Mind The Gap

Slogans, mottos, catchphrases, mantras. Every company develops them to position and establish an image or association for their product or service.

Bridging the Gap Between Broadband and Construction™ is ours at Homepath Products and here is why.

We’re adding the ability to change wiring as a structural element in energy conserving homes....helping homeowners achieve energy efficiency without compromising their desire for advanced technology.

If ever you have lived in a mature home, a house built before the arrival of telephone, cable TV or the internet, you’re familiar with the various methods of upgrading wires to add modern appliances. Approaches range from completely tearing out sections of lath and plaster, rewiring, and wall repair to others like these:

• Holes drilled in floors to pass wires through
• Wires running along exterior walls before entering the home
• Wires stapled to interior walls
• Surface mounted raceways hiding wires
• Crown moldings and chair railings hiding wires
• Wires run beneath carpets and area rugs
• Wires “fished” through insulation within walls

Given a challenging installation environment all these solutions solve the immediate problem of cable routing and, in some cases, hiding wires that deliver the home entertainment experience we so desire.

If you’re fortunate to live in a home that has permanent “structured wiring” for today’s electronics, security, and data systems, you enjoy seamless connectivity and ease when it comes to adding new consumer electronics. That is, of course, until you find yourself adding a new gadget where one was not planned or, perhaps, when making the inevitable upgrade to the structured wiring driven by the latest “gotta have” gear. Technology does not stand still.



An Emerging Challenge for Homeowners

When designing, building new, or remodeling, focus has shifted toward pragmatic long-term value with less emphasis on cosmetics. Spaciousness is taking a back seat to efficient use of smaller spaces providing more value and utility per cubic foot. An example of this is heightened interest in design for energy conservation. Building smaller to minimize energy required plus the use of highly efficient systems to manage the inside environment. By taking a conservational approach, homeowners see benefit in permanently reduced HVAC costs with low annual maintenance and operational expenses. Occupants experience the intangible perks of living a less cluttered life while society benefits through cumulative reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and delayed climate change. The trend is to simplify and focus on qualitative rather than accumulative living.

Compared to traditional HVAC methods, homeowners opt for new approaches like geothermal heating. The initial cost for such technology is higher with investment justified by weighing installed cost against permanent reductions in energy consumption (30 to 40% more efficient) and reduced annual operating expense.

The Gap

Energy conserving homes use modern forms of insulation like expanding Polyurethane sprayfoam. This material is sprayed into the open wall cavities during construction where it rapidly expands, filling all voids and adhering to all surfaces leaving little opportunity for energy-sapping air infiltration. Unlike traditional forms of insulation, sprayfoams do not degrade or sag with time so their benefits are lasting. The new materials perform well at what they were engineered for but inadvertently add hurdles for future wiring upgrades. When first occupying a space this is not obvious, but it becomes so as the first change is required. “Fishing” wires through tight insulation is time consuming, costly and destructive. A real gap exists between how we design and build and how prepared the homes are to change with the times.

How We Bridge the Gap

Homes are built to stand the test of time, consumer electronics come and go. Knowing this, why do we permanently embed wires within walls? Doing so ignores the likelihood that change will occur well within the lifespan of the structure.

Our aim, at Homepath Products, is to bridge this divide with eXapath. This in-wall system complements best insulation practices while leaving accessible pathways for easy changes to wiring. With it, homeowners can wire where necessary today while leaving the frame of their home ready for change.

Broadband, once a luxury, is now indispensable. The data rates of today’s broadband are the Dial-Up of tomorrow. Technology moves forward at a blistering pace and dramatically faster speeds are being driven to us through our internet providers. The faster they get, the richer our experience becomes, the more frequent we upgrade home systems to support them.

Not only is the eXapath system a breeze to install during construction, it’s equally helpful long after the drywall is up. Unlike traditional conduit systems, eXapath can be located through the drywall using a common stud stud finder. The design lends itself to the addition of new outlets from floor to ceiling without destroying walls, disrupting insulation, or fishing through tight spaces. Providing pathways ensures that the insulation envelope of the home remains intact and efficient for the life of the home. Simple but revolutionary.

If you are building, considering a deep energy retrofit, or major remodel where you will be opening the walls, add eXapath while there and build flexibility for change into your home, value for you to enjoy and pay forward to the next owner.

Does your home bridge the gap?

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Part 2: Kids Don't Suffer Self Imposed Limits - We Can Learn From Them

This is part 2 of a series addressing the great questions customers ask.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we view this investigation as a unique way to bring science out of the classroom and into the real world. A way to engage the creative minds of our kids in a practical exercise that reinforces what they are learning in school while we answer a question that our customers have.

Whoa! Did You Say Hollow?

”If that thing is in my wall displacing some insulation, what affect does it have on energy conservation?”

The short answer is that the eXapath in-wall cable pathway system does not present a problem with energy conservation...but it’s a complex question that deserves thorough investigation and a complete response. Getting to that answer is, well, a science project in heat transfer, an adventure into the second law of thermodynamics.

Our Investigation

We assembled the gang, discussed the main question, and then probed more deeply, encouraging the kids to think of approaches to investigating the affect of the eXapath system on energy conservation.

The kids learned about home design and construction. We discussed framing, sheathing and all the stuff hidden in walls. Namely - insulation, drywall, vapor barriers, siding, wiring, pipes, vents, etc. We then discussed various heating systems  and how insulation helps slow down the process of heat transfer from warm to cold...inside to outside during the cold winter months. To make it official I uttered “the second law of thermodynamics” one time only, noticed the kids eyes rolling, and reverted to energy conservation and the importance of efficiency in homes.

