Resource Positive Envelope Design by Okanagan Institute

In addition the project was able to forge key relationships with partners and organizations from around the world. Closer to home, project members also helped to form the pan-Canadian College Sustainable Building Consortium.

Introduction The Connective Thread Brian Lee Wireless Monitoring of Buildings Douglas MacLeod Our Buildings Can Save the Planet Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation Trevor Butler Earth Tubes Davis Marques Building the Case for Core Sunlighting

Published by the Okanagan Institute in association with Okanagan College ISBN 0-978-234567-0-9

Okanagan Institute

It was the spirit of cooperation that allowed the project to accomplish so much. Over the course of project, the project team held two conferences (one Mini-Summit on the Future of Architecture and another on Living Cities); participated in the Buildings and Appliances Task Force of the Asia Pacific Partnership; organized a Green Building Exchange in Busan and Seoul, South Korea and in Shanghai, China (that included some of Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top architects and engineers); developed an extensive curriculum for sustainable construction management; carried out research in interactive and responsive design; built a detailed database of green buildings from a variety of countries; deployed a network of wireless sensors to measure building performance in Penticton, Canada, Busan, South Korea and Tianjin, China; and conducted an international student competition with over 200 entries â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all in the space of 12 months. Moreover, it is a measure of the cooperative spirit of the project that all participants in these activities have agreed to share their materials freely and openly through the project website at resourcepositive.com.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

The most powerful legacy of the Resource Positive Envelope Design project may be the network of connections and partnerships that were built around the world.

Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Explorations in Architectural Innovation

In a very short period of time, the Resource Positive Envelope Design (RPED) project has produced a wealth of activities and resources that have the potential to change the way we think about architecture. The intent was not merely to design new kinds of buildings, communities and cities, but to design a new meaning for these structures that is predicated on a new relationship with the environment. To fully realize this goal would require a lifetime of work, but it begins with the comprehensive exploration of architecture that is presented here. This exploration occurred through technological research, visionary designs and experimental installations that were founded on ongoing discussions, a willingness to share and a spirit of cooperation. The issues raised by the Resource Positive Envelope Design project will not be solved overnight or by a single project, but the future of our planet depends on us addressing them now. In this sense, this project provided a critical first step in the right direction.

Published by the Okanagan Institute in association with Okanagan College www.okanaganinstitute.com Paperback ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-1-9 Ebook ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-2-6

Okanagan Institute

Resource Positive Envelope Design

The most powerful legacy of the Resource Positive Envelope Design project may be the network of connections and partnerships that were built around the world.

Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Published by the Okanagan Institute in association with Okanagan College March 2011

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Copyright ÂŠ 2011 the authors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Produced and published by the Okanagan Institute 1473 Ethel Street, Kelowna BC V1Y 2X9 Canada www.okanaganinstitute.com C O L O P H O N

Publisher and designer: Robert MacDonald EMGDC Printed at the Aspire Media Works, Kelowna BC. The paper was made from flattened bleached trees and is 100% post-consumer waste. The type used in this publication is Officina Sans from the International Typeface Company. It was designed by Erik Spiekermann at MetaDesign, the internationally renowned graphic design, tyography and type design firm in Berlin. It was specifically designed for contemporary use in a wide variety of printing environments, including laser printers and digital transmission applications.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Contents

Introduction The Connective Thread

Brian Lee Wireless Monitoring of Buildings

Douglas MacLeod Our Buildings Can Save the Planet

Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation

Trevor Butler Earth Tubes

Davis Marques Building the Case for Core Sunlighting

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Introduction

The Connective Thread In a very short period of time, the Resource Positive Envelope Design (RPED) project has produced a wealth of activities and resources that have the potential to change the way we think about architecture. The intent was not merely to design new kinds of buildings, communities and cities, but to design a new meaning for these structures that is predicated on a new relationship with the environment. To fully realize this goal would require a lifetime of work, but it begins with the comprehensive exploration of architecture that is presented here. This exploration occurred through technological research, visionary designs and experimental installations that were founded on ongoing discussions, a willingness to share and a spirit of cooperation. It was precisely this spirit of cooperation that allowed the project to accomplish so much. Over the course of project, the project team held two conferences (one Mini-Summit on the Future of Architecture and another on Living Cities); participated in the Buildings

Resource Positive Envelope Design

and Appliances Task Force of the Asia Pacific Partnership; organized a Green Building Exchange in Busan and Seoul, South Korea and in Shanghai, China (that included some of Canada’s top architects and engineers); developed an extensive curriculum for sustainable construction management; carried out research in interactive and responsive design; built a detailed database of green buildings from a variety of countries; deployed a network of wireless sensors to measure building performance in Penticton, Canada, Busan, South Korea and Tianjin, China; and conducted an international student competition with over 200 entries – all in the space of 12 months. Moreover, it is a measure of the cooperative spirit of the project that all participants in these activities have agreed to share their materials freely and openly through the project website at resourcepositive.com. In addition the project was able to forge key relationships with partners and organizations from around the world. Project funding, for example, was used to help Roger Bayley travel to Tianjin and work with the SinoSingapore Tianjin Eco-City project where they are now planning a Canadian Centre for Sustainable Innovation. Discussions with Sun Central not only led to the deployment of an extensive series of light guides in Okanagan College’s new Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable energy Conservation but also to the participation of project researchers in the Core Sunlighting Solutions Research Network which is part of the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership. Project members were also invited

Resource Positive Envelope Design

to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Sustainable Building Network organized by the International Energy Agency in Paris, France. Closer to home, project members also helped to form the pan-Canadian College Sustainable Building Consortium. Because the project generated such a tremendous amount of material, it has produced not one, but two publications. The first is this publication which documents the innovative research and design projects conducted by project members. The second is Living Cities: Vision and Method which examines experimental and visionary projections of future urban forms. What ties these two publications is precisely the need to redefine the built environment. In both cases, this information is provided in digital form in order that it be freely and easily available to all. The most powerful legacy of the project, however, may be the network of connections and partnerships that were built around the world. Throughout this period we had considerable moral, and financial, support from a variety of federal and provincial ministries and department for which we are very appreciative. Through their ongoing work with the Asia Pacific Partnership, Amanda Kramer and her team at Environment Canada provided the vision and impetus as well the major funding for the project. Similarly, Elizabeth Tang, and Glen Webb in particular, at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation provided constant guidance and support as we built partnerships in other countries. In addition, Paul Irwin and his team

Resource Positive Envelope Design

with the government of British Columbia were a major sponsor and supporter of our Green Building Exchange which would have been impossible without the help of them and their representatives in the countries we visited. Here we would particularly like to thank K. S. Kim and Injun Paek in Korea and John McDonald and Sylvia Sun in Shanghai. All of the work carried out during the project was very much a collaboration of friends and colleagues. Once again I had the privilege of working with David Covo of McGill University and Philip Beesley of the University of Waterloo and I look forward to doing so again. Their insights and collaborative approach were essential to the success of this work. Similarly Davis Marques of Ryerson University was indispensable to the technical aspects of the project; Brian Lee of MGH Consulting contributed his expertise in wireless sensors; Alan Maguire of George Brown College helped ground the project in the real world; and Robert MacDonald was instrumental in building our web presence and this publication. Finally, all those associated with the project owe their gratitude to the team at Okanagan College who worked tirelessly to keep the project on track and on budget. As Project Manager, Michele McCready brought order out of chaos and she was ably assisted by Patti Boyd, Jennifer Heppner, Carla Whitten and Margaret Johnson. I would also like to thank Dean Yvonne Moritz, former Dean Dianne Crisp and Vice President of Education

