360 Winnett » Eco / Green

A Wire Runs Through It

jeremybell — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:22:28 +0000

Most of the electrical has been run throughout the house, although we’re not quite finished yet. The city is coming this week to connect the meter, and the panel hasn’t been installed yet… but everything else is looking pretty good.

While we had outlined an electrical plan very early on, you really need to walk around the site to get a good sense of where the lights and switches should be placed. I’d say we followed the plan relatively closely, although we definitely made a few changes.

For the most part, we’ve used low-voltage MR16 recessed lights throughout the house. While we haven’t purchased them yet, the goal is to use LED lights wherever possible… although I continue to read mixed reviews of the technology (which has me a little wary of purchasing them for the entire house). Are LED lights really ready for general consumption? I certainly like the benefits of LED technology, I just don’t want to invest in a bunch if they don’t really work.

I’ve watched enough Holmes on Homes to know that moisture is a bad thing, so we also invested in high-quality Panasonic Whisper Green vents for the laundry and bathrooms. These things weren’t exactly cheap, but I think they were a solid investment. God help me if I discover mould in the future.

From a networking standpoint, we’ve run cat-6 (internet), coaxial (cable) and cat-3 (phone) throughout the house, all of which terminates in the mechanical room. The cat-6 will be connected to a gigabit switch, along with a modem/router to create a fully networked house. Of course, I’ll also connect a few Airport Express extenders to ensure we’ve got wireless coverage as well.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we have a few electronically-operated windows in the clerestory. While the control unit is still incredibly ugly, I discovered that you can actually control both windows with a single unit… which means we have 50% less ugly to deal with. I also picked up a remote control for the system, which happens to have an integrated thermometer in it. This means we can automatically open the windows and vent the heat should the clerestory reach a certain temperature. Coupled with the integrated rain sensor, hopefully the system will take care of itself in the summer (if only technology was actually this intelligent). I’m sure I’ll tinkering with it after 2 months.

Letting The Sun In

jeremybell — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:15:00 +0000

Things have been a little slow around the house this past week (‘tis the season, right?), so there hasn’t been much progress of late, however I did manage to climb up on the roof again to take a closer look at the completed roof and sun tunnel installation. As I mentioned previously, we have two Velux _“Rigid Low Profile Sun Tunnel Skylights”_ in the house, one in the walk-in closet and another in the en-suite bathroom.

The instructions state that they’re intended for pitched roofs only (between 15° and 60°), but they work fine so long as they’re raised up and away from possible snow buildup. In our case, they are installed on a box that stands about a foot off the roof, with the waterproof membrane covering the sides and the factory flashing on top. We had to bend the flashing to properly fit the box (which caused the paint to chip off at the edges), but everything appears to fit nicely. We’ll have to repair and paint the flashing later so it’ll standup to the weather well, plus we obviously need to caulk everything too.

The tunnels themselves are actually pretty rudimentary, made up of a highly-reflective metal tube that connects into the dome on the roof. The tube extends down through the roof and once the drywall has been installed, a defuser is installed into the bottom, flush with the ceiling.

At $270 each, they’re relatively inexpensive and I’m quite impressed with the amount of light they let into each room. However, that extra light is a little concerning given its proximity to the bedroom (I’d prefer there wasn’t a lot of light spilling into the bedroom first thing in the morning). To combat this issue, we’ve installed a pocket door at the entrance of the walk-in closet that will allow us to blackout the room. I’m all for the extra natural light… but only when we’re actually awake.

Roof Torch Down

jeremybell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:17:46 +0000

We began weatherproofing the roof this week, despite a continued beatdown from Mother Nature. The sky has been perpetually grey and in between the snow and rain, we’ve been rolling out and torching down a SBS modified bitumen membrane (I know you want to say that 5 times fast).

We’re using a product called TorchFlex, which is described as:

A strong reinforcing mat (polyester or fiberglass) which is coated with SBS modified bitumen. Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) is a rubber-based chemical that endows the asphalt with some amazing qualities: superior elasticity, excellent moisture resistance, and exceptional cold weather flexibility. The end result is a long-lasting, durable membrane which can be applied to a wide variety of surfaces on roofs of almost any shape or design.

Installation seems pretty straightforward—The roof was first sprayed with an asphalt primer and then covered with sheets of fire-retardant protector board. Two layers of the TouchFlex were then rolled out and affixed by “heat-welding the membrane, fusing it to the protector board and using the same process to seal the seams.” Once that’s all complete, all of the aluminum flashing will be installed and everything will be caulked.

