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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY TEST PROVES BIOBASED-INSULATED HOME IS TIGHTER, MORE ENERGY-EFFICIENT THAN FIBERGLASS-INSULATED HOME
Leading Names from Corporate and Conservation Worlds Join to Engage New Audiences
 ROGERS, AR, March 27, 2008 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- A recent test by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Buildings Technology Center proves the effectiveness of BioBased Insulation in sealing a home’s building envelope and increasing its energy efficiency.
Two 1,200-square-foot homes of comparable design were constructed by the Loudon County Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build Program. One was insulated using fiberglass batts, and the other was insulated using BioBased 501, an open cell spray polyurethane insulation.
A blower door test was used to measure how well the building’s shell or envelope prevented outside air from getting inside. The BioBased-insulated home experienced only 0.08 air changes per hour (ACH) at 4 pascals of pressure. The fiberglass-insulated home experienced 0.16 ACH at the same pressure conditions.
“The lower the number; the better the building envelope,” said Jeff Christian, director of ORNL’s Buildings Technology Center. “These results show that BioBased Insulation provides the necessary air seal to make a house tight, which means the structure is more energy-efficient.”
As a point of comparison, ORNL also worked with the Habitat chapter to construct zero-energy homes using Structurally Insulated Panels, a core of rigid foam plastic insulation sandwiched between two oriented strand boards (OSB).
“In those homes, the rate of natural air changes ranged from 0.04 to 0.08 ACH, which is very good,” Christian said. “These most recent test results suggest that a well-built stick construction home with an envelope of polyurethane foam insulation such as BioBased Insulation can come close to a SIP-constructed home in air tightness.”
The air tightness of a home might not seem like an important detail, but according to the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers, most houses experience 0.35 air changes per hour at natural pressure. When the outside conditions include winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour, the number of air changes can increase drastically.
What does this mean to a homeowner? According to Green Touch Screen, a company that works with manufacturers to educate consumers about green building and energy efficiency, more than $13 billion worth of energy leaks from houses through holes and cracks annually. That equates to on average $150 per family in the United States.
Tight, energy-efficient homes save homeowners money, and with proper mechanical ventilation, they can have better indoor air quality than a leaky home. The BioBased Insulated home included a supply-side ventilation system to provide fresh, filtered air. By filtering and conditioning the air instead of counting on air infiltration through duct work or cracks, homeowners can reduce moisture problems which could lead to mold and to block outside irritants and allergens.
Steve DeWeese, owner of Endless Supply Company of Horse Shoe, North Carolina, and a BioBased Insulation Certified Dealer volunteered his time to insulate the house used in the test. The United Soybean Board funded the test.
BioBased Insulation is only available from certified dealers who have been trained in building science and applications so that each job is installed correctly. To find a certified dealer in your area, visit www.biobased.net or call 1-800-803-5189.
About BioBased Insulation
BioBased Insulation is committed to making the world’s structures more sustainable by developing and marketing performance-tested, environmentally responsible spray foam insulation products through a global network of certified dealers. Our goal is to reduce dependence on petroleum products by correctly sealing buildings to make them energy- efficient and by utilizing the latest technology to incorporate renewable ingredients into our products and sustainable practices into our business. Headquartered in Northwest Arkansas, BioBased Insulation holds the exclusive rights for the use of the Agrol® family of soy-based polyols in spray foam insulation applications. Agrol® is a 96% pure soy-based polyol that is also found in EnviroCelTM and BioCelTM carpet backing from Universal Textile Technologies, in AstroTurf products and is currently being used by the automobile industry to make head and arm rests for select models of Toyota, Honda, Ford and Chrysler.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ORNL, located in Oak Ridge, Tenn., pioneers the development of new energy sources, technologies and materials and the advancement of knowledge in the biological, chemical, computational, engineering, environmental, physical and social sciences. ORNL is managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by UT-Battelle, LLC.
Contact
Jennifer Wilson,
Brand Manager
1.800.803.5189
jwilson@biobased.net
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