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ThermalBuck to Exhibit at Humid Climate Conference

ThermalBuck joins our high performance partners from Alpen windows to exhibit at the 2018 Humid Climate Conference in Austin, TX, on May 21st – 22nd. We will showcase our joint PHIUS Verified Psi-Installation, featuring the Alpen 925 Zenith Nail Fin window with 2.5″ ThermalBuck.

Hot, humid climates are not what usually comes to mind when talking about passive design. Historically, the focus has been on buildings with heavy heating needs, not cooling. Everything changed with the release of the PHIUS+ 2015 building standard, which forced the building industry to reconsider passive house design as an economically viable option for humid climates.

The Austin, Texas chapter of the PHIUS is a major advocate for building science education and training in humid climates. They recognized the need for an annual event to broaden the reach of their work, and bring together professionals in similar climates for a shared exchange of ideas and learning. The first Humid Climate Conference was held in 2016, and is rapidly becoming a notable event in the building industry.

“Our mission is to advocate for the adoption of the PHIUS+ 2015 standard in the greater Austin, TX area through education, governmental petition, and targeted industry efforts.”

– Passive House Austin (PHAUS), as quoted on passivehouseaustin.org 

 

2018 Humid Climate Conference

This year’s event will be held at the A&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas, and provides the opportunity to earn 8 hours of CEUs, with an impressive lineup of speakers and invaluable networking.

Monday begins with one of the most recognizable names in building science, Joseph Lstiburek, presenting, “Water Molecule & 4th State Moisture, Materials, Enclosure” at 10 am. It ends with sought-after media personality and building science promotor Matt Risinger of Risinger & Co., presenting “Lessons Learned in the Evolution of High Performance Enclosures”.

Tuesday’s lineup features a full day of speakers, and wraps up with an after-party at 5:30 pm. The two-day event features a number of sponsors and exhibiting companies, such as the increasingly popular Building Science Podcast, an outreach of Positive Energy, a residential engineering firm in Austin. For a full list of event sponsors, click here.  

 

ThermalBuck + Alpen HPP

Alpen 925 series fiberglass window with 2.5" ThermalBuck window buck ThermalBuck and Alpen are an ideal fit for architects and builders looking for the optimal way to install high performance nail flange windows with continuous insulation.

Alpen is a pioneer in the glazing industry, known for super-high performance insulated glass and award-winning fiberglass windows. Alpen designs and builds some of the most energy efficient window and door products in the world out of their Niwot, Colorado headquarters. They are the first North American manufacturer of passive house certified windows and doors, and offer superior technical support for their customers. Learn more at visit thinkalpen.com.

Take a look below at this quick Q&A with Alpen behind-the-scenes at one of our first Alpen + ThermalBuck installations, in Orderville, Utah.  

 

High-Performance Window Q & A with Alpen Windows

For more behind the scenes videos from this Alpen window installation, visit thermalbuck.com.

 


For additional information about the Humid Climate Conference and to register for this year’s event, visit humidclimateconference.org. You can also follow the conference updates on instagram. To learn more about Passive House Austin, click here

 

ThermalBuck Named “One to Watch” in LBM Journal

ThermalBuck is in great company with several leading manufacturers as one of the top “PRODUCT PICKS” in the February 2017 print and digital editions of the LBM Journal.

Out of the hundreds of new building material products introduced to the market each month, the LBM Journal reviews and selects their top choices for readers, noted as “Ones to Watch” in their popular “PRODUCT PICKS” feature.This recent edition also included Vinyl Single-Slide Windows from MI Windows & Doors, FlatWrap UV Housewrap from Benjamin Obdyke, and the MiraTec Smooth Select line from Jeld-Wen, to name a few.  

View the complete listing of the LBM Journal February 2017 Issue Product Picks here.

February 2017 Issue of LBM Journal 

The highlight of the February issue is a feature about family-owned R.P. Lumber.  Over the past 40 years, they’ve grown from a $5,000 investment in a single store without a restroom, to 65 lumberyards servicing the Midwest region. Their motto “Best Service, Best Value” has served them well in building a loyal customer base with significant growth, and retaining exceptional employees. To learn more about this entrepreneurial family, view the February issue of the LBM Journal.

