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Architecture, Ideas, Sustainability, Trends

Canary District Developers Pull Out all the Stops to Create unique sustainable Neighbourhood

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To say no stone has been left unturned in building Toronto’s next great neighbourhood would be a grand understatement.

So remember this name – Canary District. Chances are people will be talking about this unique revitalization of the city’s West Don Lands today, tomorrow and for many years down the road.

There are, of course, many reasons for that, but the green factor cannot be ignored. When finished, the area mostly known for its industrial rail land will be transformed into a vibrant mixed-used sustainable community with a distinct urban architectural design.

It’s a mammoth challenge. However, real estate developer Dundee Kilmer Development Limited confidently feels it is up to the task.
Jason Lester, president of Dundee Kilmer, in an article published in the Globe and Mail newspaper, was quoted as saying “we’re going to create the most sustainable mixed-use development that the city has ever seen.”

Mostly, feeding off the fact that the overall design meets LEED Gold criteria, the area aims to be self-sufficient and an urban village where residents can live, work and play.
First things first, however. Commissioned by the Ontario government, Dundee Kilmer has been entrusted with the construction of housing at the 35-acre site for 10,000 athletes and coaches for the upcoming Pan American Games in 2015. And, unlike similar sports-related projects, which often experience fluctuating design and construction costs, this development is set up to avoid overruns.
When the 2015 event ends, the same buildings will be altered and sold as approximately 5,000 townhouse and condo units. Included in that will be daycares, schools and community centres.  And Dundee Kilmer is committed to inserting mid-rise, mixed-use development, a progressive public-private funding template and generous recreational spaces into the mix.


Additionally, the master site plan for Canary District shows that construction will be phased in, starting with Canary District condominiums, then moving on to a George Brown College residence, a YMCA, market condominiums and “affordable” rental housing.
The YMCA facility, by the way, to be built at the corner of Front and Cherry streets, will be the largest in Toronto. It will also serve as a training centre for athletes during the games. A full 20 per cent of the housing in the Canary District has been targeted as “affordable” and the George Brown Residence will have accommodation for 500 students.
The Canary District – which gets its name from the now-closed Canary Restaurant that operated from a 19th century Cherry Street building since the 1960s – will be known for its walkability, with an extensive pedestrian network designed by architects to maximize green spaces with laneways, courtyards and terraces. The goal – to zero in on a health and wellness motif.
But the area will not be confined in any way, shape or form. Far from it. The community will be set up with links to mesh seamlessly with the nearby Distillery District, Corktown and St. Lawrence Market. And the connections will continue with new pathways and the extension of Front Street into a pedestrian promenade augmented by improved public access to Lake Ontario and the Don River Park.
A further creative twist was added by the use of four different architecture firms – Daoust Lestage Inc., Alliance and KPMB Architects, and MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller.
This cooperative approach, involving multiple designers, put forth a fresh hybrid of architectural design ideas. They remained true to contemporary architectural mores, but were also able to bring their own special aesthetics to the table.


And the four firms wholeheartedly embraced the challenge of the core principles placed before them.  Those included:
A healthy, green community: As touched on above, key considerations were given to environmental, economic and social sustainabilty. Each design element contains those characteristics.
Increased walkability: The secondary system of pedestrian routes also follow the paths of two former CNR rail lines, with connected courtyards, laneways and paths combined to form a continuous network.
Interconnectivity: This is cutting edge – creating a connection between old and new neighbourhoods in the area, augmented by a a modern design principle. Building scales and heights have been designed with a simultaneous architectural diversity and consistency in mind. All buildings in the eight-block-long district have been designed using similar materials in different ways, while façades will be recessed and roof heights will differ, creating a one-of-a-kind architectural flow.
Urban life: Future residents will be pleased to note that care has been taken to provide an extensive network of parks and balance of private and public spaces, as well as easy access to public transportation.
Gateway features: Called gateposts, the historic CNR and Canary Restaurant/Palace Street School buildings are being restored and integrated. There will be framing views to Don River Park and Toronto’s downtown skyline. Again, these elements will help to ensure openness and flow between established local neighbourhoods and the Canary District.

