Avery County, North Carolina

Home Building Efficiency Report

5A – Cool Humid

Avery County, North Carolina is located within the Cool Humid climate zone, which also has the designation of #5A. 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 cold climate is defined as a region with between 5,400 and 9,000 heating degree days (65°F basis).

Best Energy Saving Products

We've outlined a handful of building products that should be tailored for homes specifically in your North Carolina 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 Avery 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 Avery County should be equal to or less than 0.4. 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
5A – Cool Humid	0.3	0.55	0.4	≤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*
Lifestyle	Casement, Double Hung, Picture, Awning	Wood Interior	New	0.29-	0.27-
400 Series	Casement, Double Hung, Awning, Bay, Gliding, Picture	Wood Interior, Vinyl Exterior	New, Replacement	0.24-0.32	0.16-0.6
Essential	Casement, Double Hung, Awning, Picture, Glider	Fiberglass	New	0.25-0.44	0.18-0.54
A-Series	Casement, Double Hung, Awning, Picture	Wood Interior, Fiberglass Exterior	New	0.29-0.32	0.15-0.3
Siteline	Casement, Double Hung, Fixed, Bay, Sliding, Awning	Wood, Clad-Wood	New, Replacement	0.18-0.47	0.18-0.67

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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 Avery 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 Avery County should be equal to or less than 0.4. 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
5A – Cool Humid	0.3	0.55	0.4	≤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 Avery County should fall between R49 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 25-30 really only pertain to floors at or above ground level.

Climate Zone	Attics	2x4 Walls	2x6 Walls	Flooring	Crawlspaces
5A – Cool Humid	R49 to R60	R13 to R15	R19 to R21	R25 to R30	R25 to R30

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*
Styrofoam	Board	Foam	5-10
Thermasheath	Board	Foam	3.2-31
Super TUFF-R	Board	Foam	2-13
ComortTherm	Roll, Batt	Fiberglass	11-49
R-Tech	Board	Foam	5-13

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* Each product has various options that impact energy performance.