• Demonstration home showcases practical energy efficient remodeling options
  • Goes beyond typical surface upgrades to improve overall home's durability, increase indoor air quality and comfort, and reduce energy bills
  • Energy efficient upgrades enable an estimated annual energy savings of 30%, while reducing CO2 emissions by 33%. 1

Dow Building Solutions, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW ), and Cobblestone Homes, a Great Lakes Bay Region home builder, have joined together on a living case-study to broaden awareness of opportunities for energy efficiency in retrofits. Revitalize Home is a remodeled demonstration home that showcases practical, energy-efficient remodeling projects that help builders and remodelers "revitalize" the renovation process and offer homeowners solutions with tangible benefits in the areas of comfort, indoor air quality and energy savings. The energy-efficient upgrades demonstrated in the Revitalize Home will enable approximately 30% in energy savings annually - a significant improvement made with no other mechanical or structural upgrades, only insulation and air sealing.1

"The Revitalize Home is a true 'living' case-study that demonstrates real-life remodeling techniques and solutions to help solve some very common homeowner challenges," says Kaethe Schuster, Retrofit Market Manager, Dow Building Solutions. "Remodelers, contractors, builders and homeowners will be able to learn how energy efficient remodeling projects deliver real value in terms of comfort, health, and financial return. The project serves as an educational tool to help homeowners understand how their homes work, and how they can enjoy their home more while protecting what is likely their largest single investment."

The 1,500 sq. ft. home, located at 2250 Jefferson in Midland, Mich., showcases solutions from Dow that work together to seal the entire building envelope - bringing the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index score of the home down from 131 to 85. The Revitalize Home is also expected to reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 33% per year, significantly lowering its environmental footprint.1

From FROTH-PAK™ Foam Insulation for air sealing, to THERMAX™ Sheathing for insulating below-grade walls, the Revitalize Home features a range of energy-saving insulation, air sealing, and weather barrier solutions from Dow. The most impactful applications were air sealing and adding insulation to the basement - resulting in approximately 14% of the 30% in annual energy savings. Basements are also one of the easiest areas to access in most homes, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while many air leaks and drafts are easy to find because they are easy to feel (like those around windows and doors), holes hidden in attics, basements, and crawlspaces are usually bigger problems.2 Sealing these leaks will have a great impact on improving indoor comfort and reducing utility bills. This is consistent with the results from a 15-home study3 conducted by Dow and D.R. Nelson & Associates, and estimated using REM Home Energy Analysis Software, which illustrates that air sealing basement rim joists alone helps save $125 per year in energy bills.

"We are trying to help redefine how homeowners typically think of renovation by collaborating with Dow to go beyond typical, surface renovation upgrades to address and improve the energy efficiency of the existing homes' entire building envelope," said Mark Wahl, co-owner of Cobblestone Homes.

"The Dow Revitalize Home is exactly what we need to be doing with the country's 130 million existing homes, many of which were built before modern energy codes were implemented." Of those homes, 100 million are 20 years or older.4 "Dow's efforts to revitalize not just one house, but their ongoing collaborative efforts to retrofit many, provide an extraordinary example of what we can accomplish in retrofitting the nation's housing stock," said Larry Zarker, CEO of the Building Performance Institute (BPI).

The home is open to the public to serve as an educational center, providing tours, training, and hands-on demonstrations.

For more information visit www.revitalizehome.com. 

About Dow Building Solutions

Dow Building Solutions has a 60+ year legacy of providing energy saving solutions to the global commercial and residential construction industry, which began with the launch of its flagship STYROFOAM™ Brand Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Foam Insulation, one of the most recognized brands of insulation in the world. A market-facing business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Building Solutions offers unsurpassed building science expertise to help builders, designers, architects and home/building owners reduce energy costs and protect against wind, rain and moisture, while contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. More information about Dow Building Solutions can be found at www.dowbuildingsolutions.com.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2011, Dow had annual sales of $60 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 197 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

About Cobblestone Homes

Cobblestone Homes has been building energy-efficient, healthy, and environmentally friendly homes in the tri-cities area since the early 2000s. They offer flexibility and personalization - not stock solutions - to ensure each new home perfectly suits the owner's needs. For more information visit www.cobblestonelifestyle.com

1 Based on Building Knowledge, Inc. report completed for the Revitalize Home using pre-renovation stats as a comparison.
2http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_sealing
3 In this study, "Case Study to Measure the Impact of Air Sealing", potential energy savings were estimated using REM Home Energy Analysis Software. Results varied depending on air leaking location, amount of air sealing and individual home characteristics. Participating homeowners were current employees of Dow.
4 Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 Data

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