Greg Labbe of BlueGreen Consulting covers performance verfication of low-rise housing for the Toronto Certified Sustainable Building Advisor Program

1. 19/10/2012
Putting Performance
Into Practice
Sustainable Building Advisor Course
Evergreen Brick Works, with Greg Labbé
ABOUT
Greg Labbé is a partner of
BlueGreen Consulting
Group Inc., offering
consulting and
professional services to
architects and builders,
specialising in building
s h e l l o p t i mi s a t i o n ,
diagnostics and testing.
Agenda
• Introduction
• Quality Management on the job site
• Who and what’s involved in:
– Design phase
– Construction phase
• On-site Testing and Inspecting
• Construction practices to avoid
• Conclusion
• Questions
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Introduction
B u ild in g a su st a in a ble, h igh
p e rf orma n ce h o me st a rt s a t t h e
d e sign p h a se a n d e n d s p re d ict a bly
with a su cce ssf ul b lo we r d o o r t e st.
Introduction
L e t ’s e xp l o r e t h e s t e p s i n b e t we e n , t o
l e a r n mo r e a b o u t wh a t ma k e s a h i g h
p e r f o r ma n c e , s u s t a i n a b l y d e s i g n e d
h o me t h e b e s t p r o d u c t o n t h e ma r k e t .
Introduction
A s u s t a i n a b l e h o me me a n s n e w
ma t e r i a l s , me t h o d s t e c h n i q u e s ; a r e t h e
t r a d e s yo u h i r e u p t o t h e n e w
c h a l l e n g e s ? D o t h e y k n o w wh a t t o d o ?
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Introduction
A h i g h p e r f o r ma n c e h o me me a n s yo u ’ r e
r a i s i n g t h e q u a l i t y b a r a n d a l wa ys
i n v o l v es s e t t i n g a s t a n d a r d .
G e t t i n g c o n s i s t e n t r e s u l t s wi l l h i n g e o n
yo u r g r a s p o f t h e q u a l i t y p r o c e s s .
Quality Management
• All Quality Management systems; Lean
thinking (Toyota), Six Sigma (Motorola)
and ISO/QMI have common focus.
• Building a super efficient house can have
greater cost of production (7-10%*) than
“Built to Code”.
*Applying Lean Thinking to PH Process, D. Hawkins
Quality Management
• Being able to identify issues in the
planning stage is key.
• This starts with making sure you have a
shell specialist on your team.
• This person is typically the energy modeler
and rater for the project.
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Quality Management
• Learning to build sustainably means
growing pains, yet
• Contractors in the USA who switched to
high performance building found their
business grew as their peers businesses
continued to slide with the housing market.
Quality Management
• “Lean thinking” seeks to:
– Reduce cost and time of production.
– Eliminate bottle necks of information or
materials
– Reduce idle time and waiting; the two biggest
disruptions on construction sites.
– Set up regular planning sessions
– Allows those that execute activities in the field
to define the timeframe
Quality Management
• Quality is conformance to a written standard
• Quality is measured by the cost of non-
conformance
• It is cheaper to do things right the first time
• Most problems start in planning and
development
• Quality is shared by everyone from architect to
builder to site supervisors and the trades.
Philip Crosby, The Art of Making Quality Certain
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What do the following 3 slides
have in common?
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Any guesses?
There’s a shortage of good
planning, clear specifications
and an even greater shortage of
trades who have time to think
things through.
Let’s review
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How do
we get
the door
open.
A window was
added after
the wall was
built. Note the
bracing was
cut…
The tiles were removed
because someone forgot
the floor heating element.
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What’s the Cost?
• These costs of repair have to be calculated as a
percentage of sale cost & documented.
• Calculating the cost of quality is to get
management’s attention and to provide a
measurement base for seeing how quality
improvement is doing.
Quality is Free
• A quality program can save a company more
money than it costs to implement
• Profitability is best accomplished by reducing the
cost of poor quality and preventing defects
• Cost savings include prevention, appraisal, and
failure costs.
Philip Crosby, The Art of Making Quality Certain
Marketing Quality
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Quality is a Standard
Pick a standard or rating system, add a
Quality Management program and follow it!
