structural elements.

Energy efficient home sealing system

This system has several components:

• correctly selected vapor barrier layer and vapor-permeable wind-waterproof layer;
• quality accessories (tapes and sealants);
• professional installation.

The point of this system is to protect the building from the weather; remove accumulated moisture from the enclosing structures (frame, rafter system); prevent waterlogging of thermal insulation and adjacent structures. And with all this, keep warm (in the summer - cooled air) inside the building, not allowing air to leave the room.

Materials must be selected for a specific facility, climatic zone, heating system and room operation mode. The choice of material is very dependent on the construction of the walls or roof. For example, in a frame wall with fiber cement cladding, various types of vapor barrier can be used, one of which can allow vapor diffusion, and the other can not allow vapor diffusion at all; the third type is adaptive vapor barrier and may even have a variable degree of vapor diffusion. On the contrary, the outer layer of a wind and moisture protection membrane must have a high vapor permeability and can have the property of reflecting infrared radiation - this property is excellent for regions with hot summer. In stone walls with facade cladding, only a layer of wind and moisture protection can be installed. Various types of vapor barrier can also be used for the roof, including adaptive vapor barrier materials with variable vapor permeability.

It is worth considering the climatic features of the region: average annual temperature; the amount and intensity of precipitation; wind loads. For colder regions, vapor barrier materials with a reflective coating and no vapor diffusion will be appropriate.

Particular attention should be paid to the quality of accessories for the installation of vapor barrier and wind and moisture protection: tapes and sealants. There will be no sense from the highest quality material if the seams disperse after a while due to the fault of the tape. In this case, the house will not only lose its energy efficiency, but also its service life will be significantly reduced, since the wall materials, insulation or rafter system will be waterlogged.

Well, one more important point: the tightness, and, consequently, the energy efficiency of the house, depends on the people who will carry out the installation. In order for the materials to work correctly for a long time, the installation must be carried out strictly in accordance with the installation technology of vapor barrier and wind and moisture protection materials.

Not all vapor barriers are created equal

When we figured out how to make a house energy efficient, we need to make sure that this energy efficiency is preserved not for two or three years of operation, but for the entire life cycle of the building. It's about the quality of the materials. Now on the market there is a fairly large selection of vapor barrier, but it is worth giving preference to materials that have confirmed, and not only the characteristics declared by the manufacturer, which will allow you to create a reliable and durable sealed circuit building.

Important to know: some manufacturers are trying to convince their consumers that their materials are 100% vapor proof. But this cannot be so because any polymer material allows steam to pass through due to the phenomenon of "diffusion". Only metal, glass, etc. are absolutely vapor-tight. Any vapor barrier has such a characteristic as vapor permeability. The mechanism of action of the vapor barrier will depend on the degree of vapor permeability (it passes and removes steam to a limited extent or does not allow / cuts off vapor) and, therefore, the scope of this vapor barrier. For example, a vapor barrier with limited vapor permeability equivalent to vapor permeability of an air layer 5 meters thick (or Sd = 5 m), allows you to remove moisture from the insulation, but this vapor barrier is not recommended for use in rooms with a humidity of more than 70%. Conversely, there are types of vapor barrier with a vapor permeability index (Sd) of more than 500 meters, which practically do not pass steam and can be used in all types of premises and enclosing structures that do not allow moisture to enter insulation.

If you want to make your home energy efficient, take a look at vapor barrier materials. DuPont and its AirGuard product line.

• Smart Is a "smart" vapor barrier that can change its vapor permeability over a wide range. This is the responsibility of a special polymer layer that covers the vapor barrier. If the layer comes into contact with an environment with high humidity, then it passes a large amount of steam, and vice versa, if the environment has low humidity, then the amount of steam passing through the vapor barrier is minimized. In addition, the basis of the vapor barrier is Tyvek material, which itself has a very high vapor permeability, but at the same time is waterproof. This combination gives the material unique properties to serve as a vapor barrier with dry insulation, but as soon as excessive moisture appears, begin to remove moisture from the structure. As a result, this allows the wetted structure to dry out and prevent its destruction. In practice, this material is used in the reconstruction of a mansard roof, if it is necessary to preserve the interior decoration.

• Reflective - the vapor barrier layer is 100% airtight and practically vapor-proof. The vapor barrier has no analogues on the Russian market in terms of characteristics that determine the degree of vapor diffusion, since its Sd is 2400 meters. It simply does not let steam into the structure from the room. Its reflective layer, due to the high degree of reflection of infrared radiation (up to 95%), reduces heat losses through the roof, walls and ceilings by up to 15%. The material is specially designed to improve the energy efficiency of thermal insulation.

• Sd5 - the most economical solution for residential buildings from the line AirGuard products. But the savings are not achieved at the expense of strength and durability. Waterproof and airtight vapor barrier for roofs, walls and ceilings Sd5 has a thicker material than most vapor barrier materials on the Russian market. This material is highly resistant to mechanical damage, and also has high strength and reliability. The vapor permeability of this material is equivalent to 300 mm of wood. It removes moisture from the structure due to its limited vapor permeability. Sd5 transparency allows you to control the quality of the installation.

In terms of thickness, high material strength, reliability, durability, and also due to the high-tech structure, AirGuard product line is one of the best on the Russian market. Only thanks to high-quality technological materials can a high tightness of the house be achieved. And a high degree of tightness, as already clear from the above, is an energy efficient and economical house!

How tight is your home? Write in the comments!

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