The above averages were taken from May 9, 2002 through October 4, 2002, and May 30, 2003 through August, 24, 2003. The lowest outside temperature was 88° F on May 9, 2002. The attic temperature at 2:30 p.m. was 92.9° F. The hottest day was July 25, 2002 at 4 p.m. with 102° F outside in the shade, and the attic temperature was 109.6° F. The highest attic temperature recorded in this study was 111.8° F on July, 18, 2003, while the outside temperature in the shade was 101° F. This 27-day average resulted in attic temperatures with only a 7.29° F difference from outside temperatures. In my opinion, this was a phenomenal discovery. Why? Because the HVAC ducts that are in the attic are moving cool air in an attic space that is 40° to 50° cooler with the radiant barrier. The result is that the HVAC unit does not work as hard or as long, and this equates to big-time energy savings.

On July 11, 2002, I went on a vacation for four days and shut off the HVAC units in two houses. One house had radiant barrier in the attic, and the comparable house did not have radiant barrier. When I returned 4 days later at 5 p.m., the outside temperature in the shade was 101.4° F. The attic temperature in the home with the radiant barrier was 109° and the temperature inside the house was only 88°. In the house without radiant barrier, the attic temperature was 140°, and the temperature inside was 98°. This was an eye-opening discovery. The radiant barrier house temperature was 13.4° lower than the outside temperature of 101.4°. The house without radiant barrier was only 3.4° lower than the outside temperature of 101.4°. During the long, hot summer days in Texas, elderly people on limited budgets, who cannot afford to use the air conditioner sometimes, die in the extreme heat - it happens every summer. Have you ever heard of someone dying at temperatures of 88° to 90°?

Energy Efficiency Building Components

• Install Prodex radiant barrier house wrap (R14 insulation value w/19db sound reduction) on exterior of stud walls.
• Insulate all plumbing pipes in wall cavities.
• Caulk and foam - Foam all holes drilled in studs and plates from plumbing pipes and electrical wires.
• Foam around all exterior doors and windows with non-expandable foam. Foam crevices of all exterior bottom plates inside where plate and concrete slab meet. Foam at bottom plate where exterior sheathing and plate connect. It is also important to foam all cracks and holes that can be seen on all outside walls.
• Apply approved exterior house wrap. A breathable house wrap allows moisture to escape but not to enter the home.
• Low-E glass with thermal break frame for all exterior windows and doors.
• Install foil-backed radiant barrier roof sheathing.
• Exterior radiant barrier wall sheathing on all west facing walls and gables. These high tech radiant barrier materials reflect 97% of the sun’s radiant heat lowering attic temperatures 40° to 50°.
• Use R-8 HVAC ducts with approved duct tape.
• Have HVAC load calculations performed for house to ensure proper size of units.
• Whatever needs to be done to make sure that HVAC air handlers are installed in heated and cooled part of house. Never install air handlers in attic. This is not complicated – if air handlers are kept out of the attic, they are not competing with hot attic air in summer and cold air in the winter.
• When building the HVAC air returns below the air handler units, return area must be lined with ½ inch foam board and all joints sealed with foil tape. Also use R-13 insulation in HVAC closet walls.
• Use continuous soffit vents in the exterior eaves everywhere except gable ends.
• Use baffles in attic to move air above attic insulation.
• Use continuous ridge vents on roof peaks to prevent hot air build-up in attic.
• Use sealed and approved electrical can interior recessed lights.

If a new home is built incorporating the 16 energy components we have listed, the result will be an annual savings of $1200 to $1500 in energy costs. A study published in the National Real Estate Appraisal Journal documented that the market value of a home increases $20 for every $1 decrease in the annual energy costs. Applying these findings to the energy components saving $1200 multiplied by $20 equals $24,000 in increased market value of the home. If this type of energy efficient home were built in all the states where primary air conditioning is needed for 6-8 months out of the year, the result is a reduction in US dependence on imported oil and improved environmental conditions.

The cost of incorporating the Kinelization 16 energy components in the new home energy package is $500.00. The cost of the energy package of a 2000 square foot home is only 25 cents per square foot.  Very, very affordable and economical.  After building my home, the new Prodex technology was recently introduced into our energy savings formula.

On September 1, 2001, the Texas State Legislature passed an energy law, Senate Bill #5, that requires all home builders in Texas to build new homes to a minimum standard to achieve a savings on Federal Government mandated energy consumption. From my observations, this law was taken very lightly or not at all in rural areas where building permits are not required. The end result is that the law is not being enforced and the energy savings, which could and should be achieved, is just all talk and no action. I used the technical applications and research that I discovered with my house and made more improvements while incorporating the Texas energy laws (I call this Kinelization). I have developed a new design with 16 different and distinct energy-building features that can be inspected and verified by all building code officials during routine inspections. If every builder in Texas built homes utilizing the designs I have developed, the savings on each house can be guaranteed at 50% less energy usage than a house without all of these features. An average of 100,000 new homes are built each year in Texas. The Kinelization-designed home will save a minimum of $100 per month in an all electric homes. Multiplying 100 to 100,000 equals $10 million in savings per month state wide, resulting in $120 million savings annually in the state of Texas alone, forever and ever. I did not discover any pioneering material. I just put existing material together in a sane and sound manner while tracking and documenting the results. I did not do this to make money; I did this to save money on home energy costs. I sincerely hope and pray that my discoveries will be shared with all people, so everyone can save money on energy. It will be a good thing for the people and for the USA. Maybe, just maybe, if all new homes in the South and Southwest were constructed with the Kinelized method and made energy efficient, it would result in saving billions or trillions of energy dollars while reducing America’s demand on imported oil.

-Steven G. Kinel, President SK Enterprises, Incorporated

Acknowledgments and Credits

I would like to thank the following people for their help and support in this project:

• Mike Walby, for his hard work installing the radiant barrier material in the attic of the first home in 2001.
• Steve Kinel, Jr., for his hard work in home building and paper editing skills.
• Wes Eggleston, Manager of Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Co. in Winnsboro, Texas, for his continued support and knowledge in the building trades.
• Bill Bridges, for his knowledge and expertise in the HVAC field.
• My wife, Monna Kinel, for all the nurturing and praise that she gives me every day.
• All the subcontractors and vendors that have helped me build SKE Inc. Custom Homes into what it is today while keeping the building quality at the highest standards.