MARRANO'S HIGH PERFORMANCE HOME: SEALED AND INSULATED

Thermal imaging technology can visually show the thermally weak areas in a home. This thermal image picture of Marrano’s high performance home clearly shows the home is sealed tight and properly insulated. Note the basement’s thermal charge, this highlights the importance of fully insulating the basement walls; a home owner could spend a major part of their utility bill counteracting the impact of an inadequately insulated basement.

Below is a picture of the home during construction and one after construction was completed. Marrano's window/door installer had to install the 1.5" Dow Tuff-R insulative sheathing and the home's high performance windows. Installing the foam sheathing and windows at the same time streamlined the integration of the windows with the extra-thick wall assemblies. Below is a picture of the home during construction and one after construction was completed.

Foam sheathing and window installation took place as an integrated process.

A key efficiency strategy for Marrano’s high performance home is keeping the infiltration of cold outdoor air at a minimum to save energy and enhance comfort.  Accomplishing this goal means identifying and sealing every possible air leakage site in the walls and ceiling of the home.  Mechanical ventilation is also being provided to introduce fresh, pre-warmed air to the house.

After the windows were installed, Newport Ventures worked with Marrano’s insulator to conduct a pre-drywall blower door test.  This is a somewhat unusual test to run, because the home isn’t quite ready for the “official” blower door test.  But the project team wanted to run the test at this point so we could identify air leakage sites while they were still accessible and easier to identify and seal. The key spots where we witnessed air leakage were: drywall joints near the top plates of partitions on the second floor, joints around ceiling-mounted HVAC register boxes on the second floor, and joints around ceiling-mounted junction boxes. All of these areas will be sealed up with spray foam to choke off air infiltration and save energy.  Other locations, such as plate penetrations and the rim joist between first/second floors – have already been thoroughly sealed. 

During the final blower door test, Newport Ventures' Matt Evans tested the light fixtures for air infiltration using a handheld smoke puffer.