Conditions that effect energy use in the home

The energy required to heat and cool a home is affected by several factors.

1. Building Construction Methods.
2. Efficiency of equipment and appliances in the building
3. Internal heat gains, such as lights, appliances and people content.
4. Environmental conditions, such as orientation, location, weather, etc.

KC Panels is a building product that provides better solutions to one of these contributors – Building Construction Methods.

Methods of heat gain or loss through the Building Construction Material

Heat gain or loss in a building envelope occurs from three factors.

1. Conduction of heat transferred through the exterior surfaces, walls, windows, door and roof.
2. Infiltration of outside air directly into the building – leaks, cracks, openings, etc.
3. Radiated or solar heat caused by direct sun light on the outside surfaces.

KC Panels technology will reduce and help control the effect of all three building factors.

Standard Stick Frame Construction

A stick frame house is made up of a combination of materials. There are wood studs set at 16” O.C. with cavities in between the studs. The space between is filled with some type of insulation material, usually fiberglass batts or loose fill cellulose.

The effective R-value of this system is a ratio of the amount of insulation material, the amount of wood, any voids left open and the correct installation of the insulation material. Testing done on a 2x6 wall with R-19 fiberglass insulation has shown that this combination provides an effective R-value of 13.7. This is much lower than the R-Value of the insulation alone.

Loose fill insulations use the trapped air to create the insulation. If the loose fill insulation is not in every location, or is compressed; the air pockets are reduced, directly reducing the insulation value. An R-19 batt insulation gains it’s full insulating value when its thickness is at 6 Ό”. When stuffed into an 2x6 walls, the cavity thickness is 5 ½”, this reduces the R-value of the batt.

Fiberglass insulation is the same material that is used in the furnace filter. Air can freely pass through it. If air is allowed to enter the insulating material, it will bring with it heat and will reduce the insulating capacity of the insulation. This happens in standard ceilings with vented attic spaces, or wall cavities with electrical wiring or plumbing. To test this, place a lighted candle near an electrical outlet when the outside wind is blowing. If the flame moves, you have direct air infiltration through the insulation into your home. This air infiltration will greatly reduce the effectiveness of that insulation.

Loose fill insulations are also effected by humidity. Tests have shown that fiberglass insulation that has a 50% humidity also has a 50% reduction in R-value. Again, loose fill insulation works because air is trapped in pockets. Higher moisture content will allow more conduction of heat across the air pockets than does dry air.

The effectiveness of loose fill insulations is very dependent upon the skill of the installer. The installation contract is usually given to the lowest bidder, therefore extra care is not always taken to insure that the insulation fits correctly in all corners and that the insulation is not compacted. There is a large variable in the energy efficiency in homes with the same insulation; this is due to the installation quality of the insulation.

Fiberglass insulation can provide R-Value but does very little is reducing the heat from air infiltration or radiated energy.

Masonry Homes

Masonry homes work on the principal of thermal mass. The masonry product does not have an R-value but does delay the heat transfer through the walls. This works especially well in office buildings were you want the lower heat gain during the day, but are not as concerned if the heat rises 5 hrs later in the evening. In most homes with 8” thick walls, the max heat reaches the inside about 7 p.m. and continues until 10 p.m.

There are two ways to make masonry construction energy efficient.

1. Increase the wall thickness to 14” or more. This only works if the outside temperature at night drops below the inside temperature. Thermal mass delays heat transfer, the thicker walls will delay the heat flow enough that the exterior temperature drops and the heat flow is reversed. This must occur before the heat in the wall reaches the interior.
2. Many homes have insulation added to the thermal mass. The combination of thermal mass and insulation works well. The most effective place for the thermal mass is exposed on the inside with the insulation on the outside.

Thermal mass exposed on the inside can make you feel more comfortable with the same temperature during the summer time. Since our bodies radiate heat, a standard wall reflects the heat back to us by radiation and we get warmed twice. With an exposed masonry wall, the wall absorbs our body radiation and does not radiate the heat back to us, making us feel cooler. This is why a masonry wall feel colder when you touch it. The wall transmits your higher body heat, 96.7 deg away faster and makes your hand feel cool. This system allows you to be more comfortable during the summer at a higher room temperature, thereby less energy is used to keep the home cool. This same feature has the opposite effect during the winter. Because your body does not have the radiated heat from the wall to help warm you, a masonry wall feels colder. You then wear more clothing or turn up the temperature making the house more costly to heat during the winter.

KC Panel homes

KC Panels are effective in reducing the affect of all of the heat gain factors; conduction, infiltration and radiation.

The high R-value, R-27 is twice the value of the R-13.7 from the frame wall. Therefore the heat transfer caused by conduction will be reduced by 50% from a stick built home that is installed correctly.

Since the KC Panel wall is uniform with no studs to break up the insulation, there are very little openings for air to infiltrate into the wall system. The air infiltration in a KC Panel home is generally 50% of that in a standard frame house. It is believed that air infiltration in a standard frame house accounts for 15-25% of heating and cooling costs.

Radiated energy is transferred by radiating from one surface across an air space. This can happen in a frame wall with fiberglass insulation as the fiberglass has or creates air spaces. The KC Panel wall is a solid high-density urethane foam. There are no large air pockets to radiate across. The radiated heat from the outside must then be transferred by conduction. Because of the high R-value, very little of the heat will reach the inside surface of the panel wall.

Energy Savings

Energy savings from building with a KC Panel system come from several factors.

1. Reduction of all three of the heat gain factors through the building system
2. Lower equipment cost for heating and cooling equipment. (smaller unit required)
3. Lower operating cost of the smaller A/C equipment. Smaller A/C equipment can operate more cost effectively than larger oversized equipment.
4. Stable R-Value over time. Loose fill insulations will loose part of their R-value over time.
5. Higher Utility Rates. The cost of utilities to heat and cool will continue to go up. As these utilities cost more money, the cost savings for the more energy efficient KC Panel house will increase.
6. Taxes. There usually is a higher mortgage due to the added cost of building with KC Panels. Most of the added mortgage will be tax deductible in the beginning years of the mortgage. It makes more sense to make an investment in a higher mortgage that is tax deductible, rather than give that same amount of money to the utility companies that is not tax deductible.
7. Increased value in the home. The added cost of the KC Panels house is an increased value in the home. This increased value will also appreciate with time providing a growing investment.