New Location of the TxAIRE Houses on the UT Tyler campus. |
Ground breaking begins on House #1. |
TxAIRE House #1 slab prepped and ready for concrete. |
TxAIRE House #1 slab being poured. |
TxAIRE House #1 frame is coming together. |
TxAIRE House #1 frame almost complete. |
TxAIRE House #1 frame complete. |
Houses 1 (right) and 2 (left) with roofing and house wrap installed prior to laying
brick. House 1 is roofed with conventional architectural shingles while House 2 is
roofed with a new type of shingle with significantly higher solar reflectance to provide
a cooler roof during summer days. |
House 1 (left) has a ventilated attic and insulated ceilings with three types of
roof ventilators. House 2 (right) has an unvented attic with an insulated roof deck
that will result in a conditioned attic which should significantly improve the performance
of the mechanical equipment and ductwork in that attic. |
Interior view of typical wall framing in House 1. This house uses 2"x4" studs on 16”
centers with double 2"x6" headers, a double top plate, and double studs along each
door and window opening. |
Interior view of "advanced" wall framing in House 2. This house uses 2"x6" studs on
24" centers with a single 2”x6” header, a single top plate, and a single stud along
each door and window opening. Metal tie plates are used to support the header which
is moved up to the top plate so that it can support the ceiling and roof load without
the need for additional short studs. Overall, this advanced framing technique resulted
in 13% less wood use in the wall framing while allowing a 50% increase in wall insulation
compared to House 1. |
Insulated wall test sections in House 1. The white insulation on the left is blown-in
glass fiber insulation which is used throughout the house. The yellow insulation on
the right is glass fiber batt insulation. Both sections are instrumented with temperature
sensors so that we can collect performance data throughout the year. |
Insulated wall test sections in House 2. The white insulation in the center is blown-in
glass fiber insulation as is used in House 1. The greenish colored insulation is sprayed
open-cell foam insulation that is used throughout House 2. |
Sheetrock clip as used in House 2. These clips are used for supporting sheetrock in
place of wood backing to save lumber costs and improve the insulation values of the
exterior walls. |
Insulated exterior walls in House 2. Note the sheetrock clips that are installed in
each inside corner in place of an additional stud. Eliminating these studs saves material
and reduces “thermal bridging” to the outside. |
Close up view of an installed sheetrock clip. The clip is nailed to the stud on the
right and the sheetrock is screwed through the perforated section on the left side
of the clip. |
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