The Front Street connection: Painstakingly, each block in the village was designed to connect to a Front Street extension, which will serve as the main street. Then, at the base of each building, there will be cafes and restaurants, including retails stores. To further perpetuate the sense of neighbourhood, there will accessible recreational and community services.
A tip of the hat to Jane Jacobs: The late Toronto urban planning visionary was known world-wide for her ‘eyes on the street’ mentality, which was centred on creating a safe and connected urban environment. Some of the features adapted in recognition of Jacobs include large-scale building windows and balconies, with open and transparent streetscapes. This concept provides a connection between the street bustle and residents living above. Furthermore, laneways and side streets will feature loft studios and town houses at the base to attract creative entrepreneurs and families. Interestingly, the ground floors of all Canary District buildings are pedestrian-friendly, uniformly designed to six metres in height.
In the project’s promotional video, they talk about people, not infrastructure. They talk about community. They talk about creating a lasting vitality and ways to minimize urban stress.

All in all, not bad for a former industrial backwater.
Not bad at all.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories

BIONIC ARCH, A SUSTAINABLE TOWER TAICHUNG ECOPOLIS, TAIWAN

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Host Organization: Secretariat: Taichung City Government

Sponsor: Urban Development Bureau, Taichung City Government

Project Title: Taiwan Tower Planning, Design and Construction Supervision Service Project

Contract Performance Location: Xitun District, Taichung City

Construction budget : NT$ 6.588.000.000

Delivery: December 2016

For the hundredth birthday of the creation of “Taiwan R.O.C.”, the main aim of the Taichung City Government is to honour the local building traditions and symbolize the new Taiwan dynamics into economic, political, social and cultural achievements.

International model of the green building of the 21st century, the innovative and pioneering design of the Bionic Arch is part of the new master plan “Taichung Gateway – Active Gateway City”, the future urban oasis for lifestyle, innovation, culture and biodiversity in the heart of Central Taiwan.

The green tower combines and surpasses the nine major indicators defining a green building by law, and intensifies the relation between the building site and the surrounding Taichung Gateway Park, including an environmental integration of the park and the green land, the integration of green vertical platforms, sky gardens and living façades, interaction between human and natural environments. It actively contributes to the development of the use of new sustainable energies (solar and wind generated power, coupled with botanical and bio-technologies), emphasizes cohabitation and respectful attitude in order to reach even higher standards than regular green buildings.

Raising awareness of climate changes and the need for environmental protection, Taiwan Tower will become the new landmark of sustainability, 100% self-sufficient with CO2 zero-emission, therefore contributing to the government’s policies in terms of energy saving and carbon emission reduction

1. THE SITE

The Project site is included in the Taichung Gateway City. The site area stretches from east : Road 30M-83, to west : Park Avenue 3, and is extended from north to south along the border of the Cultural Business District, south to the north border of Green Space 4, and extends on the east side the enclosed park 139. The site area is approximately 4.4 hectares but the footprint of the Bionic Arch does not exceed one hectare and respects the oblique line for setback distance from Road 30M-83.

Taiwan Tower is centered at the intersection of the two main axis of the new master plan: “Park Avenue 3” from North to South and the pedestrian “Green Corridor” linked the two R&D districts from East to West.

The concept of the tower is the development of a vertical landscape in the continuity of the park, like a green double ogive arch, keeping the perspective views clear between the main districts.

This Bionic Arch integrates directly all sustainable technologies and its design presents an aerodynamic geometry inspired by Nature in the axis of dominant winds.

2. THE PROJECT CONTENTS

The whole room program is superposed vertically as a vertical urban forest recycling the atmosphere and the fog of Taichung. All facilities and equipments (exhibition rooms, lobby, information center, lobby elevator, shops, restaurants, observatories, laboratories and offices) will be transformed into real suspended gardens in the sky.

