https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/ Building science knowledge, HVAC design, & fun Mon, 22 Mar 2021 15:52:42 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-545 Sun, 11 May 2014 07:38:46 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-545 I’ve used/reconsidered spray
I’ve used/reconsidered spray-foam for awhile and the I think the IPCC (peer review) now confirms much of what Wilson was concerned about: 
 
http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg3/index.php?idp=149 
 
“The use of hydrocarbon and carbon dioxide as blowing agents for polyurethane and extruded polystyrene insulation foams is expanding. A recent European study (Harnisch and Hendriks, 2000) estimated that by 2010 about 50% of all polyurethane and extruded polystyrene foams in this sector will be blown by hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide, respectively.”  
 
Please correct me if I’m wrong. 
 
 
 
 
 

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-544 Sun, 23 Dec 2012 14:32:37 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-544 I meant I wouldn’t make that
I meant I wouldn’t make that mistake again. Stupid typo.

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-543 Sun, 23 Dec 2012 14:29:44 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-543 Wow, don’t I feel like a
Wow, don’t I feel like a jackass. I drank that Alex Wilson tea, without actually reading the Alex Wilson “research” paper. Trained as a cancer biologist with several years in the pharmaceutical industry after my postdoc, I know better than to listen to a non-scientist describe a scientific paper and then believing what the non-scientist said the authors of the scientific paper concluded. Yet, this is exactly what I did when I read a article on the Alex Wilson paper through some website and suddenly swore off all closed cell foams because of the GWP of the HFC-245a. Worse yet, people actually listen to me around here(northern California) because of my scientific training and now I feel like I have ruined that hard-won respect.  
thank you for reminding me that respect is earned through hard work and due diligence and that if I’m going to preach the benefits or detriments of something to people who don’t have my training, I need to do my own research, whether that be my clients, my colleagues or my workers, The old “trust but verify” rule that was so frequently beaten into our minds during graduate school, needs to be beaten in to my mind a few more times I guess.  
Thanks Allison, I will make that mistake again. And unfortunately I’ll get in less sleep than I already do. Happy holidays.

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-542 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:13:09 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-542 Always interested to read
Always interested to read your posts.what are the outgassing issues on closed & open cell foam ? I hear conflicting opinions .The link for spraying foam the installer only uses a particulate mask !? He mentions in closed spaces using a fan . Isn’t a proper filter mask required? How variable is it from product to product ? Sincerely , TD Davis

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-541 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:14:55 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-541 Peter, if the EBN article had
Peter, if the EBN article had made the same argument you just made, I never would have written this piece. Instead, Alex tried to calculate global warming potential due to chemicals in some foam insulation types with so much uncertainty that his results were meaningless and misleading.  
 
As I said above, I don’t think climate change is the biggest problem we’re facing now. It’s peak oil, and that requires reducing our energy use as much as possible.

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-540 Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:24:29 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-540 Allison–as you know I’ve
Allison–as you know I’ve been crowing about not letting the GWP foam scare paralyze efficiency. Still, I think all of us need to be keeping the pressure on the replace the high GWP blowing agents. Us geeks can do the math and arrive at well conceived decisions about the tradeoffs. But the growing realization amongst the general populace that some of these materials have a GWP that is 1400+ times CO2 is a public relations nightmare we’ll never win. I believe the reason Alex wasn’t definitive on the XPS blowing agent is because the manufacturers didn’t disclose it to him. It took me 3 minutes to track down the MSDS and find that it includes 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane, aka HFC-134a. This, according to sources I’ve seen, has a GWP of 1430.  
 
At #bscamp, Honeywell admitted that HFO and HFE blowing agents were close. They have a GWP of 6-15 they said, and a 4-6% IMPROVEMENT in R value!  
 
I’m with you on the importance of the science, but this is a perception issue that I don’t think we can win. Time for the manufacturers to get these new blowing agents out of the lab and into the market now, not in two years.

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-539 Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:02:49 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-539 Great article Allison, I
Great article Allison, I concur with your assessment. I too have a problem even with the term Global Warming Potential. How do you define “potential”? The Gulf Oil spill was suppose to have a high EDP (ecological disaster potential) but it seems no one took into account the earth’s potential to scrub the oil through natural processes. Now its not a major disaster anymore. Actually I think I remember an article that showed the process used to clean up the Exxon Valdez spill (high pressure cleaning of the rocks on the shore)actually has made the rocks sterile unable to support moss or algea.

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-538 Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:48:49 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-538 Great article, Allison.&amp
Great article, Allison. 
 
If you’re interested, here’s some solid science to dig into. 
 
NSF-verified Eco-Efficiency Analysis for open-cell and closed-cell spray foam: http://storage.pardot.com/1562/84921/Residential_Insulation_EEA_Study_Verificationl_Final_June_2010.pdf 
 
NSF-verified Eco-Efficiency Analysis for WALLTITE ECO closed-cell spray foam: http://storage.pardot.com/1562/84911/BASF_WalltiteECO_EEA_Analysis_Final.pdf 
 
Some background info on the Eco-Efficiency Analysis methodology: http://construction.basf.us/index.php?page=residential_construction_tools_ecoAnalysis 
 
I will openly declare at this point that BASF Construction North America is one of my clients. 
 

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-537 Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:29:33 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-537 You’re welcome, Hunter. That
You’re welcome, Hunter. That it was creating doubt and confusion and possibly changing behavior and attitudes toward what are probably perfectly good products is exactly why I wrote this article. Yes, it IS difficult to understand these issues sometimes. As I said above, it’s easy to overlook the statements about assumptions and instead focus on the nice looking graphs. 
 
I had a conversation with someone today about this topic, and he said they’ll be releasing a better examination of this issue in the next few weeks. As soon as it’s out, I’ll announce it here in this blog, too.

]]> https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/don-t-forget-the-science-in-building-science/#comment-536 Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:57:30 +0000 http://energyvanguard.flywheelsites.com/?blog_post=dont-forget-the-science-in-building-science#comment-536 Thanks for adding your
Thanks for adding your thoughts to that discussion over at GBA….I was really starting to take the article as fact and you made me stop and think it through. It’s really difficult to comprehend ‘lifetime’ comparisons of paybacks and GWP etc. since there are so many factors involved over that amount of time…especially in the face of catastrophes like the gulf oil spill.

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