Extreme Insulation: Who Needs It Most?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia 
on 11.13.08
I thought I could delve into this topic like an engineer or architect, showing: heating degree-day isotherms, cooling degree-day isotherms, and mean annual temperature maps. But, alas, the graphics just don't work at blog-format. What else, then?
Turns out that, for the USA at least, plant hardiness zone maps get the overall idea across much better. They've already been adapted to a changing climate, courtesy of the Arbor Day Foundation (as pictured). Answer to the question of who needs extreme insulation is....drum roll......
Everybody.
If you live in the hottest cities - Key West tops the list - you need lots of insulation to stay cool, and to minimize your coal-fired electric bill.
And in the coldest cities - International Falls MN is the epitome of cold in the lower 48 - you need extra insulation to avoid that 'colder than a frog's bottom in January' feeling, and to cut those heating bills.
In between, you just need it for both reasons.
As TreeHugger Lloyd likes to say: "Insulate Baby... Insulate."
Now, the flip side of this question will be: who most needs government incentives to add more efficient HVAC systems; and, who needs government incentives for more efficient heating systems?
The answer is....drum roll....
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Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
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- How to Cool Your Vehicle Quickly During the Intense Summer Heat and Reduce Your Carbon Emissions
It seems strange how the Rockies don't really seem to affect the zones. Of course tree's only grow in the summer. So maybe another map would be more appropriate for such zones. Considering that insulation is a winter issue.
what about alaska ? we really need it up here !
===author's response follows ===
Yes. My oversight in keeping the map visible at blog scale. sorry.
Super insulation is ok, but ground source heating/cooling is the ultimate solution.
With a heat envelope design, where the building is surrounded by ground temperature with direct circulation, either with air or liquid heat transfer, waste heat within the home can heat and direct circulation of ground cooling can cool and dehumidify.
All without even using a heat pump. solar cogeneration can provide hot water heating and electricty for heat transfer fluid circulation.
More extreme climates could use a heat pump to keep the ground transfer heating/cooling in a comfortable range.
Remember this, with a 55 degree temperature outside of an insulated building, waste heat heats and no cooling is needed. That 55 degree heat is free for the circulating right under our buildings. Cooler in the north and hotter in the south, but within possible circulation heating/cooling parameters in the US.
Neato - especially the demographic overlay idea.
Am I the only one that heard something about the Plant Hardiness Zone map NOT being updated for decades because the insurance industry lobby doesn't like the wacky weather over the past decade?
Insulating is so satisfying. Taking a nap on your recycled denim insulation is a perfectly dreamy experience. Being able to rip and squish said insulation into every nook and cranny the most fun of all. Ahhh, the easy stuff.
Howdy, too bad you didn't include the old maps' view to show the changes. Moreover, define extreme insullation....
John
Super insulation is the most important thing to consider if you're getting a ground source heat pump. We're working with a number of customers on powering geothermal pumps with solar arrays. For two houses of the same size, one super insulated and one conventional, the geothermal system in the super insulated home can be a third of the size of the one in the conventional home and therefor the solar array can be about a third of the size. Insulation first, ground source second. That being said I do believe that geothermal is the ultimate solution for active heating.
Not to sound like a stingy old man but designing houses that take advantage of natural ventilation and direct solar gains will go a long way in reducing the amount of heating and cooling you need to do in your super insulated houses. i don't think digging hundreds of feet in to the ground is really the best solution to heating or cooling if you can just keep waste heat in in the winter and supplement that with solar gains and flush out the heat and humidity in the summer with a window or 2 on each side of a building.
Great result Pat! I will keep this in mind. I have a design that uses foam insularion inside a poured concrete wall, inside/outside concrete, in betweem foam. It's superinsulated too.
But a heat envelope design can even eliminate the heat pump. Underneath the outside concrete layer amd an inch of foam a foil sandwich covers plastic geat pipe running on 18 inch centers. The heat pipes have 55 degree water circulating in a ground loop. A similar design is used in the attic insulation, as most heat goes out the roof.
When it's heating season the heat envelope allows waste heat to heat the interior insulated by 5 inches of foam. In cooling season the 55 degree water can be circulated through the same pipes and through concrete floor plastic ppiping for direct cooling.
This would work for all but the most extreme US locations, hot or cold, for those heat pumps would be needed.
Additionally the cooling water can be circulated through a radiator with a fan to dehumidy the air.
this is the theory anyway, if it works the solar cogeneration panels can heat water and sell most of the PV power back to the grid or use it to charge one of these plugin hybrid carbon fiber cars.
This Toyota prototype weighs 962 pounds and its the same size as a Prius. It goes 600 miles on a full battery charge and 4 gallons of fuel. It covers double the average daily trip with batteries alone.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/6/4047518.html