This document summarizes an energy audit of a split-level home with approximately 1,200 square feet of living space. It describes the construction details and current insulation levels. Air leakage testing found the home to be mildly leaky. Recommendations include replacing the electric furnace with a high-efficiency natural gas furnace, adding insulation to uninsulated areas like the crawlspace and basement, reducing electrical loads, and upgrading attic insulation. Appendices provide additional details on space measurements, weather data, electricity usage charts, and historical natural gas consumption.
Michael McCarthy is an International authority on the Passive House standard. On December 1, 2016 Michael visited Green Building Alliance for a training session and gave this presentation at Carnegie Mellon University.
Passive House in a Cold Climate @ BBBB 2015 WI ConferenceTE Studio
This is the lecture I gave at the 2015 Better Business Better Buildings conference at Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. It is a primer on the Passive House building energy standard and its application in new construction and retrofit in a cold North American climate zone.
This lecture illustrates the opportunities for Passive House on commercial projects. Follow four case studies and learn how the Passive House building energy standard affects project planning, design, and what changes are made to the building envelope and mechanical systems to achieve it. Furthermore, this session highlights the differences in initial cost and life cycle cost, and provide insights into the energy conservation and CO2 reduction potential.
Intep & TE Studio designed the first certified Passive House in North America, as well as the first certified cold climate Passive House and the first certified cold climate Passive House retrofit (EnerPHit) in the world. Learn more at intep.com and testudio.com
Michael McCarthy is an International authority on the Passive House standard. On December 1, 2016 Michael visited Green Building Alliance for a training session and gave this presentation at Carnegie Mellon University.
Passive House in a Cold Climate @ BBBB 2015 WI ConferenceTE Studio
This is the lecture I gave at the 2015 Better Business Better Buildings conference at Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. It is a primer on the Passive House building energy standard and its application in new construction and retrofit in a cold North American climate zone.
This lecture illustrates the opportunities for Passive House on commercial projects. Follow four case studies and learn how the Passive House building energy standard affects project planning, design, and what changes are made to the building envelope and mechanical systems to achieve it. Furthermore, this session highlights the differences in initial cost and life cycle cost, and provide insights into the energy conservation and CO2 reduction potential.
Intep & TE Studio designed the first certified Passive House in North America, as well as the first certified cold climate Passive House and the first certified cold climate Passive House retrofit (EnerPHit) in the world. Learn more at intep.com and testudio.com
Energy Consumption in Low-Rise Wood Frame Multi-Unit Residential BuildingsRDH Building Science
A study was performed to understand the energy consumption in low-rise wood-frame multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) and townhouse buildings in south-west British Columbia. Low-rise MURBs are an important building type as they make up a growing proportion of housing stock in cities across North
America.
Through this study, energy data was collected from electricity and gas utilities for 20 low-rise buildings (four storeys and less) and three townhouse complexes. This data was calendarized and weather normalized to determine average annual and monthly energy consumption for analysis and comparison. Two buildings were chosen from the data set for detailed analysis, one low-rise (four-storey) and one townhouse complex. The buildings were selected based on characteristics typical of low-rise MURBs in south-west BC. The purpose of the detailed analysis was to assess opportunities to improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in existing low-rise MURBs using whole building energy modelling.
This paper details the energy consumption trends observed through the data analysis, and the energy modelling results of the buildings chosen for detailed study. These results are also compared to results from a similar study which evaluated the energy use in mid- to high-rise non-combustible MURBs. The work presented here will improve our understanding of energy consumption in low-rise MURBs, and characterize opportunities for energy savings in these buildings.
Presented by Elyse Henderson at the 15th Canadian Conference on Building Science and Technology
Select projects by TE Studio and Intep, Minneapolis. We are experts in high-performance architecture and engineering. We provide designs for high-performance custom homes, as well as commercial projects. Find us at www.testudio.com and www.intep.us.
In this slideshow you can find North America's first certified Passive House (Das BioHaus in Bemidji, MN), as well as the first certified Passive House retrofit (EnerPHit) project (the MinnePHit house in Minneapolis, MN).
