Q&A on Icynene and Wine Rooms

Below is a back and forth between Therma Seal and one of our customers becoming educated on the effective use of Icynene Proseal to optimize temperature control in wine rooms.

I do like the spray insulation and believe it will offer a superior product but have a few questions. If you want I can speak directly to the rep if you want to provide the contact info to save you the time.

1)     What about credits for the 3” and 1” specified AP foiled polyiscoyanurate foam sheating?  Yes…I forgot to mention that…we also have to get a credit for the insulation that presently shows on the plans.

2)     I assumed the installed ceiling clips served two purposes to hold in the 1” sheating and to attach the 5/8” greenboard. Can we leave the clips, spray on ceiling insulation and still screw 5/8” to clips (not sure we get R-value but it must be better than the 1” proposed board.)  They have a problem using anything less than a 2-1/2” stud on a ceiling installation becasu they have to make sure that they leave a minimum ¼” air gap from the back of the drywall to their spray insulation and it difficult to get their insulation dead flat when it’s applied horizontally and it’s difficult if not imposible to carve it back because it gets so hard…they can explain this in more detail.  Correct, however if a ceiling grid is created below the concrete floor with a 2.5” gap we can apply above the grid directly to the concrete

3)     Would like more detail on how the product hardens before we can consider eliminating mesh. Regardless, I still think the studs on the framed wine wall should be 12” OC.   They’re goin to prepare a sample so you can see how hard it is and they insist that with their product in the wall the wall becomes tremendously impenetrable…plus I think the elimination of having twice the amount of screws to deal with could be some sort of a moisture benefit in the long run.  I would prefer to state table top hard, such that an electric saw would be required to cut through, and/or sledge hammer.

4)     What is the R-Value of the Icynene Classic Max at the various thicknesses

a.      block walls at 3-1/2” (perhaps we can reduce to 2-1/2” here to net the same designed wall thickness)  They said they need to get 3 inches of their product on the block walls to get the same overall R factor that we get with the current system…they need the 3-1/2” studs so they can maintain the air gap between the back of the drywall and their foam.  There is synergy of benefit when utilizing spray foam is that it provides the benefit of an “Air Seal” with “R Value”.  Consequently, once an air seal achieved no additional benefit received in that department with additional foam.  Since, R-Value is only the measure of conduction, the foam efficiency has diminishing returns beyond the R13 (1.875”) level.  Thus the effectiveness of say R13 Icynene exceeds the effectiveness R21 conventional products.  The primary reason for the Icynene Closed Cell is to eliminate all air gaps and kee the indoor temperature form mixing with warmer air, eliminate chance for mold or mildew.  This wine room will be adequately sealed with a minimum 2” of Icynene.   The Icynene registers at an R7/inch of aged application.

b.      ceiling at 2-1/2” (we have plenty of room here) or ceiling at 1” if we leave clips. If we go to 2-1/2” ceiling studs maybe we just leave clips anyway as they will be completely covered.  That’s a possibility but we’re not talking any great cost to remove them…I suggest we get rid of them so we don’t have to put the 2-1/2” studs between them.  Yes, preferred or as mentioned above no clips just 2” air space above grid.

c.      interior walls I assume at 4-1/2” thick of spray insulation?  I thought we have all 3-1/2” studs…which they can get 3 ibches of insulation in…how would we get 4-1/2”  Correct 3.5” studs will be adequate.

6700 Sq. Ft. Warehouse Space with Icynene Classic Max

Therma Seal Insulation Spray Team just completed a 6700sf warehouse in one day!  Not only was the job completed in a timely and thorough manner, look how pretty that foam looks!

South Florida benefits greatly from the use of Icynene spray foam for is keeps the hot out and the coolness in!

Our company is a full service insulation company in new custom residential, commercial, and existing homes.  If you live in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Delray Beach, Palm Beach, Jupiter, Wellington, or any of South Florida's coastal cities, Therma Seal is the Icynene Gold Circle dealer for your job to be done in a professional and timely manner.

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Thinking about upgrading your attic insulation? Watch this!

Attics are one of the most common and largest contributors to air leakage. Air escaping through the attic can lead to higher than normal heating and cooling bills. Warm air from your furnace or cool air from your air conditioner can escape from your attic if it isn’t adequately insulated.  If your home has the HVAC equipment stored in an un-insulated attic space, your HVAC could be working overtime especially during the hot summers.  This can see your air conditioning bill skyrocket.

By insulating the attic with spray foam insulation, homeowners can curb air leakage, maintain a comfortable home year round and alleviate the formation of ice dams during winter.

Icynene has created a six part video series on a spray foam attic insulation upgrade.  Watch the entire series below!

