| November 11, 1999 Office of the Secretary Re: Comments In Respect Of The Proposed Rulemaking Proceeding To Amend The Trade Regulation Rule Concerning The Labeling And Advertising of Home Insulation. Dear Sir: The following comments represent the official position of the Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association (CIMA) in respect of the proposed rulemaking procedure referred to above. GENERAL Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the "Act") prohibits any unfair and deceptive act or practice or an unfair method of competition as defined in the Act. In 1979, the Federal Trade Commission ("the Commission"), pursuant to its powers under the Act, issued the Trade Regulation Rule Concerning the Labeling and Advertising of Home Insulation (the "R-value Rule" or "Rule"). The R-value Rule requires that thermal insulation manufacturers and other sellers disclose the thermal performance of their products, based on uniform testing procedures adopted by the thermal insulation industry. The purpose of this Rule is to provide consumers with information about thermal insulation products, based on uniform standards, that allows them to make informed purchasing decisions among competing products. The Rule further requires that R-values be determined using ASTM test methods that provide R-value measurements under "steady-state" or "static" laboratory conditions. The Commission has found these tests to be the most reliable and accurate test methods available. However, an area where dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation has experienced discriminatory treatment in the calculation of R-value is in the determination of the settled density, which is necessary to conduct an accurate test of R-value. In addition, the Commission has assumed that environmental conditions that might affect R-value would affect competing home insulation products in approximately the same manner. Subsequent testing at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has shown this not to be the case. Fiberglass dry-applied loose-fill insulation was installed at R-19 in the Large Scale Climate Simulator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The R-value of the fiberglass insulation was measured at various attic cold air temperatures. With the metering chamber temperature held at a Federal Trade Commission November 11, 1999 Page 2 constant 70oF, measurable convective heat loss began at an attic temperature of 30oF. A 40% to 50% loss of R-value occurred at cold temperatures. An identical test was run in the Large Scale Climate Simulator at Oak Ridge using dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation, also installed at R-19. The measured R-value of the cellulose insulation actually increased from R-18 at 40oF to R-20.3 at -18oF. CIMA Comments in Respect of the R-Value Rule The two areas of the R-value Rule of greatest interest to CIMA and its members are: 1. Settlement of Dry-Applied Loose-Fill Insulation Materials, and 2. Convective Heat Loss Under Winter Conditions. 1. Settlement of Dry-Applied Loose-Fill Insulation Materials. All dry-applied loose-fill insulation settles after installation. The Commission recognized this fact as early as 1979, stating in the Federal Resister, Vol. 44, No. 167, Monday, August 27, 1979: "In general, the material particles of all loose-fill insulations tend to settle after being installed in open or unconfined areas, such as attics . . . . Any settling of a loose-fill insulation reduces the R-value of the area in which it is installed." Section 460.5 of the Rule specifies the tests that must be conducted to determine the R-value of insulation products. Section 460.5(a) (1) relates to dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation, and the first sentence thereof states as follows:
The referenced ASTM standard requires use of the Blower Cyclone Shaker ("BCS") test to determine the settled density of the dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation. Section 460.5(a) (3) relates to dry-applied loose-fill mineral wool insulation and reads as follows:
Although Section 460.5(a) (3) has been in effect since 1979, GSA has never adopted a specific test for determining the settled density of dry-applied loose-fill mineral fiber insulation products. GSA now accepts the use of ASTM standards, which also do not specify procedures for determining the settled density of dry-applied loose-fill mineral fiber insulations. Federal Trade Commission November 11, 1999 Page 3 The BCS test procedure used to determine the settled density of dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation requires severe shaking of a cellulose insulation specimen. It typically produces settlement of thirty percent or more. Current studies of actual installations indicate that settlement is typically between twelve and twenty percent in residential buildings. By specifying a test that significantly overstates cellulose settlement, while effectively allowing those selling fiberglass to ignore or greatly understate settlement, the R-value Rule places dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation at a competitive disadvantage that may be as much as ten to fifteen percent compared to fiberglass. If this competitive disadvantage has affected the market share of dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation by as little as five percent, it has resulted in a loss in excess of $50 million in annual revenues for cellulose producers. Because there is no specific test for dry-applied loose-fill mineral fiber insulation products, it is possible that such materials have labeled densities that are lower than actual settled densities. In such a case, the coverage chart on the bag of insulation would be in error, and the coverage provided by the bag of insulation would be overstated, thereby depriving consumers of the amount of thermal insulation they believe they are purchasing. Recent testing by an independent third-party laboratory confirms that this is the case. Since 1979, the settled densities of dry-applied loose-fill insulation products have been reduced, primarily because of improvements in manufacturing equipment used to process the insulation materials. The BCS test was promulgated about twenty years ago and may no longer be appropriate for determining the settled density of dry-applied loose-fill insulation materials. However, until this is addressed, it is essential that the Commission rectify the discrimination against cellulose insulation that has occurred because of inaction on the part of GSA. Therefore, CIMA recommends that the R-value Rule be changed accordingly. The first sentence of Section 460.5(a) (2) should be amended to read as follows:
