Ten Myths About Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Ten Myths About Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Energy efficiency and SCIPs, SIPs, and ICFs

 

SCIP Panels

Structural Concrete Insulated Panels

There is a fair amount of misinformation about energy efficiency and SCIPs, SIPs, and ICFs

So here are two links for starters http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/research/detailed_papers/thermal/index.html

Although the words SCIPs SIPs and ICFs are not used if you know the products you know what and the difference between them are,

  (Walls containing foam core and concrete shells on both sides)

(Concrete wall core and insulation placed on both sides)

(Walls where the insulation material was concentrated on the interior side)

(Comparative analysis of sixteen different material configurations showed that the most effective wall assembly was the wall with thermal mass (concrete) applied in good contact with the interior of the building. Walls where the insulation material was concentrated on the interior side, performed much worse. Wall configurations with the concrete wall core and insulation placed on both sides of the wall performed slightly better, however, their performance was significantly worse than walls containing foam core and concrete shells on both sides)

Most of the misinformation is about the wire trusses going from one side of the panel to the other. They make un substantiated claims so here are some facts

1.            ORNL conducted thermal experiments in 1987 that tested concrete sandwich panels:

 

http://www.ornl.gov/info/reports/1987/3445602788810.pdf

 

a.      This paper states that there is only a 7% reduction in the thermal properties of concrete panels with 32 – 3 mm diameter stainless steel connectors in a 103”x103” wall compared to walls without connectors or with fiberglass-composite ties.

b.      The report evaluated the isothermal planes method (also called series-parallel method) of calculating the R factor for the wall assemblies and found that the method predicted a 5% decrease in the thermal properties which is very close to the measured difference.

c.      The isothermal planes method for concrete walls is contained in ACI 122R “Guide to Thermal Properties of Concrete and Masonry Systems” which we used to calculate the R-factors for the GCT TER.

d.      The walls also had a thermal lag of 5 to 6 hours, which helps to reduce the impact of daily high/low temperatures.

e.       The thermal lag indicates the capacity of the wall to store energy and is useful for designing passive solar systems.

How do you protect a concrete building from earthquakes and hurricanes? | Concrete.tv

How do you protect a concrete building from earthquakes and hurricanes? | Concrete.tv

Highly Energy Efficient and Disaster Resistant SCIP building Systems

Building with US made SCIP Panels using GCT panels
Earth Quake, Fire, Hurricane Pest resistant.
http://www.concrete.tv/2013/02/how-do-you-protect-a-concrete-building-from-earthquakes-and-hurricanes/

Green Remodel | Reading Room: Cooling & Heating - Geothermal

Green Remodel | Reading Room: Cooling & Heating - Geothermal

Colorado Springs Waldo fire, Boulder Four Mile fire, Ft Collins High Park fire

When do we realize we need to do more.

Is it over regulation to require homes in wildfire areas to use stronger fire-resistant building practices?

Wildfire glazing –  windows that resist fire and crack, instead of shattering. Holding back the flames rather than letting the fire inside immediately.

Roof and Attic venting that stops embers and flames from entering the attic along with the hot air being sucked into the attic.

Fire rated wall/ building envelope systems - Walls that give the fire a chance to burn by without torching the home.

Fire rated decking and deck framing- ditto

Backup fire suppression systems- including self contained systems of water or even foam. Though it may prove if the above cheaper systems were in place with proper defensible measures personal home systems may be unnecessary.

Little of the above are stand along or will work effectively without proper defensive measures in place.

I know some will say codes are in place. That’s like saying the same code requiring R13 insulation in the walls in San Diego and Denver made sense.  

I truly do not want to Californacte the building code here.  The last few years have shown us we need to do more.

Cutting large trees back 40’- 80’ from your house is not as serene as trees up close.  It could make the difference between a burnt yard or no house.

Fire Safe Homes

It is a shame Home owners in Colorado and other locations do not even know what options exist to help protect out houses.

Wall/roof building systems like SCIP building systems that have 2-4 hour fire ratings.

Wild Fire glass

Eave and gable house venting that closes if hit by fire  

Shutters that help keep flames from coming inside

Roofing that stops the fire from catching on fire

Paint the stops the house from catching on fire

Fire protection systems that spray the exterior with foam or another fire stop material

With all that nothing is more effective as a first step as a defensible area