Green Options » air barriers http://greenoptions.com/tag/air-barriers Posts tagged 'air barriers' Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:25:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Great Air Barriers Equal Energy Savings http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/15/great-air-barriers-equal-energy-savings/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/15/great-air-barriers-equal-energy-savings/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:25:43 +0000 Dawn Killough http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/15/great-air-barriers-equal-energy-savings/ In a recent article in Environmental Building News (June 2008), author Tristan Korthals Altes informed us that having a working air barrier on the outside of a building could save as much as 30% off heating and cooling costs. I was quite surprised to find out how much of a difference an air barrier could make. I knew that air leaks in a building were not good, but did not realize that it costs so much in heating and cooling to compensate for them.

What is an air barrier?

An air barrier is any material that prevents outside air from getting in, and inside air from getting out. Possible materials include siding, sheetrock, roof felt, building paper, caulking, doors, and windows. Some of these materials are better than others at blocking the flow of air.

There are times when you may want air flow, so some of the materials are controllable, such as doors and windows. These aren’t a problem, most of the time (unless you forget that they are open). The problem comes from all the gaps and openings that you can’t see. That is where the money is at!

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