Wisconsin Legislature: subch. III of ch. SPS 322

(1) “Air-impermeable” means having an air permeance less than or equal to 0.02 L/s-m2 at a pressure differential of 75 pascals when tested according to ASTM E 2178 or ASTM E 283.

(2) “Conditioned floor area” means the sum of areas of all floors in conditioned space in the structure, including basements, cellars, and intermediate floored levels measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the center line of interior walls, excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs and similar features.

(3) “Conditioned space” means space within the dwelling thermal envelope which is provided with heated air or surfaces to provide a heated space capable of maintaining the temperature of the space to at least 50°F at design conditions.

(4) “Crawl space wall” means the opaque portion of a wall which encloses a crawl space and is partially or totally below grade.

(5) “Dwelling thermal envelope” means the elements of a dwelling with enclosed conditioned space through which thermal energy may be transferred to or from unconditioned space or the exterior.

(6) “Exterior wall area” means the normal projection of the dwelling envelope wall area bounding interior space which is conditioned by an energy-using system including opaque wall, window and door area. Any skylight shaft walls that are 12 inches or more in depth, measured from the ceiling plane to the roof deck, are considered in the area of exterior walls and are not considered part of the roof assembly.

(7) “Heated slab” means a floor slab in which an uninsulated heating element, uninsulated hydronic tubing or uninsulated hot air distribution system is in contact with the slab or placed within the slab or the subgrade.

(8) “HVAC” means heating, ventilating and air conditioning.

(9) “HVAC system” means the equipment, distribution network, and terminals that provide either collectively or individually the processes of heating, ventilating, or air conditioning to a building.

(10) “Infiltration” means the uncontrolled inward air leakage through cracks and interstices in any dwelling element and around windows and doors of a dwelling caused by the pressure effects of wind, and the effect of differences in the indoor and outdoor air density.

(11) “IC-rated” means an electrical fixture tested and listed by an independent testing laboratory as being suitable for installation in a cavity where the fixture may be in direct contact with thermal insulation or combustible materials.

(12) “Mass wall” means a wall of concrete block, concrete, insulated concrete forms, masonry cavity, brick other than brick veneer, earth and solid timber or logs.

(13) “Opaque areas” means all exposed areas of a dwelling envelope which enclose conditioned space except openings for windows, skylights, doors and dwelling service systems.

(14) “Proposed design” means a description of the proposed dwelling used to estimate annual energy use for determining compliance based on total building performance.

(15) “Renewable energy sources” means sources of energy, excluding minerals and petroleum products, derived from incoming solar radiation, trees and other plants, wind, waves and tides, lake or pond thermal differences and from the internal heat of the earth.

(16) “Roof assembly” means all components of the roof and ceiling envelope through which heat flows, thus creating a building transmission heat loss or gain, where such assembly is exposed to outdoor air and encloses a heated space. Any skylight shaft walls less than 12 inches in depth, as measured from the ceiling plane to the roof deck, are considered in the roof assembly and are not considered in the area of exterior walls.

(17) “Sun room” means a one-story structure attached to a dwelling with a glazing area in excess of 40% of the gross area of the structure’s exterior walls and roof and with any screened areas capable of being covered or replaced with glazing during the heating season.

Note: A thermally isolated sun room does not count in the calculation of amount of glazing.

(18) “System” means a combination of central or terminal equipment and their components, controls, accessories, interconnecting means, and terminal devices by which energy is transformed so as to perform a specific function, such as HVAC, water heating, or illumination.

(19) “Thermal resistance” or “R-value” means a measure of the ability to retard the flow of heat. The R-value is the reciprocal of thermal transmittance or U-factor expressed as R = 1/U.

Note: The higher the R-value of a material, the more difficult it is for heat to be transmitted through the material.

(20) “Thermal transmittance” or “U-factor” means the time rate of heat flow through a body or assembly which is located between 2 different environments, expressed in Btu/h · ft.2 · °F. The U-factor applies to combinations of different materials used in series along the heat flow path and also to single materials that comprise a dwelling section, including cavity air spaces and air films on both sides of a dwelling element.

Note: The lower the U-factor of a material, the more difficult it is for heat to be transmitted through the material.

Note: The thermal transmittance is also referred to as the coefficient of heat transfer or the coefficient of heat transmission.

(21) “Thermally isolated” means physically and thermally separated with separate zone or separate equipment controls for space heating.

(22) “Thermostat” means an automatic control device actuated by temperature and designed to be responsive to temperature.

(23) “Ventilation” means the process of supplying or removing air by natural or mechanical means to or from any space. The air may or may not have been conditioned.

(24) “Zone” means a space or group of spaces within a dwelling with heating requirements sufficiently similar so that comfort conditions can be maintained throughout by a single controlling device.

History: CR 08-043: cr. Register March 2009 No. 639, eff. 4-1-09; CR 09-104: am. (17) Register December 2010 No. 660, eff. 1-1-11.

Subchapter III — Insulation Materials and Installation

SPS 322.20 Basic requirements.

(1) General. When available, information and values on thermal properties, performance of building envelope sections and components, and heat transfer shall be obtained from the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals.

(2) Computation of R-values.

(a) Insulation material used in layers, such as framing cavity insulation and insulating sheathing, shall be summed to compute the component R-value.

