What is a Healthy Home?

Transcription

1 National Environmental Health Assn. 3/25/10 Indoor airplus Better Environments Inside and Out What is a Healthy Home? 2 Healthy Homes are Dry Pest-free Ventilated Safe Clean Maintained Free of Known Health Risks, including: Lead, mercury, asbestos, Tobacco smoke, Radon, CO, NOx, & other combustion pollutants Formaldehyde & other VOC s Asthma triggers (mold & other biologicals, particles, pesticides, and other chemicals) epa.gov/indoorairplus 3 1

2 Qualified Homes Earn the Label Quality Built Homes Healthy Home Testing, LLC 4 / 19 / Why Do Consumers Care About Indoor Air Quality? 5 1,800,000 # of ER Visits per year due to Asthma in the U.S. 6 2

3 19% of U.S. Households have at least One person with Asthma % Increased risk of asthma in damp houses 8 epa.gov/indoorairplus 9 3

4 My House is Killing Me 10 Do homebuyers care about IAQ? Moisture and mold litigation - Up [~9,000 moisture and mold court cases - American Banker, 1/03] Home moisture problem inquiries - High [30%, double the next closest subject - NAHB Research Center] Asthma prevalence - High [19% of US households have at least 1 person with asthma - EPA] Air cleaner product sales - Up [$1.2 Billion annual sales - Levin, 2005] Radon mitigation sales - Up [300% increase in home radon mitigations since EPA] 11 Clean Air is easy, right? Air Cleaners Air Fresheners UV Lights 12 4

5 13 When outside air is unhealthy Stay Inside? 14 2 to 5 times EPA estimates 2 to 5 times higher chemical pollutant levels indoors 15 5

6 Why Do Builders Worry About Indoor Air Quality? 16 Defects No Longer Hidden 17 Infrared camera s for sale 18 6

7 Defects Are Expensive to Fix 19 It s All About Business 20 How Can Builders Sell Indoor Air Quality? 21 7

8 $1 Billion Amount Americans spend per year on Indoor Air Quality at home. 22 If you help them make the connection 23 How To Sell Indoor airplus 24 8

9 Solutions Help avoid comfort callbacks, condensation/frost on windows, 25 mold, asthma/allergies,etc. Comfort Problems, 26 Courtesy: Tremco Barrier Solutions, Inc. Make it Visible Plus! 27 epa.gov/indoorairplus 9

10 How To Verify Indoor airplus 28 How Verification Works Check 1 box per row 29 How Verification Works Rater and Builder both sign the completed checklist. Rater files checklist with HERS rating documents

11 Indoor airplus Label Quality Built Homes Healthy Home Testing, LLC 4 / 19 / Let s look inside 32 ENERGY STAR + Moisture Control + Pest Barriers + Healthier Materials + Radon Control + Safe Combustion + Effective HVAC 33 11

12 Indoor airplus Moisture Control 34 DRAFT Basement 35 DRAFT Conditioned Crawlspace 36 12

13 DRAFT Siding Fully Flash Windows & Doors More Details 38 DRAFT Roof Flashing 39 13

14 DRAFT Roof Flashing 40 Indoor airplus Radon Control 41 Note:High levels of Radon can be found in any home

15 2.1 Radon Resistant New Construction Zone 1 See 1.2 A. Gas Permeable Layer (4 clean gravel) B. Plastic Sheeting (under slab or over crawl space) C. Sealing and Caulking (all openings in concrete floor) D. Vent Pipe (3 or 4 inch PVC pipe) E. Junction Box (if fan needed later) Provide buyer 2 Radon test kits Zone 1 Zone Indoor airplus + Pest Barriers 45 15

16 3.1 Seal foundation joints/penetrations 3.2 Pest screens Detailed specification guidance Air Sealing 46 Indoor airplus Effective HVAC HVAC load calc s documented 4.2 Duct design documented 4.3 No HVAC in garages OR HVAC & DUCTS IN GARAGE Documented Field Verified 48 16

17 4.4 Rooms pressure balanced JUMP DUCT OR Pressure Tested 3 Pa TRANSFER GRILLE Whole House Ventilation 4.6 Local Exhaust Ventilation LOCAL EXHAUST FRESH AIR DAMPER BALANCED VENTILATION & HRV/ERV s 50 DUCTED FRESH AIR SUPPLY A House Needs to Breathe, Right? TABLE 4.1a (I-P) Ventilation Air Requirements, cfm Bedrooms Floor Area (ft2) >7 < >

