2009 “It’s About Saving Energy” Building Award Winners
Metal Building
Congratulations to Prodex
This project was done for the Sugar Cane Industry League Costa Rica (LAICA). The customer required its five acre (20500 m2) sugar storage to have a minimum humidity and temperature level. Sugar can turn brown when exposed to temperatures higher than 86° F (30° C) and can coagulate with high humidity levels. The ambient temperature at the spot is extreme and can easily get up to 100° F (38° C) and humidity levels of a 90% can occur. In the mornings, when the outside temperature can be down to 50° F (10° C) and the inside temperature of the storage is still higher, there will be condensation on the walls and this can damage the sugar. Controlling this size of storage in such environment by air-conditioning is nearly impossible. Imagine the energy costs. Our engineers recommended creating a total building envelope using AD10 (10 mm polyethylene foam with aluminum foil on both sides) in the roof as well as the walls, because AD10 has excellent properties as a vapor retarder (0.05 perms) and it has a very high and constant thermal resistance. Those two characteristics will avoid the inside vapor from coming to its dew point and condensing on the walls. An extra added value of the AD10 is its firmness, which serves well as a surface finish in the roof as well as the walls. It was applied in a standing seam roof in such a way it created air chambers with convection for optimal thermal resistance. The rolls were attached together to create a continuous vapor barrier and thermal protection without thermal bridges. When finished, the project was evaluated and temperature measurements were done. The external temperature taken on various spots on the metal surface was 102° F (39° C), the inside temperature on the surface of theAD10 was never above 82° F (28° C). This year the client was visited again and it was found that the insulation was perfectly in place. The client was satisfied and there were no cases of coagulated or colored sugar. Prodex sales people and engineers made an excellent analysis of the client’s needs, the material characteristics of AD10 were used to its maximum (thermal resistance, vapor barrier and firmness) and the thorough evaluation of the project showed that even in a gigantic storage, the Prodex product AD10 managed to tame the extreme outdoor climate to a satisfying internal climate and it avoided the use of energy to control the environment.
Residential Building
Congratulations to Reflectix, Inc.
This residence was built outside the city of Anderson, Indiana. The design goal of the home’s insulation assemblies was to utilize reflective insulation and radiant barrier to dramatically enhance the structure’s energy efficiency resulting in a higher level of interior comfort at reduced costs for heating and air conditioning. Within the home, there were four target areas that reflectives would be employed – cathedral ceiling, attic, exterior walls and on the outside of the structural wall panels (as a house wrap). Five locations within the home’s structure would include either a reflective insulation or radiant barriers. They are:
- Cathedral ceiling – radiant barrier installed above the rafters, below the decking.
- Cathedral ceiling – Reflective insulation installed in the rafter cavity below the fiberglass and above the sheetrock.
- Attic – Radiant barrier installed above the rafters and below the roof decking.
- Wall/Exterior – Reflective insulation installed inside the stud cavity between the fiberglass and the sheet rock.
- Wall/Exterior on the OSB Structural Panels – Radiant barrier installed directly to the OSB structural panels prior to the laying of the brick exterior.
This design is a testament to how the use of reflective products in conjunction with code building design can dramatically enhance the insulating performance of the structure as a whole.
Honorable Mentions
