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The main ingredients to the Inergy Home building system are all Steel Framing, which is then wrapped in our exclusive Radiant Barrier System, Exterior Continuous EPS Insulation. Each of these components are critical to the overall efficiency and resource reduction of building an affordable Smart Green home that not only reduces resource use and emissions, but also lowers the cost of utilities and maintenance. What is a Radiant Barrier? Radiant barrier insulation is a reflective insulation system that offers a permanent way to reduce energy costs. Radiant barrier insulation systems reflect radiant heat energy instead of trying to absorb it. A pure aluminum radiant barrier reflective insulation is unaffected by humidity and will continue to perform at a consistent level no matter how humid it may be. A radiant barrier insulation system is a layer of foil facing an airspace and is installed in the envelope of a building.
Most people are familiar with traditional insulating materials such as fiberglass, cellulose, Styrofoam, and rock wool. These products use their ability to absorb or resist (slow down) convective and conductive heat transfer to insulate (R-value). A third, seldom discussed but dominant form of heat transfer exists: radiant heat transfer. What are the differences among the three forms of heat transfer?
A radiant barrier reflects radiant heat energy instead of trying to absorb it. What does this mean in your home or business? During the winter, 50-75% of heat loss through the ceiling/roofing system and 65-80% of heat loss through walls is radiant. In the summer, up to 93% of heat gain is radiant. If you are depending on R-value (resistance) alone to insulate against heat gain and loss, remember that thin layers of fiberglass are virtually transparent to radiant energy and are affected by changes in humidity (moisture levels). A 1-1/2% change in the moisture content of fiberglass insulation will result in a 36% decrease in performance (referenced from HVAC Manual 10.6; McGraw-Hill). A pure aluminum radiant barrier is unaffected by humidity and will continue to perform at a consistent level no matter how humid it may be.
Light Gauge Steel
Steel has many advantages over traditional wood framing. From a homeowner perspective, the most important is that steel is essentially fire proof. In a home fire steel will not burn, it will sag in time but will not burn or support flame so it is essentially fire proof. While a traditional home can go up in flames in seconds, steel built home will simply sag under the heat of other combustible materials, reducing the time the fire can spread. Because steel sags slowly it has a big safety factor, allowing more time for your family to get out and for fire rescue to arrive before your home is lost.
Consistent in its weight yet lighter than lumber, a light gauge steel stud is multiple times stronger than wood, making it much safer than wood in hurricane and earthquakes conditions. All schools are built out of steel because of the safety factor. When was the last time you seen or heard of a school burning down? Isn’t our family just as important? And of course steel is completely resistant to dry rot, mold, mildew and termites!
Commercial builders and architects can also agree that steel is a superior building material over lumber. The moisture content of lumber, even kiln dried lumber, leaves a chance to drying, warping, twisting and splitting as moisture dissipates, even after your home is built! As steel is not susceptible to any of these weaknesses, construction can proceed during rainy or cold weather, a huge advantage in time savings over a wood built house, which must be framed in dry warm weather. Steel stud framing, with its ductile, seismic and tensile strength superiority “... is some 20 times stronger than lumber in every way,” according to Nabil Taha, Ph.D. Precision Structural Engineering. He further states, “It creates long lasting and safe stability like no other material used in building.” And of course there is a huge reduction of virgin material used in one of our homes, and an even more extraordinary reduction in waste produced. Just compare the pictures below! According to BLM one 2,000 Ft2 home saves 5 loads of logs. Same home takes 3.5 old cars out of junk yard by weight. This is Smart Green at it's best!
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