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Sustainable Builder - Fall Issue
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Celebrating the “Know-How” at The Green Building Festival
Sustainable Builder
Sustainable Builder
Sustainable Builder
Sustainable BuilderFALL 2010 • Vol. 1, Issue 3
Mady Development Corp. Intergrating Green
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CONTENTS
2 Celebrating the “Know-How”
3 Cover storyFrom Big Box to Condos, Mady
Development Corp. is Going to
LEED
8 Industry Leader and R2000 Pioneer Gord Tobey Retires
10 How Green Condos Became the Norm in Toronto
12 Beaverbrook: An Integrated
Approach to Energy Star
14 Demand Growing For Green
Retrofits For Older Homes
16 Brookfield Offer its Buyers
No Cost Solar Panels
18 Making the Transition to
LEED Can Be Painless
20 Planning Green in Uptown Burlington
21 Green teens: Carpenters’
Local Union 27 Supports
Toronto Youth in Acquiring
Green Construction Skills
22 A Case for Using Wood
24 Will Horses Drink Green Water?
25 Green Building Festival Program
29 A Message from the Conference Chair
30 The Annual Green Building
Festival. A Brief History of Time
Well-Spent
32 Top International Practitioners
Offer Insight and Education In Sustainability
36 The Drivers for Continual Improvement
38 An Insider’s Guide to the
Green Building Festival
40 Getting in Control of
Energy Use: Case Studies of
Real-Time Energy Monitoring
42 The Benefits of Building Green
44 Are Energy Star Homes
Better Built Now Than in 2005?
45 Prioritizing Renewable
Upgrades
48 Is Our Focus on Insulation and Ventilation Forgetting
Something? The Root Cause of Disposable Roof Syndrome
50 rawDESIGN Brings New
Life to MINI
51 Vaughan’s New City Hall
is a Model of Sustainability
52 New Code. New Energy Efficiency Requirements.
New Costs. Are you ready?
Celebrating the “Know-How” at The Green Building Festival
Sustainable BuilderSustainable BuilderFALL 2010 • Vol. 1, Issue 3
Mady Development Corp. Intergrating Green
ON THE COVER:Marko A. Juricic - Vice President & Director of Operations and David Mady - President of Mady Development Corporation
FALL 2010
� sBM fall �010
Celebrating the “Know-How”
2109-256 Doris Ave.Toronto, ON M2N6X8
p 416-898-0835 • f 416-250-6322www.SBMagazine.ca
Sustainable Builder Magazine is published in cooperation with the
Lenard Hart Publishing Editor
hart.lenard@gmailcom
Sustainable Builder Magazine is a quarterly publication.
Subscription rates: $24 per year; $7 single copy.
To advertise, contribute a story, or get your name on our distribution list,
please contact [email protected] news, events, projects,
competitions to [email protected]
Editor: Tracy Hanes
Contributing Authors: Andrew Bowerbank • Gord Cooke
Dave DeSilva • Stephen DupuisJohn Godden • Tracy Hanes • Jim Harris
Lenard Hart • Peter Kenter • Mike Lio Peter Kinsey • Don Noble • Tom Ponessa
Jeff Ranson • Scott RouseMike Singleton • Dan Stone
Creative: Graphic Designs [email protected]
Copyright by Sustainable Builder Magazine. Contents may not be reprinted or reproduced
without publisher’s written permission - [email protected]
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors exclusively and assumed to be
original work. Sustainable Builder Magazine can not be held liable for any damage as
a result of publishing such works.
Publication Mail Agreement #42014026Return undelivered Canadian address mail to:
Sustainable Builder Magazine2109-256 Doris Ave., Toronto, ON M2N 6X8
Sustainable Builder
Sustainable Builder
Sustainable Builder
Sustainable Builder
elcome to the fall issue, published in cooperation with the Sustainable Build-ings Canada (SBC) and the Green Building Festival (GBF).
We are pleased to be able to publish a guide to the festival, along with some stories on this industry leading event. Supporting the festival is a natu-
ral extension of how we see Sustainable Builder Magazine. The GBF is Canada’s premier trade show for the green building industry; no other show gets as in-depth and practical, and stays as deeply green. The festival is all about celebrating the “know-how” of green building and that is precisely the goals of this magazine.
I have had the pleasure of being the Chair of the Board of Directors of SBC for three years, and this will also be my third year as host of the festival’s plenary presentations (Sep-tember 22). This is easily the most interesting and invigorating event I attend each year. With seven international speakers and an awards ceremony, it is a huge day, and each year I get educated more. More importantly, I get inspired by the worldwide network of green builders, architects, engineers, building operators, designers, educators, and others who are all looking for solutions to real problems to lessen the impact we have on the planet. Shar-ing the inspiration of leaders within the industry, and outside of it, is what we try to do with Sustainable Builder Magazine.
In the centre of the magazine your will find the official guide to the festival, that we hope helps you to make the most of this event. There are four stories on the festival, including one that goes in-depth into the plenary speakers showcased this year and one that is an insider’s guide to the festival.
We are always looking for new authors to bring a new perspective. Last issue, David Donnelly, environmental lawyer, contributed a piece on density that was very well received. This issue, Jim Harris, prominent green writer, best-selling author and former leader of the Green Party of Canada, has contributed a piece on the root drivers behind the green condo market in Toronto. David and Jim are very successful outside the green building sector, and having their perspective helps those of us inside see things clearer.
Tracy Hanes’ cover story celebrates the many successes of a broadly diversified builder who has made green building core to its offerings. As one of the very few to have achieved the highest green building achievement and produced a LEED platinum building (on time and on budget, no less), Mady Developments is the first individual builder to be on our cover (previous issues focused on an industry survey and on green HBA leadership). We wanted to pick a builder who had significant impact and who had integrated green into all aspects of their business. We are very pleased to present Mady’s story, and we look forward to show-casing other leading builders in future issues.
One story we are particularly proud to have is on the career of Gord Tobey. For almost 35 years, Gord has been one of the top innovators and leaders in the lowrise custom green building sector. He has been an R2000 builder for most of that time and pioneered HRVs and airtight building techniques. He not only built green, but he shared his knowledge at the HBA level, and on the board of EnerQuality, and with other green building groups. He has passed his know-how to his son Steve, who has already made a name for himself as an industry leader working with his father. Like so much of our industry, the sharing of knowl-edge and passing on of “know-how”, be it from father to son/daughter, from veteran to apprentice, or even between business partners, this story shows how steeped in experiential knowledge this industry is.
Finally, I want to thank all those who advertised and contributed to make this edition a reality. We moved up our production dates to produce this issue in time to give it out at the GBF, and we appreciate the effort it takes to meet a tight deadline, so our sincere thanks go out to all our authors.
Particular thanks go out to our regular columnists Gord Cooke, Mike Lio, Stephen Du-puis, and John Godden for their continued insights into the industry.
We are very interested in your feedback at [email protected]. If you would like to get in our mailing list or submit a story idea, please use that address as well.
For information on advertising rates, inserts, content marketing, or reprints please send a note to [email protected]. Finally, I am please to announce that our website is now up and running. Please go to www.SBMagazine.ca to view back issues.
Sincerely, Lenard Hart, Publishing Editor
W
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By Tracy Hanes
It all started with a Rona big box store two years ago, and since then, Mady Development Corp. has made the leap to LEED.
The company has become focused on environ-mentally sustainable building design and construction, and has adopted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Envi-ronmental Design) certification as the best way to facili-tate and demonstrate its green commitment.
Founded in 1974 by Charles Mady as a single family home builder in the Windsor area, it has since expand-ed into general contracting throughout North America. By 1990, the company had opened an office in Dallas, Texas. It also opened a Toronto office seven years ago and Charles and son David (the company president) relocat-ed there, so the company could pursue business in the Toronto to Windsor corridor.
Mady has been constructing big box retail stores since the early 2000s for the likes of Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, The Home Depot and Sobeys, as well as acting as de-velopers for big box and power centres. Mady also con-structs single family homes, subdivisions, banks, restau-rants, schools, retirement residences, and condomini-ums.
One of those big-box jobs in 2008 was the tipping point for Mady to go green. As part of its deal to build a building supply store in Welland for Rona, the com-pany was tasked to construct to LEED criteria. “There were some immediate obstacles, but we hired third party consultants to help us and it really wasn’t too difficult,” said Marko Juricic, Vice President of Construction for Mady. “Hiring proven experts helps, and the hardest part is mostly following up on the paperwork and identifying the materials.”
Typical big box eco-friendly features include things such as energy efficient lighting, motion detector light-ing, water-conserving features, white roofs to reflect sun-light (thus reduce cooling demands), timer-controlled air conditioning and heating, the use of sustainably harvest-ed Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified lumber, and materials with high recycled content.
Mady followed the Rona build with other LEED commercial projects, and has taken on increasingly more complex projects, such as its own South Unionville Square in Markham, which includes a 12-storey LEED Silver condo tower, a Canada Post distribution centre in Toronto built to LEED Gold, and the Dr. David Suzu-ki Public School in Windsor, the first LEED Platinum school in Canada.
From Big Box to Condos, Mady Development Corp. is Going to LeeD
Cover story
South Unionville Square Condo Tower
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“We embraced building to LEED stan-dards because by doing so, we save ener-gy, reduce pollution and protect every-one’s health. People are starting to under-stand that there are real long-term ben-efits,” says David Mady. “ As the market starts to become more aware, and since sus-tainable construction continues to become a standard practice for many, there’s more demand for the benefits of green build-ing. Following these standards will become more important concerning the market-ability of our projects.
“Obviously, being energy efficient and “green” reduces our carbon footprint and preserves the outdoors so our future resi-dents can have somewhere healthy to go to enjoy themselves.”
Mady just turned over what’s been billed as “the nation’s greenest school” to the Greater Essex County District School Board in late August, in time to get it ready for the first students in September. The project was awarded through a tender pro-cess where the design was already in place; it was Mady’s job to build it on time and on budget.
The 58,000-square-foot Dr. David Su-zuki Public School will accommodate 500 students. With features like solar panels, geothermal heating, and grey water recy-cling, it will serve as a learning tool for stu-dents and as a demonstration of environ-mental design for the architectural and en-gineering community. Information kiosks throughout the building and a website ed-
ucate students and visitors about the tech-nologies used.
“The criteria for the school was very strict and incorporating all of the design aspects was a huge undertaking,” said Ju-ricic. “There were a lot of solar panels, a lot of natural light, and water from the soccer fields had to be collected and reused.”
“To combine all aspects in a Platinum building was a test of everyone’s sanity,” said Mark Opresnik of Opresnik Engi-neering Consultants Inc., a consultant for the project. “For example, in a school, you want very wear resistant paint coatings on the walls and the design called for low or no VOC paints, but sometimes that combina-tion is just not available. Yet from a con-struction standpoint, it all came off on time and on budget.”
The school has a 38 W photovolta-ic system developed by Canadian-based Carmanah Technologies. Funding for the $400,000 system, which feeds into the grid, was provided by the Government of Ontario Green Schools Initiative. The roof-top solar panels extend downward over the school’s main entrance to form a canopy and they will generate about 10 per cent compared to what the school uses. It also has a vertical axis wind turbine.
The school recycles rainwater and grey water in a mini-sewer treatment plant in the basement and uses it to flush toilets. The building’s heating and cooling systems are automated and the school is equipped with occupancy sensors. Other features in-clude bio-swales, a green roof and other fea-tures to minimize heat island effects.
The LEED Gold Canada Post distribu-tion centre Mady completed at 600 Com-misioner’s St. in Toronto boasts erosion controls, a reflective roof, landscaping de-
Lucente engineering inc.consuLting engineers
3514 Walker Road, Unit #1Windsor, ON N8W 3S4Tel: 519-966-4008 • Fax: 519-966-4088 • Cell: 519-973-3113
Rocco Lucente, [email protected]
South Unionville Square
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Canada Post LEED Gold building
signed to mitigate the need for permanent irrigation, a reflective roof, water-conserv-ing features, use of materials with recycled content and certified wood, and tobacco smoke control.
The site had been contaminated and was rehabilitated, there’s access to public trans-portation as well as bicycle storage to mini-mize vehicle reliance.
Under construction in Markham is
Mady’s South Unionville Square, a major mixed-use project on Kennedy Rd., just north of Highway 407 in Markham, com-bining residential, retail and office func-tions, geared specifically to the local Chi-
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South Unionville_Ad_v3.pdf 1 8/16/2010 4:00:25 PM
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Dr. David Suzuki Public School in Windsor, the first LEED Platinum school in Canada.
nese community. The condo tower is tar-geting LEED Silver.
The development will comprise 550,000 square feet, including a 300,000-square-foot retail mall with underground parking, 80,000-square feet of office space, 200 res-idential condos in an 11-storey tower and 29 townhomes
The 7 1/2-acre site was purchased in April 2008and is the GTA’s first mixed-use development targeted to that community. It’s an all-condo, self-contained communi-ty where residents can live, work and shop. Even the commercial and retail units are condominium, where merchants will own their stores and offices.
Fifty per cent of parking will be under-ground to reduce the heat island effect, low VOC paints and adhesives, bicycle storage and access to public transportation.
Juricic says while the people who have bought condo units in the project don’t specifically ask about the green features, “they seem to like them.”
He says green building has become more prevalent in everything from houses to con-dos to big retail stores, but there are always a few issues. “Schedules can be challenging and (FSC) wood can be hard to get when you need it on site to meet the schedule,” says Juricic. “Trades are under pressure to meet a deadline.”
He said another issue is that many mate-rials advertised as green or LEED certified don’t meet LEED standards, so it means paying attention to the amount of recy-cled materials in things like paints, floor-ing, concrete etc.
“I think everyone (of Mady’s suppliers) has made the transition and knows what is expected and needed now,” says Juricic. “Everyone’s learning to be green.”
For more information click on www.madycorp.com
PO Box 414 135 Wellington Street Waterdown, ON. L0R 2H0T: 905-690-1619 • F: 905-690-2115 • C: 905-973-2866
Marko Juricic and David Mady
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We fully support Mady’s Green Building Initiatives, and we congratulate them on their industry leadership!
The Caulking Professionals!
ALLIANCE SURVEYSALLIANCE SURVEYSALLIANCE SURVEYS
MADY DEVELOPMENTCORPORATION
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By Lenard Hart
On the occasion of his retirement from home build-ing, we wanted to take a moment to reflect back on the life, work and influences of Gord Tobey of Gor-don Tobey Developments.
For almost 35 years, Gord has built quality custom homes in the Brighton, Ontario area. Trained as an agricultural engineer, he was also a pastor in a community church, the head of the lo-cal preservation society, and a constant steward of the earth and all its resources. Building energy efficient houses was natural ex-tension of his dedication to his community. His first home, com-pleted in 1976, featured a heat pump with estimated savings be-tween 33 and 50 per cent. Since then, he has won dozens of awards as an R2000 builder and an industry leader.