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Andrew Hay for their support for, and patience with, this project. The issues raised by the Resource Positive Envelope Design project will not be solved overnight or by a single project, but the future of our planet depends on us addressing them now. In this sense, this project provided a critical first step in the right direction. Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Brian Lee

Wireless Monitoring of Buildings A building is comprised of its external envelope system and the mechanical, electrical, HVAC, and plumbing systems housed within the structure. The building envelope and internal infrastructure contribute to creating a comfortable environment for the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occupants. The useful life of a building depends on its design, the materials used in its construction, and on the adherence to a diligent maintenance program. Whether the building is situated in a harsh climate or a moderate environment a facility manager benefits from knowledge relating to performance of its building envelope components and the building infrastructure. Key parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, and moisture content across the exterior wall indicate whether the building envelope is performing as intended. Parameters such as temperature and AC power utilization indicate whether mechanical and electrical systems are performing as intended. When a significant departure from normal parameters is

Resource Positive Envelope Design

observed, this may indicate a problem at an exterior wall or at a mechanical system that warrants investigation. Continuous monitoring of building envelope components enables designers to better understand how to create and control conditions that lead to condensation within the wall. Monitoring can be used to assess the performance of new innovative moisture control products installed in test walls. Monitoring wall assemblies at real buildings can supplement lessons learned from computer simulations of wall assemblies and from testing walls under controlled laboratory conditions. The Internet is a key component to disseminating data obtained from monitoring wall assemblies and for sharing the information with students and designers. Monitoring equipment has been available for many years. However, recent advancements in wireless technology enable such monitoring systems to be installed in wall assemblies of new buildings as well as in existing buildings without running wires throughout the building. PARAMETERS TYPICALLY MONITORED Wireless sensors monitor parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, moisture content, AC power & power quality. Readings convey the current status of parameters being monitored. Threshold levels can be established for selected parameters and an alert can be issued by e-mail and/or text message to notify that a threshold has been exceeded.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

"MONITORING" SYSTEMS VERSUS "MONITORING AND CONTROL" SYSTEMS Direct Digital Control ("DDC") systems provide the ability to control devices belonging to mechanical, plumbing, and HVAC systems in response to information obtained by monitoring sensors. Monitoring systems are also used to strictly monitor chosen parameters where information gathering is the primary objective. DDC systems are permanent installations whereas monitoring systems may only be required temporarily to achieve a specific objective. Advancements in wireless technology and miniaturization of sensors enable monitoring equipment to be easily installed, relocated, and removed at an existing building. HOW WIRELESS MONITORING OPERATES Miniature Sensors are designed to monitor selected parameters. One variety of Sensor measures environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and wood moisture content. Readings are periodically taken by the Sensor and transmitted wirelessly to a Gateway located within the building being monitored. Monitoring systems can operate as a stand-alone system where the collected data is transmitted wirelessly to a Gateway located on site. The information can be retrieved at a later date for analysis by downloading data from the Gateway. Stand-alone systems accommodate

Resource Positive Envelope Design

remote building locations where the Internet may not be available. For buildings that have access to the Internet, wireless sensors transmit readings to a Gateway connected to the Internet. The Gateway then relays data over the Internet to a dedicated secured database server. The frequency of communication between the Sensors, Gateway, and central host server can be customized for each facility being monitored. Intervals between successive data readings can be modified, ranging from minutes to hours for most applications. The Internet enables data to be viewed and downloaded for analysis from anywhere in the world using any device capable of Internet access. The Sensor is battery powered which makes it capable of operating wirelessly. The Sensor is programmed to periodically wakeup from an ultra low power sleep state, take measurements, and open a communication session with the Gateway. This technology enables battery life to range from fifteen (15) years to forty (40) years depending on the programmed time interval between successive readings. System alarm thresholds are configured by the end-user so that if an alarm event occurs the end-user or another responsible party is alerted by e-mail, pager, text message, or phone. Monitoring data is accessible 24/7/365 by web browser for viewing and diagnostics. Data is permanently archived and can be downloaded for analysis. Graphs are automatically generated to track and view data collected

Resource Positive Envelope Design

from the last hour, day, week, month, 3 months, 6 months, year, and so on. LEAK DETECTION The ability to monitor specific parameters such as relative humidity and moisture content on a continuous basis enables wireless monitoring to detect and report unintended water ingress through the building envelope, leaks through a building roof, and leaks from pipes and liquid containers. The monitoring system can alert a responsible party upon early detection of a leak. Typical applications include exterior and interior wall assemblies, pipe chases in hi-rise towers, attic and crawl spaces, mechanical rooms, electrical vaults, etc. By alerting the building owner or facility manager in a timely manner, steps can be taken to determine the cause of a leak and plan for appropriate remedial action before it can develop into more costly repairs. Water damage caused by a breach in a roofing assembly can be devastating. Such roof leaks may not get detected for weeks, even months. It is possible for water to migrate laterally between the roofing membrane and the roof structure before the water enters the building interior. Subsequently, a breach in the roofing can be very difficult to locate, especially beneath the overburden on green roofs. Wireless monitoring of roofing assemblies offers a solution to detect leaks in a timely manner. Continuous monitoring of the roofing assembly can detect in near-

Resource Positive Envelope Design

real time when a roof leak has occurred, send an alert to a responsible party that a leak has occurred, and provide the location of the breach in the roofing. Current methods for assessing the performance of a roofing assembly include on-site inspections, infrared thermography scans, and electric field vector mapping ("EFVM"). For on-site inspections, a qualified roofing inspector assesses the condition of a roofing assembly and predicts the remaining life expectancy of the roofing membrane. An infrared thermography scan attempts to detect whether moisture exists beneath a roofing membrane. EFVM is capable of locating the breach in a roofing membrane but only after a leak into the building interior has occurred. These methods do not typically provide early detection of a roof leak and requires a qualified inspector or technician to visit the site. Wireless monitoring offers a solution to address two separate needs in the roofing industry. Installation of a permanent monitoring system for the whole roof provides the facility manager an ability to monitor the entire roof area for the service life of the new roofing. Installation of a temporary monitoring system for overnight tie-offs provides the roofing contractor an ability to monitor the temporary seal they make along the edges of the new roofing at the end of each day. Leaks at such tie-offs are a significant source of claims against roofing warranties. The temporary monitoring system is reusable and can be re-located to a new tie-off at the end of each day.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