The three main functional entities are organized as follows :

2.1. TAIWAN TOWER

With its 380 meters above ground level (490 meters high above sea level), the Bionic Arch will become the highest building and the most important visual focus in Central Taiwan, including sightseeing and recreational functions. The observatory is higher than the Dadu Mountain in order to give to visitors a panoramic view on the Taiwan Strait and Taichung Harbour.

An environmental quality monitoring station will be set up for use by related researchers and as an R&D base hung in the sky to develop new sustainable energy sources suitable for the Shuinan area.

Beside its sightseeing functions, the tower will also embody a telecommunication base.

2.2. MUSEUM OF TAICHUNG CITY DEVELOPMENT

The Taiwan Tower experience starts from the Museum of Taichung City Development on the ground floor, which will feature exhibitions on the city’s development including history, urban and rural tug-of-war, urban design and planning, industrial development, telecommunication, sewerage, fire prevention, flood and disaster control transportation, etc.

A model of the City will also be on display to help citizens learn about the identity of the city they live in.

The museum’s operation will integrate civil participation, cultural recreation and ecological practice to exemplify the energy and dynamism of the new Taichung Ecopolis.

An environmental information center will provide the education promotions such as energy conservation, carbon reduction, and ecological city.

2.3. AFFILIATED FACILITIES – OFFICES

The Affiliated Facilities (offices, meeting rooms, archives, public facilities, etc…) are located in the lower and middle part of the structure and are accessible through four individual entrances.

3. THE SPATIAL DESIGN CRITERIAS

3.1. ELEVATORS

The vertical circulation layout is divided into four decentralized cores of staircases and elevators with air pressure control system. These four cores with exoskeleton structure planted with living green walls lead to all the twenty three decks. In the axis of the central wind turbines, two high speed elevators of 48 peoples each give direct access to the main observation posts at the top of the tower.

3.2. FIRE CONTROL

A global net of water sprinklers is used at first to extinguish the fire and all the functions are divided into various compartments with spatial separations. If the fire breaks through the partition, the upper and lower floor levels generate positive pressure. The negative pressure of the floor on fire lets the fire burn out, while at the same time people are informed to evacuate. The Bionic Arch includes two sets of fire escape ladders to evacuate downwards, and an outdoor platform at an appropriate floor level.

3.3. STRUCTURE

The structural concept “exoskeleton” and the design of the structure takes into consideration the earthquakes factors, typhoons and also reviewing the September 11 attack.

The space structure of the building itself, which has the longer lifetime period, considers the possibilities of enhancing its flexibility.

All the suspended gardens are very flexible platforms designed to evolve with time. In fact, the interior planning offers a maximal flexibility to respond to future changes in functional and spatial requirements. The double deck system also participates to this maximum potential of flexibility for the maintenance and replacement of wire/line equipment of water, electrical utilities and air conditioning in order to extend the building’s overall lifetime usage.

3.3.1. SEISMIC RESISTANCE

The Bionic Arch has the ability to resist to the largest earthquakes in the future within elastic range. The ends of the main beams are made of resin, designed with plasticization in order to prevent the building from damage.

The structural strength is assured by seismic technologies as isolator floor, visco-elastic dampers, bracing frame structure, etc.

3.3.2. WIND RESISTANCE

The bionic and aerodynamic shape of the tower is specially designed to reduce wind impact and to accelerate it in the direction of the three vertical wind turbines in order to minimize structural vibration. The design of the structure includes the addition of a damper device to prevent typhoons or strong winds from generating an uncomfortable situation similar to seasickness

4. GREEN ARCHITECTURE

In 2003, the Taiwan government began implementing the “Green Architecture Promotional Project” in conjunction with the Green Silicon Island policies, to assiduously attempt with a green architectural plan to preserve the ecological environment.

As a pre-condition to the application of the building permit, the project requires first to obtain a Certificate of Green Building Candidate. The goal is to respect and to largely exceed the nine major indexes for green architectural compliance audits in order to reach the Diamond level certification referring to the criteria of LEED: “minimization of earth resources use, to produce architecture with the least waste”.

