100w insulating homes with hemp material and vertical gardens

One Washington Square San Jose, CA 95192 May 2nd, 2017 Professor Eugene Cordero Department of Meteorology and Climate Science San Jose State University One Washington Square San Jose, CA 95192 Dear Professor Cordero: We are writing to you because of your current interest in building energy efficient homes. The attachment enclosed is our technical report: “Insulating Homes With Natural Hemp Material and Vertical Gardens” technical proposal in which you may find great interest.

On February 20th, 2017 Team Synergy was assigned by Professor Clare Cordero to research and carry out to deliver a technical report, a prototype, and a video to you by May 2, 2017. The technical report will inform you about the details of using hemp material for home insulation and the benefits that can be gained by both the homeowners and the environment. Our team received no outside support other than the guidance of Professor Clare Cordero in producing this report.

The information contained in our report is supported by articles found in peer-reviewed engineering journals and articles. The use of hemp materials as thermal insulation has proven to be a viable component for building energy efficient homes and our report will reveal that hemp-insulated home is environmental friendly. In addition to hemp insulation, a vertical garden on the exterior walls of the home greatly increases the home’s efficiency.

Based on our research and findings, we recommend you to use natural hemp material as a means of insulation for your home. It is a win-win situation for both the environment and you. Your home will be more comfortable and demand much less energy. In turn, it will also benefit the environment. We wish to see the transition to clean, renewable energy carried out in the near future, and because we took the initiative to build an energy-efficient home, we can credit ourselves in preserving our planet.

Very Respectfully,

Team Synergy Team Synergy

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Insulating Homes with Hemp Material and Vertical Gardens May 2, 2017

Prepared for: Professor Eugene Cordero, Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, San Jose State University Prepared by: Adrian Leenardo, Eric Zagacki, Justin Phan Netnapit Saengpitayathon, and Thao Tran San Jose State University One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192

2 Abstract Carbon emission and greenhouse gases are causes for the global warming problem that we are facing. The majority of carbon found in our atmosphere is the byproduct of burning fossil fuel for power production. Many countries are transitioning to clean renewable energy, but that transition takes time. This transition phase limits the full potential of renewable energy. Power generation by burning fossil fuel will undoubtedly continue until renewable energy is fully capable of meeting the population’s energy demand. Perhaps, even at the apogee of a renewable source, fossil fuels will have a meaningful presence in parts of the world. The demand for energy comes from residential homes and buildings, and the rate of consumption is often influenced by or wholly dependant on weather conditions. High demand for energy requires burning of fossil fuels, and this leads to more carbon emission. Carbon emission can be minimized by reducing energy demands such that electrical power distribution can be fully supplied � or at least initially supplemented � by renewable energy. A solution for lowering energy demand is by installing effective home insulation that would allow the home to become energy efficient. In this report, hemp was selected as the insulation material of choice since it satisfied criteria such as low-energy cost for manufacturing and comparable effectiveness with other materials on the market. Additionally, hemp in its raw form is environmentally friendly and various, insulating composites of hemp have been proven to be thermal resistant. Hemp is derived from natural fiber found in plant fibres cellulose and is converted to insulating materials. This report reveals that hemp is environmentally friendly and an effective insulator in which indirectly reduce energy demands and therefore reduce carbon emission. Hemp insulation can earn tax credit ranging from 15 to 40% of the cost. A vertical garden is also installed on the exterior of the house to further increase energy efficiency. The guiding ethos of insulation is to have no exposed surface left wasted or unattended to. That is, if something ever faces the sun, that thing should be prepared and constructed in a way to best provide some form of insulation for the interior.

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Table of Contents ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………….2 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...4 Objectives………………………………………………………………………………....4 Literature Review…….…………………………………………………………………...4 Proposal Organization…………………………………………………………………….5 Key Terms………………………………………………………………………………...6 Background……………………………………………………………………………….6 Thermal Comfort………………………………………………………………….7 PLAN OF WORK…………………………………………………………………….…….…….7 Hypothesis and Claim………….…………………………………………………………8 ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………………………………….8 Test Procedure……………………………………………………………………………8 Considerations…………………………………………………………………...……….9 Energy Efficient Homes Benefits…………………………………………….…………10 BUDGET………………………………………………………………………………….…….10 Savings and Greenhouse Gas Reduction………………………………………………..10 Investment in Hemp……………………………………………………………………..11 Vertical Gardens…………………………………………………………………………12 Triple Bottom Line………………………………………………………………………13 RESULTS…………………………………………….………………………………………….14 Model…………………………………………………………………………………….14 Numerical Data and Analysis.…………………………………………………………...14 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION………………………………………….…........15 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………..........16 APPENDIX (FIGURES & TABLES)…………………………..……………………………….18

4 Introduction Global warming is a problem that we as a society are facing and will have to solve. The domain of the global warming problem is infinitely large and cannot be solved with any one solution; the amount of disciplines － from chemistry, biology, ecology, and oddly enough economists － should be a fine indicator of the breadth and depth of our global ailment. With more focus: “Highly developed nations, particularly the United States, could reduce per capita energy use and still maintain high quality of life” (Fronk, Neal, & Garimella, 2010, p. 1). We, as residents of the United States, can begin solving this global warming problem and preserve the Earth by reducing energy demands within our homes. And that reduction comes in the form of prevention: we are to install super effective insulation. The issue of global warming presented our team with an opportunity in the form of a hierarchical problem, in which, this report’s research and findings provide a solution that reveal the usage of hemp insulation will reduce energy demands and deter carbon emission.