Section 460.5(a) (3) should be deleted. 2. Convective Heat Loss Under Winter Conditions. Part IV.B.l of the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking summarized comments regarding factors that affect performance in attics during winter conditions. Tests were run on dry-applied loose-fill fiberglass insulation installed at R-19 in the Large Scale Climate Simulator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. There is no dispute that these tests revealed a 40% to 50% loss of R-value at extremely cold temperatures, and that a detectable decrease in R-value began to occur at Federal Trade Commission November 11, 1999 Page 4 a temperature difference of less than 50oF between the attic and the conditioned area. An identical test was conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with dry-applied loose-fill cellulose insulation installed at R-19 in the Large Scale Climate Simulator. The measured R-value of the cellulose insulation actually increased from R-18 at 40oF to R-20.3 at -18oF. This major comparative difference in R-values between cellulose and fiberglass insulation products at cold attic temperatures must be addressed by the R-value Rule, not only for competitive fairness, but also to protect consumers living in cold climates. CIMA recommends adoption of a test method that is available to measure such performance differences. A discussion of an index that would be of help to consumers in evaluating competing insulation products follows. The movement of air in and through fibrous, porous, or open-cell thermal insulation can significantly increase the rate of heat flow through insulation. Air in contact with a warm ceiling surface picks up heat, increases in temperature, decreases in density, and rises due to buoyancy. Cold air moves into the insulation to replace the warm air. This air movement reduces the effectiveness of insulation in blocking heat flow from the conditioned space below the ceiling to the attic air space. Air flow can result, for example, from natural convection in horizontally-oriented residential insulation in winter or from pressure differences across residential wall cavity insulation. Free convection has been shown to reduce the thermal resistance of attic insulation up to 40% to 50% of the 75oF R-value in cold weather. The tests specified in the Rule provide for product comparisons at 75oF. Horizontally oriented fibrous or porous thermal insulation in a residential attic can lose a significant fraction of its 75oF R-value due to natural convection. The test conditions under which R-value is evaluated, however, are not designed to detect free convection. The test specimen boundaries in all tests identified in the Rule are impermeable to air. This significantly reduces the possibility of air movement in the insulation, and may therefore misrepresent the comparative performance of insulation products in a real building environment. The Commission should enhance the value and benefit of the Rule to consumers by expanding it to cover the airflow resistance of insulation as well as laboratory-determined R-value. This is technically appropriate and fully consistent with the intent of the R-value rule, because, as discussed above, airflow resistance has a significant impact on the actual installed R-value of insulation in buildings. The resistance of an insulating product to internal airflow can be measured. The resistance to air movement increases very rapidly as the density of the insulation increases. The resistance to airflow, therefore, should be determined at the insulation’s settled density. Airflow resistance involves simultaneous measurements of pressure difference and airflow rate across a test specimen of known dimensions. The measurements can be accomplished with Federal Trade Commission November 11, 1999 Page 5 readily available laboratory equipment. These physical measurements yield a quantity called the airflow permeability, P. A convenient and simply understood index can be derived from the laboratory measurements. The Airflow Resistance Index ("ARI") can be calculated from the expression ARI = 1x10-7/P. The units for ARI as shown are ft-2. A similar expression can be developed in SI units. The ARI-value obtained from the above expression will range from near zero to about 100. The higher the ARI-value the more resistive the product to air movement. The ARI-value, therefore, provides a simple way for a consumer to compare products. The ARI-value can be used to determine conditions at which convection starts. These conditions include the temperature difference across the insulation, the R-value, and the physical properties of air. It is, therefore, possible to calculate the impact of convection on R-value using published technical information. A test method for measuring the effect of free convection on thermal resistance is set forth in a newly-adopted standard, ASTM C 1373. This test should be reasonably priced and will confirm the calculated ARI-value. The combination of R-value and ARI-value provides information that is useful to a consumer selecting an insulation product. The Commission should amend the R-value Rule to include the ARI-value calculation for a determination of convective heat loss and its impact upon R-value of competing dry-applied loose-fill insulation products. The R-value Rule should be amended as set forth below: A Subsection (b)(8) and a Subsection (f) should be added to Section 460.12 Labels as follows:
The statement required under Subsection (f) of Section 460.13 Fact Sheets, should be revised to read as follows:
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A Subsection (g) should be added to Section 460.15 Insulation Ads, as follows:
Incorporating ARI-values into the R-value Rule provides the consumer with a simple means of determining the impact of cold weather conditions upon the dry-applied loose-fill insulation products purchased. This enhances the ability of the consumer to make meaningful, cost-based purchasing decisions among competing products. Respectfully submitted, Daniel Lea |