The document presents a feasibility study for achieving passive house standards in a high-rise concrete building in Vancouver. It discusses the building's design, construction challenges, energy performance metrics, and strategies for optimizing natural ventilation and minimizing heat loss. Key concerns include the building's compact design, limited wall thickness, and the need to address overheating in small suites.

1. 1
High-Rise Passive House Feasibility
Study
ACHIEVING THE PASSIVE HOUSE CRITERIA ON A HIGH-RISE, CONCRETE
FRAMED BUILDING, LOCATED IN VANCOUVER
ERIC CATANIA, M.ENG., BEMP, CPHD, LEED AP BD+C,
PHI ACCREDITED PASSIVE HOUSE CERTIFIER
OCTOBER 7TH, 2016 – NAPHN CONFERENCE & EXPO 2017
SESSION: PASSIVE STANDS TALL: HIGH RISES IN NORTH AMERICA & EUROPE

2. 2
RDH Building Science
 Façade Engineering
 Enclosure Consulting
 Energy Services
 Research & Forensics
 RDH Labs in Waterloo, Ontario
 Passive House Consulting
 Multi-unit developments
 Tall wood buildings
 PHI Building Certifiers
 Large-building expertise
 Offices in U.S. & Canada
 200+ staff in nine cities
 Boston, Oakland, Seattle

3. 3
 High-rise Passive Houses
 Building description
 Key concerns
 Enclosure
 Components
 PER
 Results
Outline

4. 4
High Rise Passive Houses
 Surface Area Ratio
 Enclosure performance targets
 Internal heat gain
 Overheating potential
 PER and PE are key challenges
 Maximize natural ventilation
 High efficiency heating/cooling
 Plug loads and Lighting

5. 5
The Building
 10 Storeys
 4,060 m² (43,668 ft²)
Gross Floor Area (GFA)
 3,400 m² (36,606 ft²)
Treated Floor Area (TFA)
 Residential occupancy
 90 small suites
 250 ft² to 370 ft²
 Infill lot
 Non-Combustible
 Is Passive House feasible?
dys architecture

6. 6
Key Concerns
 Narrow, infill lot
 Compact design
 Limited wall thickness
› ~14” (356 mm)
 Non-Combustible
Construction
 Steel and Concrete
› Large thermal bridges
 Window Materials
Google Maps

7. 7
Floor Plans
Basement 1st 2nd-10th
36.5m(120ft.)
15.2 m (50 ft.)
dys architecture

8. 8
Enclosure Options
 Structural design guides enclosure choices
Core & Column
Exterior insulated
steel framed walls
Precast sandwich
panel walls
Perimeter Walls
Exterior insulated
mass walls
Interior insulated
mass walls w/slab
thermal breaks

9. 9
Foundation Wall
Ground
 Drainage Mat (w/ filter fabric)
 102mm (4”) XPS
 Waterproofing/Damp Proofing
 203mm (8”) Concrete
 25mm (1”) 18ga Steel Hat Track
Uninsulated Cavity
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
(8”) EPS under slab)
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.336 (0.194)
R-16.8 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-2.97 m²•K/W)

10. 10
Above Grade Wall – Core and Column
R-26.3 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.63 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 8mm Fiber Cement Board Cladding c/w
low conductivity cladding attachment
supports
 13mm (½”) Air space
 203mm (8”) Semi-rigid insulation
(mineral wool)
 Self-adhered vapour permeable air &
moisture barrier
 13mm (½”) Exterior gypsum
 90mm (3 5/8”) 18ga Steel Stud (RIP3/in
Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum (w/ vapour
retarding paint)
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
6” → 0.0218 (0.0126)
8” → 0.0122 (0.0071)

11. 11
Above Grade Wall – Core and Column
R-27.3 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.80 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 Pre-Cast Insulated Concrete Panel
51mm (2”) Concrete, 152mm (6”) EPS,
102mm (4”) Concrete
 64mm (2.5”) 18ga Steel Stud
(R-3/in Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
4” → 0.0299 (0.0173)
6” → 0.0110 (0.0064)
8” → 0.0041 (0.0024)

12. 12
Above Grade Wall – Perimeter Walls
R-24.8 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.37 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 8mm Fiber Cement Board Cladding c/w
Cascadia Clips® @ 16” x 16”
(galvanized)
 203mm (8”) Semi-rigid insulation
(mineral wool)
 Fluid applied elastomeric coating or
self-adhered membrane
 203mm (8”) Concrete
 64mm (2.5”) 18ga Steel Stud (RIP3/in
Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
6” → 0.0360 (0.0208)
8” → 0.0108 (0.0063)

