Posted: July 6th, 2009 10:52 AM EDT
Washington, D.C. – June
17, 2009 – Recent studies sponsored by the New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) demonstrate that insulated vinyl
siding contributes to savings in energy consumption, energy costs and CO2
emissions, outperforming fiber cement when comparing these
environmental and energy measures.
The studies were conducted by
Newport Ventures as part of NYSERDA’s High Performance Residential Development
Challenge and included analyses on homes in Burnt Hills and
In Burnt Hills, researchers
performed a side-by-side field test comparing insulated vinyl siding against
fiber cement. The test was conducted during the winter on the
two-story colonial built by Stewart Construction. Thermal imaging comparison
clearly showed there was less heat loss with the insulated vinyl siding than
with the fiber cement.
In addition to the side-by-side
field test, researchers used REM/Rate, the most widely used whole building
energy simulation tool, to evaluate relative performance. The analysis found
that, on average, specification of insulated vinyl siding over fiber cement would provide expected annual savings of $56 in natural gas and
electric utility costs, 448 pounds of CO2 and 3.2 million Btu.
“With so many people trying to
define what is green in the building industry, analyses like those conducted by
NYSERDA and Newport Ventures are helpful, giving builders and architects
credible information to reference,” says Jery Y. Huntley, President of the Vinyl
Siding Institute (VSI). “These studies provide valuable documentation that
insulated vinyl siding outperforms silica-based fiber cement siding in energy
and environmental performance.”
In Saratoga Springs, insulated
vinyl siding was used on the single-story home built by Belmonte Builders, which
was the first home in New York’s capital region to achieve a Gold Rating under
the U.S. Green Building Conference’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED®) certification. Insulated vinyl siding can help achieve up to
three points under LEED for Homes and up to 205 points under the ICC 700-2008
National Green Building Standard™ when combined with other environmentally
preferable products.
The home in
About the Vinyl Siding
Institute
The Vinyl Siding Institute, Inc.,
located in
About
NYSERDA
The New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a public benefit corporation
that focuses on research and development projects on topics including
environmental effects of energy consumption, development of renewable resources
and advancement of innovative technologies. NYSERDA strives to facilitate change
through the widespread development and use of innovative technologies to improve
the State’s energy, economic and environmental well-being. See www.nyserda.org.
About
Newport Ventures is a research and consulting firm with expertise in the housing industry. A sister company to Newport Partners, this HUB Zone-based firm provides technical and marketing services, field and market research, and program management for public and private sector organizations. See www.newportventures.net.
Printable version may be for personal use only. Content may not be duplicated, re-used or otherwise replicated without expressed, written consent from Qualified Remodeler and/or the original author/source.
Provided by Qualified Remodeler - A Cygnus Business Media site
Visit Qualified Remodeler daily for the latest industry news, commentary, features and more.