Astm stp 789 1983

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Conference Staff The Conference on Thermal Insulation, Materials, and Systems for Energy Conservation in the '80s was held 8-11 December 1981 in Clearwater

ASTM SPECIAL TECHNICAL PUBLICATION 789

F A Govan, Ziel-Blossom & Associates,

D M Greason, Dow Chemical USA, and

J D McAllister, American Electric Power Service Corporation, editors

ASTM Publication Code Number (PCN) 04-789000-10

m 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19103

NOTE The Society is not responsible, as a body, for the statements and opinions advanced in this publication

Printed in Baltimore, Md (a) Jaiiuar>' 1983

Foreword

The Conference on Thermal Insulation, Materials, and Systems for Energy

Conservation in the '80s was held 8-11 December 1981 in Clearwater Beach,

Florida ASTM Committee C-16 on Thermal Insulation sponsored the

con-ference in cooperation with the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge

Na-tional Laboratory A list of the Conference Steering Committee and the

Ses-sion Chairmen will be found in the Introduction F A Govan, Ziel-Blossom

& Associates, was Conference Chairman; J D McAllister, American Electric

Power Service Corporation, Conference Co-Chairman; D M Greason, Dow

Chemical USA, Conference Vice Chairman—Technical Program; and T S

Lundy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Conference Vice

Chairman—Ar-rangements Messrs Govan, Greason, and McAllister have edited this

publication

ASTM Publications

Thermal Insulation Performance, STP 718 (1980), 04-718000-10

Thermal Transmission Measurements of Insulation, STP 660 (1979),

Part 18 of the ASTM Book of Standards—Thermal Insulation; Building

Seals and Sealants; Fire Standards; Building Constructions;

Environ-mental Acoustics, 01-018082-10

A Note of Appreciation

to Reviewers

This publication is made possible by the authors and, also, the unheralded

efforts of the reviewers This body of technical experts whose dedication,

sac-rifice of time and effort, and collective wisdom in reviewing the papers must

be acknowledged The quality level of ASTM publications is a direct function

of their respected opinions On behalf of ASTM we acknowledge with

appre-ciation their contribution

ASTM Committee on Publications

Janet R Schroeder Kathleen A Greene Rosemary Horstman Helen M Hoersch Helen P Mahy Allan S Kleinberg Virginia M Barishek

