SPFA News & Announcements

>>Article by SPFA's Richard Duncan Appears in Retrofit Magazine, SBC Magazine
An article written by SPFA's Technical Services Director, Dr. Richard Duncan, that was published in Retrofit magazine, was also picked up and published in SBC Magazine. Titled "Spray Polyurethane Foam: A Key Component to Any Net Zero Solution," the article addresses spray polyurethane foam characteristics and explains how they are integral to SPF’s ability to contribute to total ZNE solutions — solutions that will become increasingly necessary as the net zero revolution takes hold across the U.S.  

>>Walls & Ceilings Magazine Publishes SPF Article
Source: wconline.com / Richard Duncan
"Barrier Requirements for SPF" is the subject of an article in a recent issue of Walls & Ceilings Magazine. Written by SPFA Technical Services Director Richard Duncan, the article addresses the combustible nature of SPF and how to utilize thermal and/or ignition barriers to ensure safety in the use of SPF.  Read more here. 

>>Gupta-verlag.com and Energy Design Update Share News About SPFA Health & Safety Program
Sources: gupta-verlag.com, oneskyhomes.com
SPFA's new Health & Safety Program is securing attention from all aspects of the industry, even internationally in the news section of gupta-verlag.com and on the energy side in Energy Design Update. Space was allocated in the May 2015 issue of Energy Design Update for details related to the program, as shared in a press released distributed by SPFA. See SPFA press release here and gupta-verlag.com article here.

>>SPFA Sponsors DOE's Race to Zero Student Design Competition; Winners Announced!
The 2015 DOE Race to Zero Student Design Competition (formerly known as the DOE Challenge Home Student Design Competition) wrapped up in April, and SPFA was one of the sponsors. SPFA also sponsored the inaugural competition last year.

 

The Race to Zero is an annual competition, open to students and faculty from any interested collegiate institution in the United States and Canada. The competition is based on a real-world scenario where a builder needs to update an existing product line (house plan) to a high-performance house design or is developing a new high-performance home product line. Teams are presented a specific design problem and are asked to either redesign an existing floor plan or create a new house design that satisfies the project requirements. The mandatory performance target is the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home specification. In its inaugural year, 28 teams from U.S. and Canadian universities competed to design cost-effective Zero Energy Ready Homes for mainstream builders.  The core zero energy ready requirement focused on high-performance features that sharply reduce energy use, and allow for all or most of the remaining energy use to be offset with renewable energy. The winning teams produced market-ready, state-of-the-art design solutions for high-performance homes that are energy efficient, comfortable, and durable.

 

The winners were announced April 18-20, in Denver. Colo., and received a firm commitment by a production home builder to actually construct the winner and runner-up designs, and a free two-day building science training program by Dr. Joseph Lstiburek and Dr. John Straube. There were 33 teams registered to compete, representing 27 schools across the United States and Canada. Read more and see the list of winners at energy.gov   

>>SPFA's Board Members
SPFA's Board of Directors for the 2014-2016 term include: 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President: Mr. Dennis Vandewater, Sadler Coating Systems (IA)
Vice President: Mr. John Achille, Coastal Insulation (NJ)
Treasurer: Mr. Richard Spiess, Innovative Insulation Solutions (IL)
Immediate Past President: Mr. Robert (Bob) Duke, Carolina Comfort Foam

BOARD MEMBERS
Contractor Officer Seats (6):
Ms. Bonnie Strickler, Puff Inc. (VA)
Mr. Ron Winkle, Western Pacific Roofing (CA)
Mr. Larry Ash, United Thermal Systems (NY)
Mr. Tyler Fiske, Anchor Insulation (RI)
Mr. Bryan Heldreth, RPC (VA)
Ms. Tiffiny Flaim, Biofoam Inc. (IL)

Non-Contractor Officer Seats (6):
Mr. Joe Stockdale, Bayer Material Science (TX)
Ms. Mary Bogdan, Honeywell (NY)
Mr. Mitch Clifton, NCFI (NC)
Mr. Mac Sheldon, Demilec Inc. (TX)
Mr. Nick Pagano, Graco Inc. (MN)
Mr. Tom Sojak, Gaco Western (WI)