2013 NAHB INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS SHOW
SPFA was invited to be a presenter at the 2013 NAHB International Builders Show (IBS) in Las Vegas Jan. 22, 2013. The session addressed issues related to SPF health and safety,installation practice, SPF performance, the SPFA Professional Certification Program, the new SPF industry Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and other issues of interest and relevance to home builders. To answer many questions on SPF, SPFA also delivered a “Builder’s Package” of information on SPF condensed in a manner that would make it easy for home builders to get the information they need about SPF. In addition to SPFA, Lee Salamone, Senior Director of CPI and a homebuilder familiar with SPF use, participated on a panel discussion during the session. Ms. Salamone addressed regulatory topics, industry research and CPI/Sprayfoam Coalition’s recent activities.
BUILDING SCIENCE EXPERTS’ MINI-SYMPOSIUM
In December 2012, SPFA was invited to speak at an invitation-only session hosted by Joe Lstiburek, President of Building Science Corporation in Westford, Mass. Lstiburek organized a two-day Building Science Experts’ Mini-Symposium to discuss pressing and relevant issues of the day. The first day was entirely SPF, the second day HVAC and ventilation. SPFA’s Technical Director, Dr. Richard Duncan, was one of only a handful of presenters and discussed SPF chemistry, troubleshooting, proper installation practice, health and safety, professional certification, environmental sustainability (Life Cycle Assessment - LCA) and many other issues to an over-packed room of some of the world’s best building scientists.
BUILDING INNOVATION 2013
SPFA sponsored part of the National Institute of Building Science (NIBS) Annual Meeting: Building Innovation 2013 – in Washington, D.C. This is the first in a series of independent annual events that will support the Institute’s commitment to bring together representatives of the entire building community to review advancements in science and technology and develop solutions for our built environment.
ECOBUILD 2012
SPFA presented on SPF health and safety, installation, SPF performance, and the new SPFA Professional Certification program during a session at the December 2012 EcoBuild Conference in Washington, D.C. Presenting alongside SPFA was a panel of representatives from The Façade Group, SIPA and DryVit. The presentations focused upon high-performance insulation and its role in producing high-performance buildings, and were delivered to a room predominantly filled with architects.
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As the SPFA Professional Certification Program (PCP) continued toward completion in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013, it offered two pilot programs intended to put the program through its paces. Following over a year of intense work by PCP committee members, the time came to test-drive the exam prep materials and the tests themselves. Just like any product or service, eventually all the work and development has to be put to the test to see if it does what it was intended to do.
The pilot sessions, held in Wisconsin at Gaco Western and Atlanta at Premium Spray Systems, were an opportunity to see if the exam preparatory materials adequately prepared individuals for the exams, if the time to review the materials fit inside the expected periods, and how people performed on the tests themselves. Attendees were encouraged to provide feedback on all materials to improve them where possible. Additionally the pilot session at Premium was the first round of actual Field Examinations for SPF professionals. These efforts were important as a near-final step in the validation process. Over 100 people attended the exam prep classes, and over 375 written exams were taken by attendees. Those exams were taken both by people attending the preparatory classes, as well as walk-ins who, while pre-registered, utilized the test-out option and sat for the written exams after self-studying (an option built into the program to accommodate experienced professionals).
These pilot sessions were an enormous amount of work to prepare for, and the Professional Certification Program committee members managed to get everything done in time and deliver a valuable experience. The result of these pilot sessions are a program that is set to be rolled out formally at the SPFA 2013 Annual Convention and Expo in Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 12-13, 2013.
The program has many elements, such as Contractor, Distributor and Manufacturer Firm Accreditation to tackle during 2013, along with deploying the individual certification program nationwide. But if you are an insulation or roofing contractor, or someone qualified as a Field Examiner, you are set to take advantage of this program at the convention and begin to differentiate your company through demonstration of your professional knowledge, skills and abilities. Congratulations to those who are among the first in the nation.
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SPFA has been engaged over the past 12 months in development of a new SPF Professional Certification Program, with the targeted roll-out date of the Annual Convention and Expo, February 12-15 in Jacksonville, Fla. On January 15-17, SPFA held the final preparatory effort during a Professional Certification Program pilot session at Premium Spray Systems in Atlanta. More than 100 people completed certification exams or field exams during this session, the last until the program’s official roll-out .