FEDERAL AND STATE ENERGY PROGRAMS

The National Program Plan for the Thermal Performance of

Boilding Envelope Systems and Materials—

p R ACHENBACH AND E C FREEMAN, JR 19

Innovative Building Insulation Systems: Code Acceptance,

Standards, and Laboratory Accreditation Practices in

Massachusetts—L C TARTAGLIONE AND D C MACARTNEY 35

Implementation and Enforcement of Residential Energy

Conservation Standards—The California

Experience—ROBERT FEINBAUM AND EARL RUBY 52

Home Insulation; The User's View—V^LLETT KEMPTON,

PETER G L A D H A R T , AND DENNIS KEEFE 6 9

Session Summary: Federal and State Energy Programs—

E C FREEMAN, JR 81

INSULATION SAFETY AND HEALTH ISSUES

Tackling Safety and Health Issues in the Use of Thermal

Efficient Application of Boron Fire Retardant to Cellulosic

Loose-Fill Insulation—T H WEGNER AND C A HOLMES 100

Aspects of Corrosion Testing of Thermal-Insulating Materials—

K G S H E P P A R D A N D R WEIL 114

Health Aspects of Man-Made Vitreous Fiber Insulations—

C L SHECKLER 133

Indoor Air Pollution, Energy Conservation, and the Use of

Building Materials—DAVID LORD 138

Session Summary: Insulation Safety and Health Issues—

J M BARNHART 1 4 6

Total Energy Costs of Building Constraction and Operation—

Y C WONG AND H I SAUER, JR 149

Study Periods and Energy Price Escalation Rates—Important

Factors in the Economic Evaluation of Insulation

Systems—R J ALBRECHT 161

Life-Cycle Cost Economic Optimization of Insulation, Infiltration,

and Solar Aperture in Energy-Efficient Houses—

D A ROBINSON 176

Engineering and Economic Evaluation of a Commercial

Session Summary: Economic Evaluation—R L BAUMGARDNER 202

THERMAL TESTING APPARATUS

Development of a Testing Procedure for a Guarded Hot Box

Facility—R D OHLANDI, J W HOWANSKI,

G D DERDERLAN, AND L S SHU 2 0 5

Design and Calibration of a Rotatable Thermal Test Facility—

W p GOSS AND AHMET OLPAK 215

Flanking Loss Calibration for a Calibrated Hot Box—

A G LAVINE, J L RUCKER, AND K E WILKES 2 3 4

Design of Round-Robin Tests with Guarded/Calibrated Hot

Boxes, Guarded Hot Plates, and Heat Flow Meters—

F I POViTLL AND E L BALES 2 4 8

Design and Construction of a Full-Thickness Guarded Hot Plate

Comments on Calibration and Design of a Heat Flow Meter—

M BOMBERG AND K R SOLVASON 277

Effect of Mounting on the Performance of Surface Heat Flow

Meters Used to Evaluate Building Heat Losses—

R E WRIGHT, JR., A G KANTSIOS, AND W C HENLEY 2 9 3

Session Summary: Thermal Testing Apparatus—c M PELANNE 318

FIELD AND LABORATORY TESTING OF BUILDING COMPONENTS

Thermographic Inspection of Cavity-Wall Insulation Retrofits—

R A GROT AND YUI-MAY L CHANG 321

Residential Sidewall Insulation Case Histories, Including

Experiences and Problems in the Field Application of

Loose Fill—L J INFANTE, P F ALLER, AND R E FAY 337

Simplified Thermal Parameters: A Model of the Dynamic

Performance of Walls—M H SHERMAN, J W ADAMS, AND

R c SONDEREGGER 355

Thermal Resistances of Insulated Brick Veneer Walls with

Reflective and Nonreflective Air Spaces—A. G CONTRERAS

AND A I PALFEY 3 7 3

Thermal Performance of Insulated Metal Building Roof Deck

Constructions—R G MILLER AND M SHERMAN 384

Thermal Testing of Roof Systems—D. C LARSON AND

R D CORNELIUSSEN 4 0 0

Glass Fiber as a Draining Insulation System for the Exterior of

Thermal Performance of Various Insulations in Below-Earth-Grade

Perimeter Application—G. OVSTAAS, S SMITH,

w STRZEPEK, AND G TITLEY 435

Comparison of Annual Heating Loads for Various Basement Wall

Insulation Strategies by Using Transient and Steady-State

M o d e l s — p H SHIPP AND T B BRODERICK 4 5 5

Session Summary: Field and Laboratory Testing of Building

Components—E L BALES 474

CONVECTION AND Am INFILTRATION EFFECTS

Thermal Transmittance and Conductance of Roof Constructions

Incorporating Fibrous Insulation—B. E TAYLOR AND

A I PHILLIPS 4 7 9

Investigation of Attic Insulation Effectiveness by Using Actual

Energy Consumption Data—T. F SCANLAN, C K BAYNE,

A N D D R JOHNSON 5 0 2

New and Retrofit Insulation of Single-Member Cathedral Ceiling,

A-Frame, and Flat Residential Roofs—HENRI DE MARNE 516

Effect of Air Movement on Thermal Resistance of Loose-Fill

Thermal Insulations—D W YARBROUGH AND I A TOOR 529

Effectiveness of Wall Insulation—G. D SCHUYLER AND

K R S O L V A S O N 5 4 2

Energy Conservation with Air Infiltration Barriers—G. N HENNING 551

Session Summaiy: Convection and Air Infiltration Effects—

F J POWELL 5 5 9

MOISTURE EFFECTS

Influence of Moisture on Heat Transfer Throng

Fibrous-Insulating Materials—c. LANGLAIS, M HYRIEN, AND

s KLARSFELD 563

Heat and Moisture Transfer in a Glass Fiber Roof-Insulating

Material—w c THOMAS, G P BAL, AND R J ONEGA 582

Can Wet Roof Insulation Be Dried Out?—WAYNE TOBIASSON,

CHARLES KORHONEN, BARRY COUTERMARSH, AND

ALAN GREATOREX 626

Moisture Control in Retrofit Conunercial Roof Insulations—

M B STEWART 6 4 0

Water Vapor Flow and High Thermal Resistance Insulation

Systems for Metal Buildings—R M KELSO 651

Session Summary: Moisture Effects—M. HOLLLNGSWORTH, JR. 661

MATERIALS BEHAVIOR

Elevated Temperature and Humidity Effects on

Urea-Formaldehyde Foam Insulations Observed by Scanning

Electron Microscopy-w j ROSSITER, JR., D B BALLARD,

AND G A SLEATER 665

Thermal Resistance and Aging of Rigid Urethane Foam

Insulation—j A. VALENZUELA AND L R GLICKSMAN 688

Settling of Loose-Fill Insulations Due to Vibration—

D W Y A R B R O U G H , I H WRIGHT, D L MCELROY,

AND T F SCANLAN 703

Glass-Mica Composite; A New Structural Thermal-Insulatbig

Material for Building Applications—N M P LOW 715

Session Summaiy: Materials Behavior—D L MCELROY 730

MECHANICAL, POWER, AND PROCESS SYSTEMS INSULATION

Factors Influencing the Thermal Performance of Thermal

Insulations for Industrial Applications—R P TYE AND

A O DESIARLAIS 733

Protection of Thermal and Cryogenic Insulating Materials by the

Use of Metal Jacketing and Mastic Coatings—i B MARKS 749

Effects of Binder Decomposition on High-Temperature

Performance of Mineral Wool Insulation—E. SAATDJIAN,

Y DEMARS, S KLARSFELD, AND Y BUCK 757

Thennal Performance of Insulated Pipe Systems—

I M SULLIVAN, JR 7 7 8

A Lump Sum, Unit-Price Bid Proposal Evaluation Method—

J D MCALLISTER AND R K BIGGERS 7 9 6

Boiling Tests of Thermal Insulation in Conduit-Type

Underground Heat Distribution Systems—TAMAMI KUSUDA

AND W M ELLIS 8 0 2

Reduction of Heat Stress on Naval Ships Throu^ Improved

Insulation Installations—B J ROGUS 819

Total System Heat Loss Measurements—B A ALLMON,

D A RAUSCH, AND H W WAHLE 8 3 9

Finite-Difference Thermal Analysis of an Insulation System on a

Precipitator Building in a Power Plant—K F CHARTER 857

Session Summary: Mechanical, Power, and Process Systems

Insulation—w w HEINRICH 874

SUMMARY

Summary 879

Index 883

Introduction

Prior to the 1973-74 oil embargo the price of oil for heating and process

applications was less than 40 cents per million Btu At the time of this

con-ference the price of the same oil is in excess of $5.00 per million Btu When

oil and gas were an insignificant cost factor, the purchase of energy-efficient

devices, thermal insulation, and weatherproofing, as well as adequate

atten-tion to the envelope of all structures, was rarely considered seriously by either

the purchaser or the contractor In fact, when construction budgets were in

excess of the estimates, the first thing to be removed was anything that

re-lated to energy conservation The lowest possible price was the basic criterion

for construction Thus almost all development efforts by equipment and

material suppliers were directed towards reducing the price of their products

There was little incentive to invest, develop, and market anything that would

reduce the use of energy

The embargo was our rude awakening to our dependence on imported oil

and to the fact that liquid-fuel resources are finite Two events occurred in

the mid-1970s that, in a dramatic way, stimulated interest in energy

conser-vation and improvements in the utilization of fuels In the first place, the

market began to develop for new or improved energy-saving products, which

resulted in manufacturers increasing their research and development efforts

Secondly, the federal government began to finance research in order to obtain

a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of heat, moisture transfer,

energy utilization, and fuel technology Also sponsored and encouraged were

investigations into practices that might reduce the as-installed inefficiencies

of materials and products In addition, the federal government promulgated

rules, regulations, and tax incentives that allowed residential, commercial,

and industrial organizations to consider energy conservation a major factor

in their capital investment plans

Since 1976 there has been a great surge in the amount of research in erergy

conservation The results of this work, however, will only be of value if they

are made available in a practical way to those people and organizations who

can stimulate the market applications The construction sector of the

econ-omy, being highly fragmented, does not offer a broadly based forum for the

exchange of these data How, then, to develop a forum where the free

ex-change of the results of these multimillion dollar efforts could be presented,

discussed, and debated?

Over the last few years, with funds provided by the Department of Energy

2 THERMAL INSULATION, MATERIALS, AND SYSTEMS

and with the assistance of the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating,

and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), ASTM Committee C-16 on

Thermal Insulation has sponsored and organized a series of conferences and

symposia These were primarily highly technical and sophisticated

discus-sions, however, with participation generally limited to scientists, researchers,

and product-development people In order to reach the audience of

archi-tects, engineers, consumers, contractors, and product manufacturers who

would implement and market products, it was decided that a conference

di-rected towards this broadly based audience would be the most effective

method of disseminating the information rapidly and effectively

A Conference Steering Committee was formed in early 1980 The

represen-tatives and their affiliations are given below

CONFERENCE STEERING COMMITTEE

Francis A Govan, Conference Chairman

Ziel-Blossom & Associates

Cincinnati, Ohio

John D McAllister Conference Co-Chairman

American Electric Power Service Corporation

New York, New York

David M Greason, Conference Vice Chairman—Technical Program

Ted S Lundy, Conference Vice Chairman—Arrangements

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Conference Staff

The Conference on Thermal Insulation, Materials, and Systems for

Energy Conservation in the '80s was held 8-11 December 1981 in Clearwater

Beach, Florida ASTM Committee C-16 sponsored the conference in

cooperation with the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National

Laboratory As was hoped, architects, engineers, consumers, and

contrac-tors were among the over 300 registrants, giving the forum the desired mix

New understandings of the fundamental mechanisms of heat and moisture

transfer were presented, and the application of products that improve energy

conservation was discussed The conference was the first to include

substan-tial data on industrial applications, an area where large savings in energy use

are possible

The nine sessions of the conference and their chairmen are listed below

SESSION I—Federal and State Energy Programs

Thermal Insulation Manufacturers' Association

Mt Kisco, New York

SESSION in—Economic Evaluation

4 THERMAL INSULATION, MATERIALS, AND SYSTEMS

SESSION Vn—Moisture Effects

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

SESSION IX—Mechanical, Power, and Process Systems Insolation

W W Heinrich

Phillips Petroleum Company

Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Most of the papers presented at the conference are contained in this volume; in

addition, the session chairmen have provided summaries of their respective

sessions

The session on Moisture Effects is an example of the fundamental, as well

as practical, aspects of coping with moisture movement and migration The

paper "Can Wet Roof Insulation Be Dried Out?" presents the results of field

and laboratory testing of various commercial in situ methods of drying roof

insulations The major conclusion of this paper is that none of the

commer-cially available methods of drying is effective in returning the insulation to its

dry values Rather, the best solution to wet roofs seems to be to locate and

re-pair the leak areas and to replace the wet insulation There was some

inter-esting work indicating that vacuuming the area would aid in the drying

pro-cess, but the time required would still be lengthy The data from this paper

had an immediate effect in the marketplace: full-page ads are currently

be-ing taken out to promote certain devices and their value for in situ drybe-ing

