Check out the article.

Squeezing The Price on Passive House

To read more, link to:
www.jetsongreen.com

To read the article link to:
http://www.residentialarchitect.com/sustainability/savings-plan.aspx

To hear the story please link to:

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/11653/Default.aspx

How can a home be less toxic? Conceptually it’s very simple—reduce the nasty stuff inside and bring in plenty of fresh air. Practically, though, it’s not that easy. On the material side, builders have gotten away from good old-fashioned building materials like solid wood, plaster and stone, and for some good reasons: they’re expensive and poorly insulating. But when these materials are replaced with particle board, fiberglass, vinyl, and synthetic carpets, the home buyer is spending less money and probably using less energy for heating, but at the same time volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, and other toxins have been introduced to the interior air. And in an effort to reduce energy use, builders have been trying to make buildings more air-tight and less drafty, thereby improving comfort as well as the utility bill. However, the combination of the tighter envelope and the off-gassing interior finishes is what leads to sick people in Wisconsin (and other places).

With the advent of “sick building syndrome,” architects and builders are hopefully becoming more aware of what is being put in houses and taking steps to ventilate properly. It is now relatively easy to find out if a building material is air-quality friendly. Several ratings agencies exist to test and determine the safety of various materials; an architect can specify formaldehyde-free or low-voc plywood and paints; natural linoleum is available as an alternative to vinyl flooring; people should know better than to put carpeting in a damp basement, and so on. On the ventilation side, agencies such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers studies indoor air quality and issues standards for rates of ventilation. They have formulas for determining how much air to bring into the house over time to ensure adequate fresh air supply.

More specifically, in the homes G•O Logic builds, we install a complete, ducted, mechanical ventilation system that delivers fresh air to bedrooms and living spaces and removes stale air from the kitchen and bathrooms. The incoming air passes through a heat-recovery unit that transfers almost all the heat from the outgoing air to the incoming air, which means there’s very little energy penalty for healthy ventilation. We determine the proper ventilation rate based on accepted standards. For example, in the 1500 square-foot model home, we will ventilate at a rate of 70 cubic feet of air per minute, continuously. This means the entire volume of air in the house will be changed once every 3 _ hours, ensuring healthy air quality for a family of 4 or 5. The air flow is very low and generally delivered to points in the house where it’s not noticed, so one never feels a draft. And on the material side, we specify only low- or no-voc materials and finishes. The floors are either polished concrete or solid wood; cabinets are formaldehyde-free. The building is incredibly air-tight, which helps tremendously in the energy-efficiency and comfort of the home, and when coupled with the ventilation system, results in a home that’s both super-efficient and healthy to be in.

Juice 2.0 “Building Maine’s Innovation Networks” will include a number of economical leaders of technology, design, art, natural resources, history, government, education, and more. The Juice Conference in Camden, Maine provides networking opportunities for these leaders to share ideas towards building a more prosperous state.

Matt O’Malia and Alan Gibson of G•O Logic will present: Smart Houses Don’t Just Stand There. Their presentation will explore a collaborative design and construction process with a goal of producing affordable net-zero houses. G•O Logic is considering future performance, natural resources, and building science, when initiating new design. Join G•O Logic as they discuss improving future home performance in Maine.

For more information please visit: www.juiceconference.org

Photo: Paul Warchol

The New England chapter of American Institute of Architects acknowledges design excellence each year through their design awards program. Awards are given in categories consisting of: Honor, Merit, and Special Mention. This year, 4 architects were given honor awards, 11 given merits, and 6 received special mentions. Among the 6 who received special mentions were Elliott Elliott Norelius Architecture with Matthew O’Malia, partner of G•O Logic, as project architect for the house on Penobscot Bay, Maine.

There is a measure for the amount of air leaks, or “infiltration” that passes through a building’s shell, and it can be determined by a blower door test. The test results for this measure of infiltration can sound rather abstract, but in fact, the amount of air that leaks or infiltrates a building’s shell has a significant impact on the energy performance of the building, as well as the indoor air quality. The benefit of a well-sealed building is that fresh air can be filtered and tempered through controlled intake and exhaust ducts and continuously delivered throughout the house to ensure a healthy indoor environment.

To achieve Passive House Certification, the blower door test result measuring the air infiltration through the building shell needs to be less than .6ACH @ 50 Pascals – which is a very low and difficult number to achieve. As a reference for this level of infiltration, the average new home that is built (with attention paid to air sealing) is typically 10 ACH. Passive House requires a 90% improvement on the air sealing of its certified buildings. We recently conducted a blower door test on our prototype and were pleased to see the test results were so low that the machine did not register the amount of air leaking into the building at the standard test pressure. The blower door technician did not have a small enough aperture on his fan to measure the tiny amount of air passing through!

The approach we used to achieve this level of air sealing on our building is based on planning the air barrier for the entire building from the foundation to the roof early on in the design process. We have also chosen durable construction materials for the air barrier, that are installed and sealed early on in the construction process. We find it much easier to seal the simple raw building elements before the many layers of insulation, utilities and finishes are installed, thus avoiding the complexities that happen later in the construction sequence.

The foundation: A plastic vapor barrier was installed on the inside of the foundation that is continuous, sealed at joints, and sealed to the SIPs.

Walls: The SIPs, which are considered air barriers unto themselves, are thoroughly sealed between the panels with both spray foam and tape. Because the panels are large, the number of joints between the panels is reduced.

Ceiling: The air sealing at the ceiling is created by adding a durable layer of o.s.b. to the underside of the trusses, which is then taped at the joints to ensure air tightness. We choose o.s.b. instead of plastic for this barrier because of its durability in the construction phase and over the long term.

Doors and Windows: The last and critical element of air sealing is at the openings for the windows and doors. In these locations we sealed the rough openings much like the joints between the panels with both foam and tape. In addition to sealing to the windows and doors, it is critical to choose windows and door products that are designed to have low infiltration rates as well. We find the European multi point lock hardware creates the best air seal for window and doors, and therefore have used these products on the prototype.

‘Green’ to the Extreme: House May Cut Energy Costs by 90%’

The article reviews some of the fundamental differences between this ‘energy-frugal’ home and standard construction, from foundation to roof and beyond. The house is a model of energy-efficient design, contemporary architecture, high-performance building techniques and exacting standards (LEED and Passivhaus, to name two). Once built, it will be living proof that a self-sustaining home that cuts energy costs by 90% can be beautiful and affordable, too.

Read the full article here

View the article in PDF format