Wall Upgrades for Residential Deep Energy Retrofits: A Literature Review
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
In the United States, 39% of total energy consumption comes from the building sector, 20% of which is attributed to residential buildings. New, high-performance homes incorporate a combination of tight building envelopes, mechanical ventilation and efficient components to ensure comfort, adequate airflow and moisture control. These systems work together to create energy efficient homes that employ measures to manage moisture and indoor pollutants. Older homes, built before 1992 when DOE’s Building Energy Codes Program was established represent approximately 68% of building stock in the country, and often have significant air leakage and inadequate insulation. Homes with little to no air sealing or insulation result in heating and cooling losses, which can represent a substantial portion of utility bills. Done correctly, deep energy retrofits (DERs) can significantly improve the energy performance of a home’s thermal envelope, decrease indoor pollutants and increase homeowner comfort. This literature review summarizes current practices for exterior wall retrofits for existing homes, provides an overview of techno-economic approaches to investigate residential wall systems, and discusses thermal and hygrothermal modeling strategies. Accompanying this literature review is a larger effort to identify state-of-the-art technologies for existing wall energy efficiency retrofit systems that can be applied over existing siding and are suitable for the cold/very cold climates.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1544550
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL--28690
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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