High Performance Homes and Material Safety - (EMPOWERED Solutions Webinar Recording)

5 (3 votes)

2023 and beyond will usher in unprecedented growth for energy-efficient buildings. If you are a building owner or developer, you may be considering constructing or retrofitting your building with efficient materials. If you are a code official, you are likely to be inspecting buildings constructed with different materials and systems. And if you are involved in any aspect of building fire safety, you probably have questions about the safety of these efficient building materials. Building materials have long been studied to learn about their impacts on building durability. But only recently have the materials and systems been examined to look at fire performance as well. Join experts from across the country to gain insights into efficient construction materials and systems we are most likely to see in the coming years. 

You can expect to hear:

  • Types of efficient building materials including spray foam and structural insulated panels (SIPs). 
  • How to use a free website that provides expert advice on building envelope system performance.
  • Available pre-assessment tool to save time and money on projects by helping to review existing health and safety conditions.
  • Initial evaluation of the fire performance of selected efficient building systems. 

Sean DeCrane

Director Health and Safety Operational Services

International Association of Fire Fighters

Sean DeCrane is the Director, Fire Fighter Health and Safety Operational Services for the International Association of Fire Fighters based in Washington, DC. Prior to assuming his current role, Sean was a Research Engineer Associate for UL Solutions focused on developing strategic planning, project prioritization and implementation for the UL Fire Research and Development Team while assigned to the Principal Engineers Team for UL’s Built Environment. Chief DeCrane represented the International Association of Fire Fighters in the International Code Council process and has served on the 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 Fire Code Developing Committee and as Chair for 2015 and 2018. He has also served on the ICC’s International Residential Code for 2021 and 2024 Editions and as Chair for 2024 as well as the NFPA 1 Technical Advisory Panel, NFPA Research Foundation on Tall Wood Buildings and served as the Chair of the Fire Test Work Group for the ICC Tall Wood Building Ad Hoc Committee.

Edward Louie

Senior Associate Energy Efficiency Engineer

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Edward quantitatively and qualitatively examines how energy-efficient products and technologies perform in the real world, noting new issues that arise from increasing energy efficiency. His experiences include assessing, verifying, and quantifying the energy performance of over 600 new homes seeking above code energy efficiency certifications in the greater Portland and Southwest Washington area.

Andre Desjarlais

Residential Buildings Program Manager

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

André Desjarlais is the Residential Buildings Research Program Manager for the Building Envelope Materials Research Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  He has been involved in building envelope and materials research for over 40 years, first as a consultant and, for the last 25 years, at ORNL.  Areas of expertise include building envelope and material energy efficiency, moisture control, and durability. 

Joe Pasma

National Sales Manager

Enercept

Since 1992 Joe has been involved in the Structural Insulated Panel industry.  Joe has worked for multiple SIP manufacturers and has spent 10 years installing SIPs in the Minneapolis/St. Paul MN area.  Joe currently serves as a board member of SIPA, Structural Insulated Panel Association.  Joe also is a member of ANSI and ASTM committees. Joe’s experience includes more than 40 years of Structural Engineering, Sales Engineering, Product Development, Building Science Applications

Key:

Complete
Failed
Available
Locked
Webinar (Presentation #1) Introduction to IREC & Presentation on The Building Science Advisor Tool
Open to view video.  |  21 minutes
Open to view video.  |  21 minutes Learn about IREC's EMPOWERED program to create resources that will help those on the front lines of DER adoption—like first responders, safety officials, and building managers and owners—keep up with these rapidly emerging and advancing technologies. Then tune in to the first presentation of this recorded webinar and hear from André Desjarlais Residential Buildings Research Program Manager for the Building Envelope Materials Research Program at Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL). Listen in as André talks about how to use a free website that provides expert advice on building envelope system performance.
You must register to access.
Webinar (Presentation #2) Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)
Open to view video.  |  20 minutes
Open to view video.  |  20 minutes In this second presentation on High-Performance Homes and Material Safety, listen in as Joe Pasma, National Sales Manager for Enercept discusses different types of efficient building materials including spray foam and structural insulated panels (SIPs). Joe shares how high-performance products like SIPS can provide efficient, durable, and sustainable building envelopes along with a few case studies of buildings using this building technology.
You must register to access.
Webinar (Presentation #3) Efficient Building Materials & Safety
Open to view video.  |  14 minutes
Open to view video.  |  14 minutes In this presentation from Edward Louie, Senior Associate Energy Efficiency Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), you will hear about the material safety standards of insulation foams in its various applications. Edward also takes a closer look at the existing hazards in buildings, like lead, knob and tube, asbestos and how they pose a higher risk than any new efficient building product. One of the key takeaways in Edwards's talk is that when it comes to material safety, we often should be more concerned about the hazards existing materials in building pose to our health than the hazards from newer building materials such as insulation foams which have undergone many rigorous modern test standards to ensure their safety.
You must register to access.
Webinar (Presentation #4) Flame Propagation of Energy Efficient Wall Assemblies
Recorded 01/17/2023  |  31 minutes
Recorded 01/17/2023  |  31 minutes In our final presentation, join Sean DeCrane, Director, Fire Fighter Health and Safety Operational Services for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). Sean will discuss a first of its kind project funded by the DOE that evaluates flame propagation of Innovative and energy efficient wall assemblies. See the results of this project and learn how efficient building codes can exist with fire safety.
You must register to access.
Webinar (End of webinar Q&A)- High Performance Homes and Material Safety
Recorded 01/17/2023  |  15 minutes
Recorded 01/17/2023  |  15 minutes In this final segment of the webinar, our presenters spend time responding to questions from the audience and diving a little deeper into their presentation topics. When you are done, please consider filling out a short survey which goes a long way to helping us provide resources that most effectively meet your needs and those of the EMPOWERED project.
You must register to access.
Your Feedback
4 Questions
4 Questions Please take two minutes and let us know what you thought of the webinar. Your feedback informs future content. Thank you.
You must register to access.
Certificate of Completion: High Performance Homes and Material Safety
1.50 Hours credits  |  Certificate available
1.50 Hours credits  |  Certificate available Save this Certificate of Completion and present to the CEU-awarding entity.
You must register to access.