WIRELESS MONITORING AND BUILDING MAINTENANCE Building owners can protect their investment against costly repairs caused by premature failure of the building envelope and by unexpected water leaks from mechanical and plumbing systems. Specifically, the huge financial cost of repairing failed building envelopes in the wet coastal climate of British Columbia has been well documented over the past two decades. Regular maintenance of the building envelope helps ensure its proper performance. Wireless monitoring of the building envelope complements a diligent building maintenance program. A monitored building can help reduce the cost of maintenance by identifying when and where attention is needed before a problem can develop into a costly repair. Facility managers retain professional engineers to perform reviews of the building envelope to identify potential areas of concern. Monitoring the building envelope makes it possible for early detection of building envelope problems. Wireless monitoring is not intended to replace a review by professionals but rather supplement the review performed by the professional. WIRELESS MONITORING AND THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY Monitoring building envelopes can identify deficiencies that may have resulted in unintended water

Resource Positive Envelope Design

ingress. It is conceivable for a leak through a failed building envelope to enter the wall cavity but remain undetected for long periods, especially if moisture does not migrate into the building interior. Home Warranty policies offered in selected jurisdictions include coverage for repairs to building envelope deficiencies and for subsequent moisture related damage. However, if a deficiency is not detected in a timely manner, and a written claim is not submitted within the warranty period, the claim may be denied. Wireless sensors embedded in strategic locations at the exterior walls can detect moisture that may otherwise remain undetected. Early detection of unexpected levels of moisture and/or humidity within a wall assembly will alert the building owner. The insurance industry also benefits from early detection of building envelope deficiencies because the potential cost of repair for resultant moisture damage can be reduced. As wireless monitoring of building components becomes accepted as standard practice, insurance providers will recognize its cost-effective advantages in underwriting risk management. Insurance companies may be able to add value to their products by offering engineering condition assessments supplemented by specialized wireless monitoring systems as part of their commercial/residential policy packages.

Resource Positive Envelope Design T H E

A U T H O R

Brian Lee, P.Eng. is a professional engineer with thirty-two years' experience, trained in structural engineering and building science engineering. His interests include research and experimentation in technologies to monitor building envelope performance. Mr. Lee's experience includes investigation, analysis, and remediation of building envelope failures located within the coastal climate of British Columbia.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Douglas MacLeod

Our Buildings Can Save the Planet Our buildings can save the planetbecause green buildings are the best means of addressing global warming, reducing energy usage and creating a healthier and safer environment. THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM The heating and cooling of buildings accounts for about a third of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total greenhouse gas emissions. When the carbon emitted in the manufacture of building materials and the transportation of those materials is included, this figure rises to almost one half. The manufacture of concrete alone produces some 7% of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total greenhouse gas emissions. When all of the energy costs of a building are combined, buildings have the dubious distinction of being both the largest consumers of energy and the largest emitters of greenhouse gases of any sector (Mazria, 2002).

Resource Positive Envelope Design

There is no question that the economic and environmental impact of designing and constructing better buildings would be enormous. The Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University has calculated that if all buildings were designed to the most efficient energy standards then it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 billion tons each year. This is roughly equivalent to the amount of greenhouse gases produced by 800 onegigawatt coal power plants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; plants which cost well over $1 billion to construct (Talbot, 2006). RESOURCE POSITIVE ARCHITECTURE We can now produce net zero buildings that produce as much energy as they consume, but the next generation of green buildings must do more than that. As architect William McDonough asserts, being less bad is not good enough â&#x20AC;&#x201C; particularly when architects and engineers now have the means to remediate and repair the damage we have done to the environment. This is the promise of regenerative or resource positive architecture. Resource positive buildings generate more energy than they consume; sequester more carbon than they emit; purify more water than they contaminate; and recycle more than the waste they make. Regenerative or Resource Positive Design is the most effective, fastest, most equitable and least expensive means of combating global warming

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Resource positive architecture, however, demands a sea change in the way we think about our buildings and our communities. In essence each home, each building and each neighbourhood will manage its own resources and live within those resources. At the same the inhabitants of those homes, buildings and neighbourhoods will own those resources and be free to share or sell them. Using the example of water processing, Andrew Benedek, the founder of Zenon Environmental Inc. whose membrane filtration systems earned him the first the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize in 2008 Water Prize, compared this change to the one that occurred in computerization. Originally mainframe computers were sequestered in separate rooms, attended by their own cadre of acolytes, and computing jobs were submitted to these facilities for processing. Today computers are everywhere and computing power is controlled by anyone with a desktop, laptop or tablet to be used whenever they need it. We need to adopt a similar model for our buildings. Energy is everywhere and it should be controlled by building owners whenever they need it. In this approach, all of the things you do become part of your â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;architecture.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Your electric car, for example, becomes part of your house â&#x20AC;&#x201C; recharging its batteries when the house is generating energy and storing that energy for the house when it is not generating energy. In this approach rainwater is stored for irrigation and grey water is filtered and re-used. In this approach green roofs and walls grow food for their inhabitants and cash crops for the market. In this

Resource Positive Envelope Design

approach there is no such thing as garbage. Everything is re-used or re-cycled. ACHIEVING RESOURCE POSITIVE All of the components for moving beyond net zero into a resource positive state already exist and some of them are dead simple. André Potvin of l’Université Laval has estimated that the performance of a building depends on its architecture (25%), its systems (50%) and a remaining 25% that is essentially due to the behaviour of the occupants. Occupants interact constantly with both the architecture (opening and closing shades, windows and doors) and its systems (changing thermostats and turning lights on and off) and their impact has always been underestimated. In fact, behavioural studies have shown that consumers will reduce their energy consumption by as much as 12% (Wood & Newborough, 2003) when provided with monitoring and metering systems that clearly and effectively communicate energy usage. 7 PILLARS OF POSITIVE Including metering and monitoring, there are seven ways to incrementally tip the balance from resource negative to resource positive. As the table below suggests, each of them can be used to make a modest reduction of from 10 to 20% of our energy consumption but taken together they could move our buildings into energy production.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Approach 1. Metering and Monitoring 2. Passive Solar Design 3. Change our Behaviours 4. Energy Efficient Lighting 5. Energy Smart Appliances 6. Better Insulation 7. Alternative Energy Systems Total Savings

Savings 10% 15% 15% 10% 20% 15% 20% 105%

With a total savings of 105%, a building would be able to feed its excess energy into the grid. Each of these approaches is described in more detail below. 1. Metering and Monitoring While the benefits of metering and monitoring were referenced above, it must be noted that reliable performance data on green buildings is sadly lacking. The actual performance of a green building is often less than half of its predicted performance. We desperately need an ongoing stream of data collected in a consistent manner that will allow researchers to analyse and compare what works and what doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work. 2. Passive Solar Design Significant savings can also be attained simply by orientating a building in accordance with the sun, and providing it with shade through overhangs or trees. If this is done during the design phase then it neednâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add any

