The rehabilitation and retrofit of older houses to superinsulation standards: The superinsulation retrofit

Technical Report · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6114348· OSTI ID:6114348

One of the most critical elements affecting this country's economic stability is its dependence on energy from foreign sources. With energy prices rising faster than general inflation, this dependence means a continually increasing drain of dollars from our economy. A significant portion of this country's energy is consumed in the heating and cooling of homes. One of the reasons for this is that the majority of the existing homes were constructed during an era of relatively abundant and inexpensive energy, and they were therefore built without regard for energy efficiency. To the extent that excessive energy consumption at the residential level can be reduced by more efficient use will be of significant benefit to our future economic stability. An obvious way to reduce energy consumption is to simply turn the home's thermostat down during the winter and up during the summer. However, this method not only sacrifices occupant comfort to gain fuel economy, but it also fails to address the home's basic energy-efficiency problems that are the very cause of its high fuel consumption. Superinsulation is one way to reduce energy consumption and, at the same time, increase occupant comfort. The research objective of this project was therefore to demonstrate that energy consumption can be greatly reduced by retrofitting older single family homes to superinsulation standards. 10 figs.

• Research Organization: Urban Consortium for Technology Initiatives (USA). Energy Task Force
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-78IR05106
• OSTI ID: 6114348
• Report Number(s): DOE/IR/05106-T113; ON: DE89015422
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320105* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Building Services-- (1987-)
BUILDINGS
COOLING SYSTEMS
ECONOMICS
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SYSTEMS
HEATING SYSTEMS
HOUSES
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
RETROFITTING
THERMAL INSULATION
WEATHERIZATION