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) 3

epa.gov/indoorairplus

NEHA RRNC March 2010 1

Qualified Homes Earn the Label

Quality Built Homes Healthy Home Testing, LLC

4 / 19 / 2009 4

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

NEHA RRNC March 2010 2

19% … of U.S. Households have at least One person with Asthma 7

20-50% Increased risk of asthma in damp houses 8 epa.gov/indoorairplus

9

NEHA RRNC March 2010 3

“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 1990 - EPA] 11

“Clean Air is easy, right?” …

Air Fresheners

Air Cleaners

UV Lights

12

NEHA RRNC March 2010 4

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

NEHA RRNC March 2010 5

Why Do Builders Worry About Indoor Air Quality? 16

Defects No Longer Hidden

17

Infrared camera’s for sale …

18

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Defects Are Expensive to Fix

19

It’s All About Business

20

How Can Builders Sell Indoor Air Quality? 21

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$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

NEHA RRNC March 2010 8

Solutions

Help avoid comfort callbacks, condensation/frost on windows, mold, asthma/allergies,etc.

25

Comfort Problems,

26

Courtesy: Tremco Barrier Solutions, Inc.

Make it Visible

Plus!

27

epa.gov/indoorairplus

NEHA RRNC March 2010 9

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.

30

NEHA RRNC March 2010 10

Indoor airPLUS Label

Quality Built Homes Healthy Home Testing, LLC

4 / 19 / 2009 31

Let’s look inside … 32

ENERGY STAR

+ + +

Moisture Control

Healthier Materials

+

Pest Barriers

Safe Combustion

+

Radon Control

+

Effective HVAC 33

NEHA RRNC March 2010 11

Indoor airPLUS

Moisture Control

34

DRAFT Basement

35

DRAFT

Conditioned Crawlspace 36

NEHA RRNC March 2010 12

DRAFT

Siding 37

1.6 Fully Flash Windows & Doors

More Details …

38

DRAFT

Roof Flashing

39

NEHA RRNC March 2010 13

DRAFT

Roof Flashing

40

Indoor airPLUS

Radon Control

41

Note:High levels of Radon can be found in any home.

42

NEHA RRNC March 2010 14

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)

43

2.2 Provide buyer 2 Radon test kits Zone 1 Zone 2

http://www.epa.gov/radon/radontest.html

44

Indoor airPLUS

+

Pest Barriers

45

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3.1 Seal foundation joints/penetrations 3.2 Pest screens

Detailed specification guidance

Air Sealing 46

Indoor airPLUS

Effective HVAC 47

4.1 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

NEHA RRNC March 2010 16

4.4 Rooms pressure balanced

JUMP DUCT

OR Pressure Tested ≤ 3 Pa 49

TRANSFER GRILLE

4.5 Whole House Ventilation 4.6 Local Exhaust Ventilation LOCAL EXHAUST FRESH AIR DAMPER

62.22007

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)

0-1

2-3

4-5

6-7

>7

7500

105

120

135

150

165 51

NEHA RRNC March 2010 17

4.7 MERV 8 Filter, No by-pass, & No Ozone Generating Systems Specific Specification Guidance

52

4.8 Independent dehumidification control in warm humid climates

Controlled to ≤ 60% RH

53

Indoor airPLUS

Safe Combustion

54

NEHA RRNC March 2010 18

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

+

+

Combustion Systems

+

Radon Control

+

HVAC Systems

57

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Indoor airPLUS

– Radon control features

Radon Control

58

1 in 15

Homes with radon above 4 pC/L 59 59 epa.gov/indoorairplus

Note:High levels of Radon can be found in any home.

60

NEHA RRNC March 2010 20

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; http://www.iccsafe.org • ASTM International, “E 1465-08, 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), http://www.epa.gov/nscep 1-800-490-9198, (request EPA 402-K-07-0100); or http://www.astm.org

63

NEHA RRNC March 2010 21

Radon: New Construction Standards / Guides (continued, 2/3) • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), “Building Construction and Safety Code, NFPA 5000,” (Chapter 49), 2006, http://www.nfpa.org

• 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-01-002, April 2001), http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/

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-94-009, March 1994); http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/

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

NEHA RRNC March 2010 22

Crawlspace Construction

67

Indoor airPLUS- Sect. 2.2 Provide buyer 2 radon test kits

Zone 1 Zone 2

http://www.epa.gov/radon/radontest.html 68

Qualified Homes Earn EPA’s Label

Quality Built Homes Healthy Home Testing, LLC

4 / 19 / 2009

69

NEHA RRNC March 2010 23

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. 72

NEHA RRNC March 2010 24

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 700-2008 (International Code Conf. (ICC) & NAHB)

• LEED for Homes Rating System – Jan. 2008 (U.S. Green Building Council)

2.

State, Local, City programs •

3.

60-plus distinct programs nationwide

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

NEHA RRNC March 2010 25

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

NEHA RRNC March 2010 26