Ask anybody in Brighton what the best built homes are, and they will say R2000. This is because in 1983, Gord built his first R2000 home, and since the 1990s, all his homes have been built to that certification. Along the way, he was an innovator of fea-tures such as barrier-free, slab-on-grade detached housing for se-niors, custom design-build to suit the needs of each homebuyer, and use of maintenance-free exterior cladding. Gord pioneered the idea that you can sell the value of energy savings to home-buyers, so he modeled all his homes and gave that data to cus-tomers.
With over 200 R2000 homes to his name, Gord is no stranger to quality control. In 1988, in order to maximize quality control, he hired his own building crews to do everything (except plumb-ing and electrical). This cut down on call backs and brought con-sistency from project to project.
“I build R2000 homes for two reasons, my customers love them and so do I,” says Gord. He was always interested in R2000 for seniors on fixed incomes, as it guaranteed their monthly pay-
Industry leader and R�000 Pioneer Gord Tobey Retires
1983 First R2000 House
1989 Gord Tobey
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By Lenard Hart
On the occasion of his retirement from home build-ing, we wanted to take a moment to reflect back on the life, work and influences of Gord Tobey of Gor-don Tobey Developments.
For almost 35 years, Gord has built quality custom homes in the Brighton, Ontario area. Trained as an agricultural engineer, he was also a pastor in a community church, the head of the lo-cal preservation society, and a constant steward of the earth and all its resources. Building energy efficient houses was natural ex-tension of his dedication to his community. His first home, com-pleted in 1976, featured a heat pump with estimated savings be-tween 33 and 50 per cent. Since then, he has won dozens of awards as an R2000 builder and an industry leader.
Ask anybody in Brighton what the best built homes are, and they will say R2000. This is because in 1983, Gord built his first R2000 home, and since the 1990s, all his homes have been built to that certification. Along the way, he was an innovator of fea-tures such as barrier-free, slab-on-grade detached housing for se-niors, custom design-build to suit the needs of each homebuyer, and use of maintenance-free exterior cladding. Gord pioneered the idea that you can sell the value of energy savings to home-buyers, so he modeled all his homes and gave that data to cus-tomers.
With over 200 R2000 homes to his name, Gord is no stranger to quality control. In 1988, in order to maximize quality control, he hired his own building crews to do everything (except plumb-ing and electrical). This cut down on call backs and brought con-sistency from project to project.
“I build R2000 homes for two reasons, my customers love them and so do I,” says Gord. He was always interested in R2000 for seniors on fixed incomes, as it guaranteed their monthly pay-
Industry leader and R�000 Pioneer Gord Tobey Retires
1983 First R2000 House
1989 Gord Tobey
ments. EnerQuality, under Peter Love, developed an energy guaran-tee in cooperation with Gordon Tobey Developments.
Gord has been an ambassador for green building, building in Thailand and Nicaragua. He has been the recipient of the Canadian and Ontario Home Builders Associations’ top honors. He received dozens of awards for his achievements in the R2000 program, served on EnerQuality’s board of directors for many years, and was the first person ever elected to the EnerQuality Hall of Fame in 1999.
Gord has been a leader in many ways, especially in his hometown
through the community building and charitable work he has done. He is currently head of the Brighton Homebuilder’s Association, and he has held many other positions in that community.
Gord has also passed on his knowledge to his son, Steve, who has already made a name for himself as a key driver in Gordon Tobey Developments since starting there in 1990. With a strong techni-cal base and razor-sharp attention to detail, Gordon Tobey Develop-ments will continue to be a leader in the new homebuilding sector, and that legacy is perhaps the best testimonial to Gord’s leadership.
February 2010EnerQuality Corp. Awards of Excel-lence: R2000 Builder of the Year AwardFebruary 2009Brighton and District Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards: 2008 General Business of the Year AwardApril 2008Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2007 SAM Awards: FinalistOctober 2007Conservation Bureau of Ontario: Certificate of RecognitionSeptember 2007Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) Awards of Distinction: FinalistSeptember 2007Canada Green Building Council LEED® for Homes Case Study ProgramFebruary 2007Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA): 2006 R-2000 Builder of the Year Award October 2006Quinte Business Achievement Award: 2005 Business of the Year – Service/Professional 11+ EmployeesMarch 2006Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2006 SAM Awards: FinalistMarch 2006Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2006 SAM Awards: FinalistMarch 2005Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2004 SAM Awards
September 2004Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) Awards of DistinctionApril 2003Natural Resources Canada: Energy Efficiency Recognition Award October 2002EnerQuality Corp. Outstanding Achievement Award (R2000)January 2002EnerQuality Corp. R2000 Technical Excellence Award January 2002EnerQuality Corp. Best HouseJanuary 2001 EnerQuality Corp. Healthy House Award May 2000 Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp (CMHC) Healthy Housing Builder RecognitionJanuary 1999EnerQuality Corp.: First person inducted into the R-2000 Hall of FameJanuary 1999EnerQuality Corp.: Excellence AwardJanuary 1998Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) R2000 Awards: Small Builder AwardJanuary 1997Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA): Technical Excellence Award January 1995Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA): Technical Excellence Award
Gordon Tobey Developments Awards
Gordon Tobey Developments Crew On the Job Award Winning R2000 Home in Brighton
In 1984, driving a brand new Toyota pick-up, I drove out to do my first R2000 inspection in Brighton. Armed with a two-page printout and one-page inspection report (both are now reams lon-ger), I learned more from Gord Tobey than he ever learned from me as his consultant. I recently went back to Brighton with my chil-dren, to honour a leader, innovator, and mentor in the R2000 pro-gram. Gord was always an innovator. He was one of the first to use computers in his business (circa 1980s).
But, I remember Gord more for his homes than anything else. In the early 1990s, he built a house with R60 walls, R80 attic insula-tion, and evacuated solar panels that heated an indoor pool. He ex-perimented with using a “dynamic wall” system that used the build-ing envelope for ventilation. He also built a healthy home, some-thing I replicated later in my career. He built one of the first Envi-roHomes for a couple with chemical sensitivities. Gord did tremen-dous research to find out which materials were acceptable for them. He was one of the first builders to use high-velocity heating systems, and has used HRVs in all his homes right from the start.
Over the 26 years I have been his R2000 design evaluator, in-specting every one of his R2000 homes, Gord Tobey Developments never failed an R2000 air test, and sometimes the homes were so tight that I was unable to measure any air leakage rate at all. That is the sure sign of quality in a builder.
With Gord’s retirement, we are losing one of the great leaders and innovators in low energy housing, but lucky for us, his son Steve is more than capable of carrying on the business and may one day make an equal or even bigger contribution to our industry. Of all the great builders I have had the pleasure to work with, I consider Gord as a real mentor and Steve to be one of the very few really who challenges me and keeps me on my toes. Congratulations on an ex-emplary career Gord!
A Testimonial from John Godden
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A 2008 study sponsored by the US Green Building Council shows that green buildings cost on average 2.5 per cent more on construction, but
generate more than ten times that amount over the lifetime of the building in reduced en-ergy and operating costs. So going green costs a little more up front and saves a lot on the back end.
In Toronto, a staggering 90 per cent of all new residential construction is condominiums. So if you want to make Toronto housing more energy efficient to combat climate change then condos are the place to start.
That’s where the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) came in. TAF was created in 1992 by Toronto City Council and given a $23 mil-lion endowment. Its’ mission: to invest in de-veloping cutting-edge energy efficiency solu-tions to fight climate change.
Condo developers hadn’t really embraced cutting edge energy efficient solutions, be-cause of the classic problem of split incentives: The builder bore the incremental cost while buyers got the benefit of lower operating costs over the lifetime of the unit. Condo develop-ers worried that if they added the cost of green features into condos they’d loose price sensi-tive buyers.
How Green Condos Became the Norm in Toronto Toronto’s Innovative Green Condo Financing
By
Jim Harris
Verve by Tridel
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So, in 2005 the TAF and Tridel pioneered the Green Condo Loan Program – financing to pay for energy efficiency upgrades so that a new green condo used 25% less energy than the Canadian average. Upgrades included heat-recovery ventilation, better insu-lation, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems and Energy Star appliances that would be ulti-mately be paid for out of utility sav-ings enjoyed by the buyers.
These upgrades cost up to $3,000 per unit and Tridel typically builds 200 to 300 units in a development. So the upgrades added up to $1,000,000 to the price of a typical new development.
With the TAF loan paying for the bulk of the upgrades, the pur-chase price was kept competitive – and TAF rolled the loans in-to the condo corporation once owners took possession. The loans were designed so that the monthly dollar savings from energy effi-ciency were greater that the loan payments – so the result was cash flow positive for a new owner from the first month on.
Adding up the WinsThe program was a major win for condo buyers because: 1) They got a unit with $3,000 of green extras included in the pur-chase price for free; 2) The energy savings were greater than the monthly loan payments; 3) After seven years when the loans were paid off, all the operating savings accrued directly to the owners; 4) Owners were insulated from energy prices rise – which are inev-itable. As prices rise, their savings increase; and 5) Green buildings yield higher occupancy; premium rents, and higher re-sale prices.
It was a win for the developer because they got to market a green product, which these days is hot with young condo purchasers.
And, it was a win for environment because it accelerated the adoption of more energy efficient buildings in Toronto.
The initial program was so successful that today Tridel has de-veloped eight million square feet of green condos making the com-pany the largest provider of green high-rise residential buildings in Canada. TAF has since made green loans to other condo developers including Monarch, Daniels and TAS DesignBuild.
Minto, another large condo developer, saw the benefit of green condos and carried the financing charges on its own books. The reason: The “sales velocity of green buildings is much better than the average market,” says Andrew Pride, Vice President, Minto Green.
TAF’s pioneering role eventually helped to change the market: green condos became the de facto new norm in Toronto, to a point where green developers began complaining about having to engage in the financing of the green costs. They argued that Toronto City Council should just create a level playing field and require all new condos in the city to be 25 per cent more energy efficient, then de-velopers could include the upgrades in the purchase price. Energy efficiency would become the new minimum standard for Toron-to condos.
So on February 1, 2010, the City of Toronto adopted the Green Building Standard. To receive a building permit after this date any new development has to be 25% more efficient than the Canadi-an average. But the city didn’t stop there: it created an incentive for developers to achieve even greater energy savings. If a develop-er voluntary builds new units that are 35 per cent more energy ef-ficient than the Canadian average, the City will rebate part of the fees the city charges the developer.
To be cutting edge in 2010, new green condos are 35 to 40 per cent more energy efficient compared to the national building code.
So TAF and Tridel’s pioneering effort has resulted in Toronto becoming a leader in green condos. In hindsight, achieving a 25 per cent energy efficiency gain wasn’t difficult. Green upgrades al-so include more air tight units, energy efficient windows, low vol-atile organic compound (VOC) paints resulting in better air qual-ity, low-flow faucets, showerheads, and dual flush toilets and tying into Toronto’s Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC).
DLWC reduces energy use by 90 per cent compared to tradi-tional air conditioning systems: Water drawn from deep in Lake Ontario is at 4°C. It’s pumped to downtown; the cold is extracted through heat exchangers to cool buildings in the downtown core attached to the system. And then the 70,000 gallons a minute are sent on to serve as the source for Toronto’s drinking water.
Ultimately all this has been of benefit to developers because re-search shows that 80 per cent of Canadian consumers want to deal with a company that offers green products and services – and 41 per cent will change their brand because of sustainability features. Condo buyers are typically younger, and the younger you are the greater the predisposition is that you’ll be concerned about envi-ronmental issues.
Given that over half of all greenhouse gas emissions in Toron-to are due to buildings, TAF and Tridel’s pioneering work is very important to the environment and shows how industry-lead green initiatives can transform markets.
Jim Harris is the former leader of the Green Party of Canada and the author of Blindsided, a #1 international bestseller published in 80 countries worldwide. He speaks at 40 conferences a year around the world. Reach him at [email protected]
102 Hastings AvenueToronto, ON M4L 2L2Tel: 416-491-2922Fax: [email protected]
Toronto Botanical Garden – LEED Gold Project
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By John Godden
As most are aware, building homes in East Gwillimbury means mandatory Energy Star certification. The label is actu-
ally a condition of closing. Beaverbook Homes, with the help of EnerQuality’s builder mentoring program, has worked closely with the municipality and its contractors to deliver a better product.
The integrated process started with educating Beaverbrook staff about En-ergy Star. All their homes were bench-marked and compared to the current building code. After choosing a builder option package that fit their needs, they embarked upon a consultation process with the municipality. The main feature of their Energy Star home is an integrat-ed mechanical system, which maximizes the efficiency of hot water heating, and saves electrical energy with its distribu-tion system. The municipality was un-sure of this new system at first, so more consultation and education was done to make sure they had sufficient information. Then we worked with the HVAC designers to ensure that equipment was right sized for all the different housing types, and that on-site installers were trained to install and com-
mission these systems.A key person in the process of specifying
designing and building an Energy Star home is the contracts manager. Normally, his job is to keep costs under control, in this case he had the added requirement of meeting the Energy Star target. In using new technolo-
gy, it’s difficult for a contracts manag-er to have the information needed to be successful. It is necessary to revise scope of work and ensure that all subcontrac-tors understand the terms of their re-vised contracts. “To build and Energy Star home on a budget is not as simple as it sound in the courses. You have to ed-ucate yourself about a lot of new prod-ucts and ensure that site staff understand what you are trying to accomplish,” notes Mario Cirelli of Beaverbrook. “We work closely with Clearsphere Inc. and our site staff to ensure Energy Star certi-fication by closing.”
Another factor in making this project a success is the manufacturer’s support given to the Builder and HVAC con-tractors. Airia Brands’ Living Breathing Home program offers the builder a loy-alty program and technical support to the HVAC contractor through the Life-breath Academy, in addition to sales and marketing tools supplied to home build-
ers’ sales staff. More importantly, they of-fer an educational DVD for homeowners to better understand the performance of their homes.
There is also onsite technical support for trades, to ensure the first few homes are re-viewed for quality control.
Beaverbrook: An Integrated Approach to Energy Star Process not Product
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1� sBM fall �010
By Tracy Hanes
While energy efficient and other ‘green’ features have become commonplace in many new homes, the
fact is that new houses make up only a small percentage of Canada’s housing stock. New housing construction across Canada this decade has been running at about 1.75 per cent of the housing stock. About 75 per cent of the housing stock in Canada predates 1991with 25 per cent built since 1991.
There’s been a wide ‘green’ gulf be-tween new houses and older abodes which forward-thinking architects, consultants and renovators are now at-tempting to bridge.
Paul Caverly, president of Toronto’s MyHaven Greenvision Homes, which offers green construction and renova-tion services for architects and con-sultants, says due to increasing public awareness and the impending ratings systems for older homes, the demand for eco-friendly renovations and prod-ucts is growing.
“More and more, every customer, if asked if they want low-VOC paints, says ‘absolutely, as long as it doesn’t cost more,’ or we have others who are going over the top, requesting solar panels and high-end heating systems,” says Caverly. “It’s encouraging to know that people are not only supporting, but demanding green renovations.”