This is a slideshow given at the Passive House Alliance Minneapolis- St. Paul chapter fall lecture series in October 2013. After a basic Passive House introduction it showcases the design process for Western Technical College's 24th St. Passive House project in La Crosse, WI
As being future architect what type of responsibility we have to keep in mind and how other had response to the nature. have look thanks:)
Thanks to the people and foundation and various site..
First Passive House Retrofit in a Cold Climate: The MinnePHit HouseTE Studio
This presentation was given by Tim Delhey Eian of TE Studio on Tuesday, September 23rd, at the 2014 NAPHN Passive House Conference in Portland, Maine. It showcases the first cold climate Passive House retrofit (EnerPHit) project which TE Studio designed, and the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt (Germany) certified as a pilot EnerPHit project.
April Forum: The Hit List - The Top Tips to Green NYC Buildings Part 1 of 3 E...GreenHomeNYC
Are you a homeowner, commercial property owner or property manager concerned with increasing energy costs?
Are you a contractor, architect, interior designer or real estate broker whose clients have asked about green buildings?
Do you plan to renovate, buy or develop a building?
Come hear The Top 10 Tips to make NYC Buildings Greener! Learn ways you could improve your building investments, prevent the loss of energy and money, and be environmentally conscious by constructing, renovating and maintaining green buildings!
Our panel discusses their top 10 tips to:
» reduce energy and water use;
» improve occupant health, safety and comfort with non-toxic, reusable and recycled building materials;
» prevent waste and pollution.
Presentation about
Permaculture projects in the tropics.
Presentacion de Proyectos de Permacultura Tropical.
Agradecimientos John Valenzuela y Living Mandala y todos los permacultores.
Lecture given at the May 5, 2021 Passive House Accelerator event illustrating the Lexington Pkwy Passive House Plus in St. Paul, Minnesota TE Studio Architecture
Energy Consumption in Low-Rise Wood Frame Multi-Unit Residential BuildingsRDH Building Science
A study was performed to understand the energy consumption in low-rise wood-frame multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) and townhouse buildings in south-west British Columbia. Low-rise MURBs are an important building type as they make up a growing proportion of housing stock in cities across North
America.
Through this study, energy data was collected from electricity and gas utilities for 20 low-rise buildings (four storeys and less) and three townhouse complexes. This data was calendarized and weather normalized to determine average annual and monthly energy consumption for analysis and comparison. Two buildings were chosen from the data set for detailed analysis, one low-rise (four-storey) and one townhouse complex. The buildings were selected based on characteristics typical of low-rise MURBs in south-west BC. The purpose of the detailed analysis was to assess opportunities to improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in existing low-rise MURBs using whole building energy modelling.
This paper details the energy consumption trends observed through the data analysis, and the energy modelling results of the buildings chosen for detailed study. These results are also compared to results from a similar study which evaluated the energy use in mid- to high-rise non-combustible MURBs. The work presented here will improve our understanding of energy consumption in low-rise MURBs, and characterize opportunities for energy savings in these buildings.
Presented by Elyse Henderson at the 15th Canadian Conference on Building Science and Technology
Select projects by TE Studio and Intep, Minneapolis. We are experts in high-performance architecture and engineering. We provide designs for high-performance custom homes, as well as commercial projects. Find us at www.testudio.com and www.intep.us.
In this slideshow you can find North America's first certified Passive House (Das BioHaus in Bemidji, MN), as well as the first certified Passive House retrofit (EnerPHit) project (the MinnePHit house in Minneapolis, MN).
This is a slideshow given at the Passive House Alliance Minneapolis- St. Paul chapter fall lecture series in October 2013. After a basic Passive House introduction it showcases the design process for Western Technical College's 24th St. Passive House project in La Crosse, WI
As being future architect what type of responsibility we have to keep in mind and how other had response to the nature. have look thanks:)
Thanks to the people and foundation and various site..