The insulation of a home, or the lack thereof, becomes a large consideration in the conversation of energy whenever the weather swings to overly hot or overly cold. “The purchase of energy efficient durables, such as double glazing, insulation, efficient boilers or heat-pumps, is eligible for income tax credits, with rates ranging from 15 to 50% of investment cost” (Giraudet, Guivarch, & Quirion, 2011, p. 219). Our interest here is in the insulation and it has proven to be profitable. The main purpose of insulation is to prevent heat from transferring from a warm environment to a cooler environment by means of thermal resistance or by reducing the capacity of heat transfer. There are many materials that can be used to produce home insulation, but we must consider the energy requirement for the manufacturing and availability of the desired insulation. Therefore these considerations establish a selection criteria for insulators.

Our team found great interest in natural hemp as a material for home insulation. We researched hemp, founded its present day applications (both inside and out of industry), designed structural prototype for experimentation, and analyzed and recorded observations. Hemp is abundant and it is classified as a Plant Fibres (PF), where PF is a subcategory of Natural Fibres (Rasappagari & Y. Zhuge, 2017, p. 1701).

Objectives The purpose of this report is to produce a technical proposal for building energy efficient homes using hemp insulation and vertical gardens. This report’s objectives are as follows: (1) Reiterate the importance of global warming, the detrimental effects of carbon, and the source of carbon emission.

(2) Analyze the cause and effects of high energy demand in the United States and impose the idea of building energy efficient homes using hemp insulation and other components.

(3) Conduct research, design and build a prototype house model, and deliver the results from analysis of procured data.

Literature Review Carbon and various greenhouse gases are the many assailants to our environment and because energy is the concern, our focus here is carbon. Carbon is the byproduct of power generation with the exception of renewable energy . By and large, the energy we use in our home is in the form of electricity. And as with all other cases in modernizing a pre-electrical

5 civilization, its introduction has transformed and improved the quality of life. Overtime, scientists and engineers researched and developed new processes and machinery for clean power production, but this development cannot yet be fully adopted wholesale due to the exponential growth rate of population which leads to a higher demand for energy (Fronk, Neal, & Garimella, 2016, p. 3). The demand for energy in developed countries, like the United States, can always be met with burning more fossil fuel and thus slow the transition to complete renewable energy, environmental impact not considered. Thus, technological advance in renewable energy sources faces another obstacle, this time intangible: lack of applicable use and growing pains.

Power generation throughout the world is transitioning to renewable energy and the transition will require time (Fronk, Neal, & Garimella, 2016, p. 2). During this transition period, fossil fuel and nuclear energy continue to dominate energy production. Although nuclear energy is efficient and does not produce carbon, it is undesirable due to several of reasons outside the scope of this report (though one reason would be another form of waste). Within the last decade, innovative technologies such as carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) were researched and implemented in power plants because of their potential to reduce carbon emission by 19% (Suebsiri & Wilson, 2011, p. 2469). These technologies prolong the usage of fossil fuel in power production, but the technology cannot completely eliminate the carbon emission rate nor can it replenish the fuel supply (Drummond & Ekins, 2016, p. 586). From just these two disadvantages of the CCS, the need for transition to renewable energy is a necessity.

Electricity is a form of energy and it has been a necessity for civilization ever since scientists and engineers learned to harness its potential. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed.

Electrical energy is generated by converting resources, such as solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, and fossil fuel into electricity. This report will not focus ways of power generation and renewable energy sources, but it will discuss the harmful byproduct of burning fossil fuel.

Fossil fuel has been the most reliable resource for generating power in order to meet consumer demands. Fossil fuel possesses chemical energy that can be easily extracted by modern engineering technologies (Kyle, Clarke, Smith, Kim, Nathan, & Wise, 2011, p. 63). The fossil fuel is converted to thermal energy by chain reactions where each reaction combines the fuel’s vapor with oxygen and a heat source in which forms a fire tetrahedron. The thermal energy is then converted to mechanical energy and finally electrical energy where it is most useful.

Carbon, the culprit for global warming is produced during the conversion of chemical to thermal energy process.

Proposal Organization The organizational scheme used in this report is primarily the cause and effect pattern and also implements several compare and contrast elements. Several cause and effect elements were mentioned earlier in the abstract and introduction section. Recall that our root problem is global warming and our solution is targeted at only one of its branches. The following sections will continue to investigate the problem and derive a solution to eliminate it. Investigating the problem is done by defining the effect and determining the cause. In this case, the energy demand problem is a single link in a continuous chain of environmental issues. This proposal will use scientific methods such as gathering data and numerical analysis to extract the problematic link and propose a solution to eliminate the link.

The majority of the references used in this report were found in credible engineering databases through the San Jose State University’s online library. With the guidance of Professor

6 Clare Cordero, we were able to distinguish the maturity of articles that we found interest in. This implies our referenced articles were all peer reviewed and suitable evidence. The Energy Journal published by the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) is an essential source for the background and analytics of energy efficiency practices and policies. Because the study of thermodynamics is a critical element regarding heat transfer, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) digital database provided several useful articles in procuring our results. Information that is not technical such as budgeting and finances were extracted from online resources.

Key Terms ● Ambient Temperature- Temperature of the outside environment ● R-Value - Measurement of a material ability to reduce heat transfer. ● Conduction - Movement of heat as the heat travels through solid objects. ● Convection - Movement of heat as the heat is carried by a medium such as gas or liquid. ● Radiation - Energy emitted by matter in the form of electromagnetic waves or photons (Cengel, Ghajar, 2015). ● Active attic- Implements the use of a fan to exchange air in the attic space. ● Passive attic- A vent at the highest point of the attic allows trapped heat to escape the attic. This method is inefficient on hot days.