Insulation and the truth behind R-value

What is the correct R-Value to be installed in a vented attic?

When speaking in terms of R-Value as it relates to insulation, we are speaking to the speed at which heat conductively travels from the hot side towards the cold side .  The higher the R-Value the slower the speed of heat transfer.  Note R-Value does not stop the transfer, merely slows it down.  An example on your kitchen stove is the time it takes to warm an aluminum pan verse the time to warm a cast iron pan; we will still cook in both cases.   Keep in mind heat travels in multiple methods and wave lengths including airflow.  Conventional insulation can only address the conduction transfer and ignores the transfer of heat by radiation and airflow (convection).  

The solution, an air barrier. When measuring the effectiveness of insulation, R value is the only factor most insulation manufacturers talk about because it’s all they offer. R value measures the ability to limit conductive heat flow (heat transferred through it). But the primary method of heat transfer is not conductive heat flow — it’s air leakage (convection). Air leakage can account for up to 40% of a building’s energy loss, and it cannot be stopped with traditional insulation. R value is important, but an airtight seal is equally important for achieving energy savings.

Icynene spray foam insulation provides insulation R value and air-sealing in a single step. This is the only way to truly provide your clients with the most energy-saving value from their insulation costs.

The Wikipedia link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-value_(insulation) indicates R-Value as thermal resistance.  The higher the R, the more effective.  However there is a space requirement and a balance which should be recognized when choosing the R- Value.  Space is required to add R-Value.   In discussing the batt insulation product 8” is required to achieve a R-Value of 30.  If one were to compress the R30 batt into a 5” cavity this result is a denser product but also a lower R-Value which is near 19.

When is Too Much R in a vented attic a poor concept in hot humid climates?

A vented attic is designed to allow air flow to enter and escape.  Conceptually, heat rises and ridge vents and whirly birds support the relief of heat in an attic.  This process reduces some of the heat, depressurizes the attic and draws new or cooler air in through existing soffits or form the conditioned air of the home.  It is important to have reasonable air flow to prevent other issues which can cause mold or mildew.

Essentially, we are cooling the attic, yet the air is then released to the world.  AC duct systems work in this environment and may be subject to sweating if the metal or aluminum conduit of the duct system is cold and the attic air is too hot.  Restating the importance of air flow in a vented attic, we realize as we increase the volume of insulation to the deck of an attic we reduce the ingress and egress of air flow.  Many times over insulating an attic deck promotes higher dew points and sweating because the attic become even hotter.  Although it is separated from conditioned living by more insulation, reducing the loss of cool air the attic bakes at a higher temperature.  This concern becomes especially evident as the roof slope of an attic is low.

Therma Seal Spray Foam Insulation
Solutions Driven... Customer Focused
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Fire Safe Attic System and Icynene Classic Max

Introducing Icynene Classic Max and the safest attic available.  From protecting your loved ones to creating the most energy efficient insulation system on the market, you can rely on Therma Seal for your energy solutions!

Richard Branson Thinks He's Found A Better Way To Pay For Energy Efficiency

The billionaire entrepreneur talks to us about his very unsexy, but very important new project: How to make it affordable for property owners to retrofit their houses to make them more efficient.

Even people who don't believe in climate change would probably acknowledge that improving the world's energy efficiency makes sense. Using less power saves money and reduces pollution--and, in many cases, the investments are easy. Years of upgrades show that property owners usually make their money back within a few years.

A report last year by Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors and the Rockefeller Foundation found that investing $279 billion in energy-efficiency retrofits across the country would produce a return of more than $1 trillion. The problem is unlocking the investment in the first place. What's needed, the report said, is new types of finance models that knock down the initial barriers.

Energy-efficiency upgrades haven't been taken up more widely because the property owner has had to bear the full burden.

According to Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur, that model is something called Property Assessed Clean Energy. PACE allows property owners to get funding for retrofits and not pay a cent upfront. They can put in energy-efficiency upgrades (or anti-hurricane measures and renewable energy systems) and then pay back the sum through their property tax bill over 20 years. The amount they save hopefully will be more than what they must pay over that time.

"Energy-efficiency upgrades haven't been taken up more widely because the property owner has had to bear the full burden of upfront cost and associated financial risk," Branson told Co.Exist in an email. "The PACE model turns all this upside down. By providing 100% financing, no upfront costs, and long-term, nonrecourse pay-back, it creates immediate financial incentives for property owners to upgrade their building today."

Currently, 32 states and the District of Columbia have legislation allowing PACE financing for energy efficiency, with another five or six looking at it (the idea originated in California eight years ago, though other types of public projects have been financed this way for up to 40 years). Importantly, the agreement stays with the property, passing from one owner to the next. That means the owner can sell, and not get left with the upgrade cost before seeing any benefits.