Some of the projects Caverly’s com-pany has worked on, in tandem with architects and designers, has included creating a new home behind a histor-ic facade in Yorkville, which required adhering to Heritage Board guidelines. Brick from the old foundation was re-used to clad the bench footings and create a media room feature wall; old arch top windows were salvaged and dis-played too.
He says key to successful green retrofits is to have the architect or designer, consul-tants, homeowner and contractor involved together at the planning stage to “value en-gineer” projects to price retrofits accurate-ly and provide the client with a host of op-tions.
One success story is a 60-year-old An-
nex extensive home renovation Caverly’s company worked on with Levitt Good-man Architects. The client wanted a house that was spatialy interesting and durable and fun for their young son. Modern ele-ments such as a continuous skylight along the roof ridge was added, to allow natu-ral light to flow throughout the home, yet almost all of the house’s building struc-ture was reused or salvaged, brick reused, low VOC paints used and renewable re-source wood finishes used. And it came in on budget.
The green retrofit trend is rapidly gain-ing momentum, says Caverly, and the trend will continue, especially as the pub-lic is making more informed choices to create cleaner, safer and healthier homes.
To find more about MyHaven Green-vision Homes log on greenhomebuilder-toronto.com or call Paul Caverly at: (905) 508–8075 to arrange a project planning consultation.
Demand Growing For Green Retrofits
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1� sBM fall �010
By Tracy Hanes
Brookfield Homes is among the first builders in Ontario to offer home buyers the option of free rooftop solar panels.
Brookfield has agreed to participate in Pure Energies’ Solar Power Community, a program that installs and services rooftop
photovoltaic (solar) systems on new houses in designated subdivisions at no charge to homeowners. (Marshall Homes and Em-pire Communities are other participants). Pure Energies is a Toronto-based compa-ny formed last year after the Green Energy Act came into being.
Brookfield will introduce the program at its Grand Valley Trails development in
Brantford initially. Interested homeowners receive a por-
tion of the income produced by their in-dividual solar systems (which feed ener-gy into the power grid) up to a maximum $1,200 per year. Brookfield will also re-ceive a financial incentive or installation allowance from Pure Energies.
Pure Energies enters into a 20-year rooftop lease arrangement with the hom-eowner, who can buy the system for $1 af-ter the arrangement expires. Pure Energies will maintain the system during the 20-year contract.
By working with subdivision build-ers, Pure Energies can deal in volume and provide free to homeowners systems that would normally cost $40,000 to $80,000. Pure Energies will derive income from Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in tar-iff, which pays 80 cents for every kilowatt hour generated by residential solar PV sys-tems of 10 kilowatts or less, and pay a per-centage to the homeowner.
The orientation of each individual home, roof lines, etc. determines what size of solar system can be installed on each house.
A solar array will be installed at Brook-field’s Grand Valley Trails certified Green-House model home, which along with an Energy Star model, is used to educate po-
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tential buyers on the benefits of green fea-tures.
Brookfield sales and marketing director Marc Thibault said the “with any green program, first you have to crawl, then walk and finally you can run. People need to understand and appreciate the green features before they’ll invest in them. It’s important for them to realize that they are saving money from the day they move in (with green features).
“Not everyone is interested in saving the planet, but everyone is interesting in saving money,” said Thibault.
The GreenHouse models is built to above Energy Star standards with increased insulation, high-efficiency furnace, HRV, high-efficiency hot water heater, power pipe and low-E argon windows.
Thibault said the solar panels were a good complement to the green features of the model home. Other features include low-flow toilets and fixtures, greywater re-cycling, Energy Star appliances, low VOC paints and varnishes and materials with re-cycled content.
Thibault said the solar panels “are kind of like having a basement apartment” in generating extra revenue for the home-owner at no extra cost. “In effect, we’re en-dorsing the program and making the in-troduction to homeowners. It’s a great ser-
vice. We are the liaison.”Brookfield will kick off the solar offer-
ing September 26 with a party and barbe-cue. The first phase of Grand Valley Trails is sold out, Phase 2A is being sold current-ly, with Phase 2B to be released later this fall. There will be 422 homes in all once the development is complete.
Pure Energies, which designs, installs,
finances and operates the residential roof-top systems has partnered with Suntech Power and SMA America, the world’s larg-est supplier of solar panels and inverters.
Pure Energies’ Chris Stern said, “at first, we weren’t getting a lot of homeown-ers signing up, but now there are eight or 10. As they get installed, people get more excited about them.”
Building for an environmentally sustainable future
Mady Development Corporation is committed to being an environmentally responsible developer focusing on sustainable building design and construction.
8791 Woodbine Avenue Suite 100
Markham, OntarioL3R 0P4
Phone (905) 944-0907Fax (905) 944-0916
www.madycorp.com
MADY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
1� sBM fall �010
By Tracy Hanes
Every developer or builder, whether construct-ing single family homes, condominiums, com-mercial facilities (eg. malls) or institutions (of-fices and schools), has to give some thought to
green building practices.“One of the largest human contributions to environ-
mental impact originates from buildings,” says Mark Opresnik, president of Opresnik Engineering Consul-tants Inc. (OECI), a firm that specializes in sustainable consulting. “It is imperative that we, as developers and designers, work in harmony to ensure the sustainability of the facilities where we live, work and play.”
That often means considering the L word: LEED. Problem is, adopting that label can be intimidating.
But “building green and going through the LEED process really isn’t that difficult,” says Opresnik. He says builders or developers shouldn’t be concerned if they or their trades haven’t built green before – the transition can be relatively painless.
The key is to hire experienced green consultants from the start, says Opresnik. Consultants can lead through the design process, help to navigate onerous paperwork, and are well versed in what green practices and products are the best fit, saving time and money.
Opresnik says that a builder’s staff and trades must be willing to learn. He’s found that most are enthusias-tic to embrace sustainable practices.
Modeling is also important consideration, he says; it’s an integral part of green building design, allow-ing architects and engineers to test a concept before it’s implemented into construction. It’s a requirement for all LEED projects and should be considered for all designs.
Mady Developments, an OECI client, in just two short years went from building its first LEED project, a big box store, to confidently building the first LEED Platinum school in Canada. Mady now builds all its projects to LEED specs.
As well as making smart business sense, Opresnik says, building green makes environmental sense.
“Green buildings require less energy to operate, gen-erate fewer harmful byproducts and pollutants, mini-mize water consumption and produce less waste.”
For Opresnik, a mechanical engineer with experi-ence in heating, ventilation and air conditioning and building automation, offering LEED consulting was a natural progression for him and his colleagues.
“Most of the projects that are coming through our office now are LEED,” he notes.
While the final acceptance of any credit is subject to the USGBC and CaGBC review committees, Opresnik says using experienced consultants can all but guaran-tee a positive outcome. Please contact OECI should you have any questions or are interested in pursuing building accreditation through either the USBGC or CaGBC. Click on www.oeci.ca.
Making the Transition to LEED Can Be Painless
David Suzuki School
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Breaking ground next month, Ironstone Condominiums in Burlington are looking up to be
the most environmentally responsible residences in the area. “Just by moving in, purchasers reduce their carbon foot-print,” says Ironstone architect Roland Rom Colthoff of rawDESIGN, the ar-chitectural firm working on the build-ing’s design.
The most groundbreaking green fea-ture of the project is a geothermal heat-ing and cooling system, which will con-sist of a network of pipes planted 15 me-tres underground where the temperature of the earth is a constant 11 degrees Cel-cius. Water running through the pipes can then be heated or cooled as needed.
To maximize energy efficiency in the building, each suite is equipped with in-dividual thermostats and geothermal heat pumps to provide personalized cli-mate control.
The geothermal system will be com-plemented by a solar thermal system, eliminating the need for natural gas costs and the harmful emissions created by gas heating. Other eco-features in-clude green roof areas and terraces for a touch of landscaping, and low-flow fau-cets and toilets for water conservation.
Construction will prioritize building materials that contain recycled content and waste management procedures will be implemented to lessen waste.
“Ironstone is a modern and sustain-able take on condo living” explains Gra-ham Chalmers of Davies Smith Devel-opments, the condo’s developer.
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Planning Green
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sBM fall �010 �1
By Peter Kenter
A City of Toronto initiative support-ed by Carpenters’ Local Union 27 is helping local youth acquire con-struction skills that include the
latest in green building techniques.The pilot project was the youth-focused
community hub at 1652 Keele Street, in which 10 young people living in the neigh-bourhood participated in construction.
“A youth education component was part of the bidding process, requiring early buy-in from union partners,” says Mark Piplica, Manager, Fair Wage Office with the City of Toronto. “The carpenters’ union worked closely with us before the contract was ten-dered to clear the way.”
Youth workers were introduced to nec-essary skills, including health and safety awareness, at a two-week training session at the Carpenters’ Local 27 Training Centre.
Victor Bunnaman, a carpenter with gen-eral contractor Toronto’s HSI Solutions and union steward acted as on-site trainer, shar-ing his knowledge of the craft, and the lat-est green building techniques.
“This wasn’t just a make-work project,” says Bunnaman. “These young people pro-duced professional results. Because of the contract structure, we were able to provide the time to help them understand what they were doing and why.”
Bunnaman says students were introduced to green con-struction techniques that in-cluded separating usable ma-terial, such as metal and dry-wall, during tear-down and assisting sub-contractors in placing energy-efficient film on building windows. “They also installed bamboo floors, one of the greenest of flooring materials,” he says.
The hub was officially opened in April by Toronto Mayor David Miller who an-nounced that youth training would become a permanent feature of city construction contracts. Two youth workers, Oneil Barnes and James Cericola, attended the ceremony as employable members of Local 27.
“We were one of the first building trades to commit to the challenges and oppor-
tunities of the green economy,” says Mike Yorke, President of Carpenters and Allied Workers Local 27.
“That commitment has seen green build-ing advanced as an important issue on the national stage. These young people aren’t just being trained in construction, they’re being trained for the future of construc-tion.”
Green teens: Carpenters’ Local Union 27 Supports Toronto Youth in Acquiring Green Construction Skills
THE CARPENTERS’ UNIONCongratulates Mady Development
for LEEDING the Way in Green Construction
THE CARPENTERS’ UNIONTraining for, and Building Ontario’s Green Economy!
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
Oneil Barnes (left) and James Cericola
learned the latest in green building techniques,
including installation of the bamboo flooring on which
they’re standing.
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Constructing and operat-ing buildings have an im-mense environmental im-pact. Globally, buildings are
responsible for 20% of all water con-sumption, 25-40% of all energy use, 30-40% of greenhouse gas emissions and 30-40% of solid waste generation.
The United Nations’ Intergovern-mental panel on Climate Change said buildings could represent the greatest opportunity for making considerable reductions in carbon dioxide emis-sions. About 30 percent of the pro-jected global greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector could be avoided by 2030 through green building choic-es.
Using sustainably harvested wood as a construction material is a simple and cost-effective way to help fight cli-mate change. Carbon dioxide is a key driver of global warming and it also happens to be an important ingredient in wood. As trees grow, they draw car-
bon dioxide from the atmosphere and, using solar energy, convert it into the raw material for long-lived wood con-struction products.
Managed forests can redirect more carbon away from the atmosphere than natural forests. Trees remove the most carbon dioxide when they are young and growing. Carbon absorption slows down as trees mature and even-tually they release carbon when they die. If the trees are harvested before they burn or decay, the carbon is stored indefinitely in the wood products, and new trees are planted to begin the cy-cle again.
Wood products sequester more car-bon dioxide than is emitted during harvesting, transportation and man-ufacturing, which means they actual-ly have a negative greenhouse gas foot-print. Every thousand square feet of oriented strand board represents a net greenhouse gas removal equal to al-most two barrels of oil.
A typical North American wood-frame home captures about 29 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2). The carbon (C) is stored in the wood and the oxy-gen (O2) is released back into the at-mosphere.
One-third of the energy consumed in North America is used to heat, cool, and ventilate buildings; to light them; and to keep appliances running. Ener-gy efficiency in building operations is critical to sustainable building. Wood is far more resistant to heat flow than other materials which means it is easi-er to insulate.
Wood is 400 times better than steel and 10 times better than concrete in resisting the flow of heat. This means more insulation is needed for steel and concrete to achieve the same thermal performance as with wood framing.
While operating energy is typical-ly of greater interest, embodied ener-gy is important – and in a highly en-
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A Case for Using Wood
sBM fall �010 ��
ergy-efficient building, it may actually be the larger of the two. The manufacturing of wood products typically requires far less energy, and in particular, less fossil fuel en-ergy, than alternate materials.
Life cycle assessment measures the en-vironmental impact of a product through-out its entire life – from resource extrac-tion through to products manufacturing, on-site building construction, occupancy, and eventual demolition, as well as dispos-al, reuse, or recycling.
Prescriptive approaches to green design often focus on a single characteristic, such as recycled content, with an assumption that some positive environmental perfor-mance comes with those properties. Life cycle assessment takes away much of the guesswork by calculating actual outcomes based on quantifiable indicators of envi-ronmental impact, such as global warm-ing potential, resource use, embodied en-ergy, air pollution, water pollution, and solid waste.
Numerous life cycle assessment studies worldwide have shown that wood prod-ucts have environmental advantages over other building materials at every stage.
In Canada, we appreciate and value our vast forests, and need to continue to man-age them sustainably. Wood is plentiful in North America, and it is the only major building material that is truly renewable.
For more information on this top-ic, you are encouraged to contact Ontar-io Wood WORKS! Email [email protected] or call toll free 1-866-886-3574 ext. 384.
This article based on content taken from “Canadian Wood. Renewable by Nature. Sustainable by Design.” This document, originally published by Forestry Innovation Investment, the Forest Products Association of Canada and the Canadian Wood Coun-cil, is provided here with permission by Wood WORKS! Ontario, a project of the Canadi-an Wood Council. Engineered Wood Products
© 2010 Boise Cascade Wood Products, L.L.C. Boise and Boise Cascade are trademarks of Boise Cascade, L.L.C.SFI is a trademark of Sustainable Forestry Initiative. FSC is a trademark of Forest Stewardship Council. LEED is a trademark of U.S. Green Building Council.
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�� sBM fall �010
Will Horses Drink Green Water?
As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
At BILD, we’re not in the busi-ness of forcing our home builder members to do anything, but we do believe in pro-viding them with the information, educa-tion, and training opportunities to encour-age them in certain directions.
Since 2007, when BILD made a strate-gic commitment to promote best practic-es in sustainable development and green building, we have maintained a steady flow of information and educational opportu-nities to the membership – we’re leading builders to the water, so to speak, and many of them are choosing to drink it, voluntari-ly I might add.
Our training partnership with Ener-Quality Corp. is a great case in point. The model is quite simple - BILD serves as the marketing partner and EnerQuality serves as the training delivery agent. With BILD’s imprimatur on the training offer, our build-ers have been signing up in droves.