Background Measurement of Thermal Conductivity Conduction, convection, radiation, and advection are the types of heat transfer that are studied in engineering. As engineers, our goal is to minimize the heat transfer process that occurs in our home. The process of heat transfer is covered in the study of thermodynamic and the scope is too broad for this report, therefore we will focus only on the ability of heat to transfer from a hot to a cold environment which is known as thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity is denoted in this context as the greek letter lambda ( λ ) and will be used in further computations.

Insulating material are universally assigned an R-value that evaluates the performance of the insulation given a specified dimension. The desired magnitude of thermal conductivity of insulation material is low, meaning that the effectiveness of the insulation depends on the scale of thermal conductivity. R-value is defined as the thermal resistance of the material whereas U-Value is defined as the thermal transmission of the material. The following are two equations commonly used in the field of thermodynamics:

R = U =

L λ

​(1) R-value: Measurement of a material’s thermal resistance, L

is the thickness of the material.

λ L

​(2) U-Value: Measurement of thermal transmission.

The mathematical proof for these two equations can be found in educational textbooks such as Çengel and Ghajar’s ​Heat and mass transfer fundamentals & applications.

Researchers suggest, while conducting measurements of thermal property, there are several factors that must be considered such as the geographical location and heating and cooling

7 system of the building (Lekavicus, Shipkovs, Ivanovs, Rucins, 2015, p. 41).

Thermal Comfort There is a price for comfort when we are in our home or shelter. Our home is our domain and it is the norm for us to desire comfort and coziness. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are installed in most buildings to provide thermal comfort for those who occupy the space. Most people work or rest indoors because of productivity and health reasons and because of these reasons, HVAC systems utilization increases (Aryal & Leephakpreeda, 2016, p. 3). We do not utilize the maximum amount of the energy that we pay for because of energy loss in our home. Losing energy results in higher demands and an increase in cost for our thermal comfort.

Within our own homes, we want to satisfy our need for thermal comfort while reducing energy demand. The approach to reduce energy consumption is difficult, so a more practical alternative is to conserve energy (Murphy & Jaccard, 2011, p. 44). Conserving energy is the negation of losing energy, and therefore one or more solution can be achieved. Installing hemp insulation and vertical garden walls in our home contributes to conserving energy and therefore significantly reduces the demand for energy.

Plan of Work The scope of this proposal will include a technical report, physical prototype, and a two-minute video segment. The equipment and material used to produce the prototype include: 100 percent hemp material, vegetation and soil, cardboard, and various electronic devices.

The prototype will be a scale model section of a home. The model is a representation of a part of the home that shares a wall with the outside of the house to represent the most extreme conditions. It will include representation of the key attributes of our super insulated home. These key attributes include the type of insulation we use (hemp & live rooftop) and the air flow design of the attic and crawl space.

Two models will be constructed, both model will be constructed out of cardboard and cohesive materials. The wall and dividers of the model are represented by fitted cardboard shapes and designed in a manner such that they resemble a real home. One model will be constructed without attic ventilation, interior insulation and the exterior vertical garden. This allow us to acquire the necessary data for comparison.

The purpose of the video is to encapsulate the entire work of the team into a palatable two minutes. In this short amount of time, the viewer will be able to fully understand the breadth of the entire project as well as being given a guided tour all that our prototype has to offer without the bulk of the depth. There can be no mistake: once the video is viewed, the prototype will be unlike any other.

The assumption is made that the view already knows of the problem at hand. All that will be left is to explain the how effective the team was at achieving those goals in mitigating the effects of those problems. Subtracted will be overuse of technical jargon that cannot be easily resolved via intuition. All that will be left are the broad strokes of the design, the physical features of the prototype, and the testing results of the prototype.

Hypothesis and Claim Before we begin carrying out the building of our model, we must first present you with our

8 claim. The claim is that if a given amount of hemp material is enclosed between two surfaces, the hemp material and the composition of the surfaces will greatly reduce any heat penetration onto the two surfaces. Figure 1, on the right shows a conceptual view of the hemp material’s mechanics. A flat surface composed of soil and vegetation is used in conjunction with the insulation to reduce the thermal activity.

Analysis The hemp insulation provides an eco-friendly means of insulating homes, while also providing a high R-value. The R-value of insulation represents the resistance to heat conductivity. The higher R-value insulation has, the more effective it is at resisting change in temperature between two spaces; these two spaces involve the interior of the home and the outside environment. Insulation within the walls of a home is not as important. Insulation on the interior of homes plays a bigger role as sound deadening to prevent echoing throughout the rooms in a home (Aryal & Leephakpreeda, 2016, p. 4). Therefore, we will not focus on the insulation in the walls that are not shared with the outside environment.

The air flow in the attic and crawl space are very important in controlling the climate inside of a home. Attics traditionally have poor air circulation, and on hot summer days, they trap a very large amount of heat (Hendron, Farrar-Nagy, & Anderson, 2004, p. 736). This results in a high demand for air conditioning on hot days. The less heat that is conducted through the ceiling into the interior of the home results in a lower demand for air conditioning. Our model will utilize computer fans that effectively exchange the air in the attic with the outside environment, so the attic temperature is closer to the ambient temperature. The computer fans will represent larger, more effective fans that would be necessary for a life-size attic. Most rooftops are a dark color, so they absorb high amounts of solar heat energy, so the insulation of the rooftop is key to preventing the attic from becoming overly hot.

One of the main attributes of our home is the live rooftop. This involves using soil and drought resistant plants as a form of insulation. Live rooftops contribute to reducing the temperature inside of the home through evaporative cooling, as well as adding a naturally attractive look to the home. As the sun heats up the rooftop, the water that is evaporated from the plants, as they photosynthesize, draws heat away from the home (Rogers, Zabihian, & Fung, 2011, p. 150). The plants used on the rooftop must be drought resistant as the soil depth is near six inches and the soil will not be saturated with water for majority of the time. The rooftop will sit at a one degree angle. This will ensure that the soil is evenly moisturized as well as provide a means for drainage.