The public benefit of not having buildings blow off their foundations is really high.

Branson is championing PACE through his environmental nonprofit, the Carbon War Room, which is helping to bring the financing together through a partnership with Ygrene Energy Fund. Ygrene strikes exclusive arrangements with municipalities to do energy-efficiency upgrade work in their area. It then markets the improvements to commercial and residential owners, and arranges short-term funding for the projects. Those loans are then bundled into a municipal bond, and sold on as low-risk investments. The government pays the money back through tax receipts.

Ygrene recently launched projects with the cities of Miami, Cutler Bay, Miami Shores, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Coral Gables, and South Miami (its "Clean Energy Green Corridor") to offer retrofits in those areas. Under Florida law, owners can also get financing for hurricane resilience (like tougher windows and water barriers), though the emphasis is on efficiency and renewables, like solar panels.

"In Florida, the state is the insurer of last resort, so the public benefit of not having buildings blow off their foundations is really high," says Stacey Lawson, Ygrene's CEO. "For the owner, it allows them to reinvest the money in a way that doesn't keep them out of pocket. It opens up a whole new vein of capital for them that is only related to energy efficiency."

Ygrene is also working with Sacramento, California. In August, it agreed a $3.16 million retrofit of the city's Metro Center Corporate Park--the biggest energy-efficiency deal to date. The investment, which will pay for things like a new building management system and better lighting, is expected to produce savings of $140,000 a year--which is a 27% decrease in costs for the owner, Metzler Real Estate. Lawson says rates between 25% and 30% are "very typical."

PACE is not the only energy-efficiency financial fix. On-bill financing, in which owners and tenants repay through their utility bills, is also growing popularity. But PACE does seem to have momentum, particularly among commercial projects. Ygrene is only one of at least 10 funds using a similar model.

As usual, Branson has no doubt: "The implications of PACE for the scaled retrofitting of buildings across USA are huge, and couldn't come at a better time for everyone--tenants, owners, financiers, and the planet."

-fastcoexist.com

Improving building performance with open-cell spray foam: Energy Efficiency | Icynene

Open-cell spray foam can be used to successfully deliver sustainable, high-performance results. Incorporating open-cell spray foam, such as Icynene’s LD-C-50, into a sustainable building can have a tremendous impact on achieving the core sustainable strategies of energy efficiency, moisture management and whole building design. Today we take a look at how quality open-cell spray foam aids in the energy efficiency performance of a home.

It’s believed that up to 40% of a home’s heating and cooling costs are caused by air leakage. To curb such expenses as well as minimize air leakage and excessive energy waste, the use of an effective, continuous air barrier is recommended. Both open-cell and closed-cell, such as Icynene’s MD-C-200, can help reduce energy costs by up to 50%.

A quality open-cell product has the added benefit of longevity in that 100% water-blown foam does not release emissions that would degrade the material and, ultimately, degrade its performance over the long-term. As a permanent solution that offers longevity, open-cell spray foam insulation helps minimize operating costs and also significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Selecting a product that provides longevity also eliminates the need for re-installation of additional materials in the future. Furthermore, open-cell spray foam insulation cures soft and remains flexible allowing it to expand and contract within the substrate helping ensure a reliable and permanent air seal. The flexibility of open-cell spray foam maintains integrity of the air seal for the life of the building.

Contributed by Icynene Corp.
Improving building performance with open-cell spray foam: Energy Efficiency | Icynene

Therma Seal Resolves Mold Issues Throughout Palm Beach County, Florida This Summer.

Everyone knows moisture problems can lead to the presence of mold and mildew, destroying a homes physical integrity and overall health of a home.  Mold and mildew begin to form where moisture is left to stagnate in a closed, warm environment.  A  common cause of moisture in South Florida typically occurs where HVAC ducts or registers sweat due to "hot attic syndrome."

Therma Seal's unvented attic system with Icynene spray foam provides both a solution and a prevention from mold and mildew.

James Finck

If your home was a cooler...