“Education is critical to the uptake of programs like Energy Star and Green-House. The 200-plus Toronto area build-ers participating in the programs attest to the success of EnerQuality’s training part-nership with BILD,” says Corey McBurney, president of EnerQuality.
“Together, we’ve delivered 62 workshops
and trained over 1,200 Toronto-area build-ing professionals from sales and marketing staff to construction and contracts manage-ment,” McBurney adds. Horses of a different colourWith the home builder training market well in hand, EnerQuality is moving to fill a vacuum in the area of green training for renovators. This initiative is in response to popular demand by the contractors them-selves, and is something that has been talk-ed about for some time.
Obviously, renovation is dramatically different than building from scratch, and renovators are a horse of a different co-lour (meant in the positive sense), which is why it has taken much longer to get to this point of green departure in renovator train-ing. Thankfully, we’re finally there, with nowhere to go but up.
BILD looks forward to working with EnerQuality as a marketing partner to lead
our renovator members to the green waters and I believe we will find that renovators are very thirsty for green information, edu-cation and training. . Horses LEEPing I might be working this equine analogy a little too hard with the subtitle but I would say that green education and training is about to take a quantum “LEEP” forward and I’ll tell you why. In early June, BILD was selected by Natural Resources Canada and EnerQuality to participate in the Local Energy Efficiency Partnership/Technology Adoption Pilot, (LEEP/TAP).
Under LEEP/TAP, several homebuilders and renovators with active projects in the City of Vaughan are working side by side with the City of Vaughan building depart-ment in a professionally facilitated process to identify green materials, products and technologies they would like to implement in Discovery Homes.
While the Discovery Homes represent a great way to market the message of sus-tainable development and green building to would-be new homeowners, the LEEP process will be equally valuable in further-ing information transfer and education and training opportunities within the industry.
With all this drinking going on, my next column may be on drunk horses. Cheers. Stephen Dupuis is president and CEO, Build-ing Industry & Land Development Associa-tion
By
stephen Dupuis
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GREEN BUILDING FESTIVAL
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
The Green Building Festival (GBF) program showcases revolutionary innovation in green building from across the country and around the world. Day One (Wednesday, Sept 22) of GBF features visionary Keynotes providing a window into the forefront of sustainable development through real world examples achieving measurable results. The day is capped off with the annual Lifetime Achievement Awards for Green Building show and reception.
Over the next two days, attendees have the option to choose between a number of focused sessions ranging from specific design approaches, to project financing, to common challenge areas. These sessions are designed for builders, designers and policy makers with a focus on providing real, actionable learning that can be applied in your organization today. In between sessions, attendees have access to the over 400 exhibitors that make up the GBF/IIDEX/Light Canada annual exposition.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010 Time Code Session Title Speaker(s)
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM GB-W01 Registration 12:00 – 12:45 PM Lunch Andrew Bowerbank,
Mayor Adams
12:45 – 1:30 PM Session 1: Principles of Place: Vibrant, Inspiring, Sustainable
Mark Edlen & Bob Packard
1:30 – 2:15 PM Session 2: Environmental Urbanism: Rethinking Urbanism
in Environmental Terms
Stephen Teeple
2:15 – 3:00 PM Session 3: Making Cities Sustainable and Livable: Strategies for Success
Michel Trocme
3:00 – 3:30 PM Break
3:30 – 4:15 PM Session 4: Stadthaus, Murray Grove: 9 Story Timber High-Rise
Craig Liddell
4:15 – 5:00 PM Session 5: Sustainable Development: The U.K.
Experience
Nick Hayes
5:00 – 5:45 PM Session 6: Wadi Hanifah Restoration Project, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia
Ajon Moriyama & George Stockton
5:45 – 6:30 PM Session 7: Towards the Carbon-Neutral City
Thomas Auer
6:30 – 7:30 PM Green Building Festival Cocktail Party @ Café Soleil
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM GB-W02 Introduction to Energy Simulation Using eQUEST
Brian Fountain
8:30 AM – 3:00 PM GB-W03 Best Practices for Full Height Basement Insulation - OAA
CORE
Michael Lio
8:30 AM – 3:00 PM GB-W04 ENERGY STAR for New Homes Builder Workshop - OAA CORE
Al Schmidt
sBM fall �010 ��
26 SBM fall 2010
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 Time Code Session Title Speaker(s)
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T01 Sustainable Development: Policy, Planning and Infrastructure
Session 1: Building Green Cities at No Cost
Richard Vermeulen
Session 2: Green Building & Public Policy — Incentives that Work
Derek Satnik
Session 3: Community Energy Systems in Canada
Susan Spencer Lewin,
Mary Ellen Richardson,
Derek Macartney, &Mark Salerno
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T02 Maximizing Returns on Green Building Investment
Session 1: When Green Means Business: How Striving for Sustainable Facilities for Your Company Can Pay
Off
Debbie Baxter
Session 2: Recommissioning: Why It’s the Lowest Cost Way to Improve
Building Performance
John Kokko
Session 3: Lessons Learned from a First-Generation of Green Buildings
Peter Duckworth- Pilkington
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T03 Advanced Approaches to Green Building
Session 1: The Holcim Awards: Recognizing Important Contributions to
Sustainable Construction
Luc Robitaille
Session 2: Design Your Own Adventure: Combining Energy and Cost Analysis
with Autodesk Revit Architecture
Jay Polding
Session 3: SMART GRID Taking Our Cue From Nature
Chris Beaver
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM GB-T04 Design Panel on Sustainable & Healthy Communities
Session 1: Design for Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Alexandru Taranu,Daniel Leeming,
Robert Freedman,Eric Turcotte, & Rick Merrill
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T05 Achieving Optimal Indoor Environments
Session 1: Green Acoustics: General Lessons & The Role of Sound Masking
Stan Klas
Session 2: Forget What You Have Been Told About IAQ
Ed Lowans
26 SBM fall 2010
SBM fall 2010 27
Session 3: Achieving Optimal Performance From Lighting Systems
Gerry Cornwell
1:00 – 3:00 PM GB-T06 Advanced Solutions for Thermal Control
Session 1: Gas-Fired Infrared Heating: Sustainable Technology or Bells and
Whistles?
Jim McLellan
Session 2: Shading in High-Performance Facades
George Strickland
Session 3: Radiant Heating and Cooling for Commercial Buildings: Reducing
Energy Consumption While Improving Indoor Environmental Quality
Jerry Leyte
1:00 – 3:00 PM GB-T07 Business Panel on Green Building: Financing, Risk, and Commercial
Markets
Session 1: Leveraging Green Building Assets: Unlocking Green Value in
Financing
Chris Ouellette
Session 2: Green Finance 101 Andrew MacSkimming
Session 3: The Sustainability of Canada’s Commercial Real Estate
Industry
Simon MacMahon
Session 4: Green Design: Risky Business for Design Consultants
Stéphane Boucher
1:00 – 3:00 PM GB-T08 Green Building Case Studies Session 1: A Grander View: The Making
of Canada’s Most Energy-Efficient Office
Steve Kemp
Session 2: Corus Entertainment: From Black to Green
Michelle Xuereb, Caroline Robbie &
Scott Dyer
1:00 – 3:00 PM GB-T09 Water and Stormwater: Technologies for Low Impact
Session 1: Advanced Eco-technologies for Low Impact
Vanessa Keitges
Session 2: Water, The Low Hanging Fruit in Sustainability
David G. Sim
8:30 – 9:30 AM GB-T10 One Planet House Retrofit
Session 1: One Planet House Retrofit Rodney Wilts & Scott Demark
8:30 – 9:30 AM GB-T11 Sustainability: Lessons from the Past and a Vision to the Future
Session 1: Sustainability: Lessons from the Past and a Vision to the Future
Lyle Scott
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 Time Code Session Title Speaker(s)
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T01 Sustainable Development: Policy, Planning and Infrastructure
Session 1: Building Green Cities at No Cost
Richard Vermeulen
Session 2: Green Building & Public Policy — Incentives that Work
Derek Satnik
Session 3: Community Energy Systems in Canada
Susan Spencer Lewin,
Mary Ellen Richardson,
Derek Macartney, &Mark Salerno
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T02 Maximizing Returns on Green Building Investment
Session 1: When Green Means Business: How Striving for Sustainable Facilities for Your Company Can Pay
Off
Debbie Baxter
Session 2: Recommissioning: Why It’s the Lowest Cost Way to Improve
Building Performance
John Kokko
Session 3: Lessons Learned from a First-Generation of Green Buildings
Peter Duckworth- Pilkington
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T03 Advanced Approaches to Green Building
Session 1: The Holcim Awards: Recognizing Important Contributions to
Sustainable Construction
Luc Robitaille
Session 2: Design Your Own Adventure: Combining Energy and Cost Analysis
with Autodesk Revit Architecture
Jay Polding
Session 3: SMART GRID Taking Our Cue From Nature
Chris Beaver
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM GB-T04 Design Panel on Sustainable & Healthy Communities
Session 1: Design for Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Alexandru Taranu,Daniel Leeming,
Robert Freedman,Eric Turcotte, & Rick Merrill
9:00 – 11:00 AM GB-T05 Achieving Optimal Indoor Environments
Session 1: Green Acoustics: General Lessons & The Role of Sound Masking
Stan Klas
Session 2: Forget What You Have Been Told About IAQ
Ed Lowans
SBM fall 2010 27
28 SBM fall 2010
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 Time Code Session Title Speaker(s)
8:30 – 11:30 AM GB-F01 Cost-Effectively Meeting and Surpassing the 2012 Ontario
Building Code for Lowrise Residential Housing
John Godden & Gord Cooke
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM GB-F02 Sustainable Stormwater Practices: Fundamentals
Chris Denich
8:30 – 11:30 AM GB-F03 Solar Opportunity for Builders Svend De Bruyn &Alex Waters
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM GB-F04 Integrated Design Process Workshop
Rodney Wilts
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM GB-F05 Life Cycle Costing for Green Building Design
Robert Charette
8:30 AM – 12:30 PM GB-F06 Understanding Standard 189.1: The Green Standard for High-
Performance Buildings
Tom Lawrence
SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS
Design Panel on Sustainable & Healthy CommunitiesThis 3 hour course will provide an overview of current design for sustainable and healthy development at the street, block, neighbourhood scale with emphasis on the role of designers. The Course will include a series of presentations by 7 prominent professionals in the field of urban design and members of the Council for Canadian Urbanism.
One Planet House RetrofitThis seminar is an in-depth case study of a deep green sustainability retrofit in Ottawa, Canada. This project involves the demolition of all but the shell of an existing 1920's home, and retrofits it to meet LEED Platinum/PassivHaus standards. Using the One Planet framework the design of this home looks broadly at sustainability, including net zero energy, ultra-low potable water usage, sustainable materials, exemplary indoor air quality, on-site food growing, and responsible site selection.
Cost-Effectively Meeting and Surpassing the 2012 Ontario Building Code for Lowrise ResidentialThis seminar features two of Canada’s top residential green building consultants: Gord Cooke and John Godden, discussing the upcoming changes to the 2012 Ontario Building Code and what builders need to know about meeting them.
Register at: www.GreenBuildingFest.com
28 SBM fall 2010
SBM fall 2010 29
I am proud to have been involved with the Green Building Festival since its inception in 2005. The or-
ganizing committee has always tried to make the Festival a dy-namic experience for industry professionals by providing ed-ucational opportunities on the best in green building design. The unique venues over the past years (including the CBC build-ing, Ontario Place and oth-ers) have also effectively con-tributed to the evolving char-acter of the Festival.
In 2009, the Festival took a bold and positive step by partnering with the IDEX Conference, Canada’s larg-est interior design show. This merger effectively demon-strated how green building strategies have evolved over the years, from an exercise in engineering and energy effi-ciency to a discipline active-ly incorporating elements of creative design. The fo-cus of green buildings also began to transcend beyond individual buildings to consider whole sus-tainable communities.
Recently, I have seen a new shift in green design and develop-ment that puts a greater empha-sis on social and cultural factors. Fifty per cent of North America’s population lives in urban centres and people spend 90 per cent of
their time living, working, and playing inside buildings. Slow-ly, green buildings are becoming common knowledge. And slow-ly, the concept is spreading be-yond builders, architects, engi-neers, and designers. Someday, doctors, teachers, and other pro-fessionals will have a better un-derstanding of how the built en-vironment can improve their so-cial services.
With populations expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, we cannot afford to build cities with the traditional practices that have contributed 40 per cent of the carbon emissions into the at-mosphere. Buildings need to be-come an integral part of the so-lution to climate change and stand as a testament to our abil-ity to find a solution to this hu-
man-made problem. The Festi-val continues to effectively pres-ent a wide range of practical so-lutions and strategies by demon-strating how green buildings, at the community scale, can pro-vide effective solutions to global climate concerns.
Thanks to the hard work of Sustainable Buildings Canada and MMPI (IIDEX organiz-ers), and with support from To-
ronto and Region Conserva-tion, and the Toronto Chap-ter of the CaGBC, the agenda for this year’s Festival is focus-ing on the practical aspects of deep green community build-ing.
I am very pleased that this year’s Environmental Keynote is Jeremy Rifkin. Mr. Rifkin has been an advisor to the Eu-ropean Union for the past de-cade and is the principal ar-chitect of its Third Industrial Revolution (a long-term eco-nomic sustainability plan) to address the triple challenge of
the global economic crisis, ener-gy security, and climate change. The Third Industrial Revolution was formally endorsed by the European Parliament in 2007 and is now being implemented by various agencies within the European Commission.
There will, as always be a day of amazing plenary sessions that will review strategies to support
community housing, green fi-nancing, water conservation, and much more. Leading green building projects that are hav-ing a dramatic impact across Eu-rope, the Middle East and North America will be presented. In-depth training seminars will to educate professionals on new en-ergy modeling software, solar en-ergy integration, the 2012 On-tario Building Code and more.
A formal market report on electric vehicle infrastructure in Ontario will be launched for the first time and we have the privi-lege of hosting a public discus-sion between the mayors of To-ronto and Portland, Oregon.
There will be no shortage of ideas, information, examples, and new opportunities. It is im-portant to recognize that On-tario is as global leader in green economic strategies, the Greater Toronto Area is the epicenter of the province’s leadership activi-ty, and the Green Building Fes-tival is the industry’s key conduit to showcase this dynamic lead-ership. I encourage each of you to take full advantage of what the 2010 Green Building Festi-val has to offer, bring your asso-ciates and stay for the receptions and celebrations!
Andrew Bowerbank2010 Conference Chair
of the GBF
A Message from the
Conference Chair
Jeremy Rifkin
30 SBM fall 201030 SBM fall 2010
The Annual Green Building FestivalA Brief History of Time Well-Spent
TRCA’s Archetype Sustainable House Booth
CaGBC Toronto Chapter Booth
77 Healey Rd. Bolton, ON, L7E 5A8P 416 798-3343 • F 416 798-2922
By Mike Singleton Executive Director of Sustainable Buildings Canada
This year marks the sixth anniversary of the annu-al Green Building Festival (GBF). Since its inception
in 2005, the GBF has featured the finest examples and the leading prac-titioners of the green building move-ment, largely due to the terrific work of our Program Director, Tom Pon-essa. With a blend of national and international speakers, the GBF has always been Canada’s leading tech-nical conference for the design, con-struction, and operation of sustain-able buildings and communities.
