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A big thank you to the tireless volunteers at Green13 and Pam Mountain of the Annette Street Public Library! As part of the Our Fragile Planet series of events – and with TD Bank’s generous support – we gave a talk about home energy efficiency to home owners in the Bloor West area on US election night.

Greg was caught in fragrante delicto by our local Bloorwest SNAPD:

Though it looks as if Mr Labbé is crushing heads, he’s actually showing the attentive audience how slim The Donald’s odds are of winning. Boy was he wrong; not the first time either. Just ask him about his Y2K prediction on oil and natural gas prices.

Thank you to all who came out making the evening an enjoyable success!

Everyone’s doing it! Get tested for air leakage and do a thermal scan while you’re at it!

Early this past Monday morning we had the chance, in 42 km/hr gusts of wind, to test the Streetsville Public Library for air leakage. As part of a deep energy retrofit study where accurate air leakage results were needed for bench-marking purposes, the City of Mississauga have BlueGreen Consulting Group come out to test a library in the heart of Streetsville.

Last month, we hosted our 6^th High Performance Design Meets Boots on the Ground event and again, it was well received by architects and builders. Passive Buildings Canada webcasted the three speakers. If you missed it, the presentations will be posted on PBC’s website.

The first two speakers were builders and Certified Passive House Designers who gave a first person account of their near Passive Houses. Builder, Ed Marion gave a comprehensive breakdown of his Oakville home’s annual energy cost. He went so far as to compare two different potable water heating systems: conventional electric tank vs. an air source heat pump water tank. Hot on Ed’s heels was Graham Fisher who presented the foundation details of his Creemore home; he shared simple solutions for easy detailing. Both homes are testament to the fact that you can heat and cool a house in Ontario with air source heat pumps and back-up electricity.

Shervin Akahvi closed the talks with WUFI Passive, a new generations of energy simulation software that includes high resolutions and data packed features that predict and help avoid dead air spots in the house. WUFI Passive also predicts surface temperatures of interior surfaces to improve the thermal comfort of the occupants. The level of detail is impressive! For example, for those who crave more humidity in winter time for healthier skin or to safeguard wood stringed instruments, WUFI Passive can help them avoid condensation. This feature-rich software will be an invaluable tool for compliance with the upcoming SB-12 in 2017!

Our panelist of builders and architects Terrell Wong, Steven Dennison, moderator Daniel Hall, Christopher Phillips and Christine Lolley.

The evening ended with a new and popular feature! A panel discussion of two architects (Terrell Wong with Christine Lolley) and two builders (Christopher Phillips and Steve Dennison), led by architect and former framer Daniel Hall dug into the age-old question (and barrier) of costs associated with creating a high performance home. The quote of the night went to Terrell who said that the difference between good building design and green building is nothing. We would add that there’s no difference in materials – just the effort and quantity!

And a BIG Thank You to our fall 2016 event sponsors!

The unsung hero of the evening; Terrell Wong for webcasting it live to the PBC members. Thank you all!

On Thursday, November 10, BlueGreen Group tested the Ontario Architect’s Association (OAA) head office, located in North Toronto for the National Research Council. Architects and other professionals were invited to join us at 6:30 p.m. to witness firsthand the air tightness testing of this large modern building. Though there were delays in setting up testing apparatus and conditions, we got through the testing regimen despite the gusty 25km/h winds that made for challenging infra red thermography and stable baselines.

Thank you to those dedicated professionals who stayed to see live blower door data being streamed – it was up there with the Blue Jays winning the second World Series!
As changes to the National Building Code in 2020 are being considered, now is a good time to get acquainted with Building Envelope Commissioning methods which are often required for institutional buildings or in cases where the owner occupies the building and requires better quality assemblies. In these cases, building scientist and engineers will physically test the building shell or its components for air leakage or water penetration. These tests result in ensuring higher quality, better durability and guaranteed energy performance.

The live broadcast of TECLOG 3 data to a rapt audience of architects made for some gripping entertainment… once it got started!

Just in time for Halloween, the province of Ontario launches its Home Energy Retrofits Program. With a provincial budget large enough to reward 37,000 homes with measured efficiency increases, the new money will be available from the Cap and Trade program that starts in 2017. The news release reads:

“Today, Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement at the home of a family who has received rebates for energy audits and retrofits for their home in 2016. Homeowners taking part in the programs will be eligible to receive rebates — typically in the range of $500 to $2,000 — toward the cost of energy audits and renovations such as new, energy-efficient furnaces, windows and insulation.

