Code Compliance for Advanced Homes – Meeting Code with Fewer Gizmos

Code Compliance for Advanced Homes

"Meeting Code with Fewer Gizmos"

A presentation and discussion with

Paul Dowsett, Architect

Meeting Code Without the Gizmos First: Why? Next: How?

Sustainable Design: Using passive strategies that minimize the design’s impact on the environment.

Sustainable Design: Using an intelligent combination of passive and active strategies that minimize the design’s impact on the environment. It’s as easy as using the site to its full potential, choosing the right materials, and knowing how to put them together properly based on how you arrange the project.

Why is Sustainable Design Important?

The way many buildings are built and how they function has been reported to consume more energy, resources and greenhouse gases than anything else on the planet.

Why is Sustainable Design Important?

The way many buildings are built and how they function currently consumes more energy, resources, and greenhouse gases than anything else on the planet. Building responsibly does not necessarily entail expensive gizmos; rather, it is a matter of good planning.

Grey-water recycling “technology”

The 3 Step Approach: A simple strategy to maximize performance and minimize cost and environmental impact is to:

The 3 Step Approach: A simple strategy to maximize performance and minimize cost and environmental impact is to: 1. Reduce energy demands through intelligent design choices; taking advantage of the free resources

nature has to offer: sunlight for heat and daylighting, rainwater for irrigation, and breezes for cooling ventilation



2. Implement renewable resources to cover the greatest possible extend of remaining energy demands.



2. Implement renewable resources to cover the greatest possible extend of remaining energy demands. 3. Use fossil fuels as efficiently as possible to supply any remaining energy demand



2. Implement renewable resources to cover the greatest possible extend of remaining energy demands. 3. Use fossil fuels as efficiently as possible to supply the remaining energy demand

This approach results in a design that will appeal to owners and tenants who are conscious of both their impact on the global environment, their personal environment, as well as the impact on their wallets.

CommonlyKnown As…

The Trias Energetica Model of Energy Sustainability

What about the building code? The OBC’s Supplementary Standard SB-12, Energy Efficiency of Housing, is actually quite progressive

What about the building code? The OBC’s Supplementary Standard SB-12, Energy Efficiency of Housing, is actually quite progressive Three Ways to Comply

What about the building code? The OBC’s Supplementary Standard SB-12, Energy Efficiency of Housing, is actually quite progressive Three Ways to Comply 1. Prescriptive Compliance Package- Traditional requirements, but more

stringent. eg Ceiling with Attic Space must have a minimum R-Value of 50.

What about the building code? The OBC’s Supplementary Standard SB-12, Energy Efficiency of Housing, is actually quite progressive Three Ways to Comply 1. Prescriptive Compliance Package 2. Energy Star Compliance- Building must be in compliance with technical

requirements of NRCan, “Energy Star for New Homes: Technical Specifications-Ontario”

What about the building code? The OBC’s Supplementary Standard SB-12, Energy Efficiency of Housing, is actually quite progressive Three Ways to Comply 1. Prescriptive Compliance Package 2. Energy Star Compliance 3. Performance Compliance- Using energy modeling to simulate that the

proposed building’s energy use is not greater than the usage of a Prescriptive Compliance Package home.

What about the building code? The prescriptive pathway to compliance demands intelligent levels of insulation, high performance glazing, and efficient mechanical equipment. All of this is good, but…

What about the building code? The prescriptive pathway to compliance demands intelligent levels of insulation, high performance glazing, and efficient mechanical equipment. All of this is good, but… The real opportunity for implementing the 3 Step Approach in SB-12 lies in the Performance Pathway.

What about the building code? The prescriptive pathway to compliance demands intelligent levels of insulation, high performance glazing, and efficient mechanical equipment. All of this is good, but… The real opportunity for implementing the 3 Step Approach in SB-12 lies in the Performance Pathway. Because The Performance Pathway permits consideration of both active and passive factors, excellent energy performance can be achieved without expensive technologies.

What about the building code? At SUSTAINABLE.TO, we use energy modeling both for code compliance, as well as a design tool. REM/Rate- S.TO is using REM/Rate in order to obtain Home Energy Rating System (HERS) ratings for its houses. HERS provides a numerical index, generally between 0 and 150, to represent the home’s energy performance. The lower the better, a HERS index of 60 or lower will easily achieve SB-12 code compliance. S.TO’s homes are scoring between 40 and 45 on the HERS scale.

What about the building code? In our office, we use energy modeling both for code compliance, as well as a design tool. REM/Rate- SUSTAINABLE.TO is using REM/Rate in order to obtain Home Energy Rating System (HERS) ratings for its houses. HERS provides a numerical index, generally between 0 and 150, to represent the home’s energy performance. The lower the better, a HERS index of 60 or lower will easily achieve code compliance. S.TO’s homes are scoring between 40 and 45 on the HERS scale. eQuest- SUSTAINABLE.TO also uses eQuest, a US Department of Energy software, for internal design assistance. eQuest is an advanced platform that allows us to analyze “parametric runs” of our houses. This means that we can quickly and efficiently gain a quantitative picture of the energy effect of say, replacing an old baseboard system with hydronic, radiant floor heating inside a thermal mass topping.

Basic Design • A smart building has a simple footprint, which reduces the overall building envelope

Basic Design • A smart building has a simple footprint, which reduces the overall building envelope • The less exposure the building has to the elements, the less likely it is to fail, and the

more efficient it is at preventing unwanted heat transfer

Basic Design • A smart building has a simple footprint, which reduces the overall building envelope • The less exposure the building has to the elements, the less likely it is to fail • From a building code perspective, simple structures minimize heat gain in the summer

and heat loss in the winter, resulting in increased performance

SUSTAINABLE.TO Willowdale Passive Solar House

Passive Strategies • A building is meant to provide a comfortable environment for its inhabitants throughout

the seasons.


the seasons. • Therefore the building must be heated in the winter, cooled in the summer and well lit all

year round.


the seasons. • Therefore the building must be heated in the winter, cooled in the summer and well lit all

year round. • Properly designed buildings can provide the lion’s share all of these things by harnessing

nature’s energy.

S.TO’s Off-grid, straw bale, passive solar house

Passive Heating

Solar Heating Thermal Mass Radiation

S.TO’s Off-grid, straw bale, passive solar house

S.TO’s Affordable, New Orleans passive solar house

Passive Ventilation Shading

Passive Cooling



Diligent Construction

• Once the design and material choices are made, everything must be assembled properly. The building envelope must be airtight to ensure that the design will be as efficient as possible.


• Once the design and material choices are made everything must be assembled properly. The building envelope must be airtight to ensure that the design will be as efficient as possible.

• As important as the well known R-Value of a wall, the less discussed “Assembly Effects” such as thermal bridges, thermal mass, and air movement, must be considered and managed effectively.


• Excellent airtightness and optimization of Assembly Effects are both major components of Performance Pathway Compliance.

Sustainable Results by sustainable.TO

Daniel’s Residence Sustainable Housing



Willowdale Passive Solar House Sustainable Housing

Sustainable Housing Willowdale Passive Solar House

Hunter House Sustainable Housing

Hunter House Sustainable Housing

Thank You

Date post:	21-Dec-2014
Category:	Design
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