For aesthetic reasons, we’ve also foregone traditional eavestroughs in favour of a parapet with hoppers (or flow control roof drains). These have built-in strainers that will prevent large debris from clogging them, further reducing the likelihood of a leak. The rear downspouts will be connected to a rainwater tank (probably a Rainwater HOG) which will be used for irrigation in the backyard, and the other downspouts will direct their runoff to an underground drainage pit. This pit is also connected to our weeping tile, with the sole purpose of capturing the excess rainwater and allowing it to naturally dissipate into the soil (as opposed to, oh, running back into our house… which has happened to a few or our neighbours). Apparently we have incredibly dense soil that doesn’t absorb water particularly well.

We had also considered a green roof early on, however it was FAR more expensive than we expected. Beyond the plants themselves, you also have to account for the added waterproofing requirements, plus the increased structural demands (waterproofing and drainage layers, plus the soil, plus the plants, plus the water they hold). And let’s not forget that the plants need to be watered on a semi-regular basis, which meant we needed roof access. There are a few lower maintenance solutions, but they were all something we simply couldn’t swing (read: afford).

Of Insulation & HVAC

jeremybell — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:08:33 +0000

One of our goals with this project has been to construct the most energy efficient and eco-friendly building envelope possible. This has required that we pay close attention to the various insulation values and invest in the most efficient HVAC system we can afford. Regarding the insulation, it’s looking like we’ll have the following:

Basement Walls: R-22.4+ (ICF)
Headers: R-36.4 (2” exterior rigid + 4” sprayfoam)
Exterior Walls: R-32 (2” exterior rigid + interior Roxul)
Roof: R-40 (6” sprayfoam)
Overhangs & Garage Ceiling: R-62 (9.5” sprayfoam)

Under Garage: R-10 (2” rigid)
The R-value of the overhangs and garage ceiling seems like overkill to me, however our mechanical engineer insists that we completely fill the void to eliminate air movement and reduce the potential for mould buildup. It’s obviously hard to argue with that. We had originally planned on using a closed-cell sprayfoam everywhere, however that proved to be far too expensive. As a result, we’ve decided to use 2” rigid panels on the exterior, plus Roxul on the interior.

We also need to make some decisions in regards to the actual equipment. We had originally considered geothermal as a possible solution, however it was incredibly cost-prohibitive when we ran the numbers (cheap to run, expensive as hell to install). As a result, we decided to go with something a little more traditional and we’re currently leaning towards the Carrier family. Specifically, we’re considering the following:
Infinity Zone Control
Infinity 96 Gas Furnace
Infinity Series Heat Pump
Performance Heat Recovery Ventilator
Performance Series Humidifier

Infinity Air Purifier
I’m not 100% sure if we really need an air purifier, but it would be an obvious plus. I’m also unsure about the heat pump. As I’ve mentioned before, a heat pump works as both an air conditioner and a heater. However, it only operates as a heater in “cool” temperatures which means it’s unusable when the temperature drops below -3°C. Given the Canadian temperatures, I’m unsure if the heat pump really makes sense or if we’d be better off relying solely on the furnace for heating and a more efficient air conditioner for cooling?

Similarly, while I’m digging the Carrier products, our HVAC installer is recommending KeepRite instead. Everything I’ve read online suggests that they’re decent (and cheaper), but not as good as the Carrier offering. I’m not exactly looking for the best of the best, but I really like what the Infinity line have to offer. In particular, the control unit supports up to 8 zones in the house and can independently control every facet of the system (heating, cooling, humidity, fan speed, ventilation, etc.) Obviously this requires that each unit be part of the Infinity line, but it’ll mean the system is also working as efficiently as possible. They may be cheaper, but I can’t imagine the KeepRite products are really comparable in this regard?

Photo via Flickr user targophoto.com

How Green Is Green Enough?

jeremybell — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:25:11 +0000

The 2nd of 5 articles I’m writing for the Globe and Mail was published today, in which I reflect on our environmental commitments. As I mention in the article, one thing I’ve learned during this project is that ‘being green’ means different things to different people. I’m sure people will take this opportunity to criticize what we have or haven’t done with our project, but I thought it was important to start a discussion about the broader topic.

So I’m curious, what does being green mean to you?

Poured Foundation

jeremybell — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:46:14 +0000

It’s been a few weeks, and we’ve made quite a lot of progress on the house. We had evaluated a number of manufacturers, but ultimately decided upon Nudura for our ICF foundation. Paul Stevens and his crew from Stevens Construction handled the formation and pour of the foundation, and by all accounts they did a smashing job.

The Nudura product comes shipped in a collapsed state, which I believe reduces shipping costs and makes it easier to handle by the workers. The ‘blocks’ look to be about 7’-8’ long, and they basically just snap together. For the odd sizes, the blocks are simply cut with a handsaw. A crew of 3 guys assembled the wall, and the process looked to be pretty straightforward:

First, the footings are formed and poured. The footings are basically a short concrete wall that the ICF blocks will sit on, and their main purpose is to displace the weight of the structure above.
Once the footings have cured, the forms are removed and 2 metal strips are attached. The strips were used to keep the bottom row of the ICF blocks straight and true.
The ICF blocks were then assembled and wood planks are added (in certain areas) for additional support. Permanent wood forms are also built to create the window wells.
The blocks themselves have a “mesh web” built into them, but additional horizontally and vertically rebar is also placed inside.
Large metal braces are temporarily installed to support the wall during the pour. These braces acted as a walkway for the crew during the pour, plus they were also used to fine tune the straightness of the walls once the concrete is poured.

