| DOE BUILDERS CHALLENGE LAUNCHES AT THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS' SHOW - ICYNENE WAS FRONT AND CENTER | |
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently launched the Builders Challenge, a voluntary national energy savings program calling for the U.S. homebuilding industry to build 220,000 high-performance energy efficient homes by 2012. This announcement was made from the Show Village (Palm Harbor Homes) Green Home located in the parking lot of the International Builders' Show. | |
 | The E-Scale is an easy-to-understand metric that helps homebuyers and homeowners evaluate how many "miles per gallon" their homes get - helping them to make smart energy decisions when purchasing or updating a home. It is designed to provide clear, objective answers to basic questions: |
| The E-Scale is placed by participating builders on the power panels of homes that meet the Builders Challenge goal of a 70 or less on the E-Scale, showing energy performance achieved for each individual home or model. Participating builders and partner organizations may also: • Co-brand the E-Scale label with their logos and program or product names. • Augment the rating with estimates of annual energy dollar savings - which can help homebuyers get better mortgage terms. • Include estimates of carbon dioxide reductions associated with the energy savings. | |
| The E-Scale is based on the well-established Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index, developed by RESNET, the Residential Energy Services Network. For more information on the technical rating system behind the E-Scale, visit the Residential Energy Services Network. Icynene helps support the DOE Builders Challenge | |
 | Icynene was front and center at the launch of this program. Icynene® was installed into the walls (R-13), unvented attic (R-20), floors (R-11) and all box joins of the Show Village Green Home built by Palm Harbor Homes. A whole room on the second floor of the home was left open without drywall to show the product installed in the aforementioned areas. Icynene®'s superior insulation and air-sealing helped this home attain an E-Scale rating of 57; well below the Builders Challenge goal of 70 and significantly below a typical new home at 100. |
REM/Design™ energy modeling indicates that, by using Icynene® versus air-permeable insulation, this green home is expected to have 60% lower heating and 36% lower cooling costs resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by more than 8,000 lbs per year. | |