Building Efficiency
Bob Campbell introduced Steve Rothwell who has spent 27 years in the construction industry, starting out as a carpenter, moving into a semi custom buiding company and now with CEPHEUS, a building performance company. He has worked on barrier free, R2000 homes and serves as an energy advisor.
Steve appreciated the opportunity to speak on a subject he is passionate about. He says an efficient building improves peoples' comfort and health, reduces operating costs, extends the life of the components and enhances the integrity and durability of the building and decreases green house gas emissions.
A building is a puzzle of components assembled to function as a whole. The envelope separates the conditioned air from the unconditioned and is comprised of the foundation, walls, window, doors and roof. Air and water leakage are the most problematic. In Canada especially cold air comes in the basement, warms, rises and leaks out gaps in the stories above. The rate of flow can be tested and efforts can be made to reduce that rate, measured as the number of changeovers per hour.
Heat transfer occurs through - Radiation through windows. Winter sun permits gain but summer sun can raise the cost of A/C.
Conduction through air leaks which create ice dams and facade damage. Leaking warm moist air can be absorbed by brick which then undergoes the freeze/thaw cycle and the brick decays. Where the roof and the walls of steel building meet is often a site of poor insulation and leaking warm air with causes ice dams and damage. Flat roofs can suffer from water penetration, wetting the insulation that is there which destroys the Rfactor and can rot out the decking. Apparently that's why the arena roof in Quebec collapsed last year.
The housing sector has grown but the green house gases produced by the sector has actually decreased by 8.5% which means houses are being built better. But commercial construction has increased gase emissions by 30%, mining, which includes the tar sands, is way up and pulp and paper is down, because of mill closings. Generally, buildings from before 1919 perform better than modern construction - the wall are thick and hold heat better and the windows are smaller.
New glass covered office buildings are cheap to build and operating costs become the owner's problem, not the builder's or, if the building is leased, operating costs are passed on to the tenant. The best investment is to reduce expenses with tighter buildings and better insulation because that will save money from now on. New power generation methods, even if they're green, will still cost money and the more a building uses the more the owner will spend, forever.
Green house taxes have to be punitive to make people change their behaviour. Steve reported studies that show real change won't happen till a tax reached about $85.00 a metric ton. The average house emits between 20 - 35 tons a year. But the political will is lacking for such taxes. But you can start the change. Seal and insulate. Use energystar equipment. Install Heat Recovery Ventilation systems. If you're a builder, educate your clients and encourage efficiency by going beyond the code, which is the minimum required. Retro fit your buildings. Take advantage of the market by offering services and equipment that will encourage a carbon neutral environment. If you're a real estate agent promote efficiency, publish energuide ratings on your houses and commercial buildings. And if you're in municipal administration encourage the use of enerstar equipment, build to LEED standards, issue permits for energy saving construction and create tax credits for efficient buildings.
Steve said we've realized that we don't have the right to dump our raw sewage into the Bay or the oceans but we have to realize we don't have the right to dump our carbon into the atmosphere either. We are only just beginning to realize the cost of doing so and we have to put a stop to it.