Resource Positive Envelope Design

costs to the overall construction of the building. Moreover, new technologies, like light guides, can capture and concentrate natural light and bounce it 100 feet inside a building - with a 25% saving in lighting power bills. 3. Change our Behaviours Still More In addition to metering and monitoring, changing our behaviours by a further 15% is both feasible and an ongoing cost savings to the consumer. Adjusting the thermostat, unplugging appliances when not in use, and keeping the air conditioner off would all make a difference. 4. Energy Efficient Lighting While compact fluorescent bulbs are a good substitute for incandescent ones, LED bulbs provide the next level of energy efficiency in lighting. With a very short payback time, using these new types of bulbs saves consumers money. 5. Energy Smart Appliances Our appliances are energy hogs and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re getting worse. Office equipment and home electronics are being designed with no concern for their energy usage. Sustainable Development Technology Canada Corporation has estimated that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Between 1990 and 2004, the auxiliary equipment load rose by about 105%, and in 1999 surpassed lighting as the second-largest load in commercial buildings (SDTC, 2007).â&#x20AC;? What we need are appliances and electronic devices designed for low energy usage with

Resource Positive Envelope Design

unambiguous rating systems that clearly identify products which are energy efficient. 6. Better Insulation Well-insulated buildings can dramatically reduce the need for mechanical heating and cooling. Taking this approach to extremes, the German Passiv Haus has neither an air conditioner nor a furnace, instead it uses the mass of the building to moderate its interior temperature. 7. Alternative Energy Sources Once all of these other measures are in place, the rest of a buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy needs can easily be met (and surpassed) with solar, wind and geothermal energy sources installed on the building or in the community. Excess energy can be stored for future use or sold to the grid, thereby generating income for the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inhabitants. DUMB IS BETTER THAN SMART These seven steps to resource positive emphasize that simple measures have a far greater impact than complicated ones. Again and again, over the last few decades, proponents have advanced the idea of smart buildings, smart homes and smart appliances, and again and again, these ideas have failed. Instead we need to allow people to act intelligently. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need elaborate sensors to turn off lights based on motion, or to adjust the temperature based on identity badges, we simply need to ensure that the windows are easy to open, that anyone can

Resource Positive Envelope Design

change the thermostat, and that the light switches are located where people can turn them on and off. This is why the smart grid is also destined to fail. By adding successive layers of complexity and cost to our energy system we exclude ordinary people from playing an active role in their energy future. The Internet, in contrast, is extraordinarily dumb. It simply moves bits from one place to another, but this has allowed people to innovate in a manner undreamed of by its inventors. Today anyone can send or receive a wide variety of user generated content. A dumb energy grid would simply move energy from place to place, allowing people to send it or receive it, but ideally it would also empower innovators to create new energy applications and services. BEYOND ENERGY EFFICIENCY Energy efficiency in the operation of buildings is only part of the challenge of resource positive design. We have not addressed the whole problem if we only make net zero buildings. The careful choice of materials, for example, can not only reduce the overall carbon footprint of a building, but make it safer at the same time. In this context, it is difficult to understand how a building made largely of concrete can be described as green when the manufacture of that concrete generates so much carbon dioxide. Wood, on the other hand, sequesters carbon and is one of the only building materials that absorbs greenhouse gases as it is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;manufactured.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; A large wooden building sequesters enough carbon that its carbon

Resource Positive Envelope Design

credits could be sold under existing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cap and tradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; systems. More serious is the fact that we are in daily contact with the toxic chemicals embedded in our building materials. An older house may contain up to 225 kilograms of lead (La Rose, 2011). In many ways, it is extraordinary that we have allowed such a dangerous situation to persist for some long when there are alternatives. Not only must we eliminate toxic materials from our buildings, but we can also use natural and native vegetation to draw toxins from the surrounding soil and water. The real potential of regenerative design lies in creating and selecting materials that make us healthier. A QUADRUPLE BOTTOM LINE The complexity and magnitude of creating better buildings, demands a comprehensive approach and this too suggests the idea of a resource positive architecture as an interdisciplinary means of addressing a global problem. Some have already advanced the idea of a Triple E Bottom Line method for evaluating future projects. The Triple E includes a consideration of the Environment, Economics and Equity or alternatively Planet, Profits and People. This is a good start, but it is neither complete nor specific enough. Resource positive buildings regenerate the environment; they generate income for their inhabitants not large corporations; and by doing so they help to make housing affordable for ordinary people.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

This economic regeneration is critical. Every month homeowners pay hundreds of dollars in utility fees â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in effect adding a second mortgage to housing which is already too expensive. As noted above, through resource positive architecture, people not only manage their energy resources, they own them as well. Excess energy generated by the house becomes income for the homeowner. This makes housing more affordable for those entering the market, and makes it economically feasible for an ageing population to stay in their homes longer. At the same time, there is no disputing that resource positive buildings are more expensive to build than energy inefficient ones. Developers, contractors and homebuyers often balk at the additional costs and green measures are often the first to go when cost cutting occurs. Yet ESCOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, or Energy Service Companies, have already provided a model to address this issue. Instead of wasting billions of dollars in fruitless and failed endeavours such as carbon sequestering, governments should act as national ESCOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and work in partnership with homeowners to purchase energy efficient elements (such as solar panels) and thereby remove them from the cost of the rest of the building. By sharing the energy savings between the government and the homeowner, it would be possible to pay back the original investment while still realizing some of the economic benefits of generating your own energy. Moreover, at the end of the payback period, the assets would belong to the homeowner, as would the revenue stream.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

We also need to add another E to the Triple Bottom Line – that of Experience. We need to make living in a resource positive building a compelling and even irresistible experience. As architect Servag Pogharian (Pogharian, 2010) has pointed out, nobody asks what the payback period is on a sports car, yacht or piece of jewelry. This is precisely why architecture and design are critically important to whole idea of being resource positive. There is no doubt that solar panels as they are currently designed are butt ugly, but there is also no reason why a good designer couldn’t transform them into objects of beauty - as the company Aerotecture has done for building-based wind turbines. Properly promoted, the additional costs of a resource positive building would be considered part of the price one is willing to pay for the experience of living in one. ANCILLARY BENEFITS In 2011, construction is expected to be a $7.5 US trillion industry or roughly 13.4% of the world’s economy. Global Construction Perspectives have estimated that by 2020 construction output will grow by 70% to $12.7 US trillion and represent 14.6% of the world’s economy (Global Construction Perspectives, 2011). These figures, however, only tell part of the story. There are trillions and trillions of dollars more invested in existing buildings. As energy efficiency increases in importance almost all of these buildings will need to retrofitted for improved performance. New construction and renovations repre-

Resource Positive Envelope Design

sents an enormous market potential for countries and regions that are perceived as leaders in green buildings. THE REAL COST OF BUILDINGS

Figure 1: Life Cycle Costs of a Building over 30 Years

Construction costs, however, are only the tip of the economic iceberg. In realizing the market potential of regenerative design, it is important to understand the various costs of a building over a period of thirty years. What is immediately obvious from this pie chart, is that the cost of salaries for the people who inhabit a building far outweighs any other expense and resource positive buildings may have their most dramatic economic impact in this area. As the Commission for Environmental Cooperation reports:

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Substantial research supports the health and productivity benefits of green features, such as daylighting, increased natural air ventilation and moisture reduction, and the use of lowemitting floor carpets, glues, paints and other interior finishes and furnishings. In the United States, the annual cost of building-related sickness is estimated to be at $58 billion. According to researchers, green building has the potential to generate an additional $200 billion annually in the United States in worker performance by creating offices with improved indoor air quality (CEC, 2008). Lockheed Martin has reported that simply by “daylighting” Building 157 in its sprawling Sunnyvale, California facility, it was able to save $500,000 per year in energy costs – and far more than that in reduced absenteeism and increased productivity (Thayer, 1995). In other words, regenerative design may also be the most costeffective means of improving the productivity of industrialized nations. At the same time, it is also important to emphasize the value of resource positive architecture in comparison to current approaches. According to the Asia Business Council, “In China, gaining a megawatt of electricity by building more generating capacity costs at least four times as much as saving a megawatt through greater efficiency – and that ignores the environmental costs of generating power using fossil fuels (Hong, Chiang, Shapiro & Clifford, 2007).”

