This post first appeared on the Green Building Advisor Website.
As homeowners, builders, and/or designers, how do we choose the right products or assemblies that provide the best energy performance? How does a code minimum designed wall perform? How about changes in ceiling insulation R-values? What if we decide to increase the air tightness? How about triple pane windows? There are several ways in which product and assembly upgrades are chosen.
- First is experience. In having the opportunity to be in more than 100 homes a year performing energy assessments/audits and building investigations, I see both successes and failures.
- Being familiar with the different products on the market is important. As an example, selecting the right product for a given budget that can be installed over the board sheathing of an existing home to provide both bulk water management and air control.
- Using energy modeling software to quantify the decisions is helpful. The easiest way to decide which improvements to implement is by creating a baseline (code minimum) model of the project, then key in the proposed upgrades to see how the model changes.
