New Green Building Products

Every energy-efficient home needs a tight air barrier. Here are some products that might help: a cover for recessed cans, a caulk for polyethylene, and a handful of new housewraps

Posted on Sep 10 by Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor
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A cover for recessed can lights. The manufacturer of the Tenmat cover for recessed can lights has chosen to illustrate the product with one of the worst fiberglass-batt insulating jobs ever photographed. The Tenmat cover has been cut vertically to illustrate how it fits over the light fixture.

In this new-product roundup, I’ll look at a cover for recessed can lights, a new caulk for polyethylene, and several new water-resistive barriers (WRBs) that promise better performance than Tyvek or Typar.

A fire-resistant hat for recessed can lights
A Delaware manufacturer named Tenmat is selling an airtight hat for recessed can lights. Tenmat light covers are made from mineral wool; according to the manufacturer, they are fire-resistant.

Tenmat covers are installed from the attic. After making a slit in the cover to accommodate the electrical cable, the cover is pushed down to the drywall ceiling. The cover should be glued to the drywall with canned foam or thermal caulk. Needless to say, the slit or hole made for the cable needs to be sealed with housewrap tape or canned foam.

Once the Tenmat covers are installed, the ceiling can be insulated with almost any type of insulation, including fiberglass batts, cellulose, or spray polyurethane foam.

Tenmat covers come in two sizes: “regular” (9 inches high and 14 inches wide) and “oversized” (10 3/4 inches high and 16 inches wide). Energy Federation Incorporated sells regular size Tenmat covers for $19.65 each.

Besides the high price, there’s only one catch to Tenmat covers: the covers can only be used for recessed can fixtures equipped with CFL or LED bulbs. If a homeowner inserts an incandescent or halogen bulb in the fixture, it can overheat.

Dow Corning 758 caulk
Dow Corning has come out with a new caulk that sticks to a great variety of materials, including polyethylene.