“The retrofits will help homeowners save on their energy bills year after year. Home renovations to increase energy efficiency have been shown to save natural gas consumers $1.50 to $4 for every dollar invested. The programs are available through Union Gas Limited and Enbridge Gas Distribution.

“Helping homeowners cut their energy costs by making their homes more energy efficient is part of Ontario’s plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.”

Mark your Calendars for October 18th, 2016 for our next

Our 6th, by invitation only, BOG session will be held at a new location, details to follow! This fall, we’re adding a twist, along with three  focused-but-short technical presentations on high performance building topics we’re going to try something new. Carpenter and Architect Daniel Hall will moderate an expert panel who will attempt to answer “How much more should it cost to build a green renovation?” Our four panelist will be architects Terrell Wong with Christine Lolley and sustainable builders Christopher Phillips and Steve Dennison who will share their insights on the value of sustainable building.

Our exciting line-up of speakers this fall are:

• Certified Passive House Consultant Graham Fisher will give a talk on his recently completed near-Passive House located in lovely Creemore Ontario. This un-encumbered, fresh looking high performance build has some assembly details that offer builders insights in how to simplify high performance envelope assemblies.
• CPHC and builder Ed Marion will share 3 years of energy consumption data for his carbon-free heated home in Oakville Ontario. Learn how little energy a well-designed and constructed house needs to stay superlatively comfortable.
• BlueGreen Group was instrumental in getting both Passive House energy modeling software into the newly revised SB-12. Shervin Akhavi, will introduce WUFI Passive – a 2^nd generation energy simulation tool – that will arm the designer with detailed data on drying potential (hygrothermal modeling), comfort analysis (mapping indoor cold spots) and energy savings. A truly revolutionary  tool for designers to optimise building design.

And a BIG Thank You to our fall 2016 event sponsors!

Hear and see what professionals in the GTA are saying about this event:

Unless you’re building clones, assume every house, like a human, is different. “The modern use of averages was pioneered by a Belgian mathematician and astronomer named Adolphe Quetelet.” starts the amazing architect podcast by 99% Invisible on the topic of averages. Host Roman Mars starts by saying “Throughout your education, you’ve been given standardized test and been graded by how well you performed compared to the average…building codes, insurance rates, Dow Jones all these are based on averages” and now you want to design a custom building to fit the average building code?

Is it good design practice to assume a unique house has an “average” energy consumption based on floor area? An “average” air leakage rate? Can we use tables to accurately predict energy consumption in buildings? Does the “average” become more variable with age? No, No and No!

The podcast delves into the notion of why designing to averages doesn’t work;

The high death rate in the Air Force was a mystery for many years, but… the military finally realized that the cockpit itself was to blame, that it didn’t actually fit most pilots… [A] young Harvard graduate named Gilbert S. Daniels… realized that none of the pilots he measured was average on all ten dimensions. Not a single one. When he looked at just three dimensions, less than five percent were average. Daniels realized that by designing something for an average pilot, it was literally designed to fit nobody.

Here’s the rub, the Ontario Building Code, most architects, designers and some engineers still use tables to figure components of a house out. A custom, high performance home, deserves a custom energy simulation and a bit of testing; after all, testing and tuning should be part of any high performance house, or car for that matter.

As Avery Trufelman chimes in “We know you’re not average, you’re really special.” And we agree, you are special and your custom home or building deserves a custom energy simulation and custom 3rd party physical testing to tune it an ensure the “high performance” part of the custom home is ready for occupancy. The cost of energy simulation and air tightness testing is so miniscule these days that it makes no sense to take chances for built infrastructure that may last a hundred years.

Is this your idea of comfort? Designed for the “average” person using tables? Is this the kind of comfort or performance you want from your new or renovated home? For the record, it’s 2016; we have tools for optimising efficiency, comfort and performance in the design stage and we can test in the building phase to ensure quality and performance.

If you’re a builder or designer, you should watch this series of videos by Fine Home Building. FHB suggests in the video, “A high-performance house requires a talented team that understands what it takes to design and build a better-than-code home.” Hear what builders in the North East of the USA have to say about building better than code. Significantly better.

