Fuel Use Monitoring

Fuel Use Monitoring CCHRC researchers are testing several methods of monitoring fuel use at the household level. The study, funded by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, is an attempt to identify a cost-effective and accurate method to monitor heating oil consumption across Alaska. That data could then be used to evaluate whether state energy efficiency…

Three-Stage HRV Evaluation

Three-Stage HRV Evaluation In Alaska and Canada, the main defrost strategies for heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) involve recirculating return air across the heat exchanger core and back into the supply air for the house. In cold climates, this type of frost protection system can undermine ventilation standards. To overcome this issue, continuous ventilation systems such…

Arctic Wall Study

Vapor Diffusion-Open Walls Study CCHRC monitored the performance of Fairbanks builder Thorsten Chlupp’s passive solar home over one year. The superinsulated house demonstrates innovative building and mechanical systems, with a super-insulated foundation, integrated heat storage system, and an open wall design that allows vapor to diffuse through. This home shows that buildings can perform well…

Healthy Homes in Alaska

Healthy Home in Alaska CCHRC partnered with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) on the Healthy Homes Initiative in Fairbanks and Hooper Bay in 2004-2005. This was a two-year project that included the University of Alaska and state weatherization agencies. The purpose of the program was to demonstrate cost-effective, preventative measures to correct health hazards…

Permafrost

Permafrost Foundations

Permafrost Foundations CCHRC worked with the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) to study ways of pairing information on permafrost soils with optimal foundation designs. The current method of building on permafrost is to drill a series of intermittent holes in the ground on a given site to search for permafrost, a…

Anchorage Foundation Insulation Study

Builders in Southcentral Alaska asked CCHRC to study an insulation strategy currently being recommended that involves insulating with R-38 batts from the rim joist down the foundation wall and four feet horizontally inward along the crawlspace floor. Through monitoring temperatures in and around foundations, CCHRC is investigating whether the technique may subject foundations to frost…

water-sewer

Alaska Water-Sewer Challenge

Alaska Water-Sewer Challenge The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation created the Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge to create innovative and cost effective home-based water and sewer system solutions for households in remote villages. The driving purpose behind the project is to  improve the health of rural residents and reduce the cost of installing and operating…