(b) The manufacturer’s settled R-value shall be used for blown insulation.

Note: The REScheck program will automatically account for air films and other building materials.

(3) Laboratory or field test measurements.

(a) General dwelling thermal envelope materials. When information specified under sub. (1) is not available, or when a different value is claimed, supporting data shall be obtained using one of the following test methods:

1. ASTM C177, Standard test method for steady state heat flux measurements and thermal transmission properties by means of the guarded-hot-plate apparatus.

2. ASTM C335, Standard test method for steady state heat transfer properties of pipe insulation.

3. ASTM C518, Standard test method for steady state thermal transmission properties by means of the heat flow meter apparatus.

4. ASTM C1363, Standard test method for the thermal performance of building materials and envelope assemblies by means of a hot box apparatus.

(b) Foam plastic insulation.

1. When information specified under sub. (1) is not available, or when a different value is claimed, foam plastic insulation that uses a gas other than air as the insulating medium shall use laboratory or field tests conducted on representative samples that have been aged for the equivalent of 5 years or until the R–value has stabilized.

2. The tests shall be conducted by an independent third party using the standards listed under par. (a) and shall be submitted for department review and approval in accordance with s. SPS 320.18.

(c) Concrete masonry units. Systems using integrally-insulated concrete masonry units shall be evaluated for thermal performance in accordance with one of the following:

1. Default values as approved by the department with no extrapolations or interpolations.

2. Laboratory or field test measurements specified under par. (a).

3. The material approval process specified in s. SPS 320.18.

(4) General installation.

(a) Materials, equipment and systems shall be identified in a manner that will allow a determination of their compliance with the applicable provisions of this code.

(b) All insulation materials, caulking and weatherstripping, fenestration assemblies, mechanical equipment and systems components, and water-heating equipment and system components shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions.

(d) Roof and ceiling, floor and wall cavity batt or board insulation shall be installed in a manner which will permit inspection of the manufacturer’s R-value identification mark.

(5) Identification.

(a) A thermal resistance identification mark shall be applied by the manufacturer to each piece of dwelling envelope insulation 12-inches or greater in width.

(b)

1. The thickness of blown-in roof and ceiling insulation shall be identified by thickness markings that are labeled in inches and installed at least one for every 300 square feet through the attic space.

2. The markers shall be affixed to trusses or joists marking the minimum initial installed thickness and minimum settled thickness with numbers a minimum of one-inch in height.

3. Each marker shall face the attic access.

4. The thickness of installed insulation shall meet or exceed the minimum initial installed thickness shown by the marker.

(6) Certificate.

(a) A permanent certificate shall be posted on or immediately adjacent to the electrical distribution panel.

(b) The certificate shall be completed by the owner, builder or insulation installer.

1. The predominant R-values of insulation installed in or on ceilings or roofs, walls, foundation walls, slabs and any heating ducts that are outside the thermal envelope.

2. The U-factors of all windows, skylights and doors.

(d) If using the REScheck or REM/Rate software programs, the certificate shall be printed from that program.

History: CR 08-043: cr. Register March 2009 No. 639, eff. 4-1-09; correction in (3) (a) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register March 2009 No. 639; correction in (3) (b) 2., (c) 3. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2011 No. 672.

SPS 322.21 Protection of insulation.

(1) Blanket insulation. Insulating blankets or batts shall be held in place with a covering or other means of mechanical or adhesive fastening.

Note: If the insulation is on a below-grade wall, s. SPS 322.38 (4) may prohibit the use of vapor retarder material used as the covering.

(2) Wind wash protection.

(a) Except as provided under s. SPS 322.39 (4) for cathedral ceilings, all air-permeable insulation materials installed in any position other than horizontal, shall be covered on the cold-in-winter side with a permanently attached material of low air permeability to maintain the R-value of the insulation.

Note: Suitable materials for this purpose include house wrap permanently attached with batten strips, asphalt-impregnated felt or tar paper, plywood, oriented strand board or OSB, siding material, rigid insulation sheathing, etc.

(b) If non-rigid sheet material is used, it shall be water vapor permeable.

Note: Water vapor permeable materials for this purpose include house wrap permanently attached with batten strips and asphalt-impregnated felt or tar paper.

(3) Foam plastic insulation.

(a) Exterior foam plastic insulation shall be protected from physical damage and damage from ultraviolet light with a permanent, opaque, weather-resistant covering or coating.

(b) The protective covering shall cover the exposed exterior insulation and extend a minimum of 2 inches below grade, except the covering is not required below a brick ledge.

Note: For interior applications, a thermal barrier may be required under s. SPS 321.11.

History: CR 08-043: cr. Register March 2009 No. 639, eff. 4-1-09; correction in (2) (a) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2011 No. 672; CR 15-041: am. (3) (b) Register December 2015 No. 720, eff. 1-1-16.

Subchapter IV — Dwelling Thermal Envelope

SPS 322.30 General design requirements.

(1) General. Dwelling thermal envelope insulation amounts and details shall be determined using one of the methods described in this subchapter.

(2) Infiltration.

(a) Infiltration for heating design loads shall be calculated based on a maximum of 0.5 air change per hour in the heated space.

(b)