Wood Framing Insulated With Aerogel Improves Energy Efficiency by 15%

Economical method to eliminate thermal bridging in framing members

   The top portion of this wall was insulated with ThermaBlok between the framing and gypsum wall board. Thermal bridging was reduced dramatically compared to the bottom, which did not have ThermaBlok.

Challenges

• Homeowners renovating a nearly 300-year-old house wanted to increase the energy efficiency at an economical price.
• With their construction and real estate experience, the owners understood that to improve the home's energy efficiency they would have to address heat loss through the frame.
• Due to old construction techniques and materials, framing density varied throughout the house and in some cases was quite high.

Aerogel Solution

• The homeowners selected ThermaBlok® to eliminate the thermal bridging through the frame members in the walls being renovated. This greatly increased the overall thermal efficiency of those walls.
• ThermaBlok® can be installed on the interior or exterior of the framing member, depending on the construction or renovation details. In this application, the contractor opted to install the ThermaBlok® to the inside of the framing members.

   The homeowners renovated a substantial portion of their house, built in 1715.

Benefits

• The R-value of the walls containing ThermaBlok® improved to R 13.9, a 15% improvement.
• In addition to greatly increasing the thermal efficiency of the house, ThermaBlok® significantly reduced noise, producing both a more energy efficient and quieter house.
• ThermaBlok improved the energy efficiency of the house while meeting the homeowners' budget requirements.