info on exterior insulation/filling material, etc.-1999

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Report A3132.1 Page 13 ' adjustment in thermal resistance of the specimen as normalized to an initial average adjustment for October 1996 —the first period of cold weather in the monitoring period. In-Situ Thermal Performance Figures 15 a-g show the resulting thermal performance plots for the specimens on the west face (a-d) and the east face (e-g). The change in thermal resistance adjustment is shown on a weekly basis over two heating seasons. Key observations are as follows: • all specimens show relatively steady performance through the heating seasons • the second heating season shows equal or improved performance for all specimens • the results for the warm periods are unreliable, since the temperature difference across the specimens are very small (< 0.50C). During such periods, thermocouple errors can be as large as the actual temperature difference. • On day 215, modifications were made to faulty controls on the sump pump. Water levels around the footing were lowered over time. The sump pump connection is nearest specimens W5 and W4. These specimens appeared to fiave been temporarily affected by this modification. • Major rain and thaw periods (shown in Figures 9, 10 and 11) do not appear to significantly affect the thermal performance of the specimens during these episodes. Comparison of Installation Systems The seasonally averaged thermal performance of the insulating systems on the east wall installed using System 2 (vertical Z-bars) were compared to those of the corresponding systems on the west wall, installed with System 1 (horizontal z-bars at the top) Table 2 lists the reduction in seasonally averaged thermal resistance due to installation Systems 2 (with vertical k-bars) relative to System 1 (horizontal z-bars). System 2 was less thermally effective than System 1 by about 13%, on average. Table 2. Thermal Performance: Installation S stem2 Relative to System 1 Specimen Position 2 3 5 Average Year 1 2 1 2 1 2 (System2— Systeml) 15% 19% 14% 22% (4%) 7% 13% increase Improvement in Thermal Performance The seasonally averaged thermal performance of the insulating systems for heating seasons 1 and 2 were compared to those at the start of the first heating season. Table 3 records the percent improvements for each specimen. Most specimens showed sustained or improved performance in both years, with more improvement in the second year, especially for specimens on the west wall. Li