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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2005
Contact:
Tara Smith, Public Relations
At Large Marketing Solutions
Phone. 864.527.1190
taras@atlargemarketing.com
XPS INSULATED SHEATHING MANUFACTURER PROVIDES THE NEW AMERICAN HOME 2006®
With Best Energy Efficient Option
WOODBRIDGE, VA – A lake front spa room, an elevator and a hot tub aren't the only amenities that make The New American Home 2006®, one of the most state-of-the-art, modern facilities built. Contributing to its sustainable, energy efficient design, one-inch Extruded Polystyrene foam (XPS) boards are also applied on the entire interior perimeter of the masonry building wall envelope of the house. XPS insulating sheathing helps lower utility bills, provides long-term sustainable performance and reduces the likelihood incurring devastating moisture damage. Through the use of such innovative technology and design practices, the home will achieve nearly 40% whole house energy savings.
Energy savings will be good news for The New American Home owner, since the home encompasses 7,367 square-feet of cooling and heating space. It's estimated that about 44% of a homeowner's total utility bill pays for heating and cooling of the home. Due to this percentage, the Department of Energy (DOE) recommends that by insulating a home adequately, an investment of just a few hundred dollars can reduce heating and cooling needs by about 30%. XPS reduces energy loss in buildings because it reduces the amount of oil, gas or electric energy required to maintain comfortable living environments.
“XPS insulating sheathing is a superior material for residential building systems. That's why it was necessary we showcase the product in The New American Home 2006 since the home utilizes the best home building concepts, designs, techniques and materials” notes Susan Herrenbruck, XPSA's Executive Director. “What XPSA wants to communicate to homebuilders and homebuyers is that, even though insulation may not be as visible as mahogany fixtures or marble countertops, it is one of the most important components of a home because it conserves energy, helps to protect the environment, and contributes to ensuring the home is properly protected from possible moisture damage. Because other amenities can be added later, insulating sheathing, as part of the residential building envelope, should be considered when the home is built to save money and energy in the long run.”
XPSA Addresses Sustainability and Moisture Resistance at International Builders' Show in Orlando
To qualify as a sustainable insulating product, it is essential that a product is able to insulate without significant degradation in thermal performance over its useful life. Many types of insulation cite high R-values. However, many R-value claims are often inflated when insulation performance is considered during the life of a home. R-value is the measure of a material's resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the more the material insulates. XPS insulating sheathing increases the R-value of an entire wall because it has a long-term R-value from 3 (for a ½ inch thick board) up to 5 per 1-inch of thickness (i.e., 5 for a 1-inch; 10 for 2-inch etc.)
Another important aspect of sustainability involves a material's propensity to avoid problems associated with moisture damage. XPS not only lowers utility bills, but because of its superior ability to resist water moisture absorption, it also reduces the likelihood of incurring devastating moisture damage. When properly installed, XPS provides a continuous layer of protection against inside and outside moisture while keeping the wall cavity warm and shifts damaging dew points, minimizing the potential for condensation to occur within the wall. And because it is an inert plastic material, it will not corrode, rot or support the growth of mold or mildew.
To learn more about the Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association or individual XPS products, stop by the Dow Building Products, Owens Corning or Pactiv trade booths at the International Builders Show to obtain informative brochures and product samples, or visit www.xpsa.com .
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About The Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association
The Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association (XPSA) is a trade association representing manufacturers of Extruded Polystyrene Foam (XPS) insulation products and the industry's raw material suppliers. XPSA voting members are The Dow Chemical Company, Owens Corning and Pactiv Corporation, who collectively manufacture more than 95 percent of all XPS foam products sold in the North American market. XPSA serves as the industry's leader on product stewardship, conducting research to substantiate performance claims and promotes the benefits of XPS foam insulation applications. Its excellent resistance to moisture, high compressive strength and ability to maintain long-term insulating power make XPS foam a premiere insulating material for commercial, industrial and residential structures, as well as for critical civil engineering uses. For more information, please see XPSA's website at www.xpsa.com or call 800.978.XPSA (9772).
June 3, 2005 Ecobuild Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2005
XPSA ‘COVERS' BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY AT 2005 ECOBUILD AMERICA EXHIBIT
Extruded Polystyrene Foam Campaign Addresses Energy Efficiency, Moisture Resistance and Sustainability for Building Systems
WOODBRIDGE, VA – The Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association (XPSA), a trade association representing manufacturers of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) insulation products, is stepping up its awareness campaign at the Ecobuild America Conference and Exhibit on June 20 – 23, 2005. The association's new campaign slogan, ‘XPS Covers Everything,' is designed to educate that one product can perform across the board in three important green building categories. XPS sheathing products are durable, weather-resistant, and have stable, long-term insulating power making them a superior thermally-efficient choice when compared to other more traditionally-used sheathing materials.
During the three-day Ecobuild America conference, XPSA booth #631 will showcase XPS foam insulating sheathing benefits including product samples, thermal bridging illustrations, and informative materials on topics ranging from insulated sheathing life cycle analyses to environmental benefits related to Ecobuild's mission.
“Extruded polystyrene foam insulation is a superior material for residential building systems due to its imperviousness to rot, mildew and corrosion,” notes Susan Herrenbruck, XPSA's Executive Director. “Because XPS insulating sheathing also performs as a weather-resistant barrier without property performance degradation over the application's life, it fits the definition of ‘sustainable' in many ways—especially in its ability to score points in at least three LEEDs categories. As such, its versatility of product function in a wide array of applications is well-suited for the Ecobuild America Conference and Exhibit.”