Additional wood bracing was also added throughout to ensure the structure is maintained during the pour.
This isn’t exactly on par with the demolition video, but here’s a little video that illustrates how the foundation walls came together.

Once everything was formed, supported and ready for concrete, I made a point of calling our architect and setting up an inspection before the pour. Nothing too major was out of place, but there were a few things that needed to be adjusted to ensure we maintained the aesthetic we were trying to achieve (one wall was jutting out about 6 inches further than it should have and would have resulted in an unsightly ‘hump’ in front of the stairs). We also decided to abandon the window in the study under the garage. I had raised concerns about this earlier on in the design process, but we made the decision on-side because it quickly became clear that the window well would have been too large for the space along the house. Once these oversights were corrected, it was time for concrete.

A relatively liquid concrete was poured into the hollows of the ICF walls, which allowed it to easily slide through the webbing and rebar. The crew would walk around the walls and fill it up a few feet, and then continue around to fill it another few feet. Every so often they’d stop and use a large vibrator to ensure all air bubbles were worked out, and the concrete made its way into every crevasse. I definitely have to give some credit to Paul and his team – lugging around the pumping house didn’t look like much fun.

The walls stayed untouched for a few days to allow the concrete to cure, after which the the weeping tile, crushed gravel, sand, and backfill were added. Sand was used because it allows for better drainage, and the weeping tile is basically a plastic, sock-covered tube that wraps around the perimeter of the house. It’s sole purpose is to capture any water that seeps into the ground, and move it away from your foundation. In our case, we have a “soak away” pit in the backyard which will capture most of the rainwater runoff and allow it to dissipate naturally into the ground.

I’m definitely glad we’ve moved past this phase, as there were a few hiccups we encountered along the way which increased the foundation budget by about $2000. In particular, we had a little turbulence between the trades and the structural engineer, but I’ll explain this in another post soon.

10K in Rebates? Not exactly.

jeremybell — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:20:30 +0000

Well, for those that watch the evening news, you probably just found out that we don’t exactly qualify for the ecoENERGY rebates that we once thought we did.

I’d been contacted by CityTV a number of weeks ago about wanting to come and record the demolition of the house. After it went down, I was interviewed about the project and what we were planning. Of course I spoke about the website and our green plans, but I also mentioned that we qualified for about $9,500 in government rebates. Well, that doesn’t exactly turn out to be true.

As I mentioned earlier, I was originally skeptical if we’d actually qualify for these rebates. Their documentation definitely makes it seem as if we qualified, I mean it clearly says:

If you live in Ontario and own a single family home you are eligible for the Home Energy Retrofit Program.

I suppose that should read:

If you live in Ontario and own a single family home you are eligible for the Home Energy Retrofit Program UNLESS YOU TEAR IT DOWN COMPLETELY.

Before having the energy audit, I had contacted 2 independent sources about the project and had made it quite clear what our intentions were. Both confirmed that we would indeed qualify for the rebates, but only for what we were replacing. For instance, any additional windows or toilets or square footage would NOT be covered. However, they stated that we’d still see a rebate when we replaced our old boiler with a new furnace, etc.

Apparently you don’t qualify for anything if you completely tear down the home.

Now, it’s still a little unclear where the line between “renovation” and “new home” blurs. For instance, we could have maintained our old foundation and a few walls, and it would have been considered a “renovation”. However, EVERYTHING would be new. New insulation, new furnace, new windows, etc. I obviously have to question the logic in this, as we’ve actually taken the extra step (or like ten) and our building envelope will be far superior.

I also have to wonder if I should attempt to contest this, or if I should just let it go?

Regardless, we’re still moving ahead as planned. I hadn’t included the rebates in our budget, as I didn’t exactly want to count my chickens before they hatched. But it’s definitely a little painful to have $9500 dangled in front of you, only to have it taken away.

Drain Water Heat Recovery

jeremybell — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:14:47 +0000

I’d read very little about drain water heat recovery (DWHR) systems prior to this weekend, but after seeing it referenced in some Energy Star documentation I decided to look into a little further.

Put simply, a DWHR unit captures heat from your waste drain water and redirects it back into system. It’s estimated that it can recycle up to 60% of the wasted heat, save up to 40% on water heating costs, and reduce your home’s overall energy consumption by 5-10%. It would be entirely cliched to say it’s saving money from going down the drain, but that’s more or less what it’s doing.