     Picture a beautiful, hot beach day in sunny South Florida.  You have a cooler for your refreshments and another for your hot sandwiches.  The logic of a cooler is to keep your cold stuff colder for longer and vise versa for warmth.  Obviously a cooler is a lot more effective when there is a tight seal and the lid is all the way shut.  You are essentially trapping in the coolness to maintain a consistent temperature within.
      Now equate this cooler concept with your home energy usage.  Wouldn't you like to shut the lid on your home to maintain consistent temperature and prevent energy hemorrhaging? This is where the Icynene Insulation System comes into play, creating an effective seal and "shutting the lid on your cooler."
     Icynene spray foam mitigates any air leakage within your attic system and ultimately renders all your soffit venting useless.  By creating an unvented attic system, you can expect a dramatic decrease in attic temperature, the new temperature will be roughly 6-8 degrees higher than the temperature in your living room.  Put all the pieces together, you have decreased the temperature of the environment in which your a/c mechanicals and duct work are operating, and you can expect your a/c to be running a whole lot less, keeping you more comfortable and cutting cooling costs in half.
    Therma Seal Insulation are the experts in commercial and residential energy solutions, serving the Sunshine State.

Let us shut the lid on your home cooler!
561.775.9703

By:
William Finck
 

Great programs for home energy enhancements.

Throughout the state of Florida, there are more and more programs offering finance tools encouraging upgrades to home energy efficiency.  With constantly rising energy costs and higher costs of living, homeowners are beginning to do everything they can to keep their multiplier as low as possible.

One of the programs we employ essentially takes the cost of the upgrades and amortizes a loan over the course of 5, 10, or 20 years depending on the homeowners payment preference.  The payment is made through a non ad valorem property tax to create a savings that will exceed your payment.  This makes it possible for the homeowner to relish in the savings and comfort starting day one, without any out-of-pocket expenses.

Therma Seal specializes in the application of the Icynene Spray Foam System because of its superior air barrier qualities, commitment to the environment, and the long term solution to home insulation.  Utilizing Icynene will  reduce cooling cost by half when compared to traditional insulation, and will retain its true form for the life of the structure, and is also warranted by Icynene.  Spray foam is becoming the standard in new custom homes because more people are learning about the evolution in building science and the huge benefits of the unvented attic.

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Build Right.. Insulate Tight.

When is more not better, but worse?  

      In a vented attic where conventional insulation commonly referred to as Batt or Blown-in Fiberglass the story is all about R-Value.  The higher the R value the slower the transfer of those hot molecules to the cool side.  R does not stop the transfer, merely slows its transfer.  The venting is designed to allow the heat to escape, as beside their tendency to move form hot to cold, heat rises.  As this transfer occurs the attic actually can reduce its heat load and stabilize for example at 130* on a hot summer day.  If someone decides to add a lot more of this same insulation to an attic without proper care they risk creating a hotter attic space with an inadequate ability to naturally vent.

The new stabilized temperature rises and the risks of sweating ducts increases and with moisture and heat we play with a mold or mildew occurrence.

Application of spray foam is certainly more expensive than conventional insulation.  In some retrofit cases, a proper application is not achievable; Therma Seal(TM) has within it scopes of expertise, other plausible solutions for preventing assembly heat gain.

Therma Seal(TM) Insulation Systems has the experience of building science and the application of both spray and injection foam products.  Their focus is driven to provide sustainable energy solutions.  Therma Seal(TM) is the team to consult for options to improve your quality of comfort and add real value to all your property.  As registered providers for both FPL and Progress Energy they will support you with both the education behind choices and knowledge of rebates and other energy incentives.

Therma Seal is licensed, insured and experienced to provide you with valuable information and top quality service from start to finish.  As a customer focused and solution driven company we ask you to schedule a consultation and free estimate today by calling  (561) 775.9703 and please visit us at www.thermaseal.net  

Beyond the ceiling...Smart Insulation

INSULATION IS REQUIRED TO HELP YOUR HOME MAINTAIN COMFORTABLE TEMPERATURE.

The added benefit is lower cooling and heating costs by using material which not only slows heat transfer (R-Value) but stops air flow out of the home.

During Florida's blazing summer the heat gain to a home without a proper insulated assembly is tremendous.

As Florida homeowners, we are well versed in the heat and humidity effects on our comfort in this beautiful and tropical surrounding.  The correct insulation system helps to protect our home in windstorms, while drastically lowering our indoor humidity level and all while saving us $$$ each and every day.

I use "insulation system" with the purpose to share a quick lesson in building science. If we use an Air Barrier insulation product (Icynene) to provide an unvented air barrier envelope over our conditioned home, we stop the conditioned air leakage which easily escapes through minuscule passageways.  40% of lost energy costs in the average U.S. home is due to air leakage.

Therma Seal(TM)  provides these solutions to your home or building. A properly sealed home will cool quickly and retain that coolness for a long time. 

                The HVAC systems do not operate within a 140* attic space, working in overdrive.

                The lack of introduced humidity to the home offers a dryer and more comfortable environment.

                The air quality is improved and without humidity and heat the chances of mold/mildew drop to zero.