Thus potential users now have information that allows them to make an

ob-jective decision

Another purpose of presenting the results of research is to prevent the

repeti-tion of work that has already been accomplished One paper presented work

identical to that conducted in the past and published in obscure publications

If the previous work had been published widely in an ASTM publication, a

thorough literature search would have identified that the fundamentals had

already been examined and the researcher could have then continued to work

through to the next logical step rather than repeat the basic work that had

ah^ady been documented In today's economy, and with the significant

reduc-tion in research funds available from the federal government, it is absolutely

necessary that these funds be spent wisely and efficiently It is important that

the flywheel effect of this research not be stopped because of a drying-up of

funds

ASTM Committee C-16, as well as organizations such as ASHRAE, intend

to continue these conferences on a biannual basis in order to assure that

sig-nificant test results and applications are made available through publication

and broad dissemination America now recognizes the importance of energy

conservation It is up to us workers in the field to provide the basic

under-standing, products, and tools needed for this national cause It is time to be

positive and bold in accomplishing these ends We believe this conference is a

major part of this effort

F A Govan

Vice President of E^fessional Services, Blossom & Associates, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; conference chairman and editor

Ziel-D, M Greason

Research Leader, Foam Products TS&D, Dow Chemical USA, Granville, Ohio;

conference vice chairman - Technical

Program and editor

/ D McAllister

Senior Mechanical Engineer, American tric Power Service Corporation, New York, N.Y.; conference co-chairman and editor

Elec-STP789-EB/Jan 1983

Welcoming Remarks

F A Govan (Conference Chairman)^

This conference, and to some extent the papers, is somewhat analogous to

the grow-th of ASTM Committee C-16 on Thermal Insulation In 1970

Com-mittee C-16 had about 80 active members whose major emphasis was the

development of product specifications and test methods Committee C-16

presently has over 250 active members whose activity has expanded to include

specifications on systems, recommended practices, hazards of insulation,

membership in the International Standardization Organization, many

work-ing task forces coverwork-ing a number of areas, a significant expansion of

con-sumer interest in insulation, and similar new endeavors Similarly, conferences

sponsored by Committee C-16 in the 1950s and 1960s were highly scientific in

nature and stressed test methods and procedures In this conference there is

an emphasis on the practical as well as scientific results of the intensive work

conducted during the past few years Also, there are a number of papers

discussing industrial and utility applications in addition to those on residential

application

We have a real opportunity to make the 1980s a decade of impressive energy

savings and conservation of our natural resources This conference is a step in

that direction

Maxine Savitz^

The purpose of this conference is to present applied and basic R&D results

and practical applications for meeting the national goals of decreasing energy

waste and improving energy utilization I am pleased to observe that, for 20 of

the 65 papers to be presented, the federal government was able to provide the

resources for the research that forms the basis of the presentations

The buildings sector, which accounts for 38 percent of total U.S energy

consumption, offers significant opportunity for more efficient energy use

With most of the 76 million residential units and 27 billion square feet of

nonresidential buildings constructed in a time of inexpensive and abundant

energy, there is substantial potential for energy savings through improvements

'Vice-President of Professional Services and Principal, Ziel-Blossora & Associates, Cincinnati,

Ohio

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Conservation, Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy,

Department of Energy, Washington, D.C

in the energy efficiency of existing structures This is especially compelling

when it is realized that certain portions of the building stock will not change

dramatically between now and the year 2000 It is estimated that in the year

2000, 60 percent of all existing commercial and almost 85 percent of existing

residential buildings will still be in use

The success of this conference will be measured in both quantitative and

qualitative terms Representatives from industry, the academic community,

and government will present results and applications that are designed to meet

energy conservation goals through efficient building design, standards,

prod-uct development, and constrprod-uction The conference represents a shining

ex-ample of the benefits of the federal and private sectors working together

The National Program for Building Thermal Envelope Systems and

In-sulating Materials (BTESIM) is a good example of a conservation program in

consonance with the philosophy of the present administration BTESIM is a

cooperative public/private program conceived to focus government efforts

primarily in long-term generic research, with the private sector handling

most aspects of product development Although there have been some "turf

skirmishes" in the past—and there probably will be more in the future—I

believe the attitude of cooperation has dominated It is to everyone's

advan-tage for buildings to become more energy efficient Our building programs

all point to goals associated with higher energy efficiencies without

com-promising important features of safety, durability, and habitability:

1 Extensive technical investigations of the physical and chemical properties

of insulating materials have been carried out, including fire properties, toxic

gas emissions, settled density, odor, corrosion, and shrinkage Tentative test

methods have been developed for evaluating many of these materials

proper-ties; however, these procedures have not yet been promulgated as consensus

standards

2 New apparatuses for studying thick layers of insulation have been put

in-to service, and the thickness effect on the thermal resistance of low-density

fibrous insulation is substantially resolved Standard reference materials or

calibrated reference standards are now available from the National Bureau of

Standards using high-density and low-density glass fiber materials over a

broad range of mean temperatures and up to 15.2 cm (6 in.) thick

3 A National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program for thermal

in-sulation was put into operation in January 1979, and 37 laboratories were

ac-credited during the following two years

4 Extensive technical analyses of the energy transfer performance of

win-dows and skylights have been carried out, but only limited corroborative

ex-perimental work has been completed

5 Much research has been done on measurement techniques for air

in-WELCOMING REMARKS 9

filtration in buildings, and extensive field measurements have been made in

residential and commercial buildings A few buildings have been constructed

to demonstrate methods for reducing air leakage

6 The effects of incorporating building service systems into building

envelopes on air leakage, fire hazard, and corrosion have been investigated,

mainly in residences

7 Several new calibrated hot boxes have been completed and put into

ser-vice measuring the thermal performance of full-scale wall, floor, and roof

con-structions, principally under steady-state conditions An ASTM test method

for this type of measurement is in the final stages of approval A round-robin

test of a calibration panel in 15 to 20 calibrated and guarded hot boxes is in

progress to compare results and evaluate accuracy Exploratory studies on

dynamic testing of wall constructions have been made in a few laboratories

8 Guidelines for preventing moisture condensation in the envelopes of

retrofitted houses were developed for use in the Residential Conservation

Ser-vice Program

9 Major experimental investigations are in progress at two locations to

determine the effects of heavy mass walls, insulated and uninsulated, on the

annual and seasonal energy requirements of several types of test structures

Extensive analytical modeling has been done to predict the results

10 Some research on the effect of reduced ventilation and air infiltration

on indoor air quality has shown that the amount of outdoor air traversing a

building has an important effect on the concentrations of several air

contaminants

11 Extensive analytical modeling has been done on a wide range of heat

transfer processes for whole buildings and building subsystems including

walls, floors, and roofs; heat transfer and condensation in attics, window, and

skylight illumination; earth/foundation heat transfer; and economic

optimiza-tion of energy conservaoptimiza-tion measures None of the analytical modeling

pro-cedures has been standardized Experimental results to confirm the modeling

predictions are very limited

12 There have been very extensive analytical, experimental,

standards-making, and regulatory activities in private industry and at the state and

federal government levels in order to stimulate and support widespread

ap-plications of energy conservation measures to new and existing buildings of all

types These independent programs have built upon and have made generous

use of the technical information developed under the National Program Plan

13 A large number of conferences, symposia, workshops, and educational

courses on energy conservation have been sponsored by engineering and

ar-chitectural societies, federal agencies, educational institutions, standards

organizations, and manufacturers' and builders' associations in the last three

to five years The proceedings of these meetings are typically published and

made available to the attendees and the public

As I am sure you are all aware, the federal role—as defined by the Reagan

Administration—is changing Essentially, the administration's energy policy

and revised budget request are based upon three underlying assumptions:

1 The nation's energy problems will be solved primarily by the American

people themselves—by consumers, workers, managers, inventors, and

in-vestors in the private sector—and not by the government

2 The federal government's role is to establish sound public policies, based

on economic principles, so that individuals and businesses in the private sector

have the incentives to produce and use energy efficiently

3 Government's role is not to select and promote favored sources of energy

Doing so risks wasting the nation's resources

This policy recognizes that the federal government should continue to

sup-port long-term, generic, and high-risk, but potentially high-payoff research,

that private industry will not undertake However, it is the Administration's

conviction that the marketplace can, and will, perfect and commercialize new

energy technologies more efficiently and effectively than government

Accord-ingly, industry is expected to support development and demonstration of

promising near-term technologies and to be responsible for their ultimate

market or commercial deployment

As the federal government redefines its leadership role in these and other

activities nearing market acceptance, it is our energy industries that must

ac-cept the responsibility—or mandate—to increase energy production This

in-cludes not only more exploration for conventional and innovative fuel sources,

but also acceleration of research and development to improve the energy

effi-ciency of delivery and consumption technologies

Ours is a country where a vast panorama of individual interests and

ap-petites exist Work by private sectors and aid by government have come

together to implant the desirability of energy efficiency across many separate

lines of interest No matter what the future mix of private and public efforts,

the route of energy efficiency is clearly marked and is an integral part of the

Reagan Administration's objective to assure a reliable, affordable, and

en-vironmentally acceptable supply of energy compatible with national security,

national health and safety, and the expanding expectations for improved living

standards among all sectors of society

J G O'Grady^

I want to thank the Conference Steering Committee for the invitation to

keynote a conference which has the potential to provide major impetus to the

energy conservation ethic You will be sharing information with your

col-leagues, thereby building a new resource of technical data in energy

conserva-^Vice-President, Public Service Electric and Gas Research Corporation, Maplewood, N.J

WELCOMING REMARKS 11

tion which will ultimately find its way into the voluntary consensus system of

ASTM, and thus provide additional standards and specifications of immense

importance as our society moves further into the 1980s

The Conference Steering Committee has assembled for this meeting a truly

outstanding cadre of national and international experts who will share their

knowledge on various aspects of energy conservation This is a subject quite

prominent in the thinking of both government and nongovernment sectors of

our society, not only in the United States but in many other countries of the

world

Every family, every corporation, and every institution faces each day, or I

suppose once a month, a growing concern when paying the energy bill, a real

out-of-pocket expense This expense is growing at an astonishing rate, and it

most certainly affects the cost of living for those of us who heat buildings in the

winter and cool them in the summer At the beginning of the 1970s, it was a

comparatively cheap commodity It's not cheap any more!

I would like to take you on a journey to my energy world of the past ten

years This journey tells a story, often sad and sometimes tragic, of where we

were and where we thought we were going

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, our society put in place a regulatory

pro-cess that encouraged conflict among the parties of interest Lacking any formal

mechanism for settling differences, the business community began taking rigid

positions on a number of the regulations, fell into compliance where it could,

but ultimately resorted to the courts to appeal constraining and conflicting

regulations Opposing groups, such as consumers and environmentalists, often

egged on by the news media but nevertheless having a legitimate position of

concern, took equally extreme adversarial positions The private sector

responded by putting in place its own bureaucratic systems to cope with the

thousands of regulations produced annually dealing with environmental

preservation, worker protection, and consumer protection, to name just a few

And so, as we moved towards the 1980s, the private sector became bogged

down with the increasing numbers of rules, regulations, directives, and policy

statements emanating from all levels of government (Both sides, government

and nongovernment, also added more and more staff, which did nothing for

the Gross National Product.) In short, we began, as a society, to smother

ourselves in our own fat! Peter Drucker, in one of his books of that period,

defined the situation as "organizational obesity" Industry was reciting the

legitimate, and often ignored, litany of despair over regulatory excesses

Con-sumers and environmentalists, on the other hand, were claiming that

regula-tions had not gone far enough

Right in the middle (and perhaps at the peak) of our exercise in

self-regulation, our country was stunned by the Arab oil embargo of 1973 and

1974 This signaled the end of cheap energy We were simply not prepared for

the consequences of this action, and it has taken years for the American

peo-ple to understand the harsh realities of what OPEC really was doing Our

"organizational obesity," together with the skyrocketing costs for a barrel of

oil, were both major contributors to the rising costs of furnishing goods and

services Inflation was on the march!

Surprisingly, in the midst of these events, there began to emerge a new

philosophy and a new attitude within both the private and public sectors They

began to speak to each other and say, "There has got to be a better way!" This

was, in effect, a growing awareness of what leaders of the voluntary consensus

standards development process had been saying for years In a recent speech

delivered in Washington, W T Cavanaugh, President of ASTM,

com-mented:

We were convinced way back in the early 70s that our country needed desperately a

wholly different institutional approach to the identification of our nation's problems If

we don't have an opportunity to come together to define a problem, how on earth can

we agree on the most likely solution?

We were asking the question: If the consensus principle has been so successful in

voluntary standardization, why can't it be extended to other spheres of man's activity,

such as the democratic decisions to be made where technology interacts with public

policy? Many have asked the same question since

Happily, there has been considerable movement in this direction since the

mid-1970s There is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel

One example of what Mr Cavanaugh was referring to is the National

In-stitute of Building Sciences Back in 1968, as a result of a study completed by

the National Commission on Urban Problems, otherwise known as the Douglas

Commission, it was reported to Congress that state and local urban and

subur-ban housing and building laws, standards, codes, and regulations were having

a deleterious impact on housing and building costs Based on exhaustive

studies of these and other related subjects, the Commission recommended the

establishment of an Institute of Building Sciences The express purpose of

such an institute would be to formulate and/or approve standards for the

con-struction of buildings, provide a mechanism for testing and approving

technological innovations, provide a system for evaluating specifications of

both public and private programs affecting construction, provide for research

in building technology, and assemble and disseminate technical data relating

to standards and building technology Public and private technical groups,

responsible for the development of standards relating to building technology

and for the testing or approval of building products, materials, and methods of

construction, were brought together by the Institute to form a new entity

recognized by the building industry and government as a national authority for

the advancement of building technology There is little doubt that many

witnesses who appeared before the Douglas Commission were saying, "There

has got to be a better way."

Formally established by Congress in 1976, the National Institute of Building

Sciences operates in a consensus mode with all parties of interest being

represented but none dominant The Institute includes contractors,

manufac-turers, architects, engineers, academia, organized labor, consumers, code

of-WELCOMING REMARKS 13

ficials, and government representatives from all levels Some of the programs

and projects currently under way are given below:

Building Energy Performance Standards

Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards

Building Rehabilitation

Residential Energy Efficiency Standards

Workshops on Building Information

Studies on the Effect of Federal Environmental Regulations on Housing Costs

Building Products and Technology Certification

Technology Evaluation for Pre-Qualification

Energy conservation is a priority topic of many of these projects

The last-named project (Technology Evaluation for Pre-Qualification) is

designed to facilitate the introduction of new and innovative products and

technologies into the building industry marketplace This activity is also

ad-dressing the increased use of performance standards rather than prescriptive

standards as part of the mechanism of introducing new technology into the

building code process

One of the early successes of NIBS was the Thermal Insulation Committee

of the Technology Division This group of more than 100 experts from diverse

backgrounds has been quietly, but effectively, producing results of enormous

value to the construction industry For example, a number of years ago a

chaotic situation in Washington occurred The Federal Trade Commission,

the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Department of Housing and

Urban Development, and the Department of Energy, were all attempting to

write standards on thermal insulation The Thermal Insulation Committee of

NIBS brought order out of that chaos by sitting down with representatives of

those groups and developing a single set of thermal insulation standards

ac-ceptable to the entire federal establishment This accomplishment illustrates

quite well my earlier comment concerning the interaction of the private and

public sectors: "There has got to be a better way." This is it!

In addition to the compliance expense associated with local building codes

and standards, the construction industry has been faced with a multitude of

federal regulations that add substantially to construction costs Federal

stric-tures on air, water, coastal zone management, consumer protection, noise

con-trol, and occupational safety and health, are but a few of these regulations

The National Institute of Building Sciences, in a number of reports recently

released on federal regulations affecting housing, building, and land

develop-ment, has advocated a reversal of that nearly 40-year trend toward federal

regulation of housing and building, and further recommends that essential

regulation of this industry be returned to state and local governments

Con-tinued emphasis on public health and safety remains a top priority

Allow me to discuss my company and industry and its commitment to

energy conservation Let no one here be misled; PSE&G is committed!

