Results of SPFA's Life Cycle Assessment study were included in a recent issue of PU Magazine International, which features the latest information about the rubber, polyurethanes and thermoplastic elastomers industries. SPFA's technical services director, Richard Duncan, PE, Ph.D., contributed to this article entitled "LCA of SPF insulation for residential and commercial building applications."
Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/pdf/PUMI_2012-06_page_378-390.pdf to view the full article online. |
Dow Chemical Co. was ordered by a federal jury to pay $400 million in a price-fixing case over chemicals used to make a wide range of foam products found in cars, furniture and packaging, according to court documents. Dow was one of several chemical company defendants named in a class action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to fix urethane chemical prices. But Dow was the only defendant not to settle. Last month, it went to trial in Kansas City, Kansas federal court.
Visit http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/21/us-dowchemical-urethane-idUSBRE91K00C20130221 to view the full article online. |
Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act could happen this year, with two Senate bills expected. "All parties acknowledge that bipartisan support is necessary if movement on TSCA modernization is to be achieved," said Mike Walls, vice president of regulatory and technical affairs at the American Chemistry Council. "Everyone also agrees that there is a real need to modify TSCA in order to regain public confidence in our chemical regulatory system. Therefore, we at ACC believe that we are at an important crossroads on TSCA reform."
Visit http://www.icis.com/Articles/2013/02/22/9643488/globalchem-2013-tsca-reform-2013-could-be-pivotal.html to view the full article online. |
The CPI SPF Chemical Health and Safety Training programs for low pressure and high pressure SPF are available in both English and Spanish. The landing page is also available in Spanish.
Visit http://spraypolyurethane.org/SPF-Chemical-Health-and-Safety-Training to view the full article online. |
ASHRAE and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have launched their third biennial Work Plan for 2013-2014, based on a global cooperation agreement signed in 2007, at ASHRAE’s 2013 Winter Conference held in Dallas, Texas, Jan. 26-30, 2013.
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208358&issueID=31960 to view the full article online. |
 Some of the articles in the Spring 2013 issue of SPRAYFOAM Professional magazine include:-New Year, New You: Set a Plan to Start Moving in the Direction You Have Been Wanting to Go -NOBS Rating System: Four Critical Considerations for SPF Roofing Contractors -Attics: Easy Energy Efficiency -- Try These Three Successful Approaches to Achieving a Well-insulated Attic -Legislative Update: Fiscal Cliff Bridged, Fiscal "Cascade" Ahead -Safety First: CPI Expands Its Chemical Health and Safety Training Programs -ABAA News: Phase II Wall Assembly Monitoring Just Completed Be sure you are on the list to receive this issue and future ones! The link to sign up is below. Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/spfa/signup.asp to view the full article online. |
SPFA is participating in a research project involving the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA), Department of Energy (DOE), Oakridge National Laboratories (ORNL), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Syracuse University (SU).
Visit http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/SPFQ0113/index.php?startid=26 to view the full article online. |
 SPFA held its annual convention and expo, Feb. 12-15, in Jacksonville, Fla. Thank you to all the sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and attendees who made this year's show a record-breaker! Last time SPFA was on the East Coast in Florida the convention had 996 attendees – this year attendance reached 1142. SPFA also offered its new Sprayfoam Professional Certification Program (PCP) for the first time publicly with several hundred attendees in classes and over 300 certification tests administered. SPFA will be offering a complete recap of the show, posting the session presentations on its website, issuing an online survey to attendees, and posting pictures from the events on its Facebook page all in the very near future – stay tuned!
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208565&issueID=31960 to view the full article online. |
 Details on member benefits and joining SPFA.
Visit http://www.sprayfoam.org/index.php?page_id=4477 to view the full article online. |
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) is launching SciTech Connect, a new portal to free, publicly available DOE research and development (R&D) results. SciTech Connect will incorporate the contents of two of the most popular core DOE collections and will employ an innovative semantic search tool enabling scientists, researchers and the scientifically-attentive public to retrieve more relevant information. OSTI plans to gradually phase out its current DOE Information Bridge and Energy Citations products and replace them with the improved search interface of SciTech Connect.