XPS Not Only Benefits Homeowners, It Also Offers Net-Positive Environmental Benefits in Commercial Building Markets
According to the Department of Energy, properly-insulated homes can save homeowners up to 30 percent on their monthly energy bill. An essential attribute for any sustainable building product, especially insulation, is its ability to perform over the building application's given life without property performance degradation. Good insulation performance is essential for the proper design of a building's heating and air conditioning systems as well as for its ability to assist with moisture management – a critical factor that, when left unaddressed, can ultimately compromise the thermal performance of a product or application over time.
When building for sustainability, one important aspect of environmentally-sound building practices is to “reduce, reuse and recycle." Because XPS insulating sheathing reduces energy loss in buildings, it reduces the amount of energy (gas, oil, or electric) required to maintain comfortable living environments. This reduction of energy also translates into environmental benefits because it significantly reduces the amount of air pollution emissions, including potentially harmful greenhouse gas emissions. XPS products can be recycled from post-consumer material. It is important to note that while there is currently no infrastructure in the U.S. that makes it economically sound to collect any kind of polystyrene foam construction material, XPS is easily recycled if able to be collected and stripped of construction-related contaminants such as nails and staples.
Studies show that far more energy is saved than consumed during the manufacture of XPS insulation. The product's production plants don't create waste material because 100% of the industrial “scrap” material is reincorporated into new XPS product boards. And because XPS is used in building applications with 15-to 50-year life spans, its effect on landfills is minimal. Even when a building requires renovation, XPS is one of the few insulation materials that can be reused successfully. For example, even after 17 years of useful life in an existing roof, XPS can be reused in a re-roof application.
To learn more about XPSA and XPS product benefits and receive takeaway gift items, visit booth #631 during the Ecobuild America Conference, June 20-23, 2005.
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About The Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association
The Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association (XPSA) is a trade association representing manufacturers of Extruded Polystyrene Foam (XPS) insulation products and the industry's raw material suppliers. XPSA voting members are The Dow Chemical Company, Owens Corning and Pactiv Corporation, who collectively manufacture more than 95 percent of all XPS foam products sold in the North American market. XPSA serves as the industry's leader on product stewardship, conducting research to substantiate performance claims and promotes the benefits of XPS foam insulation applications. Its excellent resistance to moisture, high compressive strength and ability to maintain long-term insulating power make XPS foam a premiere insulating material for commercial, industrial and residential structures, as well as for critical civil engineering uses. For more information, please see XPSA's website at www.xpsa.com or call 800.978.XPSA (9772).
Press Release: September 2003
Extruded Polystyrene Association Members
WOODBRIDGE, Va. – The Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association
(XPSA) is a trade association representing manufacturers of Extruded
Polystyrene Foam (XPS) insulation products and its raw material
suppliers. XPSA members, including Dow Chemical, Owens Corning and
Pactiv Corporation, collectively manufacture more than 95 percent
of all XPS foam products sold in the North American market.
The Dow Chemical Company
For more than 50 years, Dow Building Materials has
been the recognized leader in extruded polystyrene insulation. Since
developing STYROFOAM® blue extruded polystyrene insulation in
the 1950s, they continue to build on their foam expertise and technical
strength to provide customers with the right thermal envelope product
for any application. Today, Dow Building Materials offers an extensive
line of science-based building envelope solutions, including:
- STYROFOAM® Extruded Polystyrene Insulation
- STYROFOAM WEATHERMATE® Plus Building Wrap
Dow’s highly skilled professionals are on
hand to provide technical assistance from the planning stage through
completion. For product availability or the name of a local sales
representative, call 1-800-232-2436. For additional information,
an architectural binder and technical data sheets, case studies
or literature on any of the insulation systems, call 1-866-583-BLUE
(2583) or visit http://www.dowbuildingmaterials.com.
Owens Corning
Owens Corning's family of pink extruded polystyrene
rigid foam insulation products offers exceptionally long-lasting
R-value, superb water and moisture resistance and a range of compressive
strengths to meet numerous building needs. They can be used in commercial
and residential applications including under slab, re-siding, masonry
cavity walls, interior basement walls, insulating sheathing, crawl
spaces and exterior foundation walls. Products include:
- FOAMULAR® Rigid Foam Insulation
- PROPINK® Super Tough Insulating Sheathing
- INSULPINK® Rigid Foam Basement Wall Insulation
- FanFold Re-siding Underlayment
Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials
systems and composites systems. Additional information is available
on Owens Corning's eb site at www.owenscorning.com or by calling
the company's toll-free General Information line: 1-800-GET PINK.
Pactiv Corporation
Pactiv Building Product’s XPS insulation board
and underlayments are used for construction solutions throughout
the United States and selected international markets. The GreenGuard®
brand and light green trademark color are signatures that top quality
products were used to achieve energy efficiency and moisture management.
Products marketed under the GreenGuard® brand that serve and
enhance the work of the building professional include:
- Extruded Polystyrene Insulation Board
- Extruded Polystyrene Fanfold Underlayment for
Re-Siding , Waterproofing Protection Board, Roofing Recovery Board,
Manufactured Housing and Agricultural applications
- Four grades of housewrap/drainage plane products
- Sill Sealer
- Contractor Tape
Contact Pactiv Building Products at
1-800-241-4402 or http://pactiv.com/green-guard/ to locate the nearest
distributor, to have a sales representative contact you or to receive
product information.
About Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association
The Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association (XPSA)
serves as the industry’s leader on product stewardship by
conducting research to substantiate performance claims and serves
as spokesperson to promote the benefits of extruded polystyrene
foam (XPS) insulation applications. Its excellent resistance to
moisture, high compressive strength and ability to maintain long-term
insulating power make XPS foam the premiere insulating material
for commercial, industrial and residential structures, as well as
for critical civil engineering uses. For more information, please
look for XPSA’s website to be launched in February 2004 at
www.xpsa.com, or call 800-978-9772.
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