Resource Positive Envelope Design

In other words, every dollar spent on regenerative buildings has a 4 times greater impact than a dollar spent on energy generation. CHALLENGES Yet despite the obvious economic and environmental advantages of regenerative design and resource positive architecture there are still serious challenges to the wide scale deployment of next generation green buildings. These include: 1. Reliable Performance Data As noted above, because of the scale and complexity of an average building, it is difficult to accurately assess and quantify both the performance of individual building components and entire buildings. In simple terms, we really donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what works and what doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. We need an international network of buildings to act as living labs that accurately gather, store and compare performance data in a coherent and consistent manner. 2. Implementation The AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industry can be resistant to change and to effectively design and construct green buildings demands significant changes to current approaches. Awareness, education and training must be a fundamental part of any regeneration

Resource Positive Envelope Design

program, but our building codes must also be updated to reflect this new approach. 3. Ownership Traditionally the organizations, such a developers and contractors, that construct buildings are not the same ones that operate them and for this reason there is little interest in increasing construction or capital costs to reduce costs. As suggested above, however, informed policies can address this challenge. 4. Research The lack of research in green buildings in general is the most serious challenge facing this field. Historically, the AEC industry is one of the poorest in terms of research and development investment, with less than 0.7% of total building permit value in 2006 re-invested in research. Moreover, according to the U.S. Green Building Council: ... research on green building constituted only about 0.2% (two-tenths of one percent) of all federally-funded research from 2002 to 2004 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an average of $193 million per year ... Levels of green building research pale in comparison to amounts being invested in other sectors, and green building research funding is fundamentally fragmented and thus not conducive to creating integrated solutions (USGBC, 2007).

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Yet despite these challenges, the advantages of a resource positive or regenerative architecture are clear. Not only can we dramatically reduce our energy consumption and our greenhouse gas emissions, but resource positive buildings can also improve the quality of life for ordinary people by making a built environment that is healthier, more productive and more affordable. Our buildings can not only save the planet they can make it a better place to live and work. References CEC (Commission for Environmental Cooperation. (2008). Green Building in North America. Montreal, QC: CEC. Global Construction Perspectives. (2011). Global Construction 2020. Retrieved from http:// www.globalconstruction2020.com on 3/10/11. Hong, W., Chiang, M., Shapiro, R. & Clifford, M. (2007). Building Energy Efficiency: Why Green Buildings Are Key to Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Future. Hong Kong: Asia Business Council. La Rose, L. (2011, March 7). How home reno jobs can be harmful to your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health. Globe and Mail, p. A5. Mazria, E. (2002). Architecture 2030. Retrieved from http:// architecture2030.org/the_problem/ buildings_problem_why retrieved on 3/10/11. Pogharian, S. (2010, October, 27). The Net Zero Energy Life in Canada. Presentation to the Cascadia Green Building Council, Kelowna, BC.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

SDTC (Sustainable Development Technology Canada). (2007). Commercial Buildings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Eco-Efficiency. Retrieved 23 October 2008 from http://www.sdtc.ca/en/knowledge/business_case.htm. Talbot, D. (2006, July/August). The Un-Coal. Technology Review, 109(3), p. 55. Thayer, B. (1995, May/June). Daylighting & Productivity at Lockheed. Solar Today, pp. 26-29. USGBC (United States Green Building Council). (2007, November). A National Green Building Research Agenda. Wood, G. & M. Newborough. (2003). Dynamic Energy-consumption Indicators for Domestic Appliances: Environment, Behaviour and Design. Energy and Buildings, 35, pp. 821-41

T H E

A U T H O R

Douglas MacLeod is the Associate Dean of Science Technology and Health at Okanagan College. He is a registered architect in California, a contributing editor to Canadian Architect and the former Executive Director of the Canadian Design Research Network. He has degrees in both architecture and computer science, a Masters Degree in Environmental Design and is currently completing his doctorate also in Environmental Design.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane

Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation The main purpose of the Okanagan College Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation (COE) is to educate students in the design, installation and maintenance of sustainable green building technologies. To achieve this goal the COE, as a building, will lead by example, being at the forefront of sustainable construction and creating an agent for progress in green building design in North America. The building targets the Living Building Challenge [1]: a new extreme benchmark for sustainable construction. The Challenge includes an all encompassing set of green requirements, including net-zero water use, net-zero energy, and locally sourced materials avoiding a red list of significant, widely used yet environmentally hazardous construction materials. This article considers

Resource Positive Envelope Design

specifically how the building envelope responds to the requirements of net-zero energy and material selection. HIGH PERFORMANCE ENVELOPE Although located in a semi-arid climate with an average annual temperature of 9째 C, the building still has a net heating load. Therefore a high performance building envelope is the first step to target net-zero energy. Insulation values of R28 and R40 are provided on the walls and roof respectively, and a maximum air leakage rate of 5m3/hr per m2 is required. Higher values for insulation in the walls and roof could have been targeted, but the design team chose to set realistic modelling targets that allowed for possible cold bridges and air leakage, and conserve the limited budget for use in more vulnerable areas where a greater return might be achieved. Doors are typically prone to poor air leakage and poor insulation values. Therefore the number of external doors in the COE is minimised, and reduced to single leaf whenever practical. All entrance doors have vestibules to reduce drafts and heat loss. Heat loss through the windows accounts for 50% of all heat loss through the external envelope of the COE. [2] To help offset some of this heat loss, all windows and curtain walling will use argon-filled triple-glazing. While the heavily articulated building form increases the area of external envelope and hence heat loss; it also allows the building to capture winter solar gain, daylight, and natural ventilation with a net benefit

Resource Positive Envelope Design

to the overall energy equation. The south orientation of the glazed entrance wing and some of the classrooms allows low level winter solar gain to be captured, reducing the heating loads on the building. Summer solar gain is shaded by large overhanging roofs and brise soleil. The capture of daylight and natural ventilation reduces lighting and ventilation requirements and hence further reduces the energy demands of the building. High ceilings and tall windows are used to maximise light penetration into offices and classrooms. North and south-facing windows are typically used, with only small punctured windows facing west where necessary to bring light into darker corners. The west light is problematic for afternoon summertime solar heat gain and wintertime glare, while south-facing glazing is more easily controlled with the use of conventional brise soleil. Internal high-level light shelves are also used to bounce south light deep into the plan. High level clerestory windows are used to throw light into the larger volumes of the gymnasium and workshops. All occupied work spaces within the building are within 9 m of a window offering daylight, views and natural ventilation. Where natural illumination is not easily achieved, light-pipes are incorporated to bring light deep into these spaces. Further to this, some areas use a prototype system, developed by the University of British Columbia, that actively tracks and collects sunlight and ducts it horizontally into the deep plan spaces. Typically, single aspect opening windows provide