Much of the discussion revolved around insulation and how it takes advantage of the thermal properties of air to slow down heat transfer. We showed the kids several types of insulation including fiberglass batting, cellulose, and a relatively new form called sprayfoam. For our project we selected sprayfoam for its unique ability, when applied, to find its way into all cracks and voids that might otherwise allow air infiltration. The foam cures in minutes while trapping air and offers high R value (resistance to heat transfer). For this experiment we needed to emulate insulation in a full scale home so we contacted local insulation experts for advice.

Air that is moving or circulating is ineffective as insulation but “trapped”, “still”, or “dead” air offers good insulation. A key goal in construction and weatherization is to minimize air exchange or infiltration. With eXapath, the preferred installation includes firestopping caulk where the system penetrates the shoe or plate of a wall. In addition, the exposed eXapath pipe is blocked with a cap or pliable firestopping putty.  An unintended benefit of firestopping is the creation of a closed system containing still air...a good insulator.

How Good is Good?

To answer the question of how the eXapath system affects an insulated wall we needed a way to control some variables and isolate the effect of the eXapath system. We turned to the kids for their ideas and were enlightened by their grasp of the complex variables involved...they truly see no limits.

The kids envisioned building an estate tricked-out with geothermal HVAC, solar photovoltaic electricity, wind power, abnormally thick walls to hold more insulation, a heated pool, horses, lots of horses...and a piranha infested moat.

I did my best to explain that their ideas were terrific but slightly beyond the scope of our plan and budget. After negotiating a bit we settled for an insulated 5 foot cube with 2 x 6” walls, floor and cover. For a heat source we opted out of geothermal and chose a top-of-the-line 100 Watt incandescent light bulb powered by mundane but readily available AC electricity. The idea is to create a strong thermal gradient between the warm internal temperature and the cooler outside air. We anticipated that the “system” would constantly fight to reach equilibrium as outside temperatures fluctuated and that by checking the temperature along the wall precisely where the eXapath was installed we would learn more about the affect of eXapath on energy conservation. In addition, using traditional framing, we could collect additional data from a wall section backed by only insulation and where a 2 x 6” stud met the sheathing. Doing so should allow us to compare traditional construction methods with those using the modern eXapath system.

Building the Chamber

All walls, floor and cover are modular and built by Bogaert Construction using 2x6” framing materials with 1/2” CDX sheathing. Local experts from USInsulation filled the modular wall cavities with 5 1/2 inches of Demilec Sealection Agrilbalance®, a 3/4 pound semi-rigid sprayfoam.

The six components (walls, floor, cover) were then assembled by the Homepath Products team, kids included.

We added the light bulb and installed an internal temperature sensor. After giving the system a dry-run to test the heat source and internal temperature sensor we sealed all internal joints with Great Stuff™. To minimize convection we added HILTI CP-618 firestopping putty to plug the exposed pipe of the eXapath system and then sealed all external seams with silicone caulking.

What We Expect to Find

For data collection and to allow meaningful comparison we plan to use a number of temperature sensors. One is housed inside the chamber to keep tabs on the internal temp and to verify that the heat source is still functioning. We also plan to monitor the outside air temperature. Ideally, the skin of the chamber should equal that of the outside air temperature, indicating that the insulation is 100% effective in conserving energy. The second law of thermodynamics tells us that heat transfer can never be stopped, only slowed down.

Therefore we expect readings from the skin of the chamber to be slightly higher than the outside air temperature. This will confirm that some heat is escaping through the materials within the walls. For external readings we plan to use an Infrared (IR) thermometer to monitor target markings for the wall section where eXapath, insulation only, and a 2 x 6” stud are located. The chamber itself is oriented so that the target wall faces north away from direct exposure to sunlight...this minimizes solar radiation as a variable in raising the skin temperature.

After the initial shakedown we moved the chamber outside into the cold New England elements and allowed it to stabilize for forty-eight hours. Once stablized we began logging temperature readings.

The testing is underway, please check part 3 of this series for interim results.

Bits, Bytes, and Speed...Whoop-de-doo!

10Gb/s to start...scalable to 100Gb/s, so what?!

In this age, it seems we’re drawn into a world of digi-speak, constantly inundated with impressive sounding jargon that can leave us baffled. Couple this with sustainability, and the subject matter quickly overwhelms.

In a recent post, I marveled at the notion of using fiber optics within the home. Intel’s announcement about its “Light Peak” technology buoyed a significant market buzz.

Their claim of a 10 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) data rate is surely impressive...and technically achievable...

...but what does this really mean for us consumers?

Intel's "Light Peak" and You

Imagine downloading a full length, high definition 3D feature film in several seconds. Picture an entire music library transferred, all of your home’s HD videos exchanged, or a complete hard drive backed up to a remote and safe location . . . instantly. We are heading in that direction, and it will happen well within the life expectancy of most homes being built today.

To some these claims may seem outlandish, but remember how, just a few short years ago, you marveled at your first low-resolution digital camera, and the space-aged ability to save photographs electronically . . . easily sharing them with friends by way of mailed CDs.

Fiber in the Home?

Kudos to Intel for planning beyond next week . . . and for thinking big. To see what I am talking about click here: ”Light Peak to Connect Consumer Devices at Record Speed”

The recent announcement of Intel “Light Peak” technology refers to an optical fiber that is 125 µm (microns) wide, roughly the thickness of a human hair. This notion of using strands of glass to route high speed signals within your home may impress, or . . . it may panic you.