Test Procedure Data acquisition is imperative to determining the effectiveness of our model. We are using an Arduino microcontroller to acquire data from thermocouple temperature sensors, which will take temperature readings from the most important locations in the model. These locations include the outside environment, the attic space, the space inside of the model that represents the interior of the home, and the crawl space. The model will be presented in a room with a stable temperature, so this will represent a no-sun-condition.

To begin the experiment, the temperature display must be powered on, which will be used to obtain temperature readings. When the temperature display begins to show temperature

9 readings, the experiment can begin. Temperatures will be measured throughout the model, over a specified period of time. Measurements will be taken before the heat lamp is turned on, when the heat lamp is first turned on, and every minute for ten minutes after the heating element is turned on. The goal is to determine the effectiveness of using hemp insulation over a non-insulated home, as well as the implementation of an active attic versus a passive attic.

1. Power on the LED temperature display 2. Record the temperatures from each of the thermocouples a. Plug the LED display thermocouple plug into each input, one to five; six to eight are not used 3. After the initial temperatures have been recorded, turn on the heat lamps 4. Record the temperatures from each of the thermocouples every minute for 18 minutes After enough time has passed with the heat lamps on, you will begin to notice a difference in the temperatures between the two different sections of the model. An instance when a temperature reading was observed is shown in figure 9. The effectiveness of using eco-friendly, hemp insulation, as well as active attic spaces can be seen through this experiment.

Considerations As the need for sustainable technology increases, people are looking for ways that they can reduce their energy use costs in their homes. Reducing the need for energy consumption at home can help offset the use of fossil fuels to produce the energy required to keep homes comfortable at the source (​Murphy & Jaccard, 2011, p. 52)​. Homes require energy to produce heat in the wintertime and cool down in the summer and this forces power plant companies create policies that regulate energy usage given a timeframe (​Yuan, Tuladhar, Berstein, & Lane, 2011, p. 154)​. Heating and air-conditioning (HVAC) require large amounts of energy to keep homes comfortable.

Completely eliminating HVAC does not have to be the solution to reducing the energy demand. By properly insulating a home, the rate at which the temperature inside the home and the outside (ambient) temperature come to equilibrium can be reduced, therefore reducing the demand for heating and AC. People can further eliminate the need for heating and AC by keeping track of the temperature change throughout the day. In areas like the Pacific Northwest, the temperature change throughout the day is consistent. Even on the hottest summer days, the environment cools down significantly at night.

With a properly insulated home, people can practice methods of keeping their homes comfortable without the need for heating an AC. During the summer months in the Pacific Northwest, the days can reach temperatures of 100 °F, and even higher. Temperatures this hot can cause home's internal temperatures to increase to very uncomfortable levels. While the temperature during the day can get quite hot, the nighttime temperature consistently drops to levels that sometimes require supplemental heat sources to stay comfortable.

By opening the windows when the outside temperature begins to drop, the temperature inside the home will drop to comfortable levels. In the morning, before the temperature begins to increase, the windows can be closed to keep the cool, comfortable air in, and keep the hot air out.

With proper insulation, the home will stay comfortable for much longer, without the need for AC. Insulation increases the resistance to heat transfer.

Using the idea of opening windows at night to cool the home down and then trapping the air to keep the home cool during a hot day can be improved using technology. Ventilation

10 systems can be installed that utilizes a thermostat and duct fans to pump air into and out of the home. This idea eliminates the need to physically open windows to allow air exchange. The system can be tuned to keep the home at desirable temperatures. Another source of major heat during summer months is the heat that conducts into the home through the attic space. Attics have vents, but typically house stagnant air that quickly heats up when the sun is shining on the rooftops of homes.

By creating a passive/active attic space, the hot, stagnant air can be exchanged, which can reduce the temperature of the attic space. Passive attics function using simple methods of physics. Hot air rises, so vents are placed at the highest and lowest points in the attic so that hot air can rise and escape through the high vents, which draws fresh, outside air in through the low vents. However, even with passive attic spaces, they can still reach extreme levels. By creating an active attic space, the temperature can be reduced, which can slow the rate of heat conduction through the ceiling of the living space in a home (Kosny, Fallahi, Shukla, Kossecka, & Ahbari, 2014, p. 164). An active attic space uses fans to increase the rate of air exchange in the attic space. By installing fans on the exhaust vents of the attic space, the attic temperature can be kept closer to the ambient temperature than without the fans.

During the early and late parts of the day, when the sun shines on the sides of homes, the sunlight that shines through windows can increase temperatures inside the home as well.

Remembering to close the shades or blinds, can keep the sun's rays out of the home, which helps the keep the temperature from rising. Using shades that reflect light are much more effective at reducing the rate of heat transfer than shades that have dark colors, which absorb energy in the form of heat.

Energy Efficient Homes Benefits When a household is more energy efficient, less money is spent per month on electricity bills to operate all the appliances in the house, this much should be obvious. Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient halogens and annual savings can approach $100, and ENERGY STAR rated appliances, say a refrigerator, can yield $165 in savings in its lifetime. The insulation of a home would be another component in the system of household that would contribute to the monthly efficiency considerations. Monetary gains aside, an insulated house is objectively more comfortable. The environment inside the house is more stable with less fluctuation in temperature. With improved insulation comes temperature control, and this equates to a more constant and comfortable quality of life.

