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Air Sealing and Insulating Walls to Reduce Heat Gain

Description

Conduction of heat through the walls of a home accounts for about 10% of the heat gain for the entire building (LBNL 1999). Infiltration through walls causes additional heat gain. This heat gain can be reduced by using “cool” white or reflective wall cladding and finishing materials as described in the guide "Cool Roofs and Walls", by providing shading as described in the guide "Landscaping to Reduce Cooling Load", and by air sealing and insulating the walls. There are several guides in the Building America Solution Center that describe effective ways to air seal and insulate new and existing homes.

 

The Perfect Wall includes water, air, thermal, and vapor layers with continuous insulation exterior of the sheathing to reduce the condensation potential in the wall.
Figure 1. The “perfect wall” includes a continuous air barrier aligned with an insulation layer that is also continuous and cladding that is separated from the wall assembly by a ventilating air gap; light or reflective cladding would further decrease solar heat gain. (Source: BSC).

 

Wall Air Sealing

Guides for air sealing walls in new homes include the following guides:

Guides for air sealing walls in existing homes as a retrofit measure include the following:

 

Wall Insulation

Guides for insulating walls in new homes include the following:

Guides for insulating walls in existing homes as a retrofit measure include the following:

 

More Info

References and Resources*

Residential Heating and Cooling Loads Component Analysis

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
·
Organization(s)
LBNL
Description
Report describing a study using parametric computer simulations of 112 single-family and 63 multi-family residential building prototypes to quantify the contributions of building components such as roofs, walls, windows, infiltration, outside air, lighting, equipment, and people to the aggregate...

* For non-dated media, such as websites, the date listed is the date accessed.

Contributors to this Guide

The following authors and organizations contributed to the content in this Guide.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Last Updated

Disclaimer

This content is a work created with funding provided by the United States Department of Energy under Contract no DE-AC05-076RL01830 for the operation of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The information and guidance provided by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in the content are intended solely for educational purposes only and do not constitute formal training or certification. It is provided with the explicit understanding that neither the United States Government nor the United States Department of Energy, nor the Contractor, nor any or their employees, nor any jurisdiction or organization that has cooperated in the development of these materials, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness or any information, apparatus, product, software, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Viewers assumes full responsibility for all actions that they may take from information provided in this content including ensuring the safety, code compliance, and proper functionality of any products they choose to install. Installation and use of such products should be performed in accordance with local regulations and manufacturer instructions.