I return to blogging with a rant that has been rankling with the home building industry.  Again, I know it is not good to burn bridges, but the home building industry is taking advantage of the uneducated home buyer so they can make some extra money.  This is all in regards to their claims of energy efficiency.

Builder Energy Efficiency Claims

I borrowed this image from a home builder here in Ohio (I removed any reference to the company’s name).  Take a look at what they are claiming that is going to protect our investment and on another page our environment.  They even created their own cute little “Energy Wise” logo.  The materials listed are standard building materials found in every building in the United States.  And don’t get fooled by the Thermo-ply, its name has nothing to do with thermal efficiency, it more of an air barrier.  Standard structural sheathing has a higher R-Value.  The SEER rating on the air conditioning unit is the minimum size you can even purchase now.  The biggest kicker is the insulation levels that they state.  If you see the attached chart from the Ohio Building Code, R-38 ceiling and R-13 is code minimum for climate zone 4. Well most of Ohio is Climate zone 5.  So that R-13 does not cut it according to the chart. Still time after time I see homes going up everywhere that is 2×4 wall construction and no exterior insulation.  I mean the easiest thing a builder can do is to switch to 2×6 wall construction.

TABLE 1102.1 INSULATION AND FENESTRATION REQUIREMENTS BY COMPONENT

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