New Envelope Sealing Technologies Developed at Lawrence Berkely Laboratories
Track 2: Construction & Testing Sessions
Wednesday, May 9, 14:00 – 15:00
In 1995, a team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed an aerosolbased duct sealing technology that offered the first viable method for effectively sealing entire duct systems. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, that technology is currently having a transformative impact on home and commercial building performance strategies and is saving Americans billions of dollars each year in energy costs.
This past January, a team of researchers at the University of California, led by the same top scientist in charge of the LBNL project, introduced new envelope sealing technologies that similarly promise to transform envelope sealing practices, ultimately impacting the very way homes and buildings are constructed. Based on concepts first developed during the original duct sealing research, this new approach to envelope sealing replaces today’s manual multi‐stage, multi‐product process with a single step computer‐controlled procedure that simultaneously measures and mitigates envelope leakage while ensuring passive‐house levels of tightness.
This presentation will provide one of the first public glimpses of this game‐changing approach to envelope sealing, including a discussion of its current state of development, the pros and cons of its use, and the implications it represents for the building industry. The presenter will include details of real-world projects where the innovations have been successfully implemented for both exterior envelope sealing and compartmentalization, thus reducing the costs and increase the overall performance of single family homes, multi‐family apartment buildings, professional office buildings and other commercial properties.
Learning Objectives:
- Attendees will gain a clear understanding of the critical role that envelope sealing plays in overall home and building performance including energy efficiency, indoor air quality and comfort.
- Attendees will learn about problem areas associated with traditional methods of envelope sealing and best practices designed to improve results
- Attendees will learn about the latest developments in envelope sealing technology and how these developments may impact the building process itself.
- Attendees will learn about the use of advanced envelope sealing methods in several real‐world applications including an evaluation of the results and a review of the pros and cons of their implementation.
Paul Springer
Director of New Technologies
Aeroseal LLC
Paul Springer is an active proponent and evangelist of green building technology, working closely with the U.S. Department of Energy, the EPA, and other organizations to further advance the research and development of innovations in building performance. Most recently, he has focused his attention on coordinating efforts between researchers and professionals within the building industry to refine and promote new green building technologies. As the director of new technologies for Aeroseal LLC, Springer is responsible for educating the public and bringing to market a variety of game-changing technologies designed to further innovate strategies for achieving high efficiency building practices. Springer holds an MBA from the University of Dayton and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Wilmington College. He has been a guest speaker at numerous industry conferences and workshops including EEBA Summit, RESNET, and HPC National Home Performance Conference.