Budget Savings and Greenhouse Gas Reduction When designing super insulated home, it is best to think about energy conservation. By conserving energy, homeowner can save significant amount of money. Inefficient use of green energy still consider as wasteful. Energy bills and our energy footprint can easily be reduced by having better insulation between walls and better sealing of windows and doors (Cunningham and Cunningham, 2016), By insulating a house with good insulator, the energy bill will decrease since the house will not require much energy to heat-up in winter or cool-down in summer. The heater and air conditioner will not work as hard which help conserve electricity and reduce overall carbon emission.

11 Hemp material has many applications. It can be use to replace wood. Crop of hemp grows at a much faster rate than trees. Using hemp as raw material will help conserve the forest.

Moreover, hemp products are reusable, recyclable and ​biodegradable. Hemp materials are becoming popular for construction. Hemp is safer for the worker and cheaper than glass (​Greenhouse, 2012). Using hemp as insulation will improve both the living condition and help the environment.

Refurbishing an existing home can be more challenging than designing a new home.

Older home usually has poor insulation system due to the lack of technology in the past. Poor insulations can cause significant amount of energy lost and result in higher energy bill. It is important to determine what kind of insulation you may already have in your house before you start remodeling. This step could help save some money. The homeowner can also hire professional energy audit to look for temperature variation on the walls; the temperature variation can indicate failed or missing insulation. The professional energy audit can cost between $400-$600 (Huber, 2016). Once you determine what area in your house need insulation, you can start designing your home. Unfortunately, adding hemp insulation to an existing home can be tricky due to the fact that hemp insulation requires removal of the drywalls. One strategy is to add insulation when you remodeling your home or wait until you need to replace the siding.

Then, you can add insulating sheathing under the siding (Huber, 2016). This strategy is more cost effective.

The owner can use Insulation Saving Calculator website (http://www.cellulose.org/HomeOwners/CalculateSavings.php) to help estimate total payback when insulating the house. This website will give a rough estimate which will help with the decision making when remodeling your home. Table 1 gives some example of couple options homeowner can consider when refurbishing the house. Moreover, Table 1 also gives estimate greenhouse gas reduction per year with new insulation.

Investment in Hemp The total saving increases as the total area of the house increase. However, the bigger house area requires more insulation which will increase the cost of renovation. The table is only show the estimated saving for adding new insulation through the wall. If the roof and floor insulation were added, then the saving cost will be higher. Having a good insulated home will pay off in a long run. On the other hand, the greenhouse gas reduction, with the assumption that electricity is generated by coal fired power plant, is significantly reduced by new insulation. By remodeling old house to be more insulated, homeowners can help reduce greenhouse gas and help improve our concern about climate change.

When implementing the design for a new home, insulating the house using hemp is more cost effective than remodeling an existing home. Removing the existing drywalls help decrease the overall price. Moreover, insulating the walls, attics, and floors are easier to do when designing new home. Sometime older homes have old pumping or electrical system that may complicate the work and increase the cost. The payback period of using hemp for insulation will be more cost effective for new homes versus refurbishing older homes.

There are a couple criteria to consider when budgeting home insulation for both designing a new home and remodeling an existing home. The cheapest option is to do it yourself.

Another option is to hire contractor. Labor costs can vary from different area. Usually, labor cost about $40-$50 dollar per hour. Unfortunately, hemp material appropriate for insulation is not

12 available at local store in the United States. Hemp insulation panels or hemp batts are usually available to purchase overseas; they are commonly available in Europe. The appropriate hemp material can be purchased online from Hemp-technologies.com. Hemp technologies collective offers two different type of hemp-insulation: Hemp-Flax Panel and Hemp-Flax Plus. Hemp-Flax panel is made from wood and fibers of the hemp plant. It is suitable for external insulation of the outer walls. On the other hand, Hemp-Flax Plus is made from industrial hemp fibers. It is suitable for insulation of outer walls, roofs, and floors of existing structure and newly build (Hemp Technologies Collective). It is cheaper to buy hemp material in large quantities, which will result in lower shipping costs. The price for hemp batts may vary depending on the type of panel, thickness, and current exchange rate between EUR to USD. Figure 1 displays detailed costs of hemp batts from Hemp-technologies.com.

The price of hemp-insulation varies between $0.49-$4.95 per square feet depending on the thickness and the type of the hemp. Hemp panel with thickness around 3.5 inches is appropriate for insulating the exterior and interior walls for the house in the United State. For a house of about 2000 square-feet, it will take about 7-8 pallets to insulate the exterior wall. If the homeowner uses HempPlus panel for exterior walls, the total estimate cost for a 2000 square-feet home is around $2687-$3070, excluding the cost of shipping. The right equipment is necessary for installing the insulation yourself. Table 2 shows the estimated cost of equipment for insulating a house.

Costs can vary depending on a couple of factors, such as the location and equipment homeowners may already have. If you are adding Hemp insulation to an existing home, you will need to replace the drywalls. Replacing drywalls can be expensive and sometimes tricky. This project is best for designing new home since homeowner already need to purchase drywalls and other equipment. The labor cost is estimated to be around $40-$50 per hour. The cost of labor can vary between different areas and different companies. Adding hemp insulation will surely help save money in the long run. The payback period will vary between different cases and situations. However, insulating walls with good insulation will help lower energy bills and help lower carbon emission.

Vertical Gardens In addition to using hemp as insulation, a vertical garden made of soil and vegetation such as grass can be mounted on the exterior walls of a home. Vertical gardens are also referred to living wall or green wall (Rogers, Zabihian, & Fung, 2011, p. 150). According to the Architek engineers, the vertical gardens consist of modular panels that can be attached to the exterior building, interior walls, space dividers, fences, or any vertical structure (Architek, 2017).