Visit http://www.osti.gov/home/osti_launch_scitech to view the full article online. |
By Aaron Grin and Joseph Lstiburek
This research was conducted by the Building Science Corporation (BSC) Building America Research Team’s “Energy Efficient Housing Research Partnerships” project for Task Order No. KNDJ-1-40337-03. Guidance on Taped Insulating Sheathing Drainage Planes is Subtask 7.2 under Task 7.0 – Evaluation of Advanced Retrofit Measures and Development of Retrofit Measure Guidelines. The goal of this research is to provide durable and long-term water management solutions using exterior insulating sheathing as part of the water management system. Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/pdf/rr-1301-guidance-taped-sheathing-drainage-planes.pdf to view the full article online. |
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208361&issueID=31960 to view the full article online.
"The SPFA Professional Certification Program (SPFA-PCP) is the most rigorous, extensive and defining program for spray polyurethane foam (SPF) professionals in the world," according to a recent article at SprayFoam.com. "It is consistent with all industry standards, best practices and known building science. The SPFA-PCP is a measure of personal and professional accomplishment in the industry, and a demonstration among professionals of the essential knowledge, skills and abilities inherent among the highest class of spray foam professionals."
For further information on the SPFA-PCP program, click here.
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Graco Inc., Graco’s high-performance coatings and foam business unit, announced its Top 20 HPCF North American distributors for 2013. The distributors were selected on the basis of annual sales during 2012.
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208558&issueID=31960 to view the full article online. |
-President Obama Calls for Cutting Commercial and Residential Energy Waste in Half within 20 Years in State of the Union
-President Obama and Rep. Lipinski Issue Statements in Support of EWeek -Grassroots Government Activities Report: From EWeek to Engineering Licensure Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208360&issueID=31960 to view the full article online. |
The Building Codes Assistance Project releases regular updates on building energy codes through its quarterly BCAP Newsletter and weekly Code Alert Bulletin.
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208362&issueID=31960 to view the full article online. |
On February 21, the General Law Committee of the State of Connecticut Legislature held a hearing regarding HB 5908, a bill considering the need for professional certifications for the SPF industry. This hearing was only announced five days prior to the date, during the end of SPFA’s Annual Convention and Expo, which left very little time to prepare. Dr. Duncan attended the hearing and offered testimony found on SPFA’s YouTube page here. SPFA testified that it would support the committee’s efforts to consider certification requirements for SPF professionals, and informed the committee of its new industry consensus-developed, ANSI/ISO-accredited Professional Certification Program. SPFA hopes that should this bill move forward, such a program would be a reference point and resource for the state rather than having legislators look to create requirements from scratch. The final product and exceptionally hard work put in by the SPFA members in development of this program could not have come at a better time.
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Updates from ASE include:
-Energy 2030 Plan: Part of Obama's State of the Union -Diverse Commission Unveils Plan to Double U.S. Energy Productivity Policy -Plug Heat Bleed Calculator -Living Efficiently? Videos Show Energy-Saving Suggestions for Your Life Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208363&issueID=31960 to view the full article online. |
After an intensive, year-long effort, Alliance to Save Energy is rolling out the final report and recommendations of the Alliance's Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy.
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=208364&issueID=31960 to view the full article online. |
Volume XXI, No. 5
February 18, 2013
Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/spf-nwl/pdf/sncj_021813.pdf to view the full article online.
RESNET 2013 Conference, Orlando World Center Marriott, Orlando, Fla.
Visit http://www.ashrae.org/membership--conferences/conferences/dallas-conference to view the full article online. |
BuildingEnergy (BE) is a cross-disciplinary renewable energy and high-performance building conference and trade show. It is being held at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, Mass., March 5-7, 2013.
Visit http://www.nesea.org/buildingenergy/?utm_source=BSC+Newsletter+Issue+%23+55&utm_campaign=newsletter+55&utm_medium=email to view the full article online. |
RCI International Convention & Trade Show, Rosen Shingle Resort, Orlando, Fla.
Visit http://www.rci-online.org/ to view the full article online. |
The Air Barrier Association of America is hosting its second annual conference and trade show in Chicago, Ill. ABAA Installer training, Auditor training, WUFI training, Blower Door Technician training and SPFA training will be offered.
Visit http://www.airbarrier.org/events/events_details.php?category_id=6&event_id=218&utm_source=ABAA+-+Call+for+Article+Submissions&utm_campaign=Call+for+Articles&utm_medium=email to view the full article online. |
Building industry professionals are heading to Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Ariz., with a real purpose - to learn the science and above code strategies behind energy efficient and high performance building practices, to understand new regulations and legislative measures, and to capitalize on increasing opportunities.
Submit your Presentation! The deadline for submitting a presentation for the 2013 Excellence in Building Conference is February 3, 2013. Visit https://www.eeba.org/conference/ to view the full article online. |
"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 |