No matter what aspect of business you’re in, you’ll benefit from the excellent piece by Bob Heidenreich, “Teach Customers That Price Isn’t Everything.”  He reveals his strategies to educate customers about what they’re buying.  It’s important to promote the value of both the materials and service.  Bob’s piece is a great reminder to us all that retaining customers and increasing profits has everything to do with knowledge, and communication.

Also of note in the February issue, is an in-depth look into the latest developments in Moulding & Trimboard.  With the increasing importance of high-performing products that resist moisture, the stronghold of wood on the market is shifting to new materials. PVC, polyurethane and fly-ash trim are now making their mark. This article is a great reference on how to compare and understand the cost and benefits of each.

View the complete digital versions of current and archived issues of the print magazine, available at lbmjournal.com


Since it’s launch in 2003, LBM Journal has been highly regarded as the leading media outlet for the residential lumber building material (LBM) distribution channel.  The LBM Journal provides its readership with the latest in industry news, product trends and business insights through multiple channels. For information about obtaining a digital or print subscription, or to sign up for their informative newsletter visit lbmjournal.com.  Join one of the 40,000 industry professionals who rely on LBM Journal as a leading source of information and subscribe now.

ThermalBuck Outperforms Wood Bucks 2:1 – Thermal Transfer Testing

Improving the energy-efficiency of new and existing construction has long been a focus of the building industry. When it comes to insulation, exterior is the choice of many architects and builders, because it eliminates the thermal bridging through the studs.

However, continuous insulation presents its own unique challenges with installing windows and flashing the rough openings. The mounting point is no longer flush with the sheathing, it must be extended out to meet the exterior insulation depth. Rough openings are always a weak spot for potential water infiltration – and extending the mounting point for windows compounds the problem.

Until ThermalBuck hit the market, there really wasn’t a good way to insulate and create a thermal break around the mounting points of windows & doors. The traditional method to bump out windows was to build a wood window buck. Wood does extend the mounting point, but it doesn’t hold up well to moisture, and it has a low insulating value. With an r-value range of 4.4 per inch, ThermalBuck is a better insulator than wood. But how much? We performed some third-party testing to find out.

 

ThermalBuck installation vs. wood buck installation - thermal break           

Thermal Transfer Performance: ThermalBuck  vs. Wood Buck


Using thermal imaging, we recorded the performance of ThermalBuck against a traditional wood buck in a controlled environment. In the two mock-ups below, three temperature sensors were placed on both the ThermalBuck installation (l) and the wood buck installation (r). The temperature condition on the exterior of the structure was -6.67 ºF, and the indoor of the structure 72.76 ºF.  

 

Performance -Thermal Image wood buck vs. ThermalBuck           thermalbuck vs. wood window buck

These photos show two window installations side by side. (l) ThermalBuck (r) traditional wood buck. 

 

54% More Heat Transfer with Wood vs. ThermalBuck

On the exterior of the structure (point A) the wood buck looses 7.88 ºF, or 14.55 ºF total degrees from the outside temperature. ThermalBuck only loses .11 ºF , or 6.78 total degrees from the outside temperature. The wood window buck allows twice as much energy to escape, while the window installation with ThermalBuck is effectively limiting thermal bridging.

thermalbuck vs wood buck thermal transfer testing drawings
thermalbuck insulating value data charts with Rockwool photo vertical

 

ThermalBuck High-Performance window buck creates a significant thermal break at the mounting points of windows & doors. Using ThermalBuck as part of your continuous insulation solution is an effective way to limit the amount of thermal bridging that occurs through your building envelope.

To learn more about thermal bridging, see what the experts have to say at greenbuildingadvisor.com


Editor’s Note: This article was updated in July 2018. The testing results and thermal images were not changed.

Performance -Thermal Image wood buck vs. ThermalBuck

Thermal Bridging – The Impact of ThermalBuck

A picture says a thousand words. We’ve all heard that one before – but it’s easy to see what it’s saying as we put ThermalBuck High-Performance ROESE to the test against a traditional wood window buck.

Thermal bridging is one of the biggest heat-loss issues every structure faces.  Wall assemblies can be packed inside and out with insulation, but one of the most challenging areas to prevent thermal bridging is where the wall assembly interfaces with the fenestration materials.

Using thermal imaging, we measured the performance of ThermalBuck against wood. Read more