Go to SPFA’s website, www.sprayfoam.org, to access information about PCP, or to read the Attendee Brochure and register for PCP testing at the convention today!
To read full "Anatomy of a Certification Program" article, click here.
High-Performance Building Coalition Works with NIBS to Help Educate Congress
The High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC), established by ASHRAE in 2006, has begun new work with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) to help educate Members of Congress on high-performance building issues.
Authorized by Congress, NIBS brings together building community luminaries to examine vexing historical and current barriers to improvements in the built environment. Through a diverse range of councils and committees, NIBS issues recommendations to Congress and the President – and it is these recommendations that will be the focus on the HPBCCC’s work with the Institute, and as Hill events and policy agendas are developed for the 113th Congress. The educational efforts of these organizations will take the form of Congressional briefings, awards, and other organized dialogue between industry leaders and Congressional staff.
Additional information on NIBS can be found at www.nibs.org.
The HPBCCC is a private sector coalition of over 160 building community stakeholders that works with the High-Performance Buildings Congressional Caucus to educate federal policymakers on the importance of high-performance buildings and how to achieve and promote them. For additional information on the HPBCCC, visit www.hpbccc.org.
For further information, contact Doug Read, Chairman of the HPBCCC: dread@ashrae.org, 202-833-1830.
Sen. Boxer Introduces Bill to Improve Energy & Water Efficiency in Public Buildings
Earlier this week Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced the Promoting Efficiency and Savings in Government Act (S.52). This bill would help increase energy and water efficiency in buildings and reduce emissions by requiring the U.S. General Services Administration to conduct building audits to identify opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce costs in buildings that it owns and leases, and to report to Congress and the public within one year on these potential savings.
ASHRAE Government Affairs staff have reached out to Sen. Boxer’s office to work with the Senator on this bill. For additional information, contact Mark Ames, ASHRAE's Manager of Federal Government Affairs, at mames@ashrae.org, or 202-833-1830.
National, Global Leaders Gather at DOE to Discuss Nation’s Energy Future
As part of the events over the Inaugural weekend, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) held its annual symposium - “Energy All-Stars: What’s our Energy Future.” This event featured short presentations on a wide range of source and energy efficiency issues facing multiple levels of American society from a variety of energy leaders, including:
Doyle Beneby, President and CEO, CPS Energy
Jennifer Granholm, former Michigan Governor
Michael Liebreich, Founder and CEO, Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Susan Tierney, Managing Principal, Analysis Group
Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
Additional information on this event can be found at http://1.usa.gov/WwXGgD.
DOE Seeks Public Comment on Res. & Comm. Test Procedures for Water Heaters
As part of a new rulemaking, the U.S. Department of Energy has issued a request for information to develop a uniform efficiency descriptor and accompanying test method for residential and commercial water heaters. Comments are due by February 11, 2013. For additional information, visit http://1.usa.gov/Wx06Mh.
New Rule Proposed by DOE for Energy Consumption for Set-Top Boxes
The U.S. Department of Energy is proposing to establish new test procedures that describe the methods for measuring the power consumption of set-top boxes (STBs) in the on, sleep/standby, and off modes. DOE is also proposing an annual energy consumption metric to calculate the annualized energy consumption of STBs based on their power consumption in the different modes of operation. DOE will hold a public meeting (also broadcast as a webinar) on this proposed rulemaking on February 27, 2013. Comments are due by April 8, 2013. For additional information, visit http://1.usa.gov/Wx0XMS.
ASHRAE's Government Affairs Updates detail information on government affairs-related activities of interest to ASHRAE members and others interested in the built environment. Archives of previous updates are available from the Government Affairs website.
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The SPFA technical programs and committees that support them are in need of a select few interested professionals (equipment, suppliers, systems houses and contractors) to carry the momentum onward on various technical projects of the association. Admittedly, the certification development effort has dug into our volunteer base deeply. But there are lots of critical, relevant and interesting technical projects ongoing or starting within the Building Envelope Committee (BEC), Roofing Committee (RC) and new technical committees. Please contact Rick Duncan at rickduncan@sprayfoam.org if you are interested or willing to assist with these important efforts.
