The residential market has become a race to build affordable, sustainable, and available housing. A little over 40 million people in the United States live in multi-family housing like apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and mixed-use developments. We have witnessed a recent surge in apartment, townhouse, and mixed-use or co-op dwellings under construction. Specifying Armacell's insulation solutions will help with distinct design challenges and cost savings.
Multi-family buildings have different structure, HVAC and plumbing requirements than single-family homes. Design priorities in multi-family buildings like managing peak energy load, delivering room-to-room comfort control, noise attenuation, and optimizing systems, create opportunities for more energy efficient and protective material selection.
Heating and cooling challenges within multi-family buildings create distinct design challenges. Although requirements will vary, the goals of efficiency, performance, sustainability, and accessibility are paramount. A building may be required to operate different heating and cooling programs during the day versus at night, and these systems can benefit from insulation.
One growing challenge is the usage of varied ducting and plumbing within vertical multi-family structures. These varied sizes can lead to issues of moisture intrusion during operation if not properly considered and protected. Additionally, refrigerant piping is a constant culprit for condensation build up and even refrigerant leaks over time. Designing a system with the most protective insulation barrier is insurance any designer can afford.
Another challenge for multi-family buildings is noise attenuation. These complex buildings contain many different air-conditioning technologies, and the fans and blowers inherent to these technologies will can create unpleasant noise ailments. While insulation can be used to control temperature and efficiency, the acoustic benefits should not be taken for granted. Lining and wrapping ductwork with closed- cell insulation helps manage audio frequencies specific to air-handlers.
Insulation can also assist in one other challenge for multi-family buildings – indoor air quality (IAQ). IAQ is important in HVAC ductwork, where fibrous material can get caught up in the air stream exposing occupants to airborne particulates. Not only is our insulation non-particulating, but it is also fiber-free and made with Microban® antimicrobial protection to resist the growth of mold and mildew on the insulation. It is also GREENGUARD® Gold Certified to low emission standards with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no off-gassing.
Armacell’s insulation systems are ideal for insulating chilled water piping, chillers, cooling tanks and air handlers. Insulating pipes, refrigeration lines, or cooling systems promotes energy efficiency and prevents condensation on below-ambient temperature surfaces. Specifying Armacell’s Solutions Portfolio for multi-family buildings is a simple way for specifiers to ensure they are getting the right products for a fully integrated, high-performing system.
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