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| * Purdue Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering |
| * Purdue Technical Assistance Program |
September 8, 2008
Engineer: Consider energy use when building a home
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Multicar garages, vaulted ceilings, in-ground swimming pools and kitchens the size of small cafeterias often are the kinds of features people want when they build homes. They might not give as much thought to energy efficiency, said a Purdue University agricultural engineer."Without adding much more to the cost of a new home, you can build a house that uses less than half the energy that it normally would," said John Lumkes. "You can often recoup the cost of making your home more energy efficient within the first five years."
Lumkes will share energy saving ideas during Energy Efficiency for Households, Farms and Small Business. The trade show and forum takes place from 2-7 p.m. EST Thursday (Sept. 11) at the White County Fairgrounds Community Building. The fairground is located a quarter mile north of U.S. 24 on County Road 25 in Reynolds.
The free event is sponsored by Indiana WIRED, an economic and workforce development initiative administered by Purdue University. WIRED stands for Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development.
Lumkes' presentation, "How to Build a More Efficient Home," will cover home design, exterior shells, insulation, heat pumps, ventilation, water, lighting, heating fuel and other areas. Many of the features Lumkes will discuss were incorporated into his own home.
"I'll emphasize doing a lot of little things well and integrating some basic systems that make for a good, low-energy usage home," Lumkes said.
Among the little things that must be done well to avoid big energy losses is eliminating drafts.
"One of the largest sources of energy loss is leakage, or not having what we call an airtight building envelope," Lumkes said.
An airtight home begins with its exterior shell. Lumkes recommends installing casement windows and a single-side French door instead of a patio door. Insulated concrete foam systems usually are more airtight than other exterior building materials, he said.
"With insulated concrete foams you have two foam walls with concrete between them," Lumkes said. "The combined thickness might be 5 inches of foam and 6 inches of concrete. A system like this can give you an equivalent R-value of 30-plus. So even if the outside temperature rises from 60 degrees in the early morning to the 80s or 90s in the afternoon, it will take a long time for the temperature inside the house to change."
Insulation is a must. Some types are better than others, Lumkes said.
"Rolled-out insulation doesn't seal as well as blown insulation," he said. "Also, at cold temperatures cellulose insulation tends to insulate better than fiberglass insulation because there are usually fewer micro air currents running through it. Spray-in foam is a newer type of insulation and does a good job."
Homebuyers who are especially energy conscious can add other features to their housing wish lists.
"You can install a wastewater heat recovery unit and fresh air exchangers," Lumkes said. "And then there's site preparation. We were fortunate with our house that we have a walkout basement exposed to the south with deciduous trees. We get shade in the summer and any sunny day that's above 40 degrees we heat the majority of the house with passive solar energy."
Other informational sessions will address energy-producing micro-wind turbines, renewable energy grants, recycling and the Lugar Center for Renewable Energy. Ethan Rogers of Purdue's Technical Assistance Program, will present "Tips on How to Operate Your Business More Efficiently."
In addition, workshop attendees can visit an energy efficiency trade show.
For more information about the event, contact Indiana WIRED at (765) 236-0955 or White County Economic Development at (574) 583-6557 or by e-mail at ledo@whitecountyindiana.us .
WIRED is a federal initiative designed to energize the nation's economy through regional economic development partnerships and workforce education and training. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $15 million each to 13 regions in the United States, including a grant to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IDWD).
The department selected Purdue to oversee the 14-county Indiana WIRED project.
The 14 northcentral Indiana WIRED counties include Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Montgomery, Miami, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White.
Additional information about Indiana WIRED is available online at https://www.indiana-wired.net .
Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu
Sources: John Lumkes, (765) 494-1173, lumkes@purdue.edu
Peggy Hosea, Indiana WIRED, (765) 236-0955, phosea@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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