The technology is actually quite simple, and I must admit that I’m surprised it’s not mandated on all new home construction. A portion of the main-stack drainpipe is removed and replaced with the DWHR unit. The unit itself is simply a large copper drainpipe wrapped with a series of smaller copper tubes. The smaller tubes are connected to the cold-water supply, and the water running through them will see a temperature increase of up to 14°. This decreases fuel consumption simply because it requires less energy to heat the warmer water. Similarly, it works incredibly well with tankless hot water systems, which are known to perform poorly when the groundwater is overly cold.

I don’t believe there are many drawbacks with such a setup, although I’ve read claims that water pressure will drop once the device is installed. Apparently the “second generation” units present no noticeable drop in pressure, and I doubt they’ll have an affect on the PEX manifold system we’re considering.

From what I can gather, there are 3 different models available in Canada:

LC-GFX [from GFXTechnology]
The systems all look more or less the same, although there are a few key differences. The Power-Pipe appears to have more transfer tubes running in parallel, which I believe helps maintain pressure. The LC-GFX site actually scares me a little, and I couldn’t help but notice the conspiracy propaganda that litters it (stolen trade secrets, Energy Star hoaxes, and fraudulent tests?!). That said, it is significantly cheaper… although one has to wonder why (I picture an angry old man, bitter at the world, building these things in his basement).

Prices seems to range from $400 – $1200+, but they qualify for up to $260 in government rebates. To qualify for a rebates, the DWHR unit must be at least 30% efficient (43% for the maximum rebate), and to qualify for the Energy Star certification, it must be a minimum 48” in length.

ICF to the roof?

jeremybell — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:24:07 +0000

I’ve already discussed the benefits of using ICFs for our foundation, but we’re now considering using them to construct the entire building envelope. We had originally expected it to be cost probative, but after getting a few quotes it appears to be comparable to traditional stick framing with spray foam insulation, which makes it far more palatable than we anticipated.

As with the foundation, the main benefits are the same: Fire Resistance, Sound Resistance, Durability, Energy Efficiency, etc.

I’m not anticipating we’ll see the benefits of their fire resistance, but it’s comforting to know it won’t exactly burn down in a matter of minutes. I’m also not expecting the home will see many wind storms or earthquakes, but I know it’ll hold its own in the face of mother nature.

Sound dampening is another great byproduct, which really shouldn’t come as a surprise once you think about it. The foam and concrete acts as a sound barrier, which dampens sound vibrations and renders the interior eerily quiet. I can’t say this is something I’d necessarily seek out, but it’s also something I won’t complain about it.

I suppose the most valuable benefit of using ICFs are the inherent energy efficiencies that they provide. The foam alone accounts for an R-22, but if you take into account the thermal mass of the concrete, you end up somewhere around R-40+ (or so they say). Similarly, the continuous application of foam and concrete ensures there will be minimal air leakage, which furthers the structure’s energy efficiency.

From a construction standpoint, we’ll also see a number of additional benefits such labour savings and speed of deployment. But of course, we’ll also see a few drawbacks.

Our design calls for 2 cantilevered overhangs, however the concrete adds a considerable amount of additional weight which hasn’t been taken into account. As a result, we’ll have to reevaluate our structural needs and will probably substitute steel for of the engineered wood beams we’ve accounted for.

Another issue we’re facing is a slight reduction in usable space. If you look at the 1st floor drawings, you’ll see we’re already pretty tight between the kitchen, stairs and garage. It may not seem like much, but the ICFs will consume an additional 4 inches on both sides of the house and we’re a little concerned about loosing those 8 valuable inches. Altius has some ideas, but I think we’ll ultimately need to be a little creative to make it work.

We haven’t made any decisions yet, but we have a meeting this week with our contractor, architect and ICF installer to discuss the realities of this approach.

Energy Audited

jeremybell — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:49:35 +0000

In order for us to qualify for the ecoENERGY grant program, Dritan Sahatci of GreenTech came by the house today to administer an energy audit.

The audit was incredibly straightforward, cost $341 (although we’ll get $150 back) and took all of 90 minutes to complete. Dritan inspected the insulation in the basement, walls and attic (which was apparently substandard or entirely nonexistent). He also did a walk-around inspection, plus a “blower door” test to find air leaks.

Dritan also confirmed that while we do qualify for the rebates, in some cases we only qualify for what we replace. For instance, it’s looking like the new home will have a total of 54 windows, but we’ll only be compensated for the existing 13. That said, we’ll probably get the maximum rebate for insulation improvement, what with us more or less starting from zero.

We won’t have the initial report for a few weeks, but based on his preliminary assessment (and assuming we go ahead with the various upgrades we’re planning on), it looks like we’ll qualify for $9000+ in government rebates.

Not bad for an audit that cost $191.