Continuous air barriers have been required in most buildings for a number of years. Recently the model commercial energy codes, ASHRAE 90.1 Standard and the 2024 IECC, have been updated to provide more specific and more stringent requirements for buildings. Understand and explain the distinction between energy savings, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions (“carbon”) and embodied carbon in various stages of LCA.

Learning Objectives:

1.  Explain the importance of continuous air barriers in commercial buildings for energy efficiency.
2. Identify recent updates to ASHRAE 90.1 and the 2024 IECC standards regarding air barriers.
3.  Distinguish between energy savings, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions, and embodied carbon in building lifecycle stages.
4.  Analyze the impact of air barrier requirements on energy performance and carbon emissions in commercial buildings.

Ben Meyer, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP,  Building Enclosure Business Director, Siplast

Benjamin Meyer, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP is the Building Enclosure Business Director for Siplast. He has worked previously in building envelope product technical management, commercial design, real estate development and construction management on a range of projects that included residential, educational, offices, and DuPont industrial projects. Industry positions include: Voting Member of the ASHRAE 90.1 Envelope and Project Committees, Board of Directors of the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA), Co-chair of the Codes Task Group (ABAA), LEED Technical Committee member, and past Technical Advisor of the LEED Materials (MR) TAG. Mr. Meyer has MBA, B.S., and M.Arch degrees from the University of Cincinnati.

Andrea Wagner Watts, Building Science Education Manager, GAF

Andrea Wagner Watts is the Building Science Education manager for GAF, engaging with industry professionals to provide guidance, technical support and education for roof and wall assemblies. Andrea has more than 15 years of experience in the construction industry, successfully developing multiple sealants and air/water barrier system solutions and doing building science research. She is always working to improve the overall performance of the building enclosures through application innovation, research and industry knowledge sharing. Andrea has published on building science, assembly interfaces, durability and resilience and is the holder of multiple patents. She serves as an executive board member of ABAA, is the co-chair of their Technical Committee and chairs the ASTM E06 Task Group on air barriers.