The GBF has also been the crown-ing achievement for Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC) and as ex-ecutive director of SBC, I have seen firsthand the benefits that a world-class festival brings. Along the way, we have had a lot of help from the community and from a few key peo-ple and organizations, such as the event coordinators, the Innovolve Group, and our Operations Manag-er, Jeff Ranson. Over the years, key support has come from our delivery partners, the Toronto Region Con-servation Authority (TRCA) and the Canada Green Building Coun-cil (CaGBC).
SBM fall 2010 31
Last year, for the first time, we co-lo-cated the GBF at the annual Interior De-sign Show (IIDEX) and the success of that partnership resulted in us renewing that arrangement for 2010. The support, in-sight, and overwhelming capabilities of the IIDEX team is allowing us to again fea-ture a series of great speakers, exhibitors, and workshops. This year, we have ampli-fied our training activities – offering eight concurrent training sessions over two days, which will be of specific interest to the green building community.
Since our first year, we have attempted to marry an overarching theme to the se-lection of our speakers and the respective projects. The themes were also intended to be part of a “continuum of sustainability” over the years – building each year towards bigger ideas and bigger scope. This year, our theme goes beyond just a buildings per-spective, focusing on how buildings inter-act with neighbourhoods and cities, and how city planning and policy can impact the nature of green development.
As part of that theme, we have engaged a Conference Chair who understands the connections between buildings and com-munities. As former executive director of the Canada Green Building Council, To-ronto Chapter and the World Green Build-ing Council, Andrew Bowerbank brings a unique combination of skill-sets. Andrew has recently created a new initiative – EC3, which has as its foundation a collaborative approach to energy, climate, and communi-cations, recognizing the interactions inher-ent in climate change. One of EC3’s first ef-forts is the launching of a building and re-newable energy integrated approach to re-fuelling electric vehicles. Andrew will be of-ficially launching the program as part of the Festival and we look forward to collaborat-ing with EC3 in the future.
One of the activities we are most proud of with the Festival is the annual recogni-tion of individuals as part of the Lifetime Achievement Awards. As usual, we have three individuals who are being recognized. This year, we are also pleased to present one Special Achievement Award. All the awards will be given out at the cocktail reception
immediately following the plenary sessions on Wednesday, September 22.
I sincerely hope that you can join us
this year. It promises to be the must-attend event for visitors and participants alike who share an interest in sustainable living.
Sustainable Housing Foundation Mindscape Innovations Booth
ALLIANCE SURVEYSALLIANCE SURVEYSALLIANCE SURVEYS
Last year, for the fi rst time, we co-lo-cated the GBF at the annual Interior De-sign Show (IIDEX) and the success of that partnership resulted in us renewing that arrangement for 2010. � e support, in-sight, and overwhelming capabilities of the IIDEX team is allowing us to again fea-ture a series of great speakers, exhibitors, and workshops. � is year, we have ampli-fi ed our training activities – off ering eight concurrent training sessions over two days, which will be of specifi c interest to the green building community.
Since our fi rst year, we have attempted to marry an overarching theme to the se-lection of our speakers and the respective projects. � e themes were also intended to be part of a “continuum of sustainability” over the years – building each year towards bigger ideas and bigger scope. � is year, our theme goes beyond just a buildings per-spective, focusing on how buildings inter-act with neighbourhoods and cities, and how city planning and policy can impact the nature of green development.
As part of that theme, we have engaged a Conference Chair who understands the connections between buildings and com-munities. As former executive director of the Canada Green Building Council, To-ronto Chapter and the World Green Build-ing Council, Andrew Bowerbank brings a unique combination of skill-sets. Andrew has recently created a new initiative – EC3, which has as its foundation a collaborative approach to energy, climate, and communi-cations, recognizing the interactions inher-ent in climate change. One of EC3’s fi rst ef-forts is the launching of a building and re-newable energy integrated approach to re-fuelling electric vehicles. Andrew will be of-fi cially launching the program as part of the Festival and we look forward to collaborat-ing with EC3 in the future.
One of the activities we are most proud of with the Festival is the annual recogni-tion of individuals as part of the Lifetime Achievement Awards. As usual, we have three individuals who are being recognized. � is year, we are also pleased to present one Special Achievement Award. All the awards will be given out at the cocktail reception
immediately following the plenary sessions on Wednesday, September 22.
I sincerely hope that you can join us
this year. It promises to be the must-attend event for visitors and participants alike who share an interest in sustainable living.
Sustainable Housing Foundation Mindscape Innovations Booth
ALLIANCE SURVEYSALLIANCE SURVEYSALLIANCE SURVEYS
32 SBM fall 2010
By Tom Ponessa M. Arch, LEED AP, Director of Programs Sustainable Buildings Canada
The sixth annual Green Building Festival (GBF) will again feature a roster of some of the best practitioners and projects in sustainable build-ing and design.
From the beginning, the Green Building Festival (GBF), delivered by Sustainable Build-ings Canada (SBC), has been Canada’s leading technical conference for the design, construc-tion, and operation of the sustainable built environment. GBF’s goal is to pro-vide a level of depth and solutions that participants can be-gin applying in their practices immedi-ately.
It has been a great pleasure and a career highlight for me to act as director of the GBF and in-teract with the best and the brightest. They in turn have generously praised the GBF for the advanced level of sustainable design knowledge we deliver.
This year promises to be one of the best we’ve ev-er held. Thanks to the generosity of Platinum sponsors Ontario Power Authority and the High Performance New Construction program, Gold sponsors Delcan, En-bridge and GreenSaver, and Bronze sponsor Autodesk, we are able to deliver an a program second to none.
The kickoff to the GBF will be a series of seven ple-nary speakers on September 22 who will focus on “The City”; their presentations will range from buildings, planning, and policy to water, energy, and innovations with materials, specifically a nine-storey wood highrise.
It wasn’t until the second year of the GBF that we re-ally found our stride and established it as not only a high quality conference, but a great experience for the dele-gates as well. Two of the people that made it a success will be appearing at this year’s conference.
Thomas Auer from Transsolar (Germany) engaged the audience in 2006 with his presentation of the Mani-toba Hydro Building and its energy-conserving innova-tions. This year, he will illustrate how that building in-formed the climate engineering Transsolar has proposed for Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. It’s designed as the ecolog-ical city of the future, a self-sufficient sustainable city with high-density living and working space.
A specialist in the fields of integrated building sys-tems and energy-ef-ficient building de-sign, Thomas has worked in collabo-ration with interna-tionally-known ar-chitects and devel-oped energy con-cepts for projects around the world noted for innovative design and low-en-ergy use. These con-cepts have incorpo-rated interior and ex-terior comfort in the design of low-car-
bon projects, from in-dividual building scale
to urban district scale. Thomas is a partner and man-aging director of Transsolar, a climate engineering firm with offices in Stuttgart, Munich and New York. Thom-as teaches at Yale University School of Architecture, and he speaks frequently at conferences and symposia.
The other 2006 alumnus is Toronto’s Ajon Moriya-ma, chair of the GBF that year. This year, Ajon will be presenting Wadi Hanifah in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), a vi-tal water resource so severely degraded from municipal and industrial wastewater as to be considered dead. Im-plementing a unique strategy of naturalization and bio-remediation, the river and related ecology have been re-stored, ensuring the future viability of the Wadi and cre-ating a thriving system of parks and naturalized green spaces for the use and enjoyment of the people of Ri-yadh.
Ajon, a partner at Moriyama & Teshima Architects, is an accomplished designer who joined M&T in 1989 after working with Arata Isozaki & Associates in To-kyo. Ajon has contributed to the design of numerous
Top International Practitioners Offer Insight and Education In Sustainability
Ajon Moriyama Thomas Auer
32 SBM fall 2010
SBM fall 2010 33
award-winning projects and design competitions including the New Canadian War Muse-um, the Saudi Arabian Nation-al Museum in Riyadh, Canadi-an Embassy in Tokyo, the Aga Khan Delegation Building, the Bata Shoe Museum, the design of the master plan and envi-ronmentally sustainable infra-structure facilities for the 520-hectare campus of Kuwait Uni-versity, in Kuwait and – most currently – the Holy Cities of Makkah Master Plan, King-dom of Saudi Arabia.
Presenting with Ajon will be George Stockton, a landscape ar-chitect and planner who has been working with Moriyama & Tes-hima Planners Limited since 1969. Now president of the firm, he has been project director of several long-term environmental-ly sensitive visionary plans which have won significant internation-al awards from the Waterfront Center in Washington: the Wadi Hanifah Comprehensive Development Plan, Ramsey Lake Com-munity Improvement Plan, 100-year conceptual master plan for the Meewasin Valley in Saskatchewan, and 100-year vision for On-tario’s Niagara Parks. George’s landscaping projects, which include university and corporate campuses and a major green roof for the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, are equally respectful of existing natural features and ecological conditions.
This year, the mayors of Portland and Toronto give presenta-tions on their respective sustainable city initiatives. Over the years,
Portland has pioneered and be-come synonymous with vision-ary sustainable planning. We are excited to be able to bring in two people who have made that vision a reality. Developer Mark Edlen and architect Bob Pack-ard have often teamed up to de-liver buildings that are not only green, but transform the imme-diate urban area.
Mark, CEO of GED, will address the 10 essential Princi-ples of Place™ where people can work, live, and learn. GED be-
lieves that people are increasing-ly interested in living more mean-
ingful lives. Creating places that offer fresh air, foster creativity, and incorporate art and culture helps them achieve that goal. Mark is internationally recognized for his expertise and success in creating mixed-use commercial, residential, educational, and retail develop-ments. He has overseen the development of 56 projects, totaling approximately $4.8 billion since the inception of GED.
GED recently partnered with ZGF Architects LLP (ZGF) to develop Twelve|West, a mixed-use building in downtown Portland, Oregon, designed to achieve two LEED Platinum certifications. Bob Packard, ZGF’s managing partner, will present the success-ful application of the Principles of Place to this building. Wind turbines sit prominently atop the building, the first such installa-tion on a U.S. urban highrise. The building has already won sever-al honours, including the American Institute of Architect’s COTE Award recognizing the Top 10 Green Projects in the U.S., and
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34 SBM fall 2010
the International Interior De-sign Association’s Smart Envi-ronments Award, awarded in conjunction with Metropolis magazine.
Bob Packard joined ZGF Architects in 1979 and be-came managing partner in 1984, responsible for direct-ing the firm’s strategic, finan-cial, and operational activi-ties. Bob helped form policy for architects, locally and na-tionally, to embrace the 2030 Challenge and commit to oth-er sustainable design initiatives. He has led a wide range of na-tionally recognized projects in health care, research, transporta-tion/light rail, and other civic buildings, including the MAX light rail system in Portland, recipient of a 2000 Presidential Design Award, the Children’s Hospital in Denver, National Institutes of Health, embassies, and consulates worldwide for the U.S. Depart-ment of State, Portland International Airport and Port of Portland Headquarters Building, and Twelve|West mixed-use development in Portland. He received his B.A. from Willamette University and his Masters in urban and regional planning from the University of Colorado’s College of Environmental Design
Two of Toronto’s leading practitioners will address the green city in terms of buildings and master plans. Over the past decade, Toronto has been redefining community and cooperative hous-ing and brought innovative thinking into the mix. Stephen Teeple will present his design for the 60 Richmond Street East Co-Op.
‘Environmental urbanism’ de-fines Teeple Architects’ approach to design practice, whereby sus-tainable attributes are embraced as an expressive force and woven into the conceptual basis of the built and urban form. Stephen will discuss how the form, space, and sentient experience of the city can be positively influenced by imagining them in environ-mental terms.
Stephen is a graduate of the University of Waterloo where he
received his Bachelor of Architec-ture in 1980. In 1989, he received his Master of Science in Build-
ing Design from Columbia University. Stephen Teeple established Teeple Architects in 1989. His work has exemplified sensitive and personal responses to site, landscape, and program. Recent proj-ects include the new Creative Arts Building at Langara College in Vancouver, BC, Sherbourne Park Pavilion in Toronto, and the Hawking Centre (Expansion of the Perimeter Institute for Theo-retical Physics) in Waterloo. Stephen’s work also includes mixed-use residential projects in Toronto, including 60 Richmond Hous-ing Co-Operative, 318 Richmond Street West condominium, and the M5V condominium.
At the master plan scale, Michel Trocmé will present the work of Urban Strategies, one of the premier urban design firms in Can-ada. This session focuses on a number of new sustainable solutions that cities around the world are using to meet carbon neutral ob-jectives. Drawing from recent projects in North America, Europe,
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SBM fall 2010 35
and Asia, Michel will highlight elements of sustainable infra-structure and best practices be-ing integrated into the plan-ning for new sustainable and liveable communities.
Michel is lead urban de-signer on a wide range of pub-lic and private sector projects, including urban revitalization frameworks, new community designs, and regional planning. Drawing on over two decades of experience in North Amer-ica, Europe, and Asia, Michel develops visionary and practical solutions to a variety of challenged environments and his goal is to create high-quality, engaging, and distinctive environments that foster community and a strong sense of place. He has taught ur-ban design at Harvard Design School, the University of Toronto, and York University.
Two U.K. speakers round off the agenda for Day 1. Nick Hayes, international director of BRE, the U.K.’s Building Research Establishment, will introduce BRE and in particular, BREEAM, BRE’s Environmental Assessment Method for Buildings. Estab-lished in 1988, BREEAM now has 1.2 million registrations, with about 300,000 certified worldwide. BREEAM is tailored to ad-dress a wide range of specific building types, including industrial, retail, schools, and healthcare, and can provide assessments from pre-design through post-construction. The latest version of BREE-AM, named ‘BREEAM in Use’ has been developed to make ex-isting buildings more sustainable, and is attracting significant in-ternational interest. Nick will also discuss the Code for Sustain-able Homes, developed by BRE, now set by the U.K. government to provide mandatory targets for new-build housing, and the role of the BRE Innovation Parks in building full-scale demonstration homes that meet or exceed the Code.
Expanding the issue of sustainability beyond the buildings, Nick will highlight how the BREEAM approach can support the deliv-ery of sustainable communities, in particular through the newly developed BREEAM Communities standard and the role of the ‘GreenPrint’ methodology.
Nick is a chartered mechanical engineer who joined BRE in 1994. Previously, as director of the Sustainable Development Group, he managed a team of over 60 specialists in sustainable development, energy technologies, energy modeling, design, and procurement.
Craig Liddell will deliver what may well be the most provoca-tive presentation we have ever scheduled. Stadthaus Murray Grove is the tallest timber resi-dential structure in the world. The nine-storey building is the first of this height with load-bearing walls, floors, and cores made entirely from timber. Stadthaus was assembled in just 27 days, using the KLH struc-tural cross-laminated timber panel system. Research shows that Stadthaus stores 186 tons of carbon within its structure
for its lifetime. The entire build-ing was completed within 49 weeks of starting, estimated to be a saving of five months over a concrete frame building.