The need for fuel and energy conservation has been with PSE&G for more

than ten years, and utility company concerns with cost are no different than

their customers' concerns The voluntary response of PSE&G to the need for

conservation has been extensive; so extensive, in fact, that it simply would not

be possible to detail the over 80 programs now in place or in the development

state that are designed to produce a significant conservation result I am

speaking now of conservation not only in terms of efficiency in the production

and distribution of energy which, of course, is vitally important, but also to

energy conservation measures supported and encouraged by PSE&G on the

consumer side of the meter As electricity cost increases, PSE&G and most

other utilities are extending their activities into that once forbidden

ter-ritory—the customer side of the meter—in order to increase efficiency and

hold down operating and capital expenses We are developing procedures to

control, directly and indirectly, when and where energy is used, thus shifting

from a supply-side only to a demand-side technology This control is called

"load management," the object of which is to even out the hour-to-hour and

season-to-season variation in energy demand As a consequence, the utility

company is able to derive a more uniform use of generating capacity over a

longer period of the day, thereby reducing the need for excess capacity

re-quired during the periods of peak demand Pricing is a key component in an

effective load management program While it may seem contradictory,

PSE&G will benefit as its customers buy less energy, especially as that energy

can be subtracted from peak demand

At the national level, the utility industry, taken as a whole, is equally

com-mitted to energy conservation The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which is

the Washington-based trade association for investor-owned electric utility

companies, earlier this year announced an ambitious conservation program

EEI (and most of its member companies) has been active in the area of

conser-vation and energy management for a number of years This organization is

promoting a national program of home energy conservation known as the

National Energy Watch Its object is to minimize the drain on dwindling

fossil fuels At the industry level, the goal is to reduce the need for costly new

generating facilities; at the home level, to control rising energy bills EEI and

its member companies therefore are supporting a full commitment to

conser-vation The Electric Power Research Institute, the Gas Research Institute,

and the American Gas Association are similarly committed

Let me return to PSE&G In a statement before an Energy Conservation

Subcommittee of the New Jersey State Legislature, PSE&G put the following

statement into the record:

By the calendar it has taken this counto' about ten years to fully realize that it has lost

the energy independence which has supported and sustained a high standard of living

Over that period of time we have all come to realize that greater energy independence is

necessary if we are to maintain that standard of living along with our economic stability

and our national security We have also realized that among all the measures we can

WELCOMING REMARKS 15

take as a nation to regain our energy independence, conservation is the simplest and in

the near-term the most rewarding action we can take

Conservation has the capability of saving all forms of non-renewable energy

resources, it has no environmental impact, it lowers the cost of living, assists with our

inflation problems, and enhances our foreign exchange In short, while conservation

does seem inconsistent with our corporate mission of selling energy, in light of the more

objectionable alternatives that exist without it, we feel it is good for the Company as

well as our customers

And that, in my opinion, says it all!

This position is reinforced by a significant number of energy studies

pub-lished in 1979 These studies are quite diverse and no two arrive at the same

fundamental conclusion as to what should be the energy mix, or what should

be the preferred type of electric power production, but most of these reports

share several common elements which offset their often radical differences

These reports, published by such outstanding organizations as Harvard

University, the Ford Foundation, and the National Academy of Sciences,

unanimously herald conservation All the reports that I have read, either

whol-ly or in part, share a sense of the uncertainties associated with resource

availability and government policies Consequently, the common denominator

from report to report is an emphasis on keeping options open while vigorously

supporting energy conservation of all kinds

And so, as we get further into the 1980s, there are some reasons—lots of

reasons—to be hopeful Private and public sectors, or more properly stated,

the government and nongovernment sectors, are beginning to communicate

We are losing our "organizational obesity" and the marketplace is responding

There is a better way! It is called Voluntary Consensus Everyone who wants

to can participate

The Reagan Administration did not invent volunteerism It has been, and

continues to be, a main component of ASTM and the other great

standards-developing organizations But it is more than mere volunteerism ASTM has,

for a great many years, been an enormous resource to all because the system

builds bridges of understanding between divergent individual or

organiza-tional positions These bridges are built ofttimes in what Mr Cavanaugh refers

to as a "spirit of cooperative antagonism", but in the end the bridges are built

It has been said before and bears repeating ASTM and organizations like it

that espouse the voluntary consensus process, which have in place a set of rules

permitting all parties of interest to participate without exception, follow

scrupulous rules of due process, and have in place an effective appeals

mechanism; such organizations—like a bridge—stand astride the standards

needs of the government and nongovernment sectors and are responsive to

both This is how procurement standards and regulatory technology should

interact with public policy!

I am profoundly impressed with this conference and what it intends to do I

speak for my company and industry when I express to you our sincere

ap-preciation for what you are doing to help the conservation effort

p R Achenbach^ and E C Freeman, Jr?

The National Program Plan for the

Thermal Performance of Building

Envelope Systems and Materials

REFERENCE: Achenbach, P R and Freeman, E C , Jr., "The National Program Plan

for the Thermal Performance of Building Envelope Systems and Materials," Thermal

Insulation Materials, and Systems for Energy Conservation in the '80s, ASTM STP 789,

F A Govan, D M Greason, and J D McAllister, Eds., American Society for Testing

and Materials, 1983, pp 19-34

ABSTRACT: A revision of the National Program Plan for the Thermal Performance of

Building Envelope Systems and Materials, first issued in January 1979, was prepared to

redirect research and implementation efforts more sharply towards the needs of the

build-ing industry in the 1980s The revision also incorporates the recommendations of a task

force of industry and academic leaders established to review the initial document This

repon summarizes the technical accomplishments under the Program Plan during the past

three years and details the research, development, and verification projects that need to be

initiated or completed in the next few years to realize the full potential energy conservation

in buildings The paper emphasizes the need for cooperation between the public and

pri-vate sectors of the building community and suggests a method of accomplishing it

KEY WORDS: building envelopes, building materials, building research, building

stan-dards, energy conservation, implementation of technology, thermal performance

The National Program Plan for the Thermal Performance of Building

Enve-lope Systems and Materials was first issued in January 1979.-' It was prepared

jointly by the Office of Conservation and Solar Applications (Department of

Energy) and the National Bureau of Standards (Department of Commerce) It

was the intent of the two Departments to revise and update the Plan at suitable

intervals

'Consultant to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, McLean, Va 22101

^Program Manager, Applications Research and Development Branch, Building Services

Divi-sion, Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy, U.S Department of Energy, Washington,

D.C 20585

^Achenbach, P R., Bales, E L., Carroll, W C , Freeman, E C , Lundy, T S., McElroy, D

L., and Powell, F J., "The National Program Plan for Building Thermal Envelope Systems and

Insularing Materials," DOE/CS - 0069, Department of Energy, Washington, D C , Jan 1979

19

The Plan was prepared because of an urgent need expressed by the

insula-tion and building industries for more relevant technical informainsula-tion on the

thermal performance of building envelope systems and materials

Further-more, the gap between domestic supply and demand for oil and gas fuels has

created the following potential threats to the welfare of the United States and

its citizens:

1 Inadequately heated and cooled buildings

2 Economic crises in families and businesses owing to high energy costs

3 Economic instability on a national scale owing to unfavorable balance of

and building regulations

There are two broad objectives of the Plan: (/) to describe the research,

development, and verification efforts required to provide the technical and economic foundation for the design, construction, operation, and modifica-

tion of new and existing buildings of optimum energy efficiency consistent with

cost, health, safety, and other essential performance requirements; and (2)

to describe and promote the kinds of activities needed on the part of various

component organizations of the building community, both public and private,

to obtain expeditious use of existing and new energy conservation technology

in buildings

Net imports of energy for the United States for 1980 were 28.5 percent below the 1979 level and 33.4 percent below the maximum level of 1977 The energy consumption in the building sector for 1980 was 2.9 percent below the maxi-

mum consumption experienced in 1978 This represented a 3.2 percent

de-crease in the use of gas, an 8.7 percent dede-crease in the use of oil, and a 5.4

percent increase in the use of electrical energy in residential and commercial

buildings Despite these recent favorable trends, industry and government leaders believe that substantial amounts of energy will be imported during the

remainder of this century

Plan for Revision of Program Document

Although the initial Program Plan had wide review by the building industry and other segments of the building community before publication, some indi-

viduals felt that the document did not adequately represent the views of the

private sector Therefore, a DOE/ORNL-sponsored Ad Hoc Committee,

prised principally of individuals from private industry and the academic

com-ACHENBACH AND FREEMAN ON NATIONAL PROGRAM PLAN 21

munity, was formed to review the Plan and to make recommendations for use

in preparing its first revision The Committee reported its findings to DOE in a

report dated 26 August 1980 The report contained 19 specific comments and

recommendations relative to the National Program Plan Some of the more

important modifications suggested are listed below:

1 A description of the institutional and cooperative constraints involved in

the design, construction and operation of buildings, and the need for

volun-tary cooperation between the public and private sectors in reducing these

con-straints

2 A more detailed and comprehensive description of the roles of existing

organizations, both public and private, in implementing new technical

build-ing information and the methods for acceleratbuild-ing introduction of new

technol-ogy into building practice

3 A better description of the technical data, performance criteria, and test

procedures needed for the design and construction of energy-efficient

build-ings, a summary of the scope and quality of existing information, and the

degree to which existing information is being used by the building community

4 Greater emphasis on test procedures and performance criteria for

build-ing envelope systems and whole structures and relatively less emphasis on

building materials

5 More emphasis on nonresidential buildings

6 More emphasis on the construction, workmanship, and operational

as-pects of energy-efficient buildings

7 A more comprehensive treatment of the economics of energy-efficient

buildings

8 Better correlation between the schedules for resource allocation and the

priorities for different parts of the research, development, and verification

program

The Ad Hoc Committee also recommended that a Coordinating Council

representing all parts of the building community, public and private, be

estab-lished under the structure of the National Institute of Building Sciences

(NIBS) The Council would be charged with promoting cooperation between

the public and private sectors of the building community, coordinating the

technical programs described in the Plan, and facilitating the transfer of new

technology into building practice

Although the broad objectives of the Program Plan were not changed, the

revised document did contain new contributions by 38 writers Three fourths

of this group represent the building industry and academic institutions The

judgment and experience of these contributors sharpened the perspectives of

the technical problems that need to be resolved relative to the thermal

per-formance of buildings The revised Program Plan is divided into 49 major

tasks in three chapters: Thermal Envelope Systems and Subsystems;

Materi-als, Components, and Service System Interfaces; and Implementation.'' Each

tasli is discussed in terms of the technical problems to be resolved, the present

state of research towards their solutions, and the remaining work to be done

Recent Accomplishments in Thermal Performance

It is desirable in discussing the Plan revision to summarize the

accomplish-ments in research, development, and verification of the thermal performance

of building envelope systems and material in the last three years, even though

it would be inappropriate to claim that all of this progress was the result of

issuing the National Program Plan in January 1979 Nevertheless, the

thoughts and judgments of a large number of people that were incorporated in

the preparation of the Plan did provide a focus of attention on the important

technical issues that were unresolved in the design and construction of

energy-efficient buildings This undoubtedly contributed to many of the more or less

independent decisions within the building community as to relevant and

promising research and development activities to be pursued within their field

of responsibility and interest

An extensive list of references included in the revised National Program

Plan describes the technical programs and research results indentified as

ac-complishments in this report

Systems and Subsystems

Several new calibrated hot boxes have recently been completed and put into

operation for measuring the thermal performance of full-scale wall, floor, and

ceiling/roof constructions A significant number of wall and ceiling/roof

con-structions have been evaluated in these apparatuses under steady-state

condi-tions Some of these tests have been carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of

a proposed ASTM test method that is in the final stages of approval A few

tests under dynamic temperature conditions have been made in some

appara-tuses to explore test procedures and measurement techniques A round-robin

comparison of the performance of 15 to 20 calibrated and guarded hot boxes is

in progress under the direction of a task group of ASTM Subcommittee

C16.30 on Thermal Measurement, part of Committee C-16 on Thermal

Insu-lation Specimens of a carefully characterized polystyrene insulation board are

distributed to the participating laboratories for use as a calibration specimen

A great deal of laboratory and field research has been carried out on air

infiltration in buildings because of its impact on energy requirements,

mois-ture control, and indoor air quality These activities have included

develop-''Achenbach, P R., Ed., "The National Program Plan for the Thermal Performance of

Build-ing Envelope Systems and Materials," ORNL/Sub-7973/1, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

Oak Ridge, Tenn., March 1982

ACHENBACH AND FREEMAN ON NATIONAL PROGRAM PLAN 2 3

ment of automatic and semiautomatic instrumentation for tracer-gas

mea-surements, correlation of the tracer-gas and pressure-difference methods for

measuring air leakage, identification of the location and relative magnitude of

different air leakage paths in residential and commercial construction,

dem-onstration of effective techniques for limiting or reducing air leakage in new

and existing buildings, modeling of the air infiltration process, and

explora-tion of air-to-air heat exchangers as a means to reduce the energy loss entailed

in infiltration and ventilation

More limited work has been done on moisture control in insulated

build-ings Two field studies indicate that condensation in insulated walls and

ceil-ings is almost nonexistent in the sample houses A model for preventing winter

condensation in attics by ventilation has been developed, and experimental

work to test the model is in progress A whole-house analysis of the need for

moisture control in retrofitted houses was prepared for the DOE Residential

Conservation Services Program This analysis showed that climate, occupant

density, moisture release, air infiltration, and type of heating system were all

factors in determining the likelihood of condensation in walls or ceilings

Some field measurements of the contaminants present in indoor air in

resi-dences, schools, and hospitals have revealed that current ambient and indoor

air standards were exceeded for several pollutants A model has been

devel-oped to show the relationship among indoor and outdoor concentration levels,

indoor generation rates, and air infiltration rates A recent assessment of

cur-rent knowledge on indoor air pollution concluded that an adequate evaluation

of indoor air quality could not be made based on presently available data

Major experimental investigations currently in progress at two locations are

attempting to determine the effect of heavy mass walls made of concrete,

ma-sonry, logs, and adobe, with and without insulation, on the annual and

sea-sonal energy requirements of otherwise identical test structures Several

ana-lytical models have also been developed to predict the benefits of thermal mass

in the exterior walls of buildings

Very extensive analytical, experimental, and standards-making

adminis-trative and regulatory activities in private industry and government have

stim-ulated the application of energy conservation measures to existing buildings

Some of the more significant activities are given below:

1 Residential Conservation Services Program

2 Weatherization Program for low-income families

3 Federal grants to states for energy conservation in schools and hospitals

4 Tax credit provisions to homeowners for installation of energy

conserva-tion measures

5 Energy conservation manuals prepared for General Services

Adminis-tration, Navy and Air Force buildings

6 ASHRAE draft standards for energy conservation in existing buildings

Many economic analyses directed towards evaluating the cost-effectiveness

of energy conservation measures have been made Such analyses were made

for the Building Energy Performance Standards of DOE, the Weatherization

Program of the Community Services Administration, ASHRAE Standard

90-75R, and HUD Minimum Property Standards The most cost-effective

meth-ods for insulating various types of masonry walls for residences were also

devel-oped for HUD Nine regional workshops on life-cycle cost analysis, as

mandated by Title V of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act for all

Federal agencies, were held in 1979, and a manual of procedures was issued

Several demonstration buildings have been evaluated in order to determine

energy savings under actual operating conditions Assessments have been

made of the current state of technology on roofing research, diagnostic

instru-ments and techniques, electrical conductor temperatures in insulated attics,

and air infiltration in residences

The following standards or proposed standards were each developed under

its own organizational mission, but all used directly or indirectly technical

information produced in conjunction with the National Program Plan:

1 ASTM Proposed Test Method for the Thermal Performance of Building

Assemblies by Means of a Calibrated Hot Box

2 ASHRAE Standard, Energy Conservation in New Building Design,

5 DOE, The Residential Conservation Services (RCS) Program, Federal

Register, 1 November 1979 In late 1981 amendments have been proposed to

the RCS Program that would withdraw or reduce as many of the mandatory

provisions of the program as possible

6 DOE, Energy Performance Standards for New Buildings (BEPS),

Pro-posed Rule, Federal Register, 28 November 1979 The BEPS Standards will be

issued as voluntary standards An effort is in progress to revise ASHRAE

Standard 90A-1980 so that it will be equivalent in energy conservation to the

BEPS criteria

Materials, Components, and Service System Interfaces

The scope of the technical studies on envelope materials and components

has broadened since the National Program Plan was first published in January

1979 Most of the past effort has been concentrated on the performance of the

three insulating materials widely used for retrofit purposes—namely,

cellu-lose, mineral fiber, and urea-formaldehyde foam Extensive technical

investi-gations, both laboratory and field, of the physical and chemical properties of

these three insulating materials have been conducted in the past three years

ACHENBACH AND FREEMAN ON NATIONAL PROGRAM PLAN 25

These have included fire properties, toxic gas emission, density, odor,

corro-sion, shrinkage, thermophysical properties, and the effects of elevated

tem-perature and humidity levels The greatest attention has been focused on those

properties for which adequate test procedures were not available or those

properties that might make a given material marginally acceptable for use

In this context, new test procedures were developed for smoldering

combus-tion, flame spread, and corrosion, and several existing test procedures for

determining settled density or design density of loose-fill insulation were

com-pared The performance of several chemical fire retardants for cellulose

insu-lation was studied in great detail The effect of elevated temperature and

hu-midity on the stability of urea-formaldehyde foam insulation was investigated

Also, the emission of formaldehyde gas by urea-formaldehyde foam insulation

under certain conditions has been investigated extensively These studies have

led to a ban by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on the use of this

type of insulation in residences and schools, with an effective date of 10 August

1982

Currently, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation and the National Bureau

of Standards have large guarded hot plates 122 cm (48 in.) square and 102 cm

(40 in.) in diameter, respectively, that can measure the thermal resistance of

insulation samples up to 61 cm (24 in.) and 41 cm (16 in.) in thickness,

respec-tively Standard reference materials or calibrated transfer standards are now

available from the National Bureau of Standards using high-density and

low-density glass fiber materials, respectively, over a range of mean temperature

and up to 15 cm (6 in.) in thickness The effect of thickness on the apparent

thermal conductivity of low-density fibrous insulation has been modeled

ana-lytically and measured experimentally in the new guarded hot plates

A lesser volume of research has been done on other insulating materials

Various investigations of the properties of polystyrene, polyurethane, and

poly-isocyanurate boards, fiberboard, cellular glass, and perlite have been made

by different laboratories These investigations have included the properties of

moisture absorption, freeze-thaw effects, water vapor transmission, aging,

and thermal and mechanical properties at low temperature

A National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program for thermal

insu-lation was put into operation in January 1979, and 37 laboratories were

accred-ited in the following two years Laboratory accreditation programs for concrete

and carpet were initiated m 1980 and several laboratories were accredited for

each material during 1980

The energy transfer impacts of windows and skylights have been the subject

of extensive technical analysis and modeling efforts since the energy crisis of

late 1973 Only a small amount of field and laboratory measurement has been

done on these subjects Some measured heat transmission data have been

col-lected on multiple pane windows with selective coatings and with convection

inhibiting surfaces between panes Measurements in a wind tunnel using scale

model buildings have demonstrated that windbreaks can reduce air

infiltra-tion dramatically Computer programs have been used to show the energy

conservation benefits of selective orientation of windows, the management of

shutters and blinds, the integration of daylighting with artificial light, exterior

solar screening, and domed skylights

A large number of new products in the form of insulated interior and

ex-terior panels for windows, multiple glazing, window films, draperies, shades,

blinds, and skylights have appeared on the market in recent years to promote

more efficient control of the energy transfer through windows and skylights

Considerable laboratory and field research has been done to evaluate the

effect of energy conservation measures on electrical distribution systems and

fixtures in new and existing buildings Performance data have been developed

on (/) temperature rise of electrical conductors surrounded by various

thick-nesses of insulation, (2) initiation of fires by recessed light fixtures surrounded

or covered by insulation, and (3) the effect of insulation injected into electrical

switches and junction boxes during application on corrosion at various

humid-ity levels

Measurements made in residences and mobile homes have shown that the

air leakage caused by poorly sealed penetrations of walls, floors, and ceilings

by electrical fixtures and service outlets, heating and ventilation ducts, and

pipes for water and plumbing services is one of the higher sources of air

leak-age in residential construction At least one demonstration home has been

built to show how most of these paths for air infiltration can be avoided The

effect of reduced infiltration and ventilation on the concentration of indoor

contaminants has also been measured in a number of buildings

Implementation

The major parts of the National Program Plan describe research,

develop-ment, and verification projects that need to be initiated or completed to

pro-vide adequate technical bases for the design, construction, and operation of

energy-efficient buildings A huge network of organizations and procedures

has developed in the United States for introducing new technology into

build-ing practice and for translatbuild-ing good practice to written form in manuals,

standards, and regulations These organizations may be classified as follows:

Manufacturers' associations

Trade associations

Building contractors' associations

Building owners' associations

Professional societies

National standards organizations

Model building code organisations

Research and testing laboratories

Fire insurance underwriters

Government regulatory agencies

Educational institutions

Building finance organizations

ACHENBACH AND FREEMAN ON NATIONAL PROGRAM PLAN 27

Figure 1 illustrates the paths by which new technology moves from concept

to application and many of the feedback loops by which new ideas are

intro-duced into the process for gradual improvement of building construction

Since such a large number of organizations are involved, with each

organiza-tion being substantially independent in its procedures and time schedule, the

process has tended to become ponderous and slow-moving This extended

time schedule is costly to both producers and consumers because it delays

marketing of products and delays the effects on energy conservation and other

performance benefits

Some of the actions taken within the building community in the last three

years to accelerate the flow of technology are listed below:

1 Prompt publication and dissemination of the National Program Plan

outputs

2 Regular conferences and workshops cosponsored by government

agen-cies, standards organizations, professional societies, educational institutions,

and industry organizations for presentation and evaluation of new technical

information

3 Assessment of current technical information in building technology such

as properties of insulating materials, roofing research, diagnostic techniques,

moisture damage in insulated envelope construction, and criteria for indoor

air quality

4 Acceleration of standards development by support of more frequent

meetings of standards committees and predetermined time schedule

Concaptj ^ _ Invsntions

Normal Flow F««<fback

Daaign Practica

ConttruclJon Practica

Handbook!

