EcoSmart Stud 
When it’s below zero, it’s time to bring out the thermal imaging camera. How are EcoSmart® Stud walls performing in the sub-zero cold? Let’s take a look.
Double Stud walls with Separated Plates
With the thermal camera out, we can examine how the wall system is performing at -8 degrees below zero. This Sustainable 9 home walls are built a bit differently than the Minneapolis build, with many double-stud walls. The purpose of the double-stud walls in this build is not actually for insulation. It’s to hide automatic window blinds, but it also provides secondary benefits such as sound isolation, reduced thermal bridging, straighter walls, fewer screw pops, etc. Fewer callbacks for the builder.
All the insulation is in the outer wall, not the interior wall. There is insulation between the outer and interior plates.
Please note that this home is still under construction and has temporary heat. At -8 below zero, rooms can vary significantly in temperature.
From the inside it’s hard to detect wall studs. With the complete thermal break between the outer and inner walls, there is little temperature difference between the interior wall materials. Studs show up as even more ghostly images than in the Minneapolis build.
From The Outside
The outside views we can see a bit of temperature difference in the rim joist area because that is where the solid framing has contact with the sheathing. Where the EcoSmart® Studs are located in the wall assembly we are not seeing any major thermal bridging. That is key to building better.
EcoSmart® Studs: Considerable Insulation Boost, Little Added Cost
The significant elements of this Sustainable 9 home’s design were completed before the EcoSmart® Studs were decided on as an upgrade for the exterior wall insulation. The customer had already decided on double-stud walls to hide the automatic blinds and 2lb closed-cell spray foam for chamber insulation. The addition of just the EcoSmart® Studs increased the exterior wall’s insulation value by about 27% by reducing thermal bridging. The 27% gain in insulation value from the EcoSmart® Studs was at minimal extra cost.
Cost is Key to Builders and Home Owners
The long-term savings on gas and electric bills will dwarf the added cost of the EcoSmart® Studs for this build in a very short period of time. If a home is off-site built with panelized or modular construction, or on-site built like this home, EcoSmart® Studs can be added to the build with minimal impact on workflow or cost.
Reach out to us to find out how.