Resource Positive Envelope Design

natural ventilation to a depth of 6 m into any space, before the air starts to warm and rise above head height. This is improved by the articulated plan increasing the penetration of natural ventilation further into the building. This works well in combination with the radiant heating/cooling within the floor slabs, as the chilled slab keeps the incoming fresh air cooler and close to the floor, penetrating further into the building before rising. A series of five 14 m high ventilation chimneys along the spine of the building are designed to boost the natural ventilation and draw fresh, external air deeper into the building plan. These chimneys will utilise the natural stack effect of warm buoyant air to draw air through the building, creating an estimated natural flow rate of 1000 l/s per chimney at peak conditions. Optimal periods for the solar chimneys are shoulder seasons (spring and fall) and in the morning and late afternoon during the summer. When outdoor temperature exceeds the chimney temperature the ventilation will be mechanically assisted. This ventilation is made possible by the orientation of the chimneys to the prevailing south-north winds, and by the use of glazed panels above the roof level to utilise solar gain to heat the rising air. At peak summer month conditions the glazed panels alone will increase chimney air flow rate by as much as 100%. When winter temperatures and peak summer temperatures make it inefficient to use un-tempered air for natural ventilation, the building will operate in

Resource Positive Envelope Design

closed mode. In order to maintain simple operating systems and reduce costs, all windows are manually operated. Thus closed mode will indicated to the building occupants by simple red/green lights throughout, as has been successfully used elsewhere. This system in turn will make the users of the building part of the control system for the building envelop and further assist in the goal of the COE as an agent for change. TIMBER CONSTRUCTION British Columbia (BC) is currently facing a major pine beetle epidemic. This small beetle, spreading unchecked due to milder winters, attacks pine trees and kills them by introducing a fungal infection, leaving vast areas of red forest. After two-three years the needles drop and the trees turn grey. In this grey-attack stage the structural value of the lumber significantly reduces. If left un-harvested, the beetle killed forests will eventually burn, releasing the carbon that has been sequestered over decades back into the atmosphere. However, in most cases this wood is not FSC certified. It is estimated 14.5 million hectares in BC are either red or grey stage infected; in some areas over 80% of all pines are beetle killed. [3] So in addition to the widespread environmental havoc this infestation has wreaked, many small BC communities are facing serious economic hardship in coming years. It was therefore clear from the outset that this building needs to respond to the social and environmental factors of the immediate

Resource Positive Envelope Design

availability of large volumes of non-FSC lumber from beetle kill forests. The project design team has established with the ILBI acceptable parameters for the use of wood harvested from beetle killed forests. Once it was decided to incorporate a timberframed construction, BC Building Code requirements, and the proximity of the Penticton airport navigation beacon, dictated that the building be no more than two storeys in height. The decision to use wood construction resulted in a relative low embodied carbon footprint, calculated at 1770 Tonnes compared to 2235 Tonnes or 3360 Tonnes for an equivalent steel or concrete framed building respectively. [4] Within the gymnasium the sprung timber floor is not suitable for use with a radiant heating/cooling system in the floor slab beneath, as used elsewhere in the building. In heating mode the void beneath the timber floor would form a insulating layer above the radiant system, while in cooling mode the risk of interstitial condensation causing rot to occur within the sprung floor, is too great. Instead, an innovative system of composite wall panels was developed that combined a radiant heating/cooling system within a robust structural wall panel, that was highly efficient in the use of materials and reduced embodied carbon. A 75 mm thick reinforced concrete wall panel provides the thermal mass for a radiant heating/cooling system. The pex piping is cast, while pressurised, into the concrete panel under factory conditions, and upon delivery each panel is connected into the radiant heating/

Resource Positive Envelope Design

cooling supply system on site. The 3.6m wide and 7.9m high concrete panels are cast between 175x266mm glulam columns, with two additional 80x190mm glulam reinforcement columns on the rear face. The composite action between the concrete and wood elements reduces both the structural size of the glulams as well as the thickness of concrete, reducing the volume of materials used and subsequently lightening the weight on the foundation piles. The typical panel incorporates 2m3 of concrete and has an overall weight of 5Tonnes. An equivalent pre-cast concrete panel would be 185 mm thick and use 14 Tonnes of concrete, an increase of 280% in the overall weight. [5] This is believed to be the first use of a composite concrete/glulam system in North America, and may ultimately offer an efficient alternative to tilt-up or precast concrete construction that utilises significantly less concrete. CONCLUSION Most sustainable buildings influence their respective societies by example, within the constraints of their primary building purpose. One of the main purposes of the COE is to train the next generation of construction professionals in sustainable technologies and renewable energy. The building will therefore have direct impact on the wider construction industry throughout Canada for decades to come. The COE, currently nearing completion, is well

Resource Positive Envelope Design

poised to meet all elements of the LBC and is comparable in cost to a conventional building design in the Southern Interior of BC. This is perhaps the most significant result, that a building can be constructed to be fully sustainable without a significant cost premium. Further, the COE through itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; design will influence new sustainable design and construction, and the COE will create a learning and teaching environment that is both sustainable and synergistic The building envelop innovations, taken together, represent the potential to influence design throughout the Pacific Northwest region of Canada and the United States and demonstrate the ability to respond to a highly demanding set of challenging conditions. DESIGN TEAM Architect: CEI Architecture Planning Interiors Mechanical engineer: AME Group Engineers Electrical engineer: Applied Engineering Solutions Structural engineer: Fast + Epp Civil engineer: True Consulting Landscape architect: Site 360 Sustainability consultant: Recollective Consulting Quantity surveyor: Spiegel Skillen & Associates Construction manager: PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc

Resource Positive Envelope Design

NOTES 1. International Living Building Institute - www.ilbi.org 2. Stewart, H, 2009. “AME Consulting Group - COE Energy Model”. 3. Schrier, D, 2009. “BC Stats Environmental Statistics Giving Dead Wood New Life: Salvaging BC’s Beetlekilled Timber”. 4. BuildCarbonNeutral.org, 2007. “Construction Carbon Calculator”. 5. Epp, G, 2009. “Fast+Epp - COE Structural Design Development Report”.

