National Insulation Fly-In Day a Success

Posted By Nathan Pobre, Thursday, May 31, 2018

More than 130 insulation industry professionals recently gathered in Washington, DC for the second-annual Insulation Industry National Policy Forum. They met with 82 Congressional offices and Members of Congress – including Senator Rob Portman (Ohio) who has introduced a bill that would strengthen the nation’s commitment to energy efficiency – S. 385 The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. In addition, leaders from the Department of Energy, White House and U.S. Congress addressed the industry – including Representative Adam Kinzinger (IL), a leader on energy efficiency issues in Congress.  This year’s event included nearly 50 percent more attendees when compared to 2017 attendance numbers. 

PIMA was a lead organizer of the fly-in event and some of the key points the association and it members made to lawmakers included:

• The insulation industry employs more than 529,000 people and creates over $30 billion in annual payrolls.

• The insulation manufacturing sector employs 37,000 Americans in 42 states with the largest number of manufacturing jobs located in Ohio.

• Building energy codes – a driver for the use of insulation – are projected to save the US economy $126 billion in energy cost savings between 2010 and 2040.

• Federal investments to resilient buildings provides a positive ROI for taxpayer dollars – a recent study demonstrates that exceeding the 2015 International Building Codes can save the nation $4 for every $1 spent. The insulation industry produces technology that contributes toward the value of these mitigation efforts.
  

The fly-in, and events like it, provide opportunities to ensure elected officials hear from and understand the importance of both the roofing and insulation industries to the overall U.S. economy. During our meetings on Capitol Hill with key lawmakers we also discussed workforce issues, funding for Department of Energy programs that support building energy efficiency, and buildings as key components of a resilient national infrastructure.

To view images from the fly-in, click here!

Tags:  Adam Kinzinger  building codes  buildings  Congress  Efficiency  energy codes  energy efficiency  fire performance  insulation  jobs  manufacturing  Polyiso 

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Understanding NFPA 285: Harmonizing Fire Performance and Energy Efficiency in Exterior Wall Assemblies

Posted By Nathan Pobre, Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Commercial building codes have been modified to require the construction of more energy-efficient buildings. Improvements to the building envelope, using continuous insulation solutions incorporating polyisocyanurate (or Polyiso) insulation, have played a major role in mainstreaming high-performance construction practices. To meet the demands of today’s buildings, architectural and design professionals must balance energy efficiency with whole building performance considerations, including fire safety. All construction materials, including foam plastics materials such as polyiso insulation, must provide a suitable margin of fire safety. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 285 fire test is a large-scale wall assembly test used to determine the potential for flame spread from one story of a building to another through the exterior wall. With respect to wall assemblies in Type I-IV Construction, understanding and properly implementing NFPA 285 is a critical component for designing a compliant, high-performance building envelope.  

To learn more about NFPA 285, check out this free webinar which can help you:
1.    Understand the development history of the NFPA 285 standard fire test procedure for exterior wall assemblies containing combustible materials. 
2.    Identify the NFPA 285 related requirements in the 2012 and 2015 editions of the International Building Code. 
3.    Explain how engineering analysis of NFPA 285 test assemblies may be used to specify alternative materials.  
4.    Determine how Polyiso insulation can be used as an integral component of NFPA 285 tested and compliant wall assemblies. 

Tags:  building codes  buildings  energy efficiency  insulation  NFPA 285  Polyiso  Type I-IV  walls 

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Polyiso’s Trusted Fire Performance Brings Benefits to Wall Market

Posted By Nathan Pobre, Thursday, May 17, 2018

Polyiso roof insulation has long been championed by the construction industry for its excellent fire and thermal performance. As the most widely used insulation product for low-slope commercials roofs, polyiso remains the only foam plastic insulation product for direct application to steel decks to earn FM Approval for Class 1 Roof System. Polyiso’s inherent fire resistance characteristics are due to its unique structure of strong isocyanate chemical bonds. This produces a versatile product that roofing contractors have come to rely on for all types of roof systems. 

The same physical properties that make polyiso a top choice for roofs also make the product an excellent option for continuous insulation applications for both commercial and residential walls. Thousands of exterior wall assemblies with polyiso insulation meet the stringent NFPA 285 test standard. This enables polyiso insulation to be used in buildings of any type and any height. And offers design professional flexibility to combine polyiso with a wide variety of other wall components to construct attractive and resilient building envelopes.  

Polyiso wall insulation products also share the roofing products’ characteristic for high thermal resistance. Packing more R-value into every inch of product allows architects to reduce the thickness of wall assemblies. This creates advantages for the installation process and also can reduce the cost of other components like fastener and attachment systems. Furthermore, polyiso products can also serve as air, moisture and weather barriers in wall assemblies.  

Whether you are designing roofs or walls, polyiso insulation products check all the boxes for fire and thermal performance and overall versatility. 

The following resources provide additional information on polyiso insulation’s excellent fire performance:

• Technical Bulletin #104: Fire Performance in Roof Systems

• Technical Bulletin #405: Fire Resistance Properties of Polyiso Foam Plastic Insulation Used in Wall Assemblies

Tags:  fire performance  insulation  polyiso  r-value  walls 

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The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act – Saving Small Businesses up to 30% on Energy Efficient Commercial Roof Retrofits

Posted By Nathan Pobre, Thursday, April 12, 2018

There has been a great deal of news coverage about the recent Tax Cut and Jobs Act. But as with all things related to the tax code, getting to what matters can be a long and arduous hunt. The Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA) made an assessment of the impacts this legislation will have on the building and roofing industries. It found that new reforms allow qualifying building owners to expense, or deduct, up to $1 million for the cost of certain building improvements in the year the work is performed, including adding insulation during roof replacement projects to meet or go beyond modern building energy code requirements. The impact can be significant for capital improvement projects. For example, a building owner that expenses the cost of a full roof replacement can reduce the net cost of the entire project by 25% to 30%. You can find our one-pager with more detail [here].