Craig, commercial direc-tor of KLH UK, is passion-ate about the environment and the use of sustainable materials within the construction indus-try. Craig studied environmen-tal management and has respon-sibility for the day-to-day run-ning of the company, managing
all the commercial aspects of the business, including new business,
business development, and operational issues. A final mention should be made about one of the breakouts oc-
curring on Day 2 of the conference. “Design for Sustainable and Healthy Communities” is a three-hour master session which will provide an overview of current design for sustainable and healthy development at the street, block, and neighbourhood scale, with emphasis on the role of designers. Examples of urban design work from across the province and country, in areas such as downtown revitalization and regeneration, intensification and infill, transit-oriented development, green urban extensions will be presented, including opportunities for architects, landscape architects, and other design professionals. Specific urban design methods and tools to achieve such developments will be presented, including measur-ing tools such as LEED ND (Neighbourhood Development).
The course will include a series of presentations by seven promi-nent professionals in the field of urban design and members of the Council for Canadian Urbanism:
Robert Freedman, MRAIC, LSUC, Director of Urban Design, City of Toronto Dan Leeming, MCIP, RPP, Partner, The Planning Partnership, TorontoAlex Taranu, OAA, MRAIC, RPP, MCIP, Manager, Urban De-sign, City of BramptonEric Turcotte, OAA, MRAIC, Senior Associate, Urban Strategies, Toronto Rick Merrill, OAA, Partner, The Planning Partnership, Toronto Mark Guslits, B. Arch, OAA, MRAIC, Vice President, HOK Canada
Once again, the GBF offers delegates advanced “deep green” learning opportunities that deliver the “how” of sustainable de-
sign. GBF is proudly hosted by Sustainable Buildings Cana-da, Canada’s leading label neu-tral and objective green build-ing association supporting, ed-ucating, and empowering build-ing professionals to achieve a high level of sustainability per-formance. More information on the conference sessions can be found at http://www.iidexneo-con.com/2010/index.php/sem-inars/ .
We hope to see you there.
Michel Trocmè Nick Hayes
Craig Lidell Jeremy Rifkin
36 SBM fall 2010
By Gord Cooke
More and more, Ontario build-ers are beginning to ask me: “What is the best way to cost effectively meet the new On-
tario Building Code requirements coming in 2012?” As Mike Lio and others will tell you, there are many paths to take and each will suit different builders, but my answer is same for all builders: Begin a company-wide process of continual improvement and whatever path you choose, it will be more cost effective.
Across North America, building codes are changing, and the political push for more durable, healthier, and ever more ef-ficient homes is strong. In the States and across Canada, builders are realizing that they will likely be changing not just what, but how, they build every three to five years. This is far cry from how their par-ents built homes, where traditional meth-ods consistently won out over innovation.
Current builders need to begin a jour-ney towards continual improvement, not only to meet new code and label changes, but simply to stay competitive. Energy ef-ficiency is only one aspect. Cost, through-put, comfort, indoor air quality, health, and safety, and durability are all aspects that can be improved by engaging in a continual improvement process.
In the past, builders chose their build-ing materials largely based on cost and brand: Brand-X insulation versus Brand-Y insulation, or Brand-A hot water tank versus Brand-B hot water tanks. But soon builders will be making more substantive choices, such as choosing between upgrad-ing the HVAC efficiency or the wall insu-lation levels, or between on air tightness or ventilation efficiency. This will require ev-eryone from the contracts manager to the architect to take a more holistic approach to homebuilding.
The role of contracts manager might change the most, for I think that days of
getting six or seven quotes for the same job are over. Leading managers will be moving towards strategic partnerships with two, or perhaps three, key trades who will not be “hammered down” for the lowest price, but consulted and brought into the pro-cess to give input into how to make their job easier and more cost-effective.
John Godden and I are friends and col-leagues, but we rarely present together; in fact, we only share the stage once a year at the Green Building Festival in Toron-to. Last year, we talked about best prac-tices across North America, and this year we will be addressing the issue of Cost Ef-fectively Meeting and Surpassing the 2012 Ontario Building Code for Low-rise Res-idential Housing. This course will explore the how the 2012 Building Code is raising the bar on energy efficiency to EnerGuide 80, and how that will move Energy Star and other voluntary labelling programs to EnerGuide 83 and above.
These levels of efficiency can be chal-lenge for production builders, but for those who do it right, it’s an opportuni-ty to build better and more cost-effective-ly. This seminar will look at the most cost effective ways to meet EnerGuide 80 and 83 in a production building context. The focus will be on cost effectiveness, quali-ty control, and innovation. But we will al-so look at strategies for continual improve-ment, not just for energy, but for all the other benefits mentioned above.
Now is the time to start thinking se-riously about a strategy for 2012, either to meet code or Energy Star or to surpass both by a significant margin. For more, at-tend our seminar at the Green Building Festival, Friday, September 24 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Its code GB-F01 and you can register at www.GreenBuildingFest.com.
Gord Cooke is the President of Building Knowledge Canada
The Drivers for Continual Improvement
Providing market access for products
and services throughout North America.
Four WindsEnvironmentala division of Four Winds Group of Companies
75 First St, Suite 412Orangeville, Ontario L9W 5B6
phone: 519 943 3934 • fax: 519 941 9363www.fourwindsinc.com • [email protected]
Relationships Build Communities…
• design • financing • feasibility • partnership creation • renewable energy options • training plans • assessments • remediation
SBM fall 2010 37
1. 2. 3. NATIONAL SHOWS1. 2. 3. 4. DAYS OF GREAT DESIGN
ExpOSITION
SEpTEmbER 23–24, 2010CONFERENCE
SEpTEmbER 22–25, 2010DIRECT ENERGY CENTRE, TORONTO
INTERIOR DESIGNERS OF CANADA pRESENTS
IIDEx/NEOCON CANADACANADA’S NATIONALDESIGN ExpO & CONFERENCE
iidexneocon.com
38 SBM fall 2010
The Green Building Festival is an opportunity to see the very best from around the world, to get in-spired by what is possible, and to
learn how it all works. We try to bring to-gether not just the latest ideas, but the tan-gible insights that bring relevance to these projects. We want people to leave with information they can use in their practices today.
This year we have part-nered with a number of as-sociations to provide in-depth technical training ses-sions for building practitioners. This rang-es from a course on eQuest energy mod-elling software, to Energy Star for Homes training, to designing effective waste water management systems. Our partners include ASHRAE, the Sustainable Housing Foun-dation, the CSA, and EnerQuality. We al-so have a series of seminars on Thursday, Sept 23 that focus on very specific topics.
One session walks through different heat-ing and cooling approaches, another looks at principles for creating optimal indoor environments (lighting, acoustics, air qual-ity). There are also sessions that get deep on financial implications and investment op-
portunities related to green building.
Our plenary day on Wednesday, September 22, the central event of the GBF, is largely focused on the role of the urban envi-ronment in the next cen-tury, and features examples
from around the globe of amazing projects from world-class cities. These range from individual buildings, to master plans, to public spaces.
We are fortunate to welcome the may-or of Portland, Oregon as our guest, and the day will begin with a Portland-Toronto dialogue including leading architects from both cities presenting their work. Oth-
er presentations include projects from the U.K., Asia, and two very different projects in the Middle East.
Besides trying to provide useful infor-mation that you can integrate right away, we want to connect you with the right peo-ple. Historically, the GBF audience is com-prised of the real leaders in the industry and the intimate environment gives you plen-ty of opportunities to interact. Whether it’s the opening Mayors’ Lunch or the Lifetime Achievement Awards reception on Wednes-day, September 22, or a special edition of Green Drinks Toronto in the trade show lounge on the 23rd, we try to recognize the value of networking. The Green Building section of the IIDEX/Neocon trade show features dozens of suppliers and service pro-viders of all varieties, and the broader show including the Light Canada expo has over 400 exhibitors and gets 15,000-plus visi-tors. While you’re there, come by the EC3 initiative networking area to talk about lat-est developments in business and sustain-
By
Jeff Ranson
An Insider’s Guide to the Green Building Festival
Sustainable Condo display 2008
38 SBM fall 2010
SBM fall 2010 39
ability initiatives.Because there is so much going on, I
frequently get asked what I would do if I were an attendee at the festival. So here is what my itinerary would be:
Tuesday, Day 1 (Sept. 22) This is the not-to-be missed day of the fes-tival, and I would start with the Mayors’ Lunch, then stay to soak up all the informa-tion and inspiration of the plenary presen-tations. These international plenary speak-ers are the focal point to the whole show. I would then attend the special presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Awards. And of course stay for the reception following the awards. It’s always a great time to catch up with friends in the industry.
Wednesday, Day 2 (Sept. 23) I would love to catch a couple of the sem-inars, and spend a good amount of time walking and talking on the show floor. IIDEX/Neocon is one of the best looking industry shows around, a bi-product of its interior design roots. There are some real-ly interesting exhibits from companies like Teknion and InterfaceFlor, and the archi-tecture and interior design crowd are always lively. I would show up early for the 4 p.m. free environmental keynote address to get a good seat. Speaking is international au-thor and environmental economist, Jeremy Rifkin. After the talk, I would head down to the trade show lounge for the “Green Drinks” event.
Thursday, Day 3 (Sept. 24) This the day I would roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty, so to speak, by register-ing for one of the half-day or full-day tech-nical training sessions. These are real practi-cal, how-to information sessions. The low-rise homebuilders’ session has been real-ly popular the past two years, and the new “Integrated Design Process” and “Lifecycle costing of Green Building Design” work-
shops presented by the CaGBC Toronto chapter look great.
Friday, Day 4 (Sept. 25) Finally, on Saturday I would wind things down by attending one of the two green building tours. Either the Evergreen Brick-works tour, arguably the premier green building initiative in the province, or the 60 Richmond St. Co-Op tour, which is a fabulous building architecturally -- a merg-er of completely unique design that is green and also affordable housing built on a tight budget is truly remarkable.
Whatever route you may choose, I sin-cerely hope you enjoy your journey through the festival.Jeff Ranson of Sustainable Buildings Cana-da has been the show manager for the GBF since 2007.
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SBM fall 2010 39
40 SBM fall 2010
By Scott Rouse
If you want to successfully manage a building’s energy use, you have to become more precise in how you measure energy con-sumption. This is the heart of an energy management plan. The following three case studies show how more accurate real-time
measurement can lead to improved energy management and signifi-cant cost reductions.
Our three-stage formula (Understand Right, Use Right, Buy Right) has been developed on the basis of hundreds of successes (and a few failures), working for the last two decades with large commercial, in-dustrial, and institutional customers to improve their energy manage-ment practices. We contend that this formula, properly applied, will always result in reduced energy consumption, thus reducing energy costs, reducing the environment footprint, and increasing sustainabil-ity.
Understand Right: The right information + the right expertise = Know-how
“Know-how” is what you get when you unite expertise with infor-mation and produce actionable knowledge. This is easy to say, but in energy management, it’s not easy to do. The energy sector is compli-cated, composed of globalized markets supplied by multiple supply sources, and twisted by varied jurisdictional energy policies. From the customer’s perspective, local distribution companies provide standard-ized services that may or may not meet customers’ needs. Complicat-ing things further, companies often divide roles and responsibilities, such that who pays the bill is often separated from who manages and/or consumes the energy.
Probably the biggest problem we’ve encountered working in energy management is that useful information is just not available to the cus-tomer. This is seen from a typical electricity bill.
Figure 1 - Typical data provided on a electricity bill.
An entire month’s electricity use is reduced to four numbers that track consumption: total energy sued (kWh), demand (kW), 15-min-ute peak (peak kW), and apparent power (kVA). These numbers al-low the utility company to calculate a bill, but provide the customer little insight.
The costs can be grouped into three components. The commodity cost is based on energy (kWh) used, typically 60 per cent of the bill. Hour-by-hour consumption is multiplied by the respective Hourly Ontario Electricity Price (HOEP), then divided by total kWh to deter-
mine a ‘weighted’ or average cost per kilowatt hour. The kWh is also multiplied by the ‘provincial benefit’ which some customers consider a tax, since the rate applies to the total kWh regardless of time of use.
Peak real and apparent demand (kW and kVA )is multiplied by the respective utility rate; however, only the utility knows when the peak (s) occurred. Other costs are based on customer costs, HST etc.
Knowing kWh, peak kW and kVa reveals little for the customer to ‘Understand Right’. For example: Is energy use better or worse than the previous month or in comparison with others? Is peak demand consistent or has an unusual peak occurred for a 15-minute period? What is the power factor (pf) and why is pf not shown on the bill? Is the energy use weather, occupancy or production sensitive? Are there demand response or load-shifting opportunities?
If you do not have the right information, how can the right choice or decision be made to ‘Use Right’? By investing in the right tools and expertise, better information can be made available, not only for elec-tricity, but for all utilities.
Use Right: Know-how + leadership and partnership = Actionable Plan
Let’s look at a recent example we encountered. An energy audit and benchmarking process compared hourly gas consumption profiles for two ‘sister’ buildings. The initial view was that Building 1 was the better energy performer, but to our surprise, after collecting and ana-lyzing the data, Building 2 dramatically outperformed building 1.
Figure 2 - Monthly gas profile (hourly data supplied by En-bridge).
It is impossible to see the difference using monthly data. To get to the bottom of the problem, the property manager empowered us to work with Enbridge to access hourly data and generate more defined and informed consumption profiles. With the right information, we went further to track hourly use against heating degree days (HDD).
Figure 2 shows a major discrepancy between the buildings’ base loads (the space between “0” and the lower dips of the blue line), that the buildings respond very differently to occupancy
— night and weekend use (the blue line’s troughs) versus work-day use (the peaks), and substantial contrast between the buildings’ re-sponse to HDD (the red line tracks hourly HDD).
These graphs raise clearly defined questions so that we knew how to move forward: Notably, to develop a recommissioning plan to help us identify and correct building performance issue without sacrificing ten-ant comfort.
Getting in Control of Energy Use: Case Studies of Real-Time Energy Monitoring
SBM fall 2010 41
But no solution will be implemented given know-how alone. For ef-fective action to be taken, an organization not only needs know how, but have the partnerships and leadership in place to move forward. Without the leadership of the property manager, partnerships between the operational team, Enbridge, and an energy management expert this diagnostic would not have happened.
Buy Right: Actionable Plan + Implementa-tion = Results
Let’s turn to some additional case studies where the same ‘Understand Right, Use Right, Buy Right” formula was put into place to gener-ate sustainable energy savings. Figures 3, 4, and 5 are case study examples on problems identified and their solutions:
Figure 3Real-time monitoring was used to diagnose a scheduling issue that removed unnecessary ener-gy use between 2 am and 4 am —property saved $80k / year.