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Addendum cs to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is open for advisory public review from Jan. 4-Feb. 3, 2013. The addendum proposes changes to definitions for computer rooms and data centers in Standard 90.1 to create a distinction between facilities covered by 90.1 and those which are intended to be under the scope of ASHRAE Standard 90.4P, Energy Standard for Data Centers and Telecommunications Buildings, proposed by ASHRAE in late 2012.
The definition proposed for computer rooms more closely aligns with ASHRAE Standard 100, Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). In addition, the definition is consistent with Uptime Institutes’ “Tier Standard: Topology” and the Telecommunications Industry Association ANSI/TIA-942 class rating for low-risk Tier I data centers. High risk data centers such as those designed as Tier II or greater per ANSI/TIA942 or ones with mechanical cooling system redundancy are expected to be covered by the 90.4P standard now under development.
Steve Skalko, chair of the Standard 90.1 committee, said with the development of Standard 90.4P feedback is needed from the industry to clarify the scope and definitions of each standard. Energy conservation requirements for high risk data centers, initially covered by Standard 90.1-2010, are expected to be detailed in the 90.4P standard. Computer rooms, which can include low-risk data centers, would remain under the scope of Standard 90.1.
“The costs and approaches used in determining appropriate HVAC applications used to achieve energy efficiency are different,” he said.
Computer rooms, which by the proposed definitions include low-risk data centers, are usually associated with electronic equipment spaces that are not considered risks and therefore money is typically not spent to install levels of component and systems redundancies. Computer rooms may be ancillary functions and add loads in a larger building and often are served from the same central cooling plants.
Computer rooms are designed to provide local data processing and information storage for in-house end users and clients, which the owner has deemed very low risk. Risk choices are made to reduce total life cycle costs associated with not only system selection and operation, but potential failures, business interruptions, continuity plans and overall company specific business model features like staffing requirements, according to Skalko.
By comparison, data centers designed as Tier II or greater per ANSI/TIA942 or ones with mechanical cooling system redundancy carry more risk, he said. Industry studies indicate downtime associated with such risk can cost tens of thousands of dollars a minute, with the potential to negate both past energy savings and future business viability in a single act. The demand for data centers has grown, as the electronic equipment needs have evolved with the huge demand for data processing services and storage in the age of digital devices.
A data center has the function to support the electronic equipment that commonly provides services to outside or external clients, hence the heightened awareness of risk and risk mitigation approaches employed. Data centers can support everything from an individual enterprise all the way to hosting services on the internet and must provide maximum operational run time on a 24-7 basis. These facilities are built with multiple levels of component redundancy, providing at least an N+1 mechanical cooling capacity redundancy, if not greater, as well as operational resiliency (increased staffing hours and expertise), Skalko said.
To comment or to learn more, click here.
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The Building Codes Assistance Project releases regular updates on building energy codes through its quarterly BCAP Newsletter and weekly Code Alert Bulletin.
BCAP Newsletters are quarterly summaries of what's been happening at the Building Codes Assistance Project and building energy code progress around the nation. To access the full archive, click here.
BCAP Code Alert Bulletins are released weekly by the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) and its website, the Online Code Environment & Advocacy Network (OCEAN). Code Alert Bulletins are designed to share information and support timely participation in state and local activities related to the adoption and implementation of building energy codes. The bulletins highlight immediate opportunities to influence state and local policy outcomes, indicate code status, and recommend contacts for action. If you know of activity that should be on this bulletin or would like to sign up for this bujlletin, contact Matt Kerns at (202) 530-2252 or mkerns@ase.org.
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A newly revised filtration standard from ASHRAE combines two standards setting the path to improve the technical accuracy of filter testing.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2-2012, Method of Testing General Ventilation Air-Cleaning Devices for Removal Efficiency by Particle Size, establishes a test procedure for evaluating the performance of air-cleaning devices as a function of particle size. The publication marks the first time Standard 52.2 has been published combining Standard 52.1, Gravimetric and Dust Spot Procedures for Testing Air Cleaning Devices Used in General Ventilation for Removing Particulate Matter.