13. 13
Above Grade Wall – Perimeter Walls
R-23.8 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.19 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 Fluid applied elastomeric coating
 203mm (8”) Concrete
 R(IP)-5 Slab edge thermal break
 140mm (5.5”) XPS (taped)
 64mm (2.5”) 18ga Steel Stud (RIP3/in
Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
4” → 0.1603 (0.0926)
5.5” → 0.1156 (0.0668)

14. 14
Thermal Bridging - Slab Edges
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.0122 (0.0071)
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.9740 (0.5628)
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.1156 (0.0668)

15. 15
Thermal Bridging - Slab Edges
+2
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑚2 𝑎
+20
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑚2 𝑎
1 km (0.625 mi) of slab edge

16. 16
Window Materials
 BC Building Code 2012 – Division B – Part 3 — Fire Protection,
Occupant Safety and Accessibility - 3.1.5.4. (5)
 each window in an exterior wall face is an individual unit
separated by non-combustible wall construction from every other
opening in the wall,
 windows in exterior walls in contiguous storeys are separated by
not less than 1 m of non-combustible construction, and
 the aggregate area of openings in an exterior wall face of a fire
compartment is not more than 40% of the area of the wall face.

17. 17
Window Materials
> 1m
> 1m
WWR < 40%

18. 18
Window Materials
EuroLine Windows Inc.

19. 19
Window Installs
 Improvements include:
 Alignment of window with insulating layers
 Use of low conductivity materials
 Over insulation of window frames
0.106
(0.061)
W/mK
(Btu/fthF)
0.036
(0.020)
0.259
(0.150)
Ψ-ValueΨ-Value Ψ-Value
+10
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑚2 𝑎

20. 20
Window Simplification

21. 21
Enclosure Optimization - Overall
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
HeatingDemand(kWh/m2a)
Overall Area Weighted R-Value (hr ft² F/ Btu)
Targeted Range for
Overall area
weighted R-Value
Target

22. 22
Enclosure Optimization – Above grade walls
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
HeatingDemand(kWh/m2a)
Above Grade Wall Assembly R-Value (hr ft² F/ Btu)

23. 23
Enclosure Optimization – Slab edges
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
HeatingDemand(kWh/m2a)
Slab Edge Linear Transmittance (Btu/ hr ft F)

24. 24
Components
 Heat Recovery Ventilator
 One HRV unit/floor
 Designed to
› ASHRAE 62.1-2001
› Passive house outdoor air
flowrates
 Boost mode
 Multiple suites
Ventacity Systems

25. 25
Heat Recovery Ventilator
dys architecture

26. 26
Components
 DHW
 Sanden CO2 Heat Pumps
 High efficiency
 Use hot water as a source of
supply air pre-heat
Sanden USA

27. 27
Primary Energy Renewable (PER)
 Energy Use Intensity
0.0
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
300.0
350.0
400.0
Typical Vancouver (RDH
MURB Study)
ASHRAE 90.1-2010 - MURB
(BC Code 2012)
Passive House Highrise
MURB
EUI(kWh/m²GFA)
Heating
Cooling
Lighting
Equipment, Appliances, and
Plug Loads
Fans and Pumps
DHW

28. 28
Primary Energy Renewable (PER)
 Accounting for Primary Energy Renewable factors
0.0
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
300.0
350.0
400.0
Typical Vancouver (RDH
MURB Study)
ASHRAE 90.1-2010 - MURB
(BC Code 2012)
Passive House Highrise
MURB
PER(kWh/m²TFA)
Heating
Cooling
Lighting
Equipment, Appliances, and
Plug Loads
Fans and Pumps
DHW

29. 29
Distribution of Energy Use
ASHRAE 90.1-2010
MURB (BC Code 2012)
Passive House MURB
>50%

30. 30
Distribution of Energy Use
Passive House MURB
60% reduction in
Lighting and
Plug loads vs.
ASHRAE 90.1-2010

31. 31
Overheating in small suites
Peak heat load: 10 W/m² x (Area m²) ~ 235 W
Internal Gains: 5 W/m² (Plug Loads) +
5 W/m² (Lighting) + Occupants + Other?
dys architecture

32. 32
14.2
11.4
4
131
60
15
10
10
120
60
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150
Heating Demand
Heating Load
Frequency of Overheating
Primary Energy
Primary Energy Renewable
kWh/ m2
Proposed Building Threshold
Preliminary Results

33. 33
Conclusions
 Heating demand criteria can be achieved
 Heating load is exceeded
 Although overheating frequency is 4%, small suites on the
south side may be a concern
 Maximize natural ventilation
 Cooling may be required in some cases
 PER is achievable (adding PV would help to achieve targets)
 Lighting and plug load must be reduced where feasible
› Internal gains
› Energy consumption

34. 34
Discussion + Questions
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT
 www.rdh.com
 www.buildingsciencelabs.com
OR CONTACT ME AT
 ecatania@rdh.com