Figure 4The technical director reviewed daily steam
consumption from real time monitoring. On day 6, he realized that if steam use was main-tained for the month, it would result in a signif-icant budget shortfall. The problem was iden-tified, system was properly isolated and on day 11 returned to normal and saving 20,000 lbs / day of steam.
Figure 5Identifying and then fixing cycling loads from an electric ramp heat-
er produced energy savings along with reducing the demand peak by 500 kW.
ConclusionThese case studies resulted in reduced energy costs, reduced environ-
mental footprints, and improved sustainability. Our point is that any-one can achieve similar results by applying this simple formula.
Understand Right by investing in the tools needed to properly un-derstand building performance. Use Right by applying those tools to create an informed and actionable plan, and Buy Right by investing in the expertise and equipment needed to achieve results.
Scott Rouse is the President of Energy@Work Inc., a leading edge energy management consulting firm based in Toronto. They work with large com-mercial, industrial and institutional clients to improve their energy perfor-mance across the triple bottom line. Visit their website for more information: www.energy-efficiency.com
FiguRe 3
FiguRe 4
FiguRe 5
42 STEINWAY BLVD., UNIT 10 • EToBIcokE, oN M9W 6Y6 • TEL: 416-798-1115 • FAx: 416-798-3115 • www.dircam.com
DIRCAM ELECTRIC LIMITEDELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS
42 SBM fall 2010
Appleby Woods Condominiums built by Del Ridge Homes with geothermal and solar technology
The Benefits of
Building Green
SBM fall 2010 43
By Dave De Sylva
Why? It is a question that many ask. Why spend the mon-ey, the time, especially the effort. It is not easy to find
an extra $4Million to spend on solar ar-rays, ground source technology and ener-gy farms. It takes time to explore the inner workings of sustainability concepts and in particular how we can convince the estab-lishment of government review to under-stand and accept them and then, of course, implement them. The answer is simple. It is worth the effort.
The nature of change always includes the concept of rewards. Whether it manifests as different consequences in physical appear-ance or monetary gain we are guided and in-fluenced by results. It becomes a measure of worth – a “right” side of an equation. If you invest then you expect the results to make it worthwhile. This is true of several events in the field of sustainable technology.
Firstly, as a builder and developer of building “net-zero”, we are well received by the public. Although some purchasers have little or no knowledge of the engineering of building green, almost all are enthusiastic about the explanation. For us, selling real green space is easier. The added result is the ability to predict with great certainty that operational energies and costs are great-ly reduced and condominium costs have a “plus” side of green energy income to them – meaning even lower condo fees.
Secondly, since the purchaser has paid no premium for this technology, his invest-ment increases in value when time shows that owning the space is cheaper. The resale value is better. The measure of the reward though, should not be limited to monetary equivalence. The efficiencies of a sustainable building present a pride of ownership that is just now evolving. The public is charged about making a difference and what better place to demonstrate that than in the largest single purchase of a person’s life?
Finally, governments can use these exam-ples to show that what others say is impos-sible is not true. It is this category though where real rewards are somewhat lacking. During a recent survey of municipalities in and around the GTA, only 2 out of 17 made an effort to provide any type of in-centive to build green. By this I mean real green. I do not mean to adhere to the pe-ripheral notions by adding token changes to yesterday’s designs.
In both examples, the municipality actu-ally agreed to reduce some of it’s charges in direct relationship to a reduction in opera-tional energies. While some of the remain-ing 15 local governments state that they cannot “reward” through incentives, I sug-gest to them that they cannot afford not to.
By not rewarding investment in strong sustainable technology, the other 15 local governments by consequence are encourag-ing the norm. They, by their position, in-directly reward the landlords of mediocrity.
Governments have an exquisite ability to set new rules and announce that they support bold change. With only 2 exceptions, their voices cannot be heard.
On a provincial level, the Ontario gov-ernment has undergone some criticism for reducing the FIT rate on smaller PV sys-tems. The media, in its role to report gen-eral public emotion, details the change in government position on rate as being un-fair, and minimizes the true fact that the program itself simply succeeded by reward-ing thousands of homeowners for having the insight and strength to make a change. In simple terms, the Province succeeded. The more important chapter of this is where the grid became enhanced by thousands of small PV units adding in their own ways, a level of security – bolstering the old fash-ioned method of energy generation – and through it all, an awareness of PV workings that may otherwise never have been seen by so many - what a reward!
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44 SBM fall 2010
I have recently been moving my office and sorting through the past five years of busi-ness files and I discovered a Toronto Star article on the first occupied Energy star
home built by Mason Homes in 2005. Apart from four version changes in the prescriptive spec in the past five years, I wonder if the there has been any real improvements in the con-struction of the homes?
We have moved from Energy Star being “fleet average” of an ERS rating of 78, to al-most every home achieving a rating of 80
when it gets an Energy Star label. Currently all builder-supplied appliances must be Ener-gy Star rated, if available. In the case of A/C this has backfired, in that builders already find it tough to compete with after-market vendors installing 13 SEER A/C with Ozone deplet-ing refrigerants.
The best scenario would be that builders can sell and market A/C with R410A refrig-erants, which do not have HCFCs. Version four of Energy Star requires builders to sup-ply and install 14.5 SEER systems, which cost
$1000s more. As it stands, there is an incentive for homebuyers to get the worst possible A/C and the builder looses the sale.
Early versions required peak electrical re-ductions of 1200 kWhs on an average-sized home, which translates into a 10% overall re-duction. This was focused on demand reduc-tion at peak, saving homeowners money and lessening the chances of a blackout. Current-ly Energy Star version four only requires 400 kWhs and no longer recognizes Ontario’s peak energy reduction needs.
Certainly the homes have more features, such as better insulation, air-tested envelopes, and Energy Star labels on mechanicals, but does this mean we are building a better house? More builders than ever have taken a one-day training course, and signed a licensing agree-ment, which has more to do with marketing than engaging in a process for building better homes. Are we loosing the opportunity to build capacity towards continuous improvement by not doing more to integrate the building pro-cess? Energy Star is product focused, where-as the industry needs process. Are we gaining anything by putting an Energy Star label on a poorly built home? Does a home buyer living in a well built Energy Star home really under-stand the value of what he/she has purchased?
Selling a quality control process is not as easy as selling a label.
Come 2012, it is conceivable that many builders will no longer see the same value in the Energy Star label, when the code moves up to EnerGuide 80. When Energy Star moves to 83 there will be considerable confusion in the market place (i.e. is an Energy Star home and 80, and 83 or some other level) New Energy Star builders, who have not made the invest-ment of time and resources into the program, may decide to revert to the code. For those builders who have built process improvement into their business plan, the temptation to re-treat will not be as strong.
The looming question for these builders is what is Energy Star version five in practical terms, and how will those leading builders who are well beyond the current Energy Star mini-mums continue to differentiate themselves?
With only 16 months left, and not much direction from NRCan, I am recommending to my builders that they forge their own path and become the authors of their own destiny. Larger builders such as Royal Pine, GreenPark, Brookfield, and Empire Communities are de-veloping their own brands to support a consis-tent leadership position in the marketplace.
The key moving forward may be more about how you sell a house to a municipality rather than to the homeowner. What builders are seeking is predictable, achievable, and af-fordable stable green standard.
John Godden is the President of Clearsphere and on the boards of CRESNET and the Sustainable Housing Foundation.
building on sustainable opportunities
Are Energy Star Homes Better Built Now Than in 2005?
By
Johngodden
SBM fall 2010 45
By Peter Kinsey
Everywhere you look these days, pho-tovoltaic (PV) and to a lesser extent geothermal systems are in the media and getting a lot of attention as the
best renewable energy solution, while solar air panels remain something of a well-kept se-cret. This is despite the fact that solar air sys-tems are extremely simple, and they are very easy on the budget.
From the perspective of a home’s ener-gy load, it’s well established that the biggest portion of the domestic energy load is space heating, which accounts for 60 per cent of annual energy consumed. Next is hot water - for a family of four it is approximately 25 per cent of the load. The remaining 15 per cent are the result of various electrical loads. Still, most people first think of PV when they think about adding renewable energy for their home. This is the reverse of their home’s energy priorities.
Again, in terms of cost effectiveness, the most affordable solution for utilizing renew-able energy is solar air heating, with solar hot water being second, and solar PV being the most expensive. I would say that all things be-ing equal, PV should not be a homeowner’s first venture into renewable energy.
But, the fact is that all things are not equal and subsidies, rebates, and government agen-das play a big role in shaping the choices avail-able to builders and consumers around re-newable energy. Recently, solar PV in Ontar-io has been subsidized with the very substan-tive Feed-in-Tariff (FiT or MicroFiT) pro-gram. Paying about 10 times the market rate, or about 80 cents per kW for roof mount, and 68 cents per kW for ground mount so-lar power. The homeowner signs a contract to receive the incentive over a 20 year period which drastically reduces the payback time. This makes PV now one of the most attrac-tive investments in the marketplace, with up to a 12 per cent return.
I am all for installing PV systems on ev-ery roof in Ontario, but even with these large subsidies, builders and homeowners should still think about which renewable system they want to try first. And, solar air is still a better, safer, and more strategic investment for first time renewable investors.
There are a number of ways in which solar
air panels can be incorporated into a home’s heating system, from a simple connection to the return air ductwork of a furnace, to pre-heating the incoming fresh air for a Solar-fed HRV, or even as a stand alone system dedicat-ed to heating a room.
The concept is extremely simple, panel are approximately 3.5’ x 7’ and can be mount-ed on south facing wall or roof, with either one or two five-inch ductwork penetrations depending on the system.
For a simplified furnace connection, an in-line fan is used to draw approx. 200 cfm of air from the return air ductwork and pass-es it through the solar air panel, raising the
air temp by 40 º F, and then it is returned back into the return air ductwork air stream. The integral sensor and controls only allow this function to happen when there is ener-gy to harvest, and the furnace is in heating mode. A two-panel system in this configura-tion can harvest up to 6,800 btu/hr, and pro-vide a 60ºF temperature rise.
A solar-fed HRV utilizes only one duct, as the fresh air for the HRV passes through the Solar Air Panel first pre-heating the incoming fresh air. Again, the integral sensor and con-trols only allow this function to happen dur-ing the heating season.
See page 47
556 Edward Ave., Unit #85Richmond Hill, Ontario L4C 9Y5
Ph: 905-508-0300 • Fax: 905-508-0390email:[email protected]
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Prioritizing Renewable Upgrades
46 SBM fall 2010
By Dan Stone
The Town of East Gwillimbury has made great strides towards becom-ing one of the foremost sustainable communities in Canada. The im-
portance of taking such a leadership role is
heightened by the fact that the town’s popu-lation is expected to grow from the current 23,000 to as many as 150,000 by 2051.
Among the leading initiatives is the re-quirement that all new homes must meet or exceed the Energy Star for New Homes stan-dard. In 2005, East Gwillimbury became the
first town to make this a mandatory require-ment for new development and subsequent-ly required all new institutional, commercial and industrial construction meet or exceed LEED NC Silver performance level.
In December 2009, council formally ad-opted the town’s Community Energy Plan, one of the boldest and most comprehensive plans developed in Canada. The town thus became one of the first municipalities to pre-pare a Community Energy Plan as part of an official plan review process and incorporate energy policies into the official plan. Fund-ing for the development of the Community Energy Plan was provided through the Fed-eration of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund. The research team, led by international energy expert Peter Garforth, collected and analyzed data to establish a baseline and explored global best practices to establish a plan that positions the town to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30 to 50 per cent below baseline levels with-in the next 25 to 30 years.
The Community Energy Plan’s overall objective is to achieve energy efficiencies and reduce the per capita GHG contributions by the town over both the 2031 planning hori-zon and longer term.
The six core recommendations of the Community Energy Plan are:• Energy Efficient Buildings: Implement
very efficient building standards, expand-ing on the town’s current green building policies for new development, together with an energy performance labelling sys-tem for existing buildings.
• Renewable Energy Sources: Promote alter-native forms of energy by installing signif-icant renewable energy sources, including solar and wind.
• Land use and Compact Urban Form: Cre-ate energy efficiencies through planning and development policies which require more compact, mixed-use neighbour-hoods with increased opportunities for lo-cal employment.
• District Heating and Energy: Implement a district energy system to serve the majority of growth in the town’s Central Growth Ar-ea with the development of combined heat and power facilities providing thermal ener-gy distribution through a community con-trolled Energy Service Company utility.
• Transportation Efficiencies: Increase trans-portation efficiency through the provision of public transit, the promotion of alterna-tive forms of transportation, and develop-ing a live/work community.
An Energy Plan for a Growing Community
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SBM fall 2010 47
In June 2010, council adopted its new consolidated official plan, which includes a series of progressive policies focused on sus-tainable development and energy efficiency in order to successfully implement the Com-munity Energy Plan.
The town is cautiously optimistic about East Gwillimbury’s progressive policy initia-tives with the Community Energy Plan and the new official plan. It is well understood that the true measure of success will be the town’s ability to implement these policies. Implementation will require a strong com-mitment both at the political and staff lev-el, but most importantly, continued partner-ships with the development community. To date, the town has been fortunate in deliver-ing successful energy efficient developments under the town’s green building policies in partnership with some of the more progres-sive members of the development commu-nity including Minto Homes, Fifthshire Homes and Fieldgate Commercial Devel-opments, who have embraced the town’s policy requirements for Energy Star and LEED.
Achieving the ambitious targets of the Communi-ty Energy Plan will be a chal-lenge for the town, particular-ly when faced with significant growth and close to a four-fold increase in both residen-tial and employment popula-tion, forecast under the new official plan over the next 20 years. Central to the imple-mentation strategy is the commitment to ap-ply sustainable development policy equita-bly to all new development. The town will continue to allow for, encourage, and incent innovation and new technology to be intro-duced by the private sector. In response to growing concerns with the larger issue of cli-mate change and increased energy costs, the town will position itself as the community of choice for residents and investors committed to sustainable development and who recog-nize the short and long term economic val-ue and marketability of energy efficient de-velopment.
The town’s advancement in sustainable development is the result of the vision and leadership of the mayor and council. Ac-cording to Mayor James Young, “I strong-ly believe that we need to re-invent the way that we approach development with a stron-ger focus on building strong, energy-efficient and sustainable communities. In East Gwil-limbury, we are committed to working with our partners in the industry to find new ways to achieve our objectives in a way that makes sense now and for future generations.”
The town has initiated policy research to implement the renewable energy supply and generation element of the Community Energy Plan. The project includes an assess-ment of the application of the Merton Rule
From left to right: Bryan Tuckey - Commissioner of Planning & Development Region of York, Peter Garforth - Garforth International Energy Consultants, James Young - Mayor of East Gwillimbury, Peter Love - Principal, Elenchus & former Chief Energy Conservation Officer for Ontario, Tom Webster - Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of East Gwillimbury
COMMUNITY ENERGY PLANNovember 2009
Source: Terra Sol
June 2010
One visionOne spirit
One Plan
CONSOLIDATEDOFFICIAL PLAN
2031
Continued from page 45
Stand alone systems are perfect for lofts above garages, additions, and even for dumping heat into common areas. Most solar air panels have a small integral
PV panel which powers an internal fan which draws air directly from the room, heats the air, and then dumps the heat-ed air back into the room. These systems come with their own thermostat, and the panels can be ganged together to increase capacity.
