Cold Climate Housing Research Center

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) operates numerous Arctic and Subarctic installations, including Alaska. Changes to permafrost can threaten critical built infrastructure. It is critical to accurately characterize and compare site conditions in permafrost regions to enable the efficient, cost-effective design and construction of an infrastructure well suited to the permafrost environment and that meets DoD requirements. This report describes three research efforts to establish (1) field investigation approaches for ground ice detection and delineation, (2) methods and modeling for early warning detection of thawing permafrost under infrastructure, and (3) an outline of a decision support system that determines the most applicable foundation design for warming and degrading permafrost. Outcomes of these interrelated efforts address needs to improve construction of DoD mission critical infrastructure on Arctic and Subarctic permafrost terrains. Field investigation processes used systematic methodologies including borehole data and geophysical measurements to effectively characterize subsurface permafrost information. The Permafrost Foundation Decision Support System (PFFDSS) tool implements and logically links field survey information and foundation type assessments. The current version of PFFDSS is designed to be accessible to design-engineers of a broad range of experience, that will reduce the effort and cost, and improve the effectiveness of site assessment.

In 2017, the Native Village of Kwigillingok received a grant for the Kwigillingok Energy Efficiency Project from the United States Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy. The objective of the project was to reduce and stabilize energy costs in tribal buildings by setting energy efficiency improvement goals to provide direction for a future retrofit project. This final report begins with information about the community of Kwigillingok and the project procedure. Chapters follow on each component of the project. The project team began by recording information about the six project buildings as well as the I.R.A. Council’s goal for each building. Tribal staff also gathered baseline data on each building, including their energy use and general condition. An energy professional surveyed each building, prepared an energy model using AkWarm-C energy modeling software to determine energy-saving retrofits, and completed energy audits, summarized within this report. Each energy audit lists energy efficiency measures and energy conservation measures to pursue to improve the building and decrease its energy use. This report also contains three resources to help with the next steps in an energy retrofit project: a data monitoring plan to track the building condition and energy use through a retrofit project, a maintenance plan to facilitate energy conservation, and a list of funding and training opportunities that could provide resources for a retrofit or training for maintenance staff. Finally, readers can find materials from the outreach component of the project, which demonstrated sustainable practices to the community. This Energy Action Plan marks the conclusion of the Kwigillingok Energy Efficiency Project but is meant to lead to the next step towards safe, comfortable, and energy efficient tribal buildings that will continue to benefit the community of Kwigillingok for many years to come.

Abstract Thermal mass in building construction refers to a building material’s ability to absorb and release heat based on changing environmental conditions. In building design, materials with high thermal mass used in climates with a diurnal temperature swing around the interior set-point temperature have been shown to reduce the annual heating demand. However, few studies exist regarding the effects of thermal mass in cold climates. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of high thermal mass on the annual heat demand and thermal comfort in a typical Alaskan residence using energy modeling software. The model simulations show that increased thermal mass can decrease the risk of summer overheating in Alaskan residences. They also show that increased thermal mass does not significantly decrease the annual heat load in residences located in cold climates. These results indicate that while increased thermal mass does have advantages in all climates, such as a decrease in summer overheating, i...

Abstract This paper analyzes the information dissemination pathways that support climate-sensitive decisions in North and South Carolina. The study draws from over 100 online questionnaires and follow-up interviews with leaders in the forestry, natural resources management, planning and preparedness, tourism and recreation, and water supply management sectors. Participants represented subregions within each state, different types of organizations, and organizations working at different geographic scales. The cross-sector comparison demonstrates diverse information uses across multiple time horizons and a wide range of sector-specific needs and factors that influence how and where decision makers obtain climate information. It builds upon previous research regarding climate decision making by providing a comprehensive view of the patterns of information exchange within a given region. Although all sectors draw from a common pool of federal agencies for historical and current climate data, participants consider sector-specific and local sources to be their key climate information providers. Information obtained through these sources is more likely to be trusted, accessible, and relevant for decision making. Furthermore, information sharing is largely facilitated via subregional networks, and accessing relationships with colleagues and local agency personnel is a critical component of this process. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of how climate information use varies across sectors and time frames and the decentralized nature of existing networks. These findings have important implications for future efforts to provide climate decision support to state- and local-level decision makers and highlight the need for networks and processes that meet diverse regional and sector concerns and contexts.

INTRODUCTION In cold climates, a large amount of heat is lost through windows during the winter. For instance, a double-pane window might allow as much as 10 times the amount of heat to leave a house compared to the same area of a typical 2 × 6 wall. It makes sense to upgrade or insulate windows in order to improve the thermal envelope of a home, especially in an area with a long heating season; however, windows are a very expensive component of the building envelope to replace. Replacing a single window can cost several hundred to more than a thousand dollars; therefore, people often resort to cheaper methods to reduce heat loss, such as shutters or curtains. Others may already have high-performance windows, but want to reduce heat loss even further by placing movable insulation over their windows during the cold winter nights. To help guide these decisions, the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) in Fairbanks, Alaska, conducted a study of common window insulation methods and compared them in terms of thermal effectiveness, affordability, ease of installation, durability, functionality, and condensation resistance. The purpose of the study was to inform homeowners about the various advantages and disadvantages of different window treatments. As part of the research, CCHRC studied a variety of methods and windows in volunteers' homes to understand how the methods work in real-life situations. CCHRC also modeled the retrofit window treatments with Therm 6.3, a modeling program, to help explain more generally how they can help homeowners.