It was possible to build a house that was very leaky without insulation in earlier times. This worked great because energy was cheap and buildings were able to “breathe” and then dry naturally. However, this is not possible anymore with rising energy costs, environmental concerns, and high comfort expectations. Come and visit our website search it on PorchLight HES you can learn more.
Now, the home building industry is focusing on technology that can solve the problems associated to building tight. This is the origin of the Home Performance movement. The underlying idea is that a house is a system, actually a collection and interaction of systems that affect one another. Of course, air pressure is at center of how all these systems affect one another. Building components, such as exhaust fans and ventilation hoods can create negative pressures inside buildings. These systems are needed to get rid of moisture and contaminants. It is important to understand how these pressures can affect other systems in the building. Unbalanced homes can lead to appliances being affected more than they should. In fact, negative pressures can result in back-drafting flames and the release of combustion exhaust gases from furnaces and hot water heaters.
BPI-trained building analysts perform Home Performance Assessments. They test the appliances under “worst scenario” depressurization to ensure they do not fail. Analysts use the blower doors to measure how tight a building is and how much can be done. The blower door is used to measure the amount air leakage in the building.
Other than that, insulation made with high-tech materials may have very high R value (which is great to conserve energy), while some varieties cannot breathe. It is important to think about how the building will cope with moisture, so mold problems are not created.