Consumer Information Series 8: making the most of your energy dollars in home heating & cooling

Criteria for retrofit materials and products for weatherization of residences

“…It is normally expected that one (or more) bedroom and living room windows can serve as emergency means of exit and will be easily openable and of suitable dimensions and area (5 sq. ft).…”

“…For most items, conformance to existing specifications or standards is given as the criterion for the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program, For others, for example weatherstripping, for which there are no available applicable specifications or standards, but which provide important energy savings when retrofitted to existing housing, the recommended criterion is that the material or product be labeled, identified or marketed as to its general category (e.g, , weatherstripping) and properly installed. Regardless of the lack of standards or specifications for these items, they are eligible for the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program, since they have been cited as effective for conserving energy in heating residences [4,5,10,12,13], The intent of the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program is to conserve energy through the encouragement of retrofitting. In cases where no applicable standards or specifications exist (e,g,, weatherstripping), but where adequate experience is available to confirm the effectiveness of the retrofit items, the use of these items should not be hindered by requiring that new standards or specifications be written.…”

“…This section gives criteria by which the eligibility of these materials and products is to be determined. It has been shown that proper use of these materials and products is effective in conserving energy and generally cost effective [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], These criteria are based on factors such as thermal performance, fire safety, health safety, structural integrity, durability, quality, conformance to building codes, use and ease of installation, FOR ALL ITEMS WHICH MEET THE CRITERIA, THEIR USE IS ONLY ALLOWED IF THE …”

“…[5] and the NAHB Research Foundation's "Insulation ManualHomes/Apartments" [10] which discusses all aspects of insulation including proper installation.…”

“…The savings in both dollars and energy from effective retrofitting have been discussed in the literature [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] . Examples of savings cited from the literature are given in Appendix A.…”