The cost of a vertical garden wall varies depending on the project. The average cost for installing a garden wall, complete with plants, is $95- $165 per sq ft (Architek, 2017).

Table 3 is the estimate cost of a vertical garden wall quoted by a contractor of the company. The company offers their contractor to survey the project to give a more detailed quote. If the project is done by this company, there are some terms: 50% deposit payable by check or credit card to begin fabrication, balance due prior to shipping, and for projects over $25,000, credit terms may be granted by application only.

The company provides the project timeline: design, client approval, project site dimension, fabrication after all approvals and receipt of deposit, and shipping the materials. The estimated time varies with the size of the dimension of the site. The company has three type of

13 vertical wall garden: wall mount, fencing, and freestanding. Freestanding has two type: 52” and 100” O.C. the freestanding for 52” O.C range from $79-$150 per linear foot and 100” O.C range from $51-$130 per linear foot.

The wall mounted type is the cheapest type that is installed by a contractor. However, if the walls of the structure are not strong enough, the wall mounted cannot be installed. Thus, the wall has to be replaced or turn to another type.

The vertical garden wall can be installed ourselves. The materials can be purchase in stores, such as home depot, walmart, and gardening wearhouse. Online website is ebay, jet.com, wayfair.com, online home depot, and online walmart. This method of building a vertical garden wall or garden roof is cheaper and easily dismantled without a contractor. The materials are bought per piece costing $18-$200 per material. The most common type of vertical wall garden is pocket wall hanger, which is listed in Table 4. These materials are not included with the plants and soil.

Table 5 discuss the common plants species for vertical garden wall. The common plant species are boston fern, golden pothos, staghorn fern, baby’s tears, english ivy, Dichonda, and wax flower. The plants can be bought from stores such as Home depot, Walmart gardening, and other gardening store. They can be bought online with free shipping with $45 order. These plants are cheaper if bought in a bulk. Pothos and staghorn ferns are told per pot in Walmart gardening price ranging $5-$10 per pot. Other plants can be grown in the vertical garden such as edible vegetable or flowers.

Triple Bottom Line Triple bottom line refers to the three P’s of sustainability: people, profit, and planet.

Insulating houses and buildings with natural material such as hemp and adding vertical gardens will benefit the people, profit, and planet. Residential homes fitted with hemp insulation and vertical walls are energy efficient which mean they will reduce carbon dioxide emission and other greenhouse gasses. By insulting your home with hemp and add garden wall, you will help reduce your ecological footprint and improve global warming issue. Hemp material is a natural fiber and the availability of these fibers are easily extractable meaning that there is an abundant amount of hemp for us to utilize (Kymalainen & Sjoberg, 2007, p. 1272). Hemp is nontoxic and it does not contain harmful chemicals that could harm both people who install the insulations and the homeowner. In addition, a more energy efficient nation would reduce costs for the American government by billions of dollars. Also, jobs will be created with projects that overhaul buildings and legacy infrastructure to adapt to a more energy efficient lifestyle. And there is even an international appeal: while globalization is in and of itself a broad topic, the myopic view is to maintain that less dependence for energy concerns is better. That is, we do not have to spend so much on the natural resources of foreign nations and can have a more passive relationship, assuaging past conflicts.

14 Results Model A blueprint in figure 3 represents a three dimensional outline of our model. In order to produce results to defend our claim, we must analyze each of the model’s surfaces, which will allow us to determine the heat transfer into the interior of the home. We can start with the attic since the heat source (sun/heat lamp) will first hit the rooftop and transfer heat into the attic. As seen in figure 4, the attic of the insulated home, which utilizes a fan to exchange air with the outside environment, is roughly 1 degree centigrade cooler than the non insulated home.

While the difference in temperature of the insulated homes attic and the non insulated homes attic was only about 1 degree celsius, the final temperature difference of the interior of the two homes was 4 degrees celsius. This shows that the insulation provided by the liveroof and vertical garden, as well as the hemp insulation in the walls increases the overall R-value of the home. The insulation and the An in depth description of how the heat is transferred through the hemp insulation is shown in figure 1. The source of heat is radiation from the sun. A flow of air, generated by our ventilation system, travels in a linear fashion. Since the heat from the Sun is so immense, and with our goal of energy efficiency in mind, the hemp insulation will mitigate heat transfer downward into the interior space.

Numerical Data and Analysis The planning phase has concluded and we successfully completed construction of two physical models. Both model represents a house-like object and one is constructed without ventilation, insulation, and exterior barrier. By having two models adjacent to each other, we were able to direct a heat lamp and equally distributed heat onto the surfaces.

The results procured from the experiment were as expected. We gathered data as a whole but it was advantageous to isolate the acquired value and analyze them separately. The graph (Figure 4) reveals the difference in temperature when a steady and continuous source of heat is directed onto the two models. A difference of 1.2 degree celsius was maintained during the heating phase. The difference of temperature in the attic is not as important as the mechanism of the attic. Normally, attics are not occupied and serves as a heat disperser.

A comparison of the model with an insulated interior against a model without insulation is also conducted. As the graph (Figure 5) shows, the difference of the two temperature is steady at minute four and remains steady until the heat source was disabled. The average difference between the temperature is approximately 5 degree celsius or 7.2 degree fahrenheit. The model without ventilation and insulation peaked at 31.5 celsius (88.7 fahrenheit) while the other model peaked at 27.5 (81.5 fahrenheit).

After disabling the heat source, we observed the attics, interiors, and the ambient temperature to simulate the night time and cooler conditions. The interior cooling temperature difference graph (Figure 6) shows that the insulated interior remained about the same temperature from the initial shutdown (12 minutes) time to the conclusion (16 minutes) of the experiment. This indicates that the insulation was capable of trapping the existing heat within the space.

