Electric heater question

[TorontoBuilder]

The shop is fully insulated except for the floor and sadly there is no practical way to do that now.

Once upon a time (1990s) the US Department of Energy funded researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley Labs to look for ways to retrofit air sealing on existing forced air systems. When air leaks from ducts before it gets to the space the heating or air conditioning is needed it results in occupant discomfort and requiring hvac systems to be run longer to affect the desired temperature.

A products was developed and named aeroseal, based on it being a polymer that is aerosolized and then blown into pressurized ducts where it building up on the edges of holes until the holes are plugged. Because they're a lab that does research only LBL licensed the technology for commercialization to a private company and it ended up in Carrier's portfolio for a while. The product never took off because the licensees could not figure out how to market the product and erred in targeting hvac contractors. Contractors were not going to sell a retrofit that proved they did shitty work the first time. In new construction there are cheaper and more reliable air sealing methods, but that is another story.

skip ahead a decade or two, and we come to a different need. New homes having to meet new air tightness levels and struggling dearly because there are so many hands involved in building homes, most of who dont give a damn if their work destroys an air barrier system.

So, a entrepreneurial type says lets try this product to new homes during construction... lets pressurize the home, and aerosolize this material into the space... and as the material passes thru cracks and crevices it sticks to the edges of holes and seals them.

Guess what, it worked.

To the extent that they're using the product on existing structures. There is no need to open walls, reinsulate or anything else. You just need a blower door and the aerosolizer, and the product of course.

So there is a practical way... but is it affordable and available in the region. As far as I know, in the west it is only in Calgary and Edmonton and I can't speak to the quality and skill of the operators

 

[Hruul]

I had something similar to this done on my ducts in my house. I believe it was called aeroseal if i recall correctly. Seemed to help with the heating.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I had something similar to this done on my ducts in my house. I believe it was called aeroseal if i recall correctly. Seemed to help with the heating.

That is the exact same product, and the same parent company now controls both the aeroseal and aerobarrier product installation lines.

I wanted to licence this product from Carrier. They refused. I had all the industry contacts and the capacity to set up installer network in the late 1990s early 2000s but at the time the licensee lacked vision. It is a real shame because it remains a super niche product and got passed by in new ductwork construction.