Shelby County, Alabama

Home Building Efficiency Report

3A – Warm Humid

Shelby County, Alabama is located within the Warm Humid climate zone, which also has the designation of #3A. The US Department of Energy has split the United States into eight zones to help in creating optimal building practices to achieve the most energy savings within homes.

A warm-humid climate is defined as a region that receives more than 20 inches (50 cm) of annual precipitation and where a thermometer can reach either 67 °F for 3,000 hours or 73 °F for 1,500 hours during the warmest six consecutive months of the year through evaporative cooling.

Best Energy Saving Products

We've outlined a handful of building products that should be tailored for homes specifically in your Alabama county. We detail the recommendations, how to interpret them, and then some of the more popular brands that meet or exceed those energy-saving standards.

Windows in Shelby County are expected to have a U-Factor of 0.3 or less. The lower the U-Factor value of a window, the better it is at keeping heat inside the home.

The expected Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of windows installed in Shelby County should be equal to or less than 0.25. This value measures how well a product can resist unwanted solar heat gain, which is important in the warmer summer months.

Climate Zone	Window U-Factor	Skylight U-Factor	Glazed SHGC	Air Leakage
3A – Warm Humid	0.3	0.55	0.25	≤5

Any new or replacement window will be better at preserving energy than an old leaky one. Double paned windows with argon gas are the most energy efficient, but also the most expensive.

Product	Type	Material	Installation	U-Factor*	SHGC*
350 Series	Casement, Double Hung, Single Hung, Awning, Sliding	Vinyl	New	0.24-0.29	0.14-0.41
400 Series	Casement, Double Hung, Awning, Bay, Gliding, Picture	Wood Interior, Vinyl Exterior	New, Replacement	0.24-0.32	0.16-0.6
Premium V-4500	Fixed, Bay, Single Hung, Casement, Sliding, Awning	Vinyl	New, Replacement	0.18-0.47	0.17-0.61
Elevate	Casement, Double Hung, Bay, Awning, Picture	Wood Interior, Fiberglass Exterior	New	0.2-0.43	0.18-0.56
100 Series	Casement, Double Hung, Awning, Gliding, Picture, Single Hung	Composite	New, Replacement	0.23-0.32	0.16-0.42

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* Each product has various options that impact energy performance.

Exterior doors follow basically the same energy saving equirements as windows. In Shelby County, doors are expected to have a U-Factor of 0.3 or less. The lower the U-Factor value of a door (or more specifically, it's windows), the better it is at keeping heat inside the home.

The expected Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of doors installed in Shelby County should be equal to or less than 0.25. This value measures how well a door's windows can resist unwanted heat gain, which is most important in the warmer summer months.

Climate Zone	Window U-Factor	Skylight U-Factor	Glazed SHGC	Air Leakage
3A – Warm Humid	0.3	0.55	0.25	≤5

Choosing the right exterior door for your specific location will help you conserve as much energy as possible.

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The recommended R-values for attics in Shelby County should fall between R30 to R60. Exterior walls are dependant on the size studs being used, but it is generally accepted that they should have a minimum of R15 to R19. The recommended flooring R-values of 25 really only pertain to floors at or above ground level.

Climate Zone	Attics	2x4 Walls	2x6 Walls	Flooring	Crawlspaces
3A – Warm Humid	R30 to R60	R13 to R15	R19 to R21	R25	R19 to R25

R-values for walls represent the sum of cavity insulation plus any sheathing if it exists. A combination of any insulation methods can be used to achieve the desired R-value. The minimum values set should be considered the bare-minimum, and customers should strive to reach maximum R-values for maximum energy savings.

Product	Type	Material	R-Values*
Thermasheath	Board	Foam	3.2-31
Eco Kraft	Roll, Batt	Fiberglass	5-30
EcoTouch PINK	Roll, Batt	Fiberglass	8-38
ComortTherm	Roll, Batt	Fiberglass	11-49
AttiCat	Loose Fill	Fiberglass	19-60

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* Each product has various options that impact energy performance.