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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Climatic Data for Frost Protected Shallow Foundations (FPSF)

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Climatic Data for Frost Protected Shallow Foundations (FPSF) is a product available from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). A frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is a practical alternative to deeper, more-costly foundations in cold regions with seasonal ground freezing and the potential for frost heave. An FPSF incorporates strategically placed insulation to raise the frost depth around a building, thereby allowing foundation depths as shallow as 16 inches, even in the most severe climates. The most extensive use has been in the Nordic countries, where over one million FPSF homes have been constructed successfully over the last 40 years. The FPSF is considered standard practice for residential buildings in Scandinavia. The objective of this web page is to provide US builders, designers, code officials, and others with the air freezing index (AFI) data necessary to employ FPSF technology. The AFI is a measure of the combined magnitude and duration of air temperatures above and below freezing during any given winter. The AFI, the thermal properties of the soil, and the surface soil cover are the major parameters used to determine the ground freezing potential of a given climate. The amount of insulation required to protect a foundation using FPSF technology has been found to be a function of the AFI. Cost savings to the buyers of new homes using FPSF have been estimated to range from 1% to 4% over the cost of conventional slab-on-grade construction or an annual savings of 00 million nationally. Additional long- term savings are expected from increased energy efficiency. Additional information on AFI is given in the documentation. Additional information on FPSF is also available from the National Association of Home Builders that describes this technology in greater depth.
Cite this dataset when used as a source.
  • ID not available.
gov.noaa.ncdc:C00529
Other Access
Distribution Formats
  • GIF, JPEG, PDF, other
Ordering Instructions Ordering Instructions: Visit the website for the dataset or contact NCDC to place an order through the User Engagement and Services Branch. For more information about ordering from NCDC, visit http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/about/ncdcordering.html
Distributor Customer Engagement Branch
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
1-828-271-4800
ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact Customer Engagement Branch
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
1-828-271-4800
ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Time Period 1951-01-01 to 1980-12-31
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: 170.0
East: -60.0
South: 15.0
North: 72.0
Spatial Coverage Map
Dataset Information
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • European foundation designs for seasonally frozen ground, Monograph 92-1
  • Frost protected shallow foundations in Residential Construction, Phase I Report Prepared for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  • Frost protected shallow foundations in Residential Construction, Phase II Report Prepared for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  • Statistics of Extremes
  • Frost I Jord (Frost Action in Ground), Nr. 17
  • United States Historical Climatology Network daily temperature and precipitation data, NDP-042
  • Frost action in soil foundations and control of surface structure heaving, Report No. REC-ERC-82-17
  • Frequency and risk analysis in hydrology
  • Design and construction of foundations in areas of deep seasonal frost and permafrost, Special Report 80-34
  • Applied Hydrology
  • Frost-protected shallow foundations: Current state-of-the-art and potential application in the U.S.
  • Creation of a serially complete database of high quality daily maximum and minimum temperatures
  • Methods used to create an estimate of the 100-year return period of the air-freezing index. Frost-protected shallow foundation development program-Phase II final report, Appendix A
  • Comparison of methods used to create an estimate of the air-freezing index
  • Probability distributions used in the 100-year return period of the air-freezing index
Publication Dates
  • publication: unknown
Data Presentation Form Digital document - digital representation of a primarily textual item (can contain illustrations also)
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Data Update Frequency As needed
Purpose To make a wide range of climatic data available to researchers and the public.
Cited Authors
  • User Engagement and Services Branch
    DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Originators
  • User Engagement and Services Branch
    DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Publishers
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Theme keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Altitude > Station Height
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Weather Events > Freeze/Frost
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Temperature Tendency
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Maximum/Minimum Temperature
  • Earth Science > Climate Indicators > Air Temperature Indices
  • Earth Science > Human Dimensions > Infrastructure > Buildings
  • Earth Science > Land Surface > Frozen Ground > Seasonally Frozen Ground
  • Earth Science > Land Surface > Soils > Permafrost
  • Earth Science Services > Data Analysis And Visualization > Visualization/Image Processing
Data Center keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Place keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Continent > North America > United States Of America
  • Puerto Rico
Stratum keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Earth Science > Land Surface
Keywords
  • Metadata_Not_Published
Use Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Access Constraints
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free, however fees may apply for data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Unknown
Lineage information for: repository
Processing Steps
  • 2015-04-22T00:00:00 - NOAA created the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) by merging NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), per the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235. NCEI launched publicly on April 22, 2015.
Last Modified: 2018-11-05
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.orders@noaa.gov