In sum, I won’t deny that it’s a great time to think about investing in a roof top PV system, but I would also suggest that builders and homeowners also look at the more affordable solar air option be-cause it’s the one that directly addresses heating, the largest single energy load in the house.
Peter Kinsey is the President of Canadian In-Floor Heating.
to East Gwillimbury and, with scalability, to other communities across Ontario and Can-ada. Funding for this project is being pro-vided by the Ontario Power Authority. The Merton Rule is named after the London
borough, which includes Wimble-don, which adopt-ed a 10 per cent minimum renew-able energy require-ment for new com-mercial buildings in 2003. This was later amended to include residential units in developments over 10 units. In 2005, the London region-
al government adopted a prescriptive renew-able policy. Currently, approximately 200 boroughs in the U.K. have successfully ad-opted a similar policy.
This project is undertaken by a team led by Ontario’s former Chief Energy Conser-vation Officer Peter Love and includes tech-nical and municipal law experts, includ-ing a former employee of Borough of Mer-ton. The research study includes an evalu-ation of the various technologies available,
the economics and costing of the various on-site renewable energy options, and a rec-ommended policy approach for the town. It is expected that the policy approach will be phased in over time and include a “menu”
and range of renewable energy options, which could be em-ployed for new development, depending on individual proj-ect characteristics and circum-stances. Included in the analy-sis are a range of programs and incentives, including Ontario’s FIT program.
The results of this study are expected this fall and will in-clude consultation with renew-able energy technology suppli-ers and the development indus-
try. The town hopes private sector engage-
ment will result in pilot or demonstration projects, which could be advanced in the short term to help measure how successful-ly the Merton Rule could be applied in East Gwillimbury and Ontario.
By Dan Stone Manager of Policy Planning, Town of East Gwillimbury and Peter Love, Associate, Elenchus.
48 SBM fall 2010
By Don NobleGreenSaver
Why are so many townhome roof decks (the material be-tween the trusses and joists and the insulative or weath-
erproofing layers) that are only 20 to 30 years old being replaced?
Some are being replaced for the second or third time after showing signs of dete-rioration, rot, and the invasion of mould. Home inspectors are frequently flagging the problem, and buyers are demanding it be fixed as a condition of sale. New homebuy-ers undertaking Tarion warranty inspec-tions are demanding mould and roof dete-rioration problems be dealt with.
In stark contrast, there are roof decks in Toronto that are more than 120 years old and in great shape! What’s wrong with modern construction? How does a builder avoid the “disposable roof syndrome”?
Over the past seven years with Green-Saver, I have inspected upward of 2,000 at-tics in the GTA. Even apparently well-built homes, only two years old, show signs of mould and roof deterioration. Townhomes are rampant with attic mould, and proper-ty managers are struggling to convince ho-meowners of the need to spend thousands of dollars per unit to renovate and reinsu-late the attic.
Conventional wisdom tells us we want an attic to be cold and dry in winter, so we
add more insulation and ventilation. What if, in some cases, these “solutions” are mak-ing the problem worse?
Building science tells us that hot moist air rises in the column of a home, creating stack effect: a high-pressure zone at the top of a home where the colder it is outside, the stronger the force. In homes with a humid-ifier or increased human activity, vapour pressure exacerbates the problem. With many new homes having stucco on outside walls, the only exit is into the attic. Cana-da Mortgage and Housing Corp. commis-sioned a study in the 1980s which demon-strated that a hole in the building envelope only four sq. centimeters allows about 30 litres of water to pass through into the at-tic. It determined that close to 100 per cent of moisture migrating into an attic is hitch-ing a ride on air leakage; almost none passes through the vapour barrier.
Most modern vapour barriers run from top plate to top plate. There is almost al-ways a gap between the top plate and the vapour barrier. If a 30- by 20-foot home has approximately 200 linear feet of top plate, and a top plate has two sides, and if the gap was an average of 1/256th of an inch, the equivalent hole in the home is approxi-mately 19 sq. inches or 122 sq. centimeters. Here, the CMHC model estimates 915 li-tres of water enters the attic in a season.
In addition, the top plates and vapour barriers are pockmarked with a laundry list of penetrations and breaches to the build-
ing envelope, including electrical boxes, an ever-increasing variety of wire penetrations, pot lights, poor tape joins, ducts in at-tics, increasingly popular complex ceilings, plumbing stacks, and chimney chases.
During the 1970s, government pro-grams were introduced to reduce energy use in homes. These promoted increased levels of insulation in the attics of existing homes, but since attic mould and rotting roofs were not a problem at the time, seal-ing the attic floor was not a focus. For new homes, building codes added the require-ment for a vapour barrier, which may have inadvertently introduced a false sense of se-curity. I think we can all agree that promot-ing a higher level of insulation is a good thing, but should this come with a warn-ing? How do we educate homeowners and builders that if the attic floor is not well sealed, the colder attic air has little ability to hold and carry away the moisture being forced into the attic by stack effect? As air moves through the insulation, moisture will either condense out in the insulation or on the roof deck and structure.
In a long, cold winter, this builds up and is released during the first warm spell. This is commonly the root cause of mould and roof deterioration. Often roofers will sug-gest adding powered roof ventilation such as turbine vents. If the attic floor is not well sealed, these can depressurize the attic, pull-ing more hot moist air through the insula-tion and into the attic. Many mould prob-
The Root Cause of Disposable
Roof Syndrome
Is Our
Focus on Insulation
and Ventilation Forgetting Something?
48 SBM fall 2010
SBM fall 2010 49
lems are not diagnosed until a hot summer day when cold, air-conditioned air in the home reverses the stack effect and pulls at-tic smells into the home.
The telltale signs of roof deterioration from the outside are roof decks that appear to be drooping between each roof truss, ice build-up in the eves in winter, and eves that are deformed or pulled off from the weight of ice. From inside, we first see rust bleed-ing from roof nails and plywood cracking, then mould and rot.
Given that there are countless existing problem homes, how can we solve the “dis-posable roof syndrome”?
Retrofitting existing homesOften mould and water damage problems are first brought to the attention of insur-ance companies, who focus on fixing the damage, not necessarily the source of the problem. If the roof deck is damaged, roof-ers will often recommend replacement of the roof deck without considering air seal-ing the attic floor.
In order to have access to the entire at-tic floor, all existing insulation may need to be removed, and where there is a low slope roof or inaccessible sections, the roof deck may need to be removed. Two-component spray foam insulation is the only way to ret-rofit an effective air barrier. Ideally, the en-tire attic floor is skim coated, and at times,
the foam is wrapped around the exterior top plate into the soffit cavity. Where there is a very low heel height, medium density foam can provide higher R-values. Blocked soffit ventilation is commonly opened up and rafter ventilation retrofitted.
Moving forward with new homesAs homeowners demand features such as higher ceilings (increasing stack effect), hu-midifiers (increasing vapour pressure), and increased insulation levels, builders need to be more vigilant about controlling moisture migration into the attic. A growing number of builders are turning to building envelope consultants to assist with construction tech-niques and operational solutions.
Dealing with the standard attic air leak-
age areas, such as lighting fixtures, plumb-ing stacks, attic hatches, wire penetrations, and chimneys, should be routine. The joint leakage between drywall and vapour barrier and the top plates of exterior and partition walls is more difficult. Sealant between the vapour barrier and framing is part of the solution. Sealing all penetrations into the exterior walls can be more difficult. Spray foaming the exterior walls and the perime-ter of floor cavities between levels is also an option, if budget allows.
We suggest you consider at least a skim coat of spray foam to seal all partition and exterior wall top plates and any drop ceil-ing. To accomplish this, consider having a contractor who specializes in attic air seal-ing (possibly other than the drywaller) re-sponsible for attic air sealing, insulation and ventilation (such as rafter vents or dams). Use a raised heel truss to allow for proper levels of insulation, ventilation, and room for workers to air seal the perimeter of the attic floor. Avoid heat ducts in attic, or spray foam them if it can’t be avoided.
From a new home builder or renovator’s perspective, if you have a call back from a client with moisture or mould problems originating from air migration into the at-tic, or ice damming, the cost can be high. Avoiding this with proper attic air sealing, insulation and ventilation solutions will leave the client comfortable and happy.
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50 SBM fall 2010
Revving up green initiatives for auto-brands in North America while infusing new power into the MINI brand, rawDESIGN
created an aesthetically bold and envi-ronmentally friendly MINI flagship for BMW Canada. The project represents Canada’s first full service stand-alone MINI dealership.
Completed in Spring 2010, the new 20,000 square foot dealership, which re-flects the vivid and graphic sensibility of the MINI brand, also features a green roof, solar thermal hot water system and an efficient foamed-in-place exterior wall insulation system. Taking sustainabil-ity to the next level, the car dealership has also integrated a special storm wa-ter retention plan for the site that reuses rainwater for landscape irrigation and us-es permeable paving to maintain localized ground water runoff.
The project started in 2007 as the City of Toronto began to ramp up their Green Development Guidelines - guidelines that closely mirror those of the LEED program. At the conclusion of the Site Plan Approval
process, the MINI dealership met 82% of the City’s new targets.
Cars are notoriously unfriendly to the environment, and as Canada’s first stand-alone MINI dealership, it was a challenge
to be one of the first car dealerships in the country to step up to the plate on building green. Since 2007, many international au-to-brands have followed suite in the North American scene.
Driven by a passionate commitment to green building, Homesol is a leading provider of energy consulting, testing, labeling and veri�cationservices for contractors, renovators, homeowners, and government agencies — with over 6,000 energy evaluations since 1999. Call Homesol today!
Mirroring MINI’s fuel efficient environmental outlook, the new MINI flagship designed by rawDesign features a green roof and a solar thermal hot water system. Named Best Emerging Practice in March 2009 by the Ontario
Association of Architects rawDESIGN is known for avant-garde thinking evidenced by the MINI concept.
rawDESIGN Brings New Life to MINI
SBM fall 2010 51
The City of Vaughan has evolved from a small rural town to a ma-jor urban centre. In the past three decades, it has seen its population
grow from 36,000 to more than 280,000 – a figure which is expected to increase to more than 418,000 by 2031. To meet the long-term needs of this rapidly growing munici-pality, Vaughan Council approved a resolu-tion to build a new City Hall in 2003.
From day one, the building was designed to set a new standard for environmentally-re-sponsible and civic-minded development. Set to open its doors this fall, the 280,000 square-foot structure with its leading-edge technolo-gies and green design elements is proposed for LEED Gold certification. This would po-sition the building as one of the largest civic buildings in Canada to achieve this status.
The new City Hall is phase 1 of a three-phase Civic Centre campus that will include a public resource library, civic square, reflect-ing pool/skating rink, gardens and parkland.
Designed by the award-winning Canadi-an architectural firm Kuwabara Payne McK-enna and Blumberg (KPMB), the project has received national attention with a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence as well as lo-cal recognition with a Vaughan Urban De-sign Award.
The design incorporates elements like daylighting, passive solar shading, energy-ef-ficient heating and cooling systems and natu-ral ventilation, to create a healthier work en-vironment. A dramatic 10-storey clock tow-er, acts as a solar chimney, drawing in fresh air that flows through the building’s raised floors while exhausting warm air from the chim-ney top. This type of passive solar technol-ogy enhances natural ventilation, and reduc-es the reliance on mechanical systems. Over-all, the City Hall is expected to realize sav-ings of 25 per cent in operational costs per year compared to a conventional building of the same size.
The building’s full-height glass windows provide maximum exposure to natural light, minimizing the use of artificial lighting. The windows open in sections to let in fresh air.
When a window is opened, the building’s mechanical systems shut down and ventila-tors draw fresh air in.
Approximately 50 per cent of the roof will consist of low-growth vegetation, form-ing a green roof. The green roof naturally fil-ters storm water and lessens runoff from the site, reducing demands on the municipality’s storm water infrastructure.
The new City Hall is designed with a whole-building approach to sustainability. “It (the new City Hall) reflects the charac-teristics that define our City; namely, inno-vation, service excellence and environmen-tal stewardship,” said City Manager Clay-
Vaughan’s New City Hall is a Model of Sustainability
Vaughan’s New City Hall proposed for
LEED Gold certification
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ton Harris. “It represents an exciting step forward in a City already recognized for its quality of life, business opportunities and
economic prosperity.”Article submitted by the City of Vaughan,
Corporate Communications.
52 SBM fall 2010
The new 2012 Ontario Building Code will be mandating new energy effi-ciency requirements for housing, giv-
ing new home builders more choice and maybe, if they’re not ready, more headaches. The new requirements, approved by the pro-vincial legislature in Decem-ber of last year, raise the level of energy efficiency for new housing in Ontario to Ener-Guide 80.
It is not an exaggera-tion to suggest that the new home building industry in Ontario is undergoing a pro-found transformation. The climate change agenda is changing the nature of build-ing around the world. The steady march towards net zero housing can be seen in country after country. Astute builders have an opportuni-ty to embrace the upcoming changes, test and measure new approaches and choose what they can build and sell cost-effectively. The astute builder has an opportuni-ty to gain a market advan-tage on their slower-moving competition.
The challenge that ev-ery builder faces, however, is that a business transforma-tion of this magnitude takes a sustained effort over an ex-tended period of time. For most builders, adopting and implementing this kind of change can take two, or even three, years. Builders who have embraced Energy Star for New Homes, howev-er, have already successfully perfected the techniques that all builders will be required to demonstrate in their new homes after 2012.
What most builders don’t
realize is that the new code offers 37 pre-scriptive compliance approaches! For gas heated houses in Southern Ontario, where there is one compliance approach today, there will be 13 in 2012, as shown in the fig-ure. The builder who takes the time to test and measure will be able to pick the lowest cost combination of insulation and mechan-ical systems and will become more profit-able. The builder who hasn’t taken the time runs the risk of adding needless costs to each new house.
Builders should, at the very least, con-sider taking training on the new code re-quirements. The 37 prescriptive approaches to compliance offer tremendous choice for the builder. Good choices depend on a deep
understanding of the implications of each choice.
Assessing the cost, availability, trade ac-ceptance, and defect risk of alternatives for insulation, space and water heating equip-ment, ventilation systems, windows and sky-lights can be a daunting exercise. At least two service organizations offer training on the 2012 code. EnerQuality Corp., as part of their on-going commitment to builders in the province, and Home Ratings Ontario Inc. now offer training for builders on mak-ing sense of the many new ways of comply-ing with the code.
The new 2012 Building Code will change the nature of housing in Ontario. Are you ready?
By
Michael LioSpeaking in Code
New Code. New Energy Efficiency Requirements. New Costs.
ARE yoU REAdy?
