Several employees from the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) had the opportunity to test out the Association for Energy Affordability Inc. (AEA) building efficiency training facility on South Central Ave., near Midway International Airport. A MEEA member, the Association for Energy Affordability is a non-profit organization “dedicated to achieving energy efficiency in new and existing buildings in order to foster and maintain affordable and healthy housing and communities, especially those of low-income.” This training facility provides an excellent space for building professionals to sharpen their building efficiency retrofit and new construction practices and obtain one of many Building Performance Institute (BPI) and other certifications.
MEEA is grateful for the invitation from AEA, as this training allowed MEEA employees focused on residential building efficiency policy and programs to practice what they preach and gain hands-on experience.
In the above image, Steve Kismohr (MEEA’s Senior Technical Manager) demonstrates how to effectively use spray foam to seal penetrations and gaps in a manufactured attic space. The AEA trainers, John Yi and Steve Marchese, highlighted areas in the attic that are commonly missed by building professionals and recommended techniques to obtain a secure and long lasting seal to prevent air leakage. Sealing building penetrations is a relatively easy and cost-effective approach to improving the energy efficiency of a building, and in reducing the potential for harmful contaminants to enter into the living space of a home or apartment.
In addition to providing training on effective air sealing techniques, the AEA trainers also demonstrated how to ensure a quality installation of dense-pack cellulose insulation. In the above image, Chris Burgess (MEEA’s Technical Manager for Codes Compliance) is trying his hand at dense-packing a wall and AEA trainer, Steve Marchese and MEEA’s Isaac Elnecave (Senior Policy Manager) are providing support and recommendations. Using dense-pack cellulose insulation is one of many methods to effectively insulate a home or apartment. In addition to the thermal barrier gained from insulation, this method is also effective in helping to ensure a tight home and in preventing air leakage in walls.
Ta da! MEEA’s Kelsey Horton (Senior Program Associate), Isaac Elnecave and Chris Burgess inspect their work and note techniques to use when dense-packing an above grade wall in the future. Nice work, MEEA team!
MEEA wants to thank AEA for the knowledge they imparted to us and for the opportunity to test out their building performance training facility. We had a great time as a building performance contractor for the day!