15 Similar to the interior temperatures of the model after shutdown, the insulated attic did disperse some heat but not entirely. The attic’s cooling temperature graph (Figure 7) shows the attic mechanical ability to trap heat under cooling conditions. This is an essential property of insulated attics during cold weather.

Figure 10 and figure 11 shows the two model under different conditions. In order to simulate warm and cool temperature, we used a heat lamp with two controls: on or off. We accurately logged data and included all observed values regardless of favorability. The results from our experimentation produced an accurate representation of the mechanism of hemp insulation and the vertical wall. Table 6 and figure 8 displays all data acquired while conducting the experiment.

16

Conclusion and Recommendations The idea of using natural materials such as hemp for home insulation with additional heat barriers like the vertical garden is simple but the amount of environmental benefits gained from it is significant. It is in our best interest to carry out proposals such as this because we do not want policymakers to create more taxes and have the price of our thermal comfort increased.

There are researchers who have analyzed the effectiveness in energy conservation and claimed that energy efficiency standards is the least cost-effective at reducing energy usage and are in favor of increase in energy taxes and carbon taxes (Yuan, Tuladhar, Bernstein, & Lane, 2011, p.

153). Recall, energy efficiency standards are regulated for products that utilize energy and it is impractical due to the nature of dependency on technology. The approach mentioned throughout this article was to conserve energy by means of fitting our home with effective insulation and vegetation barriers.

The legitimacy of the information found in this report was derived from engineering articles done by field experts. Our claim was that hemp material provides suitable insulation, which was the grounds for our research. We designed two models and tested our claim without bias. We came to the conclusion that hemp insulation was an effective insulation by observing the results of our models and its mechanical properties under controlled conditions. Prior to designing and building our prototype, we hypothesized that layers of hemp material enveloped between two surfaces would reduce the thermal conductivity of the two surfaces. Our claimed was validated by the observed data in the experiment. Other forms of legitimacy include factual information found in peer-reviewed engineering articles and due to that fact that hemp insulation is currently used in European countries, we can assert replicability of our claim.

Global warming is a global threat, but that is not the focus of this proposal. There are so many key playersďź? the chemist, the biologist, the ecologist, and the economist. All are able to contribute to the trans-discipline solution that global warming will eventually demand of us.

From the outer reaches of the remaining ozone layer to the mpg rating of your fossil-fueled engine, the breadth and depth of global warming topics is an endeavour in bookkeeping. Here, we focus on the inner sanctum of your realm: the home. Start with improving the insulation of your home, and you purchase an invitation into the world-conservation of conversation as well as a more comfortable living room. Hemp is not new, nor should it be exotic. Hemp has been neglected and now belatedly recognized for its potency in so many applications. Some of these applications are concerned with aesthetics; here we are mainly concerned with the unseen conditioning of the living quarters of the home. Visual proof is left for your neighbors to witness; if you seek creative use of the exterior, the vertical garden on the outer walls and roof is our answer.

17 References Aryal, P., Leephakpreeda, T. (2016).​ ​Effects of Partition on Thermal Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, Energy Consumption, and Perception in Air-Conditioned Buildings​.

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering​, 138(5), 051005. doi:10.1115/1.4034072 Çengel, Y. A., Ghajar, A. J. (2015). Heat and mass transfer fundamentals & applications​ (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2017). Principles of environmental science:​ Inquiry and applications. (8th ed.)​. New York: McGraw Hill Education.

Drummond, P. & Ekins, P. (2016).​ ​Reducing CO2 emissions from residential energy use.

Building Research & Information, 44(5) . ​pp.585-603​.

Fronk B., Neal R., Garimella S. (2010).​ ​Evolution of the Transition to a World Driven by Renewable Energy. ​Journal of Energy Resources Technology 131(1). ​pp. 1-7. doi:10.1115/1.4001574 Giraudet L., Guivarch C., Quirion P. (2011). Comparing and Combining Energy Saving Policies: Will Proposed Residential Sector Policies Meet French Official Targets? ​The Energy Journal 32(1)​. pp. 213-219. doi:10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol32-SI1-12​.

Greenhouse, N. (2012, July 29). ​Environmental Benefits of Hemp​. Retrieved from ​https://hempbenefits.org/environmental-benefits-of-hemp/ Hemp Technologies Collective​. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hemp-technologies.com/page15/styled-13/page21.html Huber, J. (2016, August 04). ​Adding Wall Insulation Has Lengthy Payback Period​. Retrieved from https://www.houselogic.com/organize-maintain/home-maintenance-tips/adding-wall-insu lation/ Hendron R., Farrar-Nagy S., Anderson R. (2004). Thermal Performance of Unvented Attics in Hot-Dry Climates: Results from Building America. ​Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 126​(5), pp. 732-737. doi: 10.1115/1.1687795 Kośny, J., Fallahi, A., Shukla, N., Kossecka, E., & Ahbari, R. (2014). Thermal load mitigation and passive cooling in residential attics containing PCM-enhanced insulations.​ Solar Energy​, 108164-177. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2014.05.007 Kyle P., Clarke L., Smith S, Kim S., Nathan M., Wise M. (2011).​ ​The Value of Advanced End-Use Energy Technologies. ​The Energy Journal 32(1), ​pp. 61-88. doi: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol32-SI1-4

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Kymalainen H., Sjoberg A. (2007). Flax and hemp fibres as raw materials for thermal insulations​. Building and Environment, 43​(6). pp. 1261-1269. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2007.03.006 Lekavicius V., Shipkovs P, Ivanovs S, Rucins A. (2015). Thermo-insulation Properties of Hemp-based Products​. Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences, 4​(1), pp.38-51. doi: 10.1515/1pts-2015-004 Murphy R., Jaccard M. (2011). Modeling Efficiency Standards and a Carbon Tax: Simulations for the U.S. using a Hybrid Approach. ​The Energy Journal 32(1), ​pp. 43-60. doi: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol32-SI1-4 Ordering Budgeting. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://greenscreen.com/products/ordering-budgeting/ Rasappagari M., Zhuge Y. (2017). Developing towards best natural fibre composite for structural applications.​ Mechanics of Structures and Materials: Advancements and Challenges. ​pp.