• ^ and Quidas

5 Regional training courses on energy conservation, standards, and

eco-nomic analysis procedures

6 Performance labeling and compliance labeling of products

7 Implementation of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation

Program

Program Goals for the 1980s

The major needs presented in the Program Plan that must be completed or

fulfilled in the next few years are described briefly under three headings:

Ther-mal Envelope Systems and Subsystems; Materials, Components, and Service

System Interfaces; and Implementation In a broad context the goal of the

Plan is to enhance the energj' efficiency of new and existing buildings by

tech-nically and economically sound use of insulation and other materials, thermal

mass, earth heat transfer, solar energy, and reduced air infiltration and

venti-lation, while controlling the negative factors of fire and health hazards,

unac-ceptable indoor air quality, and moisture condensation and other negative

durability factors; and to embody the resulting good practice principles in

analytical models, consensus standards, manuals, and guidelines that will be

effectively introduced into building practice

Thermal Envelope Systems and Subsystems

It is of great importance that the program to evaluate the thermal

perfor-mance of full-scale composite envelope constructions be advanced as rapidly

as possible The following activities should be carried out on a high-priority

schedule:

1 Complete the round-robin test of a calibration panel and a selected

com-posite wall panel at the earliest possible time to evaluate comparability among

apparatus, to evaluate the accuracy of the measurements, and to determine

the adequacy of the ASTM test procedures for calibrated hot box tests

2 Develop test procedures and a draft ASTM standard for testing envelope

subsystems under dynamic boundary conditions of temperature

3 Expand the ASTM test procedures to include air and vapor pressure

difference across envelope specimens simultaneously with steastate or

dy-namic temperature conditions

4 Complete the calibration and validation of the field test unit constructed

by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory for measuring envelope thermal

per-formance

5 As an industry-wide effort, develop a data bank on the thermal

charac-teristics of wall, floor, and ceiling/roof constructions

6 Develop and implement a broad research plan for ceiling/roof

construc-tion involving both field and laboratory investigaconstruc-tions The Plan should take

ACHENBACH AND FREEMAN ON NATIONAL PROGRAM PLAN 29

into account the severe climatic exposure of roofs and include both durability

and thenpal performance in its scope Special attention should be given to the

development of retrofit technology

7 Develop and carry out a carefully designed plan involving field tests and

scale model tests to evaluate the heat and moisture transfer in earth contact

envelope subsystems including slab-on-grade, crawl space and basement

con-structions for residences, and fully-below-grade concon-structions for commercial

buildings

8 Complete experimental and modeling programs to provide definitive

evaluation of the effect of building envelope mass on seasonal and annual

energy requirements and life-cycle costs for residential and commercial

build-ings Evaluate the effects of surface characteristics, aging, shading, and cloud

cover on exterior heat exchange with massive constructions, and the effects of

radiation and convection at the interior surface on heat distribution and

ther-mal comfort

9 Make field measurements of air infiltration in commercial and high-rise

buildings to evaluate characteristic location and magnitude of various air

leak-age paths Develop and publish guidelines for designers and builders for

con-trolling infiltration in residential and commercial buildings

10 Conduct technical investigations to determine relative air and moisture

permeability required for indoor and outdoor surfaces of building envelopes to

prevent or control internal condensation of moisture Explore effects of

work-manship, aging of materials, and air pressure differences on condensation

Conduct field verification tests Develop guidelines on moisture control for use

by designers and builders

11 Develop effective diagnostic instrumentation and procedures for

audit-ing and field testaudit-ing of existaudit-ing buildaudit-ings as a basis for decisions on retrofit

measures

12 Conduct research on the fire performance of full-scale envelope

subsys-tems to determine the effect of energy conservation measures on heat transfer,

temperature rise on structural members, and flame spread, and develop

models of these processes for guidance in design

13 Conduct surveys of indoor air contaminants in new and existing

build-ings to identify potential health hazards, to identify sources of contaminants,

and to develop early detection methods for adverse health effects Cooperate

with public health organizations in developing concentration limits for air

con-taminants in indoor spaces Develop a consensus model for whole buildings to

coordinate air infiltration and ventilation with the multiple use of outdoor air

for control of indoor air quality, condensation, temperature and humidity

con-ditions, and combustion and respiration needs

14 Develop consensus standards for the economic analysis procedures

used to optimize energy conservation measures for various building

occupan-cies and financing plans

15 Establish task groups to determine essential parameters of analytical

models for the various mass and energy transfer processes involved in energy

conservation technology for buildings Plan laboratory and field verification

experiments for the models Promulgate consensus models Establish a task

group to perform a confidential review of proprietary models for inclusion of

essential parameters

16 Promote and stimulate new technology for air and moisture control,

retrofit methods for masonry buildings, shading concepts, variable thermal

resistance elements for opaque walls, durable roof constructions, and

integra-tion of passive solar heating and cooling into building design

17 Expand the structure of consensus standards development and

acceler-ate the generation of supporting research and the standards-writing process to

provide more timely completion of high priority standards Prepare time

schedules for completion of standards, and provide the time and financial

support for the committee members to meet the schedules

Materials, Components, and Service System Interfaces

Significant technical data were developed on the physical and chemical

properties of insulating materials during the last three years, although most of

the effort was devoted to the three most widely used materials (cellulose,

min-eral fiber, and urea-formaldehyde foam) At times this materials research

pro-gram had the appearance of a bilateral effort on the part of the manufacturers

of a particular type of insulating material and agencies of the federal

govern-ment to reveal the properties of the material in a more explicit or basic form, to

develop equitable test procedures for that particular insulation, or to improve

specific properties in order to make the material more acceptable

Looking ahead in the 1980s it is important, insofar as possible, to develop

generic test procedures for evaluating the properties of envelope materials that

can be applied to all the materials used for a given purpose In some cases, the

generic test procedures can probably be built upon the tentative test methods

already under development Generic test methods, when completed, should be

promulgated as consensus standards to enhance their equity, acceptance, and

usefulness as reference documents With respect to mass insulations

consen-sus generic test procedures should be completed for the following properties:

representative thickness, smoldering combustion, flame spread, corrosion,

settled density, design density, aging, moisture absorption, shrinkage, effects

of elevated temperature and humidity, and toxic emissions Standard test

pro-cedures are also needed for measuring the thermal resistance, membrane

con-tinuity, puncture and tear resistance, and aging properties of

single-mem-brane and multiple-memsingle-mem-brane reflective insulation products

The round-robin tests sponsored by ASTM and ISO that have been initiated

for guarded hot plates and heat flow meters need to be completed promptly to

provide the basis for a calibration procedure and a consensus-type precision

and accuracy statement for ASTM Test for Steady-State Thermal

Transmis-ACHENBACH AND FREEMAN ON NATIONAL PROGRAM PUN 31

sion Properties by Means of the Guarded Hot Plate (C 177) and ASTM Test for

Steady-State Thermal Transmission Properties by Means of Heat Flow Meter

(C 518)

The principal technical problems for wood and wood products that need

further research are the effects of moisture on degradation and dimensional

stability, the compatibility of wood-treating chemicals used for fire retardancy

and decay inhibition, and the toxic emissions of some particle boards

The existing test methods for measuring the thermal conductivity, specific

heat, and thermal diffusivity of concrete and masonry need critical review and

possible improvement Analytical expressions and calculation procedures

should be developed to determine the heat transmission coefficients of

ma-sonry assemblies and to define the thermal properties of concrete in relation to

density, moisture content, and raw material properties Test procedures

should be developed for measuring the dynamic thermal properties of masonry

units and concrete Research is needed to evaluate the effects of poor

construc-tion practices and air and moisture transfer on the thermal performance of

masonry assemblies; this research will be the basis for the preparation of

de-sign and construction guidelines

Research is needed to develop test methods and performance criteria for the

following properties of vapor retarder and air barrier materials: membrane

continuity, corrosion resistance, tear strength, puncture resistance, fire

resis-tance, and compatibility with adhesives, sealants, and fastening techniques

Windows and skylights offer a major potential for energy conservation in

both residential and commercial buildings if the beneficial daytime functions

of natural lighting and solar heat gain in winter are effectively utilized and if

the negative nighttime performance and summer solar transmission of these

components are properly limited The research, development, and verification

projects needed to place window and skylight system design and performance

on a sound technical and economic base include those listed below:

1 Catalog available daylight, develop the relationship between total solar

radiation and available natural building illumination, and correlate the

physi-cal room dimensions in commercial buildings with the physiphysi-cal and optiphysi-cal

properties of the fenestration

2 Develop laboratory and field apparatuses for measuring the heat

trans-fer characteristics of windows and skylights

3 Determine optimum use of glass in building envelopes in relation to

ori-entation, climate, geographical location, type of glazing, and building

occu-pancy

4 Develop improved analytical models for the daylighting and heat

trans-fer performance of windows and skylights

5 Conduct verification tests in whole buildings to compare predicted

ana-lytical and experimental performance

Guidelines need to be developed and published in cooperation with the