First Passive House Retrofit in a Cold Climate: The MinnePHit HouseTE Studio
This presentation was given by Tim Delhey Eian of TE Studio on Tuesday, September 23rd, at the 2014 NAPHN Passive House Conference in Portland, Maine. It showcases the first cold climate Passive House retrofit (EnerPHit) project which TE Studio designed, and the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt (Germany) certified as a pilot EnerPHit project.
April Forum: The Hit List - The Top Tips to Green NYC Buildings Part 1 of 3 E...GreenHomeNYC
Are you a homeowner, commercial property owner or property manager concerned with increasing energy costs?
Are you a contractor, architect, interior designer or real estate broker whose clients have asked about green buildings?
Do you plan to renovate, buy or develop a building?
Come hear The Top 10 Tips to make NYC Buildings Greener! Learn ways you could improve your building investments, prevent the loss of energy and money, and be environmentally conscious by constructing, renovating and maintaining green buildings!
Our panel discusses their top 10 tips to:
» reduce energy and water use;
» improve occupant health, safety and comfort with non-toxic, reusable and recycled building materials;
» prevent waste and pollution.
Presentation about
Permaculture projects in the tropics.
Presentacion de Proyectos de Permacultura Tropical.
Agradecimientos John Valenzuela y Living Mandala y todos los permacultores.
Lecture given at the May 5, 2021 Passive House Accelerator event illustrating the Lexington Pkwy Passive House Plus in St. Paul, Minnesota TE Studio Architecture
What’s worse than filling out an application? Filling out a 40 minute application that won’t be reviewed by a store manager.
Job seekers like you are familiar with the application ‘black hole’ that comes with submitting an application that never gets looked at. Sports Authority, in partnership with our applicant tracking system and our career site, has tried to solve this dilemma with what we would like to call ‘Openings Functionality’.
Previously, all positions that existed within a store were always shown to job seekers and it seemed as though the store was always hiring for every position. This is why you might apply to join one of our teams, but never hear back from the hiring team.
Openings Functionality allows our Store Managers to indicate which jobs have immediate openings within their store so you know your application will be reviewed.
With Openings Functionality we can provide more information to the job seeker on what positions we are hiring for on a real time basis. With this new search feature, you’ll know what store and what positions are open for you.
Land Resources & Capital Infrastructure: the 3rd Pillar of In-SHUCK-ch's Nati...In-SHUCK-ch Nation
The 3rd Pillar will create tools that will guide administrative decision through processes that will manage the development on the land. And protect the cultural values as set out in the constitution.
Going Green Without the Greenbacks, 2011Eleanor Olsen
“Going Green Without the Greenbacks” presented by Eleanor Olsen, AKBD, principal of Total Spaces Design, is packed with tips to save you “greenbacks”, while “greening up” your home, and saving the planet. Eleanor’s seminar uses the example of a pitiful little house that most other General Contractors would consider a tear down to illustrate how it was turned into a charming cottage on a tiny budget. Total Spaces Design remodeled this house completely, on a very tight budget, using premium materials salvaged from Second Use, and a few other Earth saving salvage opportunities, sweat equity from the homeowner with how to tips along the way and Eleanor’s own unique brand of creativity.
Create Cool Green Cities! Combat Global Warming!
Contribute for Climate Change issues!
Reduce Energy Consumption in Buildings!
Have Energy Efficient Buildings!
Reduce our City Temp by 2-30C!
Can We Make Life of Common Man Comfortable!
Eleanor Olsen and Bruce Olsen of Total Spaces Design saved this tiny house from destruction, by implementing a "green" strategy to redo, update and increase the value. The results created a functional and darling home on an extreme budget. See how we did it.
A 750 sq ft Remodel illustrates step by step the green design choices in the strategic planning of a remodel project. Total Spaces Design shows how little cents it takes to make sense and still be green.
Taking a basic office design and making recommendations to reduce energy consumption, lower the carbon footprint and provide passive means of ventilating and cooling the building together with improving natural light while reducing solar gains
1. Michael Clarke
Monday, March 10th, 2014.
