R-NY-2 Tight Homes, Bright Futures: Bringing Comfort to Building Thermal Envelopes Part 2

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will take a deep dive into the requirements for the building thermal envelope in Section R402 of the 2025 Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State. Part 2 will focus on air barrier, air sealing, and insulation installation criteria requirements in Table R402.5.1.1 and the air leakage testing requirements, including highlighting the importance of air leakage testing, best practices, understanding blower door testing, and new guidance related to unit sampling.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Describe the benefits of air barriers and air sealing the thermal envelope

2. Distinguish major changes for prescriptive insulation requirements between the 2020 ECCCNYS and the 2025 ECCCNYS

3. Apply best practices for air sealing using Table R402.5.1.1

4. Describe what a blower door test is and what results show

5. Determine the minimum air leakage rate for New York’s climate zones

6. Learn to convert Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) into Air Changes per Hour (ACH50)

7. Determine when unit sampling is allowed for air infiltration testing