“Combining the two standards provides a clean slate to begin significant changes regarding making the method much more technically accurate,” Robert Burkhead, chair of the Standard 52.2 committee, said. “Specifically, we have plans in motion to change the MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) table ranges, narrow the ambient conditions allowed and further refine the instrumentation specifications – all in an effort to reduce the variability of the data product from the standard.”
Standard 52.2 now incorporates the Standard 52.1 sections on arrestance and dust-holding capacity; and also adds a new informative appendix, Appendix J, that provides an optional method of conditioning a filter using fine potassium chloride particles to demonstrate efficiency loss that might be realized in field applications.
The standard addresses three air-cleaner performance characteristics of importance to users: the ability of the device to remove particles from the airstream, the total dust holding capacity with arrestance (weight efficiency) and its resistance to airflow, according to Burkhead.
For details or to order ($54) call 800-527-4723 or visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore.
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Alliance to Save Energy's Efficiency News
Some of the topics that are addressed in the newest update from Alliance to Save Energy include:
Industrial Energy Efficiency Milestones in 2012
As we bid farewell to 2012 and welcome the arrival of 2013, it’s worth looking back at the many milestones achieved for industrial energy efficiency over the past year.
Sequestration: A Potential Obstacle for Energy Efficiency Progress?
If Congress goes over the "fiscal cliff" and puts sequestration into effect, energy efficiency programs including Energy Star and the Weatherization Assistance Program will lose nearly $150 million.
Congress Passes Milestone Energy Bill (H.R. 6582) in Lame Duck Session
The American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act (H.R.6582) – a bill that will boost energy efficiency in the federal government and the industrial sector – passed both houses of Congress by overwhelming majorities. The bill now awaits the president's signature.
2012 Energy Efficiency Home Tax Credits
Many tax incentives for energy-saving home upgrades have expired, but tax credits for certain big-ticket items will help ease the burden of your investment.
For complete list of articles, click here.
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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will impact the bottom line of EVERY construction company. This webinar will provide you with the information necessary to make critical business decisions that will affect your company for years to come. Click here to register.
On day one of the webinar, you’ll learn all of the key implementation dates of the ACA, the overall impact of the law on health plans (including multi-employer plans), and the impact of the individual mandate on business – an often disregarded issue for employers.
Day two will cover “Play or Pay” – the employer mandate provision that raises the most questions for employers. Small businesses and those with seasonal employees will especially benefit from learning the process for determining if your company must comply with the mandate. Vital tax and payroll issues will also be discussed.
On day three, get an inside look at the future of the insurance marketplace. Learn how insurance providers are adapting their plans and cost structures as a result of the new requirements as well as techniques to use when shopping around for health insurance plans for your company. Now is the time to take action by creating a strategy to address these critical issues.
Attend this webinar and you will learn:
Payroll implications and tax penalties
Important questions to consider when deciding to “Pay or Play”
Questions employers should consider BEFORE reducing the hours of employees
What companies are likely to find when shopping for health insurance How to prepare for both the near future and the long haul
COST:
$99/AGC Members*
$299/Non-members*
*Cost includes full series. Individual webinars not sold separately.
DATE & TIME:
February 5, 7 & 12
2-3:30 p.m. ET
SPEAKERS:
Johanna M. Novak
Shareholder
Foster Swift Collins and Smith PC
Mark Levengood
Counsel
Susanin Widman & Brennan PC
John H. Widman
Counsel
Susanin Widman & Brennan PC
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The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutions (ASERTTI) will hold the 2013 State Energy Outlook Conference from February 5-8, 2013, in Washington, D.C. The event will bring together Congressional representatives, state and federal officials, corporate executives and industry leaders to focus on state-federal energy collaboration in a new budget and policy era. This year's conference will explore the national energy policy outlook and the state, federal and private sector partnerships that will advance U.S. energy policy. .
More information can be found on the event website. Early Bird registration ends January 18, 2013.
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"Introduction to Air Barriers" provides an overview of the performance requirements of air barrier materials, assemblies, and systems, and includes a discussion on relevant building code requirements. This course AIA and state credits and qualifies for HSW. Please check course specifications for all available credit and details: www.aecdaily.com/sponsor/abaa
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