A note on Quality Programs
Two interesting articles on implementing quality
programs on construction sites:
1. Applying Lean Thinking to the Passive House
Process, David Hawkins & Russell Richman,
Ryerson University.
2. Achieving High Performance Homes Through
Quality Management, Duncan Prahl, Home
Energy Magazine, 2012
Who and what’s involved in:
Design phase
• Once you’ve picked your standard, you’ll
have to assemble your high-performance
team.
• Super high efficiency houses:
– Don’t have “normal” heating systems
– Are quiet, so mechanicals need to be too!
– Have very expensive windows
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Design Phase: Simulations
• Once you’ve picked your standard, you’ll need:
– a certified 3rd party energy simulator and rater
– a mechanical designer who understands
micro loads
– a mechanical contractor who’s open to new
ideas and smaller systems
– a serious window company that values ratings
and understands performance
– An insulation contractor who understands how
critical their job will be
Design Phase: Simulations
To demonstrate by example why it’s necessary to
do energy simulations, let’s look at the following,
simplified example of a wall section with a
standard sized window in it.
Scenario 1: Consider a wall and a window…
10’
2’
8’
3’
R2 R20
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What’s the R value of the entire wall assembly?
10’
2’
8’
3’
R2 R20
Entire wall assembly only R12*!
10’
2’
8’
3’
R2 R20
*This calculation IGNORES the thermal bridging
at each stud, so it’s even worse!
Scenario 2: New wall and same window…
10’
2’
8’
3’
R2 R40
Let’s spray foam the wall!
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What’s the R value of the new wall assembly?
10’
2’
8’
3’
R2 R40
Composite R value: 16.5.
10’
2’
8’
3’
R2 R40
The window is dragging the R value
down; energy modeling identifies
these issues.
Reconsider Scenario 1: with a better window…
10’
2’
8’
3’
R8 R20
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Any guesses on the composite R value?
10’
2’
8’
3’
R8 R20
New composite R value R18
10’
2’
8’
3’
R8 R20
Design Phase: Simulations
High performance doesn’t just happen; it evolves
through an iterative process like the Integrated
Design Process (IDP).
This process is usually lead by a professional
intimately familiar with the standard you’ve chosen.
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Design Phase: IDP+Simulations
Design Phase: IDP
The design team, homeowner and builder sit
with the energy simulator professional.
Together, they go through an iterative
process of optimisation where performance
is optimised and building costs are
minimised.
Design Phase: IDP
Source: CMHC, IDP Guide
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Design Phase: IDP
Source : Ann Edminster, GBA Advisor
Design Phase: Optimised
• Out of this IDP process, the final plans are
issued and the specifications for the
following are set:
– The R values and assembly details for the
whole building shell including the slab
– The air leakage threshold
– Exacting window specifications for each
façade.
– A very short list of mechancials
Design Phase: Optimised
"We need to use integrated design process
that can create new approaches and tools,
and beautiful environments that can restore
social, economic, and environmental vitality
to our communities."
— Bob Berkebile, BNIM, Kansas City, one of
the world’s most respected green architects
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Design Phase: Optimised
Further reading:
– Integrated Design Process Guide, Alex
Zimmerman, CMHC
Who and what’s involved in:
The construction phase
• All hands involved in the planning,
directing, testing and assembly of the
building need to know the standard and
have clear written instructions.
• They must be able to explain the goals of
standard and must know why the standard
is important.
Who and what’s involved in:
The construction phase
• Starts in the design phase with the
selection of the standard and the detailed
specifications for the assembly and
materials to be used.
• You must impress that quality will be
measured both in the ‘cost of quality’, will
be visually inspected and air tightness
tested.
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On-Site Testing and Inspecting
Identifying and respecting the air barrier.
• Most standards have min. threshold of air
leakage in order to be certified.
• Everyone on the jobsite must be able to id
the air barrier, even at transitions.
• All should be able to draw it’s placement
on a cross section with a red pen.
