Insulation Institute Blog

Posts By: Stacy Fitzgerald-Redd

Energy Star 3.2 Cranks Up Envelope Efficiency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized the requirements for the latest version of its long-running ENERGY STAR Single Family New Home program. The National Version 3.2 puts the thermal envelope requirements of the 2021 International Energy Conservation code front and center. The new version now stipulates mandatory envelope requirements of the 2021 IECC. It ensures a minimum of 10 percent savings over the current requirements of the 2012 IECC and a 20 percent improvement or more in states where older versions of the code are enforced. The new program changes will take effect beginning January 1, 2025. However, when version 3.2 is released this fall, it will be useable with a thermal envelope 5 percent worse than the 2021 IECC (105% UA of 2021 IECC).

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Energy Star 3.2 Cranks Up Envelope Efficiency

Clayton Unveils Net Zero Home

Clayton Homes (a Berkshire Hathaway Company) last month unveiled its first Net Zero home to the public. The company, one of the largest national builders of off-site and site-built homes, paired several energy efficiency upgrades and a solar roofing system to deliver the CrossMod model home it says is both sustainable and attainable. 

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Clayton Unveils Net Zero Home

New Release: The Facts About Mold Growth

Fiberglass duct liners and duct board have been incorrectly blamed for contributing to mold growth in high humidity and high temperature conditions. The fact is that fiberglass is inherently resistant to mold growth. Stringent testing in accordance with UL and ASTM standards confirms that fiberglass duct liners and duct board do not support mold growth.

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New Release: The Facts About Mold Growth

Insulation Industry Releases Decarbonization Policy Principles

U.S. and global policymakers are increasingly focused on decarbonization efforts to address climate change. In response, trade associations representing the major U.S. insulation industry organizations recently released a statement of policy principles on building decarbonization. The principles advocate maximizing energy efficiency in buildings and pursuing whole-building embodied carbon reductions in building materials and components. 

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Insulation Industry Releases Decarbonization Policy Principles

Realtors Report Increase in Green Home Features

The National Association of Realtors® has just released the results of an annual survey of its members on green home features. The 2022 Realtors and Sustainability Report shows that half of realtors have helped clients buy or sell a home with green feature – a sharp increase from the 32 percent of the previous year. Additionally, 63 percent stated that having energy efficiency information in listings is somewhat or very valuable in selling a home.

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Realtors Report Increase in Green Home Features

We Should Talk About Insulation More

“We need to think about insulation, or to start thinking about it in the first place,” says a Vox news story this week. As part of a series that addresses our warming world, Vox writer Neel Dhanesha calls insulation the climate solution hiding in our walls. There’s no time like today — Earth Day — to talk about insulation’s important role as a tool for pollution reduction.

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We Should Talk About Insulation More

Construction Trades Programs See Boost

Nationwide the construction industry needs 650,000 more workers to meet building demand this year alone, according to experts. Adding to the urgency is that up to 40 percent of the construction workforce is expected to retire by 2030.[1] After many years of bad news about the construction trades workforce comes the good news this week that enrollment in skilled trades programs has boomed since the start of the pandemic.

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Construction Trades Programs See Boost

The $32M DOE Effort to Boost EE

Long-needed energy efficiency improvements in much of America’s public housing means that low-income tenants spend a significant portion of their income on energy costs. Moreover, buildings are the second-largest carbon dioxide emissions source. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to address this by launching an experiment with architects and public housing agencies to retrofit these homes with heat pumps and insulation upgrades to improve their efficiency.

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The $32M DOE Effort to Boost EE

Decarbonizing Buildings Starts with Energy Efficiency

Responsible for nearly 40 percent of global climate emissions, buildings are critical to the government’s response to climate change. As lawmakers and climate advocates look for new policies that will curb greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment, the old rallying cry for energy efficiency is being replaced by calls for policies that drive building decarbonization. This leads to the question, just where does energy efficiency fit in this broader goal of decarbonization?

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Decarbonizing Buildings Starts with Energy Efficiency