18 4.7 MERV 8 Filter, No by-pass, & No Ozone Generating Systems Specific Specification Guidance Independent dehumidification control in warm humid climates Controlled to 60% RH 53 Indoor airplus Safe Combustion 54 18

19 To: National Environmental Health Assn. 3/25/10 Radon-resistant New Home Construction EPA s Indoor airplus and Green Building Programs 55 EPA s Indoor airplus epa.gov/iaq/indoorairplus 56 Features of Indoor airplus Homes QUALIFIED HOME + Pest Barriers + Moisture Control + Materials + Radon Control + Combustion Systems + HVAC Systems 57 19

20 Indoor airplus Radon control features Radon Control 58 1 in 15 Homes with radon above 4 pc/l epa.gov/indoorairplus Note:High levels of Radon can be found in any home

21 Construction Specifications 61 Indoor airplus- Sect. 2. Radon Control 62 Radon: New Construction Standards / Guides 1/3 International Code Council (ICC), International Residential Code (IRC), Appendix F, Radon Control Methods, 2009; ASTM International, E , Standard Practice for Radon Control Options for the Design and Construction of New Low-Rise Residential Buildings, Single copy: National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP), , (request EPA 402-K ); or

22 Radon: New Construction Standards / Guides (continued, 2/3) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Building Construction and Safety Code, NFPA 5000, (Chapter 49), 2006, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Building Radon Out: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Build Radon-Resistant Homes, technical guidance document (EPA 402-K , April 2001), 64 Radon: New Construction Standards / Guides continued, 3/3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Model Standards and Techniques for Control of Radon in New Residential Buildings, Model standards for use by code organizations, states, and other jurisdictions developing building codes, appendices to codes, or standards to meet radon control requirements; (EPA 402-R , March 1994); 65 Indoor airplus- Sect 2.1 Radon Control Zone 1 See 1.2 A. Gas Permeable Layer (4 clean gravel) B. Plastic Sheeting (under slab or over crawl space) C. Sealing and Caulking (all openings in concrete floor) D. Vent Pipe (3 or 4 inch PVC pipe) E. Receptacle box (if fan needed later) 66 22

23 Crawlspace Construction 67 Indoor airplus- Sect. 2.2 Provide buyer 2 radon test kits Zone 1 Zone Qualified Homes Earn EPA s Label Quality Built Homes Healthy Home Testing, LLC 4 / 19 /

24 Active Radon Systems and Moisture Reduction 70 Active Radon Systems and Moisture Reduction? Anecdotal Reports: ASD mitigation systems also reduce basement odors and moisture in some houses Limited study of ASD impacts on moisture entry and control in residential structures Exploratory study of 3 PA homes with basements 71 ASD Moisture Impacts Fall, winter and spring: statistically significant reductions in moisture levels in air and many materials. Summer months: may see some reductions; reductions diminished during warm and humid periods. Inter-zonal airflow data suggest large quantities of air from upstairs and outdoors are drawn into basement. Fall, winter, spring: low-moisture air from upstairs and outdoors can cause drying of basement air and foundation materials Summer months: potential to add moisture to the basement by drawing in warm humid air from outdoors while at the same time pulling in dry (A/C) air from upstairs

25 ASD Moisture Impacts (continued) Robust ASD configurations (more suction points, higher airflows and pressures) produced larger moisture reductions. Typical residential ASD configurations caused smaller, but encouraging, moisture reductions ASD systems cycled during the study: 1, 3, 7, and 14 days, returning to baseline with no operation. Continuous operation may have demonstrated greater moisture reductions. 73 The Green Programs 74 Residential Green Building Programs 1. National programs National Green Building Standard ICC (International Code Conf. (ICC) & NAHB) LEED for Homes Rating System Jan (U.S. Green Building Council) 2. State, Local, City programs 60-plus distinct programs nationwide 3. Regional Programs - examples Environments for Living (Masco Corp.) EarthCraft (Greater Atlanta HBA & Southface) Earth Advantage (Oregon; Wash.; Redding,CA; Conservation Services Group, 7- northeastern states) 75 25

26 Simple Question What are you going to do? 76 Search Out the Opportunity Speaking and Training Events Meet with Decision-makers Home builder association meetings Does the HBA have a green building program? Other const. assns. & groups (e.g. Associated Builders and Contractors, mostly commercial) Business groups (e.g. breakfasts).many members do business with builders U.S. Govt s. Recovery Through Retrofit (many upcoming training and business development opportunities) 77 26