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D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 | 27 Insulation P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y J O H N S M A N V I L L E; B U I L D I N G P RO DU C T S O F C A N A DA A ny talk of insulation products or systems these days is inevi- tably linked with developers seeking to lower their carbon footprint and/or achieving cer- tain sustainability standards, and this was especially evi- dent in 2022 as pent-up demand in post-pandemic Canada resulted in a flurry of construction activity. As proven again recently by Building Products of Canada Corp. (BP Canada), superior insulation tech- niques play an important role in the development of new buildings that have a low carbon footprint. "The Laneway house is a discovery project which was started this spring in Toronto with the objec- tive being to get manufacturers to show the city of Toronto what low-carbon laneway housing looks like and how to build housing for climate change," says Matthieu Danis, product manager – wood fibre for BP Canada. The house (a Barbini design-build construc- tion developed with the assistance of Clearsphere home energy advisor for Skye Capital Partners ltd.) is located on a narrow lot; through the use of superior insulation techniques combined with a higher occu- pancy through additional bedrooms, the outcome was a building with a much lower carbon footprint both from an embodied carbon and an operational carbon perspective. "Our R-5 XP Insul-Sheathing panels were selected due to their high recycled wood fibre con- tent, providing an efficient insulation barrier and an ecological solution," Danis says. "The overall reduced thickness of the panels at 1 ³⁄16-inches allowed for a smaller poured foundation wall, significantly reducing the embodied carbon of the home." The builders appreciated the panels for their strength and light weight, combined with the fact that the product offered a higher permeance allow- ing any trapped humidity to easily escape to the exterior of the wall assembly. Since the panels are laminated with an extruded polystyrene that is installed facing the exterior, the panels also act as an effective weather resistive barrier and can be integrated into the air barrier system. Danis says of the overall emerging popularity of R-5 XP, "this product is really showing a nice devel- opment in both the Ontario and Quebec markets, with some sales in Western Canada and in Eastern Superior insulation techniques and their part in building for the future by ROBIN BRUNET NAVIGATING THE THERMAL BRIDGE Application of JM Corbond IV closed-cell spray foam. The Laneway house, Toronto, ON

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