This report summarizes the findings of comparative field tests and analysis sponsored by the Govenor's Office of Energy Conservation in Colorado on production housing models using both fiberglass and cellulose Insulation materials. The participating company was McStaln Enterprises, a mid-size (250 homes/year) production builder based In Boulder Colorado. Field test coordination and energy analysis were conducted by SOCTECH (State of Colorado Technical Energy Consultants for Homebuilders) .

Most building owners spend billions of dollars to outfit windows with drapes, shades, or blinds. Only a small fraction of this expenditure is ever targeted towards energy-efficient systems. Increased numbers of pleated, cellular shades with R-values presented In the R-3+ range are now in the marketplace. Foam plugs have been successfully used in many regions for low-cost, high R capability. The following elements shall be compared with respect to economic, utilitarian, thermal, and moisture issues:

The house is a system. The house is a system. The house is a system. It's becoming one of those phrases that is thrown about the construction world like overcooked pasta. But what does the phrase mean? Where does the system begin? Where does it end? What are the relationships between the components? And does It make any difference?

A number of systems exist for ventilation of residential buildings. In general, they can be categorized as supply, exhaust, or balanced ventilation systems. Subcategories include integration into central air distribution ducts, or single- or multi-point air distribution. This effort focused on establishing a design methodology for centrally integrated supply ventilation systems using an outside air duct to the return side of a central air distribution fan.

Measurements on three gas and two electric furnaces have been made to examine the field performance of these furnaces and their interactions with their forced-air distribution systems. The distribution systems were retrofitted as part of this study, and the impact of retrofitting on furnace performance is discussed. In addition to field measurements, this paper discusses how forced-air furnace systems are treated in proposed ASHRAE Standard l 52P and applies the resulting equations to the systems tested in the field.

A method was developed to estimate dust production and deposition rates for a ventilated airspace without a recirculation system under steady-state conditions. The method was derived from a dust mass balance equation and parameter estimation method. The measured variables required for using the method were the dust concentrations and ventilation rates of the ventilated space. The outputs of the method were dust production and deposition rates.