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Energy Technologies Area (ETA) researchers are continually building on the strong scientific foundation we have developed over the past 50 years. We address the world’s most pressing climate challenges by bringing to market energy-efficient innovations across the buildings, transportation, and industrial sectors. ETA is at the forefront of developing better batteries for electric vehicles; improving the country's aging electrical grid and innovating distributed energy and storage solutions; developing grid-interactive, efficient buildings; and providing the most comprehensive market and data analysis worldwide for renewable technologies like wind and solar.
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The Energy Technologies Area (ETA) is unique in translating fundamental scientific discoveries into scalable technology adoption. Our approach combines an understanding of the marketplace and the role of state and federal regulation and policies. ETA's research drives real-world, practical results that affect and improve the everyday lives of Americans and those across the globe. Saving energy and battling the Climate Crisis are key to the foundation of our research, which is driven by technoeconomic analysis and in-lab experimentation and discovery.

What's Up With Duct Tape?

Publication Type

Journal Article

Authors

Abstract

It's been a couple of years since we last wrote about duct tape in the pages of Home Energy and it is time to revisit this ever-popular issue. When last we left duct sealant durability issues, the Energy Performance of Buildings Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) had done an accelerated longevity test; we found that most everything worked except standard, cloth-backed rubber adhesive duct tape. In response, the State of California had limited the use of such tapes in new construction and manufacturers were considering developing new products. Several things have changed in the world of duct tape over the last couple of years. LBNL has completed another round of durability testing. There is a new version of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 181B that now includes testing of the strapping that holds duct connections together. And there is a new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E2342-03 standard for testing the longevity of duct sealants.

Journal

Home Energy

Volume

Year of Publication

2004

Organization

Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, Residential Building Systems, Whole Building Systems Department

Research Areas

Building Technology and Urban Systems Division, BTUS Indoor Air Quality