Importance of Window Installation in Residential Building Envelopes Having Continuous External Insulation in Order to Realize Energy Efficiency

Bipin Shah, Mahabir Bhandari () and Mengjia Tang
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Bipin Shah: WinBuild Inc., Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Mahabir Bhandari: Buildings and Transportation Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
Mengjia Tang: Buildings and Transportation Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: Residential buildings are one of the prime candidates in the United States for reducing energy consumption. Continuous exterior insulation (CEI) is being used increasingly often in residential buildings to improve energy efficiency. Windows constitute 15–40% of a building envelope and are the weakest component in energy performance. The installation of windows in walls with CEI has not been well evaluated. We identified four cases of installing windows in walls with CEI of 25–76 mm (1–3 in.) thickness and analyzed the energy loss between the window and wall interface (flanking loss), structural issues, air leakage, and moisture penetration. Thermal analysis showed that the insulation value (RSI) of the 305 mm (12 in.) perimeter wall surrounding a window decreased by 7.6–34.5% in the four cases when compared with the RSI of the wall without the window. A window installation method is proposed to address the issues likely to occur with installation methods currently being used in the field. An out-of-the-box installation system was also designed to achieve a better thermal performance, cost effectiveness, and structural performance in high-performance residential buildings.

Keywords: continuous exterior insulation; flanking loss; window installation; air leakage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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