Dupont delivers double benefits to the Panorama Idea Home
Good for planet, good for the home
Finding building materials that deliver high R-values, mitigate the risk of water intrusion, and reduce the embodied carbon footprint of a project are a win-win-win for builders, occupants, and the environment. For the Panorama Idea Home, this trifecta of benefits came by partnering with DuPont using their products in insulation, house wrap and innovative flashing systems.
The Panorama Idea Home is a custom retreat in Breckenridge, Colo., by Thrive Home Builders. Thrive, nationally recognized for delivering high-performance, durable, and comfortable homes, recently decided to push the envelope on environmental responsibility. By the end of 2024 Thrive has committed to a complete carbon neutral footing in both their internal operations and every project they close, including the Panorama Idea Home.
“When it comes to trying to reduce carbon, every building product you bring to the jobsite is important,” says Gene Myers, Thrive’s founder and chief sustainability officer. “You have to evaluate each component and then decide which ones will get you to the goal for lowering the carbon footprint, but also keep the performance and durability of the house in mind.”
Fortunately for Thrive, DuPont was also pursuing the goals of creating high-performance, low carbon solutions for builders, encouraged by the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020.
Building toward carbon neutral
On December 27, 2020, the AIM Act was passed, authorizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are greenhouse gasses with global warming potentials (GWPs) that can be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2).
For the building industry, the mandatory reduction of HFCs has a deep impact. Blowing agents used in spray foam, roof adhesive, and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) rigid foam insulation all contain relatively high levels of HFCs. Manufacturers are faced with a deadline of January 1, 2025, to reduce HFC levels in their products.
Staying ahead of the curve, DuPont created a new formulation for their standard-bearer blue board Styrofoam™ Brand XPS Insulation in 2021. The new formulation delivers the same performance attributes but reduces the embodied carbon in the boards by 94 percent. Also, the board is now grey.
DuPont rolled out the grey-toned Low-GWP Styrofoam™ Brand XPS Insulation to a handful of states in 2022 and fortunately for Thrive, included Colorado. The transition to all grey Styrofoam™ Brand XPS was completed recently in 2024.
In the Panorama Idea Home, the new grey board is installed under the foundation as a first line of defense against moisture intrusion, and the bitter cold of the long winters. The closed-cell structure of the grey absorbs significantly less water than other insulation types, meaning it is less susceptible to freeze or thaw damage due to saturation. The new formulation of the Styrofoam™ Brand XPS Insulation maintains its R-value of five per inch while helping support the energy efficiency goals of the project, which reduce the occupied carbon footprint as well.
At 6,632 square feet, specifying Low-GWP Styrofoam™ Brand XPS Insulation proved to be a significant reduction in embodied carbon for the Panorama Idea Home.
Products designed for the elements
The next win for the Panorama Idea Home came in the water management strategy for exterior walls.
To mitigate fire risk in the heavily forested region, cement fiber board was specified for the exterior cladding of the Panorama Idea Home. Under the board, Tyvek® DrainVent™ Rainscreen was used in concert with Tyvek® DrainWrap™ to create a complete water management system. Tyvek® DrainVent™ Rainscreen is a three-dimensional honeycomb-textured drainage mat that provides a space behind the exterior cladding allowing water to properly drain, and also provide a gap to encourage ventilation for drying.
To create a tight seal around windows and door openings Thrive went with DuPont™ Flashing Tape and DuPont™ FlexWrap™. Both are self-adhered flashing that do not require mechanical fasteners, even in flexed corner areas around building openings. DuPont™ FlexWrap™ helps protect heads and jambs of rectangular windows and doors from intrusion by outdoor air, bulk water, and wind-driven rain while the flashing tape was used for seams on the weather resistant barrier. For the crew on the Panorama Idea Home, installation happened before the high-altitude temperatures dropped, however, the flashing tape can be installed at external temperatures as low as 25°F.
Winters can be tough on homes in Breckinridge where annual snowfall is over 300 hundred inches across an average of 77 days a year. In this harsh climate, attention to detail is critical to ensure the durability of the home, as well as comfort for the occupants. The combination of low-GWP insulation under the foundation, as well as a complete moisture management system in the walls help ensure that the Panorama Idea Home will satisfy both environmentally responsible goals, and client satisfaction.
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