Andrew Hay, PhD, P.Eng. is VP Education, Okanagan College, 1000 KLO Road, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, V1Y 4X8 Robert Parlane RIBA MRAIC is Project Manager, CEI Architecture Planning Interiors, 100-1060 Manhattan Drive, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada V1Y 9X9

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Trevor Butler

Earth Tubes The main cause of energy use in commercial buildings is associated with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and artificial lighting. Historically, thermal comfort and fresh air has been provided to buildings through the combustion of wood or fossil fuels (coal, oil) and through openable windows. The need for cooling has evolved through increased use of glass in the façade, electronic equipment and artificial lighting. Some studies, EEBD (2006), have also been carried out that show with improved building fabric (U-values, envelope) beyond a certain limit, there is potential for cooling loads to increase, whilst heating loads will decrease. This is due in part to the increase in electronic – heat giving – equipment, and a building envelope that does not allow the heat gained to leave. Whilst this is fine for heating conditions, the summertime experience has been that overheating is more likely to occur – therefore increased cooling from air conditioning is required to maintain comfort.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

It is against this backdrop, the author has been working to minimise energy requirements to maintain healthy and comfortable buildings. His interest in earth coupled systems began at Fulcrum in 1994 with the Milton Keynes Future World housing projects, and has grown from there. After having monitored a number of his installations from 1994 to the present date â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2011 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he is now in the process of investigating ideas to create a business to provide earth coupled systems for air-based earth coupled thermal systems for buildings. This project will seek to investigate the potential benefits and identify risks that will be required to see if energy efficient and healthy, comfortable buildings can be delivered using these systems. The subject of air-based earth coupled thermal systems have been researched and written about fairly extensively through industry and academia. The basic theory of air-based earth coupled thermal systems has been explored through the fluid dynamics of heat transfer as discussed by Welty et al (2000). In terms of industry application CIBSE (2004) has demonstrated a methodology for calculating the frictional characteristics of different types of pipework. The systems work by drawing fresh (outside air) into buried underground ducts. The temperature of the earth is prone to fewer variations in temperature to the outside air and as such temperature extremes associated with peak summer and winter can be moderated as the fresh air passes through the buried ducts.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

The volume of fresh air drawn through the ducts needs to be considered in two separate parameters: 1. Primary Fresh Air: the minimum fresh air requirements of 20 cubic feet per minute (cfm) per person, ASHRAE (1989) or 10 litres per second (l/s) according to Part F (2006) 2. Thermal cooling load: the pre-cooled air will meet all or part of the cooling loads of the building. The use of buried ducts for tempering fresh air supply has been used for centuries throughout the world. Some of the earliest are recorded in Persia, where they are named ‘badgeers’ and linked with ventilation chimneys to draw the air through. These are completely passive systems – which is obvious due to the time being pre-industrial revolution. In Germany, with the advent and growth in interest of Passivhaus, Adamson & Feist (1988), the use of earth tubes are required for providing tempered fresh air – mainly for wintertime.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Davis Marques

Building the Case for Core Sunlighting Core sunlighting is an approach to indoor lighting whereby direct sunlight is captured and concentrated at the perimeter of a building, then channeled to the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior core where it can be used as an effective work illuminant. As a class of lighting systems, it offers the potential to significantly reduce building energy use, green house gas emissions and the cost of indoor lighting, while increasing the quality of lighting, for a diverse range of climate zones and geographic locations. In the Asia Pacific region, rapidly growing energy demand is a source of significant future risk. Commercial and institutional buildings are among the largest consumers of electricity, with lighting accounting for a significant portion of that usage. In the United States, lighting is responsible for approximately 51% of total commercial building energy consumption. (U.S. Department of Energy, 2003, pg. 60) In Canada, it is the third largest end user of electricity following

Resource Positive Envelope Design

building and water heating. (Natural Resources Canada, 2009) Rising energy demand in this sector places an enormous strain on existing providers. HydroOne, an energy transmission company, reports that: â&#x20AC;?In Ontario, growth in peak electricity demand has outstripped increases in supply, to the extent that Ontario is experiencing situations when peak demand threatens to exceed the available supply of reliable, reasonably priced capacity. Exacerbating this problem is the need to replace or refurbish a significant fraction of the province's aging generating facilities over the next 5-15 years.â&#x20AC;? (HydroOne, 2003, pg. 1) The capacity of the market to increase demand far outstrips the ability of providers to source new sources of energy and respond to demand shocks. The 2003 power grid blackout of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States demonstrated how vulnerable the North American energy infrastructure has become. Reducing energy demand in commercial and institutional buildings can do much to increase the stability of the collective energy system while offsetting future risks. Using sunlight as the primary source of building illumination provides a number of distinct advantages. First, the demand for electricity has a strong correspondence with standard work hours and the availability of daylight: demand is lowest in the early morning hours, greatest through the day, then drops rapidly after dinner and remains low through the night. Using sunlight instead of electricity for lighting in commercial and institutional buildings reduces both the

Resource Positive Envelope Design

total annual demand and the peak electric load precisely at those times of day when most people are working, electricity use is greatest, and the cost of producing that electricity is highest. Second, using sunlight as an illuminant is nearly 100% efficient. Unlike other sources of energy, which must be converted from potential energy, into electricity, and then into light, sunlight requires no conversion. As such, there are no conversion losses, few transmission losses, and a significant percentage of the energy that is captured arrives at the work surface as useful illumination. Third, using sunlight as a direct illuminant reduces operational externalities over conventional electric lighting. Recent events have brought attention to the fact that much of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x161;Ă&#x201E;Ă´s oil supply is located in politically unstable regions. Some Asia Pacific countries, such as Korea, are particularly dependent upon foreign oil for domestic energy production. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2006) The converging, interrelated problems of dwindling world oil reserves, increasing energy use, climate change, and political volatility in oil producing regions impede reliable access to energy and introduce instability in the energy markets. Similarly, domestic energy systems are increasingly strained to deal with extreme weather and demand shocks. Business competitiveness is increasingly based on an ability to provide predictable, stable service. When energy prices rise dramatically or infrastructure fails, businesses are impacted, and the social and economic fallout can be catastrophic. Though the weather itself

Resource Positive Envelope Design

varies, the sun is ever consistent. If the power systems fail, core sunlighting can remain wholly or partially operational during the most energy intensive periods of the day, reducing operational risk for property owners and passively increasing the resilience of the network. Fourth, core sunlighting is feasible for buildings located in a diverse range of climate zones and geographic locations. For example, Southern Ontario, where both population and industry are the most dense in Canada, â&#x20AC;?has a greater solar potential than leading regions in Germany, France and China and an even better summer solar resource than Miami, Florida,â&#x20AC;? despite its northern location. (TRRA, 2009, pg. 8) Densely populated Asia Pacific nations such as India, Korea, the United States and Australia are located in areas of equivalent or greater solar potential. Finally, human physiology is attuned to the properties of daylight and, as such, daylight is the benchmark against which all other lighting sources are compared. Commercial and institutional buildings around the world are illuminated principally with fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent bulbs exhibit an uneven spectral distribution that can giving objects a distinct pink, green or yellow tint depending on the particular lamp in question. The inability to distinguish colours can be a detriment to effective work in office environments, an impediment to sales in retail spaces, and a hazard in health care settings. Solar lighting technologies have been in research or commercial production for some time now, though