1701-1706.

Rogers, D., Zabihian, F., & Fung, A. (2011)​. ​Green Garage: A Garage Retrofit Analysis to Facilitate Greater Uptake of Alternatively Fueled Vehicles. ​ASHRAE Transactions, 117(2), 150-157 Resources for Architects and Engineers. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.liveroof.com/architecture-and-engineering/ Suebsiri J., Wilson M. (2011). A model of carbon capture and storage with demonstration of global warming potential and fossil fuel resource use efficiency​.​ ​Energy Procedia 4(1). pp. 2465-2469. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2011.02.141 Yuan M., Tuladhar S., Berstein P., Lane L. (2011). Policy Effectiveness in Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction​. The Energy Journal 32(1), ​pp. 153-172. doi: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol32-SI1-9

19 Figures and Tables

Figure 1. Conceptual view of heat travel path and mechanism of hemp insulation.

Table 1. Estimated Saving Cost and Greenhouse Reduction for new R-value Area (Square Feet)

Heating Degree Days

Current R-Value

(Vary on Location)

New total R -Value (With 3.5 thick hemp)

Electricity Cost in the Area

Estimated Total Saving per year

Estimated Total Saving in 10 years

Estimated Greenhouse Gas Reduction

1500

~3000 (Bay Area)

5

12.25

15.59¢/kWh

$19.93

$317.63

1533 lb/year

2000

~3000 (Bay Area)

5

12.25

15.59¢/kWh

$26.57

$423.51

2045 lb/year

2500

~3000 (Bay Area)

5

12.25

15.59¢/kWh

$33.22

$529.38

2557 lb/year

20

Figure 2. Price of hemp batts from Hemp-technologies.com.

Table 2. Cost estimation for adding insulation to a home using HempPlus panel from hemp-technologies.com.

Remodeling an Existing Home (Do it yourself)

Remodeling an Existing Home (With Contractor)

Designing New Home (Do it yourself)

Designing New Home (With Contractor)

$2687-$3070

$2687-$3070

$2687-$3070

$2687-$3070

DryWall

~$720

~$720

-

-

Equipment

~$200

-

~$200

-

-

Labor cost ~$50/hr

-

Labor cost ~$50/h

~$3990

$3790 +$50/hr of labor

~$3270

$3070+ $50/hr

Estimate cost of insulation for exterior wall

Other Total Estimated Cost

21 Table 3.​ ​Budget for different types of gardens.

Type of garden

Budget

Wall Mounted

1.$10-$13 2.4’ wide standard length panels and either 5132R, 5132 G or 5159 mounting clip.

Fencing

Installed and quotation by contractor

Freestanding

Budget post 52” O.C: 4’ high screen = $79 per linear foot 6’ high screen = $97 per linear foot 8’ high screen = $120 per linear foot 10’ high screen = $148 per linear foot Budget post 100” O.C: 4’ high screen = $51 per linear foot 6’ high screen = $74 per linear foot 8’ high screen = $97 per linear foot 10’ high screen = $128 per linear foot

Table 4. Do it yourself vertical garden cost budget Website and Stores

material

cost

Ebay (www.ebay)

72 pocket hanging vertical garden planter indoor/outdoor decoration herb pot new

$37.99 +free shipping

Wayfair (www.wayfair.com)

Modular Living plant plastic wall planter (set of 20)

$179.99 +Free shipping

Jet (www.jet.com)

Palram plantScape terra vertical garden

Buy 1: $59.79/ea Buy 2: $ 56.80/ea

Ebay (www.ebay)

56 Pocket wall hanging garden planter box indoor outdoor vertical herb pot decor

$18.99/ each + Free shipping

Jet (www.jet.com)

GroVert Living Wall Planter

Buy1: $36.95/ea Buy2: $35.10/ea Buy3: $34.49/ea Buy4: $34.18/ea

22 Table 5. Common plants species for vertical garden wall Plants (Foliage)

Home depot

Walmart gardening

Boston fern, sword fern

$19.23. Free shipping with $45 order

$18.65

Pothos, golden pothos, devil’s ivy

$17.80/ ea + Free shipping with $45 order

$4.99 per pot

Staghorn fern

$24.95

$8.99 per pot

Baby’s tears

N/A

$8.01

English ivy

$46.99 (18-pack)

Dichonda, Silver falls

$5.99

N/A

Wax flower

N/A

$119.98 (100 stems)

Figure 3. Three dimensional outline of the model.

1. $34.99 (48 plants) 2. $5.99 (4 plants)

23

Figure 4. Rising temperature differences of insulated and uninsulated attics.

Figure 5. Rising temperature differences of insulated and uninsulated interiors.

Figure 6. Cooling temperature differences of insulated and uninsulated attics

24

Figure 7. Cooling temperature differences of insulated and uninsulated attics

Figure 8. Graphic view of the overall observed data between the two models.

Table 6. Data values of the observation.

25

Figure 9. Observing and controlling the temperature reading.

Figure 10. The two models staged underneath the heating lamp.

26

Figure 11. The two models during cooldown.