Hear from tradesmen who talk about climate change and are focused on Value Engineering, Advanced Framing and Passive House. Ontario builders have much to learn from the North East where energy prices are not as cheap as here in Ontario.

As Toronto Mayor John Tory experienced the city heat this week while riding the Rocket, so too are complaints about discomfort at Toronto District School Board schools without air conditioning. As temperatures spike to unseasonable highs, warranting Environment Canada to issue Heat Warnings, finding a cool spot to rest is serious business that will start to affect the health of those living, working and learning in the buildings.

Waiting for the OBC to catch up with reality…

Our climate is changing and like it or not, we’re going to get more heat. This translates to milder winters and longer growing seasons or hotter, longer summers. More importantly, it means the size of our heating and cooling systems will be impacted. Take a 2012 report published by the City of Toronto for example. Mechanical designers use heating degree days and cooling degree days to size mechanical equipment in buildings. According to the report,

•   Values below 18°C can be used to estimate the heating requirements of buildings. The occurrence of such degree days are expected to reduce by almost a third – 31%
•   Values above 24°C can be used to estimate the cooling requirements of buildings. The occurrence of such degree days are expected to increase by more than five times – 560% (i.e., from 32 degree-days to 180 degree days per year)

Which gets me to my point; with the caveat that cooling loads be minimised – greater emphasis on high performance building shells in the form of high R-value, limited thermal bridging and air tight with optimised window areas that minimise solar heat gain well into the shoulder seasons – all future buildings in Southern Ontario need to have Air Conditioning systems installed in them.

If not to lower indoor temperatures (sensible heat), then at least to cut the humidity (latent heat) to safe levels in order to discourage mold growth and allow our skin to evaporate more effectively. From public and institutional buildings to social housing, they need to be cooled – install more fixed windows if you must – but with a good building envelope, ventilation system and a cooling system, we will reduce the heat stress in the city.

If you’re a designer and your client suggests they don’t want AC as part of their mechanical design – especially in a high performance building – don’t do it.

This high rise along Bloor Street West has at least 24 window air conditioners, no wonder they’re hot, with those huge windows! There’s at least 24 window units along the south side of this building. The window units are nowhere near as efficient as a central systems and are a liability when it comes to falling when removing and replacing.

It’s been several months since builder Graham Fisher finished his near Passive House in Creemore, Ontario and we had the chance to tour it a few times since, most recently to commission his Zehnder HRV. A long-time home energy auditor and now a CPHC Consultant:

Leave it to the Germans to misspell Fisher; Congrats Graham!

For this build, Graham teamed up with architect Steve Sopika of Fieldesign to produce a smart and simply beautiful house. As previously blogged about, the heating load is expected to be well below 10,000BTU and we’re happy to report it made it’s air tightness target handily.

What’s unique about this house is that though Graham is the GC, he’s technically never built a home, but like us, has been on construction sites observing building details for years. This has led to some very interesting innovations and a unique approach to building details of which, Graham will spell out in greater detail this fall when he presents at our coveted High Performance Design meets Boots on the Ground networking event. Here’s a little taste:

With the 3M Flashing tape projecting down past the face of the foundation wall, you can see how Graham detailed this outside corner continuing from our last blog post.

With the air barrier up, this is a great time to test the house for air leakage before the windows are in to see if the project is on target or not.

The bales of straw give it a real pastoral look… In time for Halloween.

As the low hanging sun in February spreads itself across the room’s slab, we were recharging our vitamin D stores.

Simple clean lines, this house was well executed and a pleasure to be in.

The south facing back wall bathing in sunlight. You can see the shadow projecting from the eaves really optimises the winter solar heat gain. Even the east and west walls have an eaves protecting them from the elements on the gable walls.

Ready for the solar panels with the second meter socket, the two Air Source Heat Pumps were installed on the garage wall to reduce noise and were also high off the ground to keep the snow off them if used to pump heat on select winter days.

The window supplied by Pinwheel Builds had a built in metal drain pan. Durable and robust detailing!

The upper wall mounted, sleek looking electric resistance heating panel was a great way to direct the heat at the occupant when needed. These low load houses tend to have small radiating areas.

This little guy was pretty aggressive around the compost bin and wouldn’t’ let me move till I took his picture.

For the record, the Zehnder HRV is an absolute pleasure to balance if installed right!