Instructor: Ian Kilborn
ESET 430 - Lab Assignment 6-7
Herchmer Crescent Residential Energy Audit
2. Description of the House
The house on Herchmer Crescent is a split-level, 2 story property. The front of the house (road side) faces East,
with the North wall oriented at -9° N. The size of the living area (1st and 2nd floors only) is approximately 1,200
ft2 (1,186 ft2). The volume of the entire heated building envelop is approximately 16,000 ft3 (16,134 ft3). This
volume includes the basement, crawlspace, 1st and 2nd floors, but not the attics (which are unheated).
Space heating is provided by a 20kW electric furnace. Water heating is provided by a 40 gallon electric hot water
tank. Additionally, a small natural gas fireplace gets used occasionally, and is mostly a decorative appliance.
Below-grade foundation walls consist of 10" concrete block. Within the crawlspace, the block is bare with no
insulation. Within the basement, the block is covered from the inside by a thin softwood facing with a small air
gap between the two. Also to note is that the joist header space within the crawlspace is only insulated on the
West facing wall with 2" XPS foam; the North and East facing joist header spaces are un-insulated.
First floor (above crawlspace) walls are framed by 2"x4" studs @ 16"o.c., giving 3.5" of space insulated with
yellow fiberglass insulation (R=3.5/"). These walls also consist of a 0.5" layer of gypsum board, a small air cavity
(R=1), OSB sheathing (0.5") and an outside brick veneer facing (4" thick). Second floor (above basement) walls
are similar in construction, with the exception of thin aluminum siding instead of brick veneer.
The roof is of a split-level gable construction, with the attic spaces unheated. The first floor attic/ceiling is
insulated with 5" of yellow fiberglass between studs 20" o.c. The second floor attic/ceiling is insulated with both
5" yellow and 7" pink fiberglass, also between studs 20" o.c.
There are two wooden doors, at front entrance (1st floor, brick veneer wall) and read entrance (basement, un-
insulated concrete block wall). There are also many types of windows on East/West walls, including vinyl double
pane sliders, a vinyl sliding door, a wood double pane fixed and a low-e vinyl double pane slider.
3. Air Leakage
To determine the leavel of air leakage at the home, a blower door test was done yeilding the following Values:
To give some understanding as to what these numbers represent, consider the following:
The very best new home will have an ACH50 of around 1.0; typical newer homes will have an ACH50 of about
4.0; mildly leaky homes will have an ACH50 value of around 7.0, and if an ACH50 value of 10-15+ is measured,
that would be considered a space will considerable air leakage issues.
Since the value measured for this home was 7.09 ACH50, it can be considered mildly leaky.
Also to note is the equivalent leakage area of 180.1 in2. This means that if all the areas of infiltration were added
up to form a single hole, it would have an area of 180.1 in2, slightly larger than 1 square foot.
A noticeable draft was present around the door to the basement, which would indicate high airflow from the
basement to the main floors. It's probable that substantial air leakage was emanating from the un-insulated
foundation walls in both the basement (behind the wood paneling) and the crawlspace.
5. Introduction to Recommendations
The objective of this audit was to offer the home-owner recommendations that would yield the greatest savings
per dollar invested. To achieve this, we first had to model the building in RetScreen. We could then identify
those areas of the home which were the greatest contributors to heat loss and energy consumption. This data is
displayed visually through pie charts on the previous page. Finally, we could offer recommendations to alleviate
those losses and provide a dollar estimate of expected savings per year.
Recommended Upgrades
1. Natural Gas Furnace
Space heating through electricity is extremely expensive. The existing electric furnace
may be very efficient, but the operating cost over a cold Canadian winter is
extremely high. More than half the yearly energy dollars spent at the house are
through the existing electric furnace, totaling nearly $2700. Replacing the electric
furnace with a high efficiency natural gas furnace would result in substantial yearly
savings.
Replacing the existing 20kW furnace with a 70,000 BTU, 95% efficiency furnace
would yield as estimate $712 in yearly fuel cost savings. The payback for this upgrade
should be no more than 2 years, making it a very attractive option.