The Bionic Arch presents pro-active objectives to answer to these nine major indexes :

  1. Planting Green : Encouraging more production of Oxygen, greater absorption of CO2, cleaning the air, achieving the homeostasis for urban climate warming effects
  1. Water Conservation : Improve the capacity of the land to store water, to provide the ground with a rich microbial environment able to support organic life and to reduce the need of drainage.
  1. Daily Energy Efficiency : Reduce the amount of energy needed by the air conditioning system and lighting, Encourage re-use applications of waste energy.
  1. Carbon Dioxide Reduction : Use the design and construction processes to achieve improvements whereby reductions in CO2 emissions result, and by lightweight minimized architecture, resiliency, and re-usability of materials to accomplish reduces CO2 emissions.
  1. Waste Reduction : Refers to the production during the construction process of Cut and fill non-Balancing Design, wasted soil, building materials waste, and easily dissipated dust particles.
  1. Water Resource : refers to the ratio of the building’s actual water use to an average water use, or the “water consumption conservation ratio”.
  1. Wastewater and garbage Improvements : establish tools to certify a hygienic environment control and improve impact assessment.
  1. Protection of the Biodiversity : Improve the ecological quality with porous environment encouraging ecological ponds, water ponds, permitting multi-scaled biodiversity, protecting native species and flora. This index is organized into 5 thematic categories : “Ecological Network”, “Microorganism Resting Place”, “Vegetation Diversity”, “Soil Ecology”, “Ecologically Symbiotic Architectural Design”.
  1. Refinement of the Interior Environment : refers to evaluating the indoor environmental quality for noise protection, ambient lighting, air flow, interior design, air quality, and environmental factors which may impact on occupant health or comfort.

Thanks to its suspended gardens, real bio-reactors for purification, the tower becomes a pro-active architecture built respecting its environment, recycling air, water and wastes and giving a new symbiotic ecosystem for the sub-tropical multi-scaled biodiversity of Taiwan. The architecture interacts completely with its context climatically, chemically, kinetically and socially to better reduce our ecological footprint in urban area.

The Bionic Arch is a didactic prototype of ecological experimentations using the most advanced technologies in terms of self-sufficient energy construction, in order to better reveal its applications in the contemporary society.

The design is based on the integration of all the renewable technologies with its crystalline glass skin made of heat insulation solar glass and photovoltaic cells, and with its three vertically superposed wind turbines. Its energetic results are positive and enable to assure not only the self-functioning of the tower but also the nocturnal lighting of the Gateway Park.

The Bionic Arch is the new icon of sustainable development in the heart of Taiwan, the new “Green Silicon Island”!

Vincent Callebaut Architect

Ideas

Savings by Design – Designing in Efficiency and Sustainability

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As Reliance Home Comfort’s “ green guy “, I am most fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a variety of green building and sustainable development organizations, contributing volunteer hours and expertise to educating and informing our builder clients, advocating on the industry’s behalf and managing Reliance’s interests in the area of developing codes and standards.

Working on projects like BILD’s Archetype Sustainable House, TRCA’s Green Home Makeover, CMHC’s Equilibrium Houses and our customers many “ Discovery Homes” has given me the opportunity to learn about new and evolving technologies, advanced building practices and policy and programs that are leading the market transformation to a more sustainable built environment.

One of the most interesting by far is one I have just begun working on in my role as Chair for Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC) – facilitating Enbridge’s Savings by Design program.

Savings by Design is Enbridge’s latest market transformation initiative targeting new home construction. The program provides design assistance and direct to builder financial incentives for exceeding minimum energy efficiency standards within the Ontario Building Code. Rooted in the principles of Integrated Design, the program introduces the new home construction sector to the fundamentals of the Integrated Design Process (IDP).

Sustainable Buildings Canada is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing building performance through IDP.  For the past 10 years, and beginning with the Federal Government’s CBIP ( commercial buildings incentive program ) followed by the Enbridge’s High Performance New Construction (HPNC) incentive program, SBC has been educating commercial practitioners and training simulation modelers through their Integrated Design Charrettes and signature Toronto Green Building Festival.

When Enbridge was mandated to invest in Conservation and Demand Management programming in the residential sector they turned to SBC to adapt their IDP program