Tags:  buildings  energy codes  insulation  jobs  roofing  tax  taxreform 

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Advantages of High-Density Polyiso Cover Boards Compared to Other Options

Posted By Nathan Pobre, Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Updated: Wednesday, September 6, 2017

High-Density Polyiso cover boards are an important component in roof systems, providing a substrate for roofing membranes and protection for underlying insulation. When compared to other options, High-Density Polyiso cover boards offer many advantages:

• Can be shipped with approximately three times more square feet per truck load;

• Are significantly lighter than alternatives of the same thickness;

• Require less crane time and are easier to maneuver around the roof which can decrease the hoisting, loading and staging costs;

• Are virtually dust-free during the cutting process, eliminating itchy residue;

• Can be cut without specialized tools; and

• Can be lifted by a single worker.

Tags:  insulation  Polyiso 

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Beyond Savings: Building energy codes drive important benefits for states and cities

Posted By Justin Koscher, Thursday, July 13, 2017
Updated: Thursday, July 13, 2017

Adopting and enforcing building energy codes reduces the energy use of homes and buildings. Energy conservation is a major purpose of the International Code Council’s International Energy Conservation Code and ASHRAE’s Standard 90.1 – Energy Standard for Buildings, and adherence to these codes reaps sizeable savings. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that model energy codes for residential and commercial buildings are projected to save (from 2010-2040) $126 billion at today’s energy prices and they can reduce annual CO2 emissions equal to 177 million passenger vehicles or 245 coal power plants. 

Though the energy savings are impressive, building energy codes offer many other positive benefits for:

• Productivity – GDP has grown 12% in the U.S. since 2007, while total energy use has fallen nearly 4%, meaning the energy productivity of the U.S. economy grew 16% over the past decade. Since 40% of energy use is attributed to buildings, it is clear that improved codes have spurred growth since less money spent on energy means more money invested in local communities and jobs. 

• Affordability – Energy efficiency protects consumers from spikes in energy bills during a sweltering summer or frigid winter. Studies show that default risks are 32% lower in energy-efficient homes. Energy efficiency improves communities and home values by managing monthly energy costs and improving homeowners’ ability to meet monthly obligations. 

• Reliability – Buildings are energy hogs: they use 75% of all electricity produced in the US. Aging energy infrastructure increases vulnerability to blackouts and security threats. Every building that limits energy usage also decreases our reliance on overworked grids. Building energy codes are an intuitive policy option to lighten the energy load. 

• Resiliency – Weather related emergencies seem increasingly common and exact tolls on the homes, schools, and hospitals we rely on for safety and protection. The adoption and enforcement of energy codes makes buildings less susceptible to failure and quicker to recover after storms. For example, insulation in building envelopes improves the performance of roofs and walls in weather events. And energy-efficient buildings maintain a comfortable indoor environment when power for heating and cooling is limited or unavailable.

• Individuals – We are all trying to do more with less time. A recent study demonstrated that working in high-performing, green-certified buildings can improve decision-making in the workplace. In the study, the indoor environments of green buildings that operated within the thermal comfort zone as defined by ASHRAE resulted in higher cognitive function scores and better indoor air quality.

Insulation at Work: Nearly 400,000 U.S. Jobs Generated from Manufacture of Insulation

Posted By Justin Koscher, Monday, June 5, 2017
Updated: Monday, June 5, 2017

We know the benefits of using insulation - lower energy bills; added indoor comfort; increased building durability; reduced pollution. But have you ever wondered who is responsible for bringing those benefits to homes and buildings across the country? The answer is nearly 400,000 of your fellow Americans!

The impressive number comes via a recent report by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) entitled, The Contributions of Insulation to the U.S. Economy in 2016. Unpacking the 400,000 jobs reveals an economic engine that produces more than $20 billion in payrolls, $1.1 billion in state and local taxes, and $1.9 billion in federal tax revenues. 

Insulation manufacturers directly employ more than 33,000 people in 42 states. The top five states for insulation manufacturing jobs are Ohio (#1), Texas (#2), Georgia (#3), California (#4), and Indiana (#5).  California ranks number one for total employment in the insulation industry with over 54,000 jobs. 

"This report makes clear that the business of manufacturing, distributing, and installing insulation generates significant economic output and creates jobs across the country,” says Martha Gilchrist Moore, senior director of policy analysis and economics at ACC and author of the report. Underscoring this comment is the fact that insulation manufacturing alone was an $11.7 billion business in 2016. 

Insulation is typically installed in roofs, walls, attics, and floor to improve building energy efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the insulation industry is part of a larger energy efficiency sector that employed 2.2 million people in 2016.1  More than half of these jobs were in the construction industry. The energy efficiency sector shows little evidence of slowing down, adding more than 133,000 jobs last year. And respondents to DOE's Energy and Employment Report predict job growth to increase 9% in 2017, an additional 198,000 jobs.2  

These jobs numbers are proof that the business case for energy efficiency products and projects is strong. Policymakers at the local, state, and federal should take note of the opportunity to create more well-paying jobs in the sector, while putting more money back in the wallets of households and businesses through increased energy savings. 

To read the full report, visit: The Contributions of Insulation to the U.S. Economy in 2016

1 https://energy.gov/eere/articles/4-technologies-driving-energy-efficiency-jobs

2 https://energy.gov/articles/doe-releases-second-annual-national-energy-employment-analysis-0 

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