2. Reducing Air Leakage/Heat Loss in Basement/Crawlspace
Significant air leakage was noted coming from the basement during our blower
door test. This is most likely caused by the un-insulated concrete block walls in the
crawlspace, the inadequately insulated below grade walls in the basement and the
three un-insulated crawlspace joist header spaces. The best option may be to add a
2" layer of XPS foam to the crawlspace walls, fill the air cavity in the below grade
basement walls with spray foam and add 3" of fiberglass insulation to the un-
insulated joist header spaces. This would reduce the amount of air leakage from
these spaces, plus add additional heat loss protection.
After implementing these upgrades with the software model, expected yearly
energy savings were found to be $194. This is a moderate savings, but the upgrades
would not be difficult, nor too expensive to implement, so the payback time would
be reasonable: within 5 years.
6. 3. Electrical Baseloads
Electrical baseloads are all loads within the house that consume electricity. This
includes appliances, electronics, lighting and more. Additional "vampire" loads
exist in the form of electronic appliances on standby, such as computers, stereos
and televisions. Currently, nearly $1300 a year is being spent to service these
loads, which total nearly 25 kWh's per day. If that 25 kWh's could be cut in half,
substantial energy savings could be accrued.
To achieve this, a swath of energy efficient upgrades would have to be initiated.
Replacing all incandescent lights with CFL's would be the first step. It may be cost
effective to replace older appliances like the washing machine, dryer, dishwasher
or refrigerator. Many provincial rebates exist to encourage homeowners to do
this. Turning off home electronics would reducing their idle electricity
consumption. Even remembering to turn off lights in rooms not in use would go
towards achieving energy savings.
If it would be possible to cut in half the current baseload electricity consumption of 25 kWh's, a yearly savings of
$307 would result.
4. First Floor Attic Insulation Upgrade
Attics are a substantial source for heat loss and air leakage if improperly insulated. The first floor attic is only
insulated with 5" fiberglass, which isn't sufficient. An addition 7" of fiberglass insulation would add almost 25 R
value, yielding an annual savings of $119. This would be a very easy and cost effective upgrade, with very short
payback time.
Other Potential Upgrades
Reduce the heating setpoint by 1-2°.
Increase the cooling setpoint by 1-2°.
Reduce the temperature of the hot water tank from 60°C to 50°C.
Upgrade one/several/all the house windows to low-e argon.
Install a heat recovery ventilator.
7. Appendix A: Volume Calculations
Space Measurements
Crawlspace 23' x 25'5.5" x 4'2" = 2439.8 ft3
Basement 20'3" x 26' x 8' = 4212.0 ft3
1st Floor 23' x 25'5.5" x 8' = 4684.3 ft3
2nd Floor 28' x 21'5" x 8' = 4797.3 ft3
Total Volume = 16,133.4 ft3
9. Appendix C: 3D Surface Charts of Electricity Consumption 2013
10.
11. Appendix D: Daily Gas Consumption
42 Herchmer Gas Consumption - Actual
Days from Current m3
Date last Reading since last
15-Jan-14 Actual 306 2,855.00 25.00
15-Mar-13 Actual 58 2,830.00 3.00
16-Jan-13 Actual 62 2,827.00 52.00
15-Nov-12 Actual 59 2,775.00 47.00
17-Sep-12 Actual 62 2,728.00 50.00
17-Jul-12 Actual 62 2,678.00 53.00
16-May-12 Actual 62 2,625.00 51.00
15-Mar-12 Actual 58 2,574.00 49.00
17-Jan-12 Actual 61 2,525.00 50.00
17-Nov-11 Actual 63 2,475.00 50.00
15-Sep-11 Actual 62 2,425.00 50.00
15-Jul-11 Actual 2,375.00
Total Number of days were gas was used: Sum(C4:C14) Total gas used (m3): Sum(E4:E14)
915 480.00
Average Daily Gas Consumption = Total gas used (m3) / Total number of days
"= 480 / 915"
0.525 Cubic Meters gas per day
0.000
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.400
0.500
0.600
0.700
0.800
0.900
Gasconcumptionperday(m3/day)
Date
Gas Consumption (m3/day) over time