Resource Positive Envelope Design

few have seen widespread adoption. Historically, limitations of early solar lighting systems, inexpensive electricity, and risk aversion within construction, real estate and client organizations have impeded market adoption. However, increasing concerns about our energy infrastructure and growing green house gas emissions are creating pressures on property owners to adopt more energy efficient lighting technologies. Simultaneously, new core sunlighting technologies are appearing in the market that address limitations of prior technologies, and promise to make this class of lighting both increasingly cost effective and more attractive than conventional lighting. One such system is known as the â&#x20AC;?solar canopyâ&#x20AC;?. The solar canopy was developed by the Structured Surface Physics Lab (SSPL) at the University of British Columbia. It comprises two major components: a concentrator that is mounted on south facing building facades to collect sunlight, and a light guide that directs sunlight from the concentrator into the interior spaces of a building. An array of mirrors mounted in the concentrator tracks the movement of the sun through the sky to optimize the amount of available light in the system, then focuses that light into a narrow beam that is directed into the light guide. The light guide is lined with a special reflective film to maximize the distance light can be channeled into the building. Light bounces through the guideway, deep into the building space. Openings in the light guide allow light to escape wherever illumination is required. Sensors spaced regularly along

Resource Positive Envelope Design

the length of the light guide measure the amount of sunlight reaching the interior. Whenever the amount of sunlight drops below a particular threshold, supplementary electric lights inside the guideway turn on to compensate. The current system design is able to convey sunlight up to 60‚Äô (18.28m) into the interior core of a building. The system can be accommodated easily within the space of a conventional suspended ceiling structure, such that, from the occupant‚Äôs perspective, there is no difference between a traditional office ceiling with electric lighting and one with core sunlighting. Funding from Sustainable Technologies Development Canada (STDC) enabled SSPL to conduct field testing of the solar canopy at two sites in Vancouver, Canada. Initial studies have validated the feasibility of the technology for delivering interior illumination in commercial office spaces, and have shown that within particular latitudes: ”the solar canopy has the potential to reduce energy for standard commercial building lighting by at least 25%, replace electric lighting 75% of the time each day that the sun shines within six core daylight hours, reduce peak electrical power demand when it is needed (that is, midday on sunny days) and provide high quality illumination with excellent colour rendering properties. As a result of the energy savings, the implementation of this technology will result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.” (Whitehead, 2010, pg. 1)

Resource Positive Envelope Design

The success of this early research led to the commercialization of the system through a spin-off company called SunCentral Incorporated. Despite the growing enthusiasm for the solar canopy and other products like it, significant knowledge gaps, education, regulatory and market development challenges remain. For example, core sunlighting systems introduce openings and voids in the building perimeter walls, ceiling spaces, and interior architectural elements. The impact of these openings on heat transfer, moisture accumulation, sound transmission, and fire safety in building assemblies has yet to be examined in detail, for different climate conditions. There have been no third party, comparative analyses of performance and total life-cycle costs for core sunlighting systems against each other, nor against conventional electric lighting. Architects, contractors and building owners may be reticent to adopt core sunlighting without detailed examinations of the potential impact of these systems on the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x161;Ă&#x201E;Ă´s longevity, an assessment of long term operational risks, and data to quantify the relative economic benefits of core sunlighting. Putting core sunlighting to use on a broad scale will entail educating design professionals, training builders and secondary service providers about the optics, construction and operation of these systems. Software tools will need to be developed to design, analyze and maintain economical lighting designs. New legislation and supporting standards will need to be created to govern the design

Resource Positive Envelope Design

and implementation of core sunlighting in different regions, and to maximize the social and economic benefits. Though partial, the challenges enumerated are beyond the ability of individual companies or research groups to address. Recognizing this, SSPL together with the California Lighting Technology Centre (CLTC) at the University of California at Davis, the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the University of California at Merced, and the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University have formed a collaboration called Core Sunlighting Solutions (CSS). With funding from a Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP) grant awarded to SSPL and CLTC, the Core Sunlighting Solutions group will develop a multi-year business plan aimed at moving core sunlighting from research and development into the broader market. That process was initiated in 2010 with a series of meetings that brought together leading industry and academic figures to assess the state of the art and impediments to commercialization. From those meetings, the group adopted the following strategic vision: â&#x20AC;?By 2030, in most commercial buildings in major cities in the world, electric lights are turned off and buildings are illuminated with sunlight whenever the sun shines, substantially reducing energy consumption and dramatically improving lighting quality since most people prefer daylight to electric lights.â&#x20AC;? (CLTC, 2010) An international association is being formed to bring together academic, industry and government

Resource Positive Envelope Design

organizations to help realize this vision. Academic and industry experts will be invited to take on research and leadership roles within the organization. Simultaneously, the group is working to identify sites across the Asia Pacific region where demonstration installations of the solar canopy and other core sunlighting technologies can be installed. These countries are home to some of the most rapidly growing economies and populations in the world. Core sunlighting offers the rare opportunity to make use of an abundant resource that can improve efficiency, economic competitiveness, stability and quality of life for the citizens of those nations. REFERENCES California Lighting Technologies Center. (2010). Core Sunlighting Strategies Workshop. Retrieved from http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/content/view/622/378/ on March 24, 2011. HydroOne. (2003). ”Electricity Demand in Ontario.” Retrieved from http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca/ documents/directive_dsm_HydroOne211103.pdf March 14, 2011. Natural Resources Canada, Office of Energy Efficiency. (2009). ”Commercial/Institutional Secondary Energy Use by Energy Source, End-Use and Activity Type (2004-2008).” Retrieved from http:// oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/ tableshandbook2/on March 20, 2011.

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Toronto Regional Research Alliance. (September, 2009). “Solar Energy in the Toronto Region.” Retrieved from http://www.trra.ca/en/sectors/resources/ SolarEnergyintheToronto RegionDec2009.pdf on March 14, 2011. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Building Technologies Program. (September, 2002). “U.S. Lighting Market Characterization. Volume I: National Lighting Inventory and Energy Consumption Estimate.” Retrieved from http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/ buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/lmc_vol1_final.pdf on March 14, 2011. U.S. Department of Energy. (2003). Building Energy Data Book. Retrieved from http:// buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/docs/1.2.3.pdf on March 20, 2011. U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2006). International Energy Annual (IEA) - Long-Term Historial International Energy Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.eia.doe.gov/iea/ on March 14, 2011. Whitehead, L., Upward, A., Friedel, P., Cox, G. & Mossman, M. (2010). Using Core Sunlighting to Improve Illumination Quality and Increase Energy Efficiency of Commercial Buildings. In proceedings of the ASME 4th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

Published by the Okanagan Institute in association with Okanagan College www.okanaganinstitute.com Paperback ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-1-9 Ebook ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-2-6

Okanagan Institute

Resource Positive Envelope Design

The most powerful legacy of the Resource Positive Envelope Design project may be the network of connections and partnerships that were built around the world.

Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Published by the Okanagan Institute in association with Okanagan College www.okanaganinstitute.com Paperback ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-1-9 Ebook ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-2-6

Okanagan Institute

Resource Positive Envelope Design

The most powerful legacy of the Resource Positive Envelope Design project may be the network of connections and partnerships that were built around the world.

Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Explorations in Architectural Innovation