ZIP System® Wall Sheathing Seals ZEBRAlliance Low-Energy Living
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (Aug. 10, 2009) – Huber Engineered Woods LLC, leading manufacturer of innovative building solutions, is providing AdvanTech® flooring and ZIP System® wall sheathing to the Zero Energy Building Research Alliance (ZEBRAlliance), a project evaluating the market viability of low-energy homes. A partnership between Schaad Companies, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), BarberMcMurry Architects and the Department of Energy (DOE), ZEBRAlliance is building four homes expected to be 60 percent more energy efficient than homes of similar size and style by using the most advanced building technology, products and techniques available.
“Air leakage in a home is responsible for 30 percent or more of heating and cooling costs, so sealing a home as tight as possible is critical,” said Meredith Murchison, ZIP System general manager of Huber Engineered Woods. “Recently, The ZIP System® wall sheathing installed with ZIP System® tape not only passed the toughest air barrier assembly test by the Air Barrier Association of America but also outperformed traditional housewrap assemblies in similar tests. I’m confident the ZEBRAlliance house framed with ZIP System wall sheathing will be very energy efficient.”
In addition to the ZIP System wall sheathing, AdvanTech flooring was used because it is a certified sustainable product. All of Huber Engineered Woods’ mills are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), promoting sustainable forestry practices through procurement programs and research initiatives, as well as logger and landowner outreach. Huber Engineered Woods’ plants also employ state-of-the-art environmental control equipment and maintain strict standards to ensure that the manufacturing of its products have minimal impact on the environment.
The four ZEBRAlliance project homes being built in the Crossroads at Wolf Creek subdivision will be outfitted with approximately 400 sensors, so ORNL and TVA can collect data to analyze energy efficiency under standard living conditions. In early 2011, the ZEBRAlliance homes will be sold on the open market and future homes will be built in test markets with the most energy-efficient components of the project to determine affordability. The ZIP System wall sheathing and AdvanTech flooring are joined on the ZEBRAlliance by leading energy-efficient products from a variety of categories including HVAC, siding, insulation and windows and doors.
AdvanTech Flooring
AdvanTech flooring has greater water resistance, design bending strength and stiffness than commodity oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, providing superior quality and the best warranty in the business – a limited 50-year transferable warranty and a 300-day no-sanding guarantee. AdvanTech flooring has fastening guide marks and self-spacing tongue and groove for easy installation. For more information, visit Advantech
ZIP System Wall Sheathing
The ZIP System® wall sheathing with a built-in water-resistive barrier is a structural wall panel, moisture barrier and air barrier all-in-one, providing a tight building envelope and superior moisture resistance during and after the construction. ZIP System® tape is used on both the roof and wall products and provides moisture resistance for seams, valleys and ridges, can help reduce air leaks as recommended by the Seal and Insulate with the ENERGY STAR® effort, and is code recognized as window and door flashing tape when used with ZIP System Wall sheathing (ESR-2227).
ZIP System wall sheathing is backed by a 15-year system warranty and a 30-year panel warranty.
To learn more about the ZEBRAlliance, visit www.zebralliance.com.
Huber Engineered Woods LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of J.M. Huber Corporation, a diversified, multinational supplier of engineered materials, natural resources and technology-based services to markets ranging from paper and energy to construction. An innovative building solution provider for the housing market, Huber Engineered Woods offers such specialty products as AdvanTech® flooring and sheathing, as well as the new ZIP System® wall and ZIP System® roof products. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Huber Engineered Woods has manufacturing operations in Maine, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma, as well as research and development facilities in Georgia. Huber Engineered Woods also serves industrial markets with products for door manufacturers and the transportation industry.
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