ID Air Barrier
Polyethylene air barrier
system (very cold climates
only—Zones 6 or higher)
Source:
www.buildingscience.com
ID Air Barrier
Housewrap air barrier
system
Source:
www.buildingscience.com
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ID Air Barrier
Exterior sheathing (insulated or
not) air barrier system
Source:
www.buildingscience.com
Air Barrier
Testing
This is a blower door.
Love this guy/gal!
S/he can help you find the
leaks and be part of your
quality management team.
They see lots of different
things… and can be a source
of great information
Educate Crews
Often the best way to educate reluctant crews is to
use simple diagrams like the following about ultra-
efficient houses.
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Construction practices to avoid
• The following slides are a collection of
common issues in contemporary
construction.
• Most are dry walled over and will haunt the
homeowner.
Notes on Spray foam
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Foam is combustible
Check your foam for depth!
W H E R E D I D T H E F O A M FA I L ?
Many ‘blisters’ (painted orange)
were found throughout the ½
pound foam. When presurised
t h e y l e a k e d a l o t o f a i r. F o a m w a s
unattached or delaminated.
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WHE R E
D I D THE
FOAM
FA I L ?
The blisters
were nearly
1 4 oC h o t t e r
than the
surrounding
foam.
Foam to poly
Brick ledges & Lintels WRT Sheathing
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The Pony wall: Diaper vs batt.
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Watch Those
Transitions
Follow the air
barrier
2LBS Spray foam
Cellulose Insulation
Soffit vent
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Notes on Steel
• Steel has amazing strength, but not only
does it conduct heat amazingly well, it also
is really hard to detail insulation and air
barriers around it.
• It has been known to cause condensation
problems and discomfort.
Is it
really
sealed?
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Beam pocket: How do you seal
the air barrier to the beam?
Steel
every
where!
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What steel looks like in Infrared..
http://www.rensolutions.co.uk/thermal_bridge.php
Ducts in Unconditioned Spaces
• Installing ductwork outside the envelope is
never a good design; avoid it.
• We get called back to “improve” these
design flaws.
More exposed supply
side leakage means
hot humid attic,
depressed living
space, constantly
washed with fresh
outside dry air.
www.buildingscience.
com BSD-102:
Understanding Attic
Ventilation
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C O N D E N S AT I O N E V E R Y W H E R E !
…forming mini pools of
condensation on top of
poorly insulated ERV
inlet duct, so much
so that it’s dripping
down...
UNDER THE DUCTS TOO!
The Bonus Room
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Exposed
floor
Ducts
Skylights
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This was a 17’
tall triangular
shaft, with a
20’x2’ opening in
the ceiling for a
2’x4’ skylight.
Condensation
and uncalculated
heatloss.
Top plate penetrations:
The OK…
The
bad
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The
ugly
Stairs vs Poly: who’s there first?
Who’s
there first:
Electrician
or
insulator?
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Air tightness
• Houses don’t need fresh air; occupants
do.
• Build tight; ventilate right.
• Ventilation is not something you let the
building shell take care of through
‘leakage’.
• Ventilation is something that needs to be
controlled precisely and actively.
Good ventilation strategy?
Heat Recovery Ventilation
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Dedicated
returns to
HRV
A 40’
duct
run!!
That’s better
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Columns
The
bump
out from
outside.
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The bump out from the
basement..
The bump out from the
main floor..
The bump out from the
2nd floor..
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Above
grade
Bump-
out
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• What it could have looked like.
• Source: http://hammerandhand.com/
Side
Attics
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The
double
wall
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Clamp that
poly!
(if it’s your
air barrier)
Clamp
that poly
in the
drop
ceilings.
Bad
foam/
poly.
Getting air
barrier
sealing
around all
penetrations
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Design
Flourishes
that
squander
Ban faux chimneys
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Extra
bedroom:
gone!
Silly
Recom-
mendations
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Conclusion
• Do it once, do it right;
• Select your team & standard
• Optimise your house by energy simulation
• Get everyone on board early
• Calculate mistake cost as a % of sales.
• Test and inspect.
QUESTIONS?
Thanks for your time
t o d ay.
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W E TA K E T H E B L U E S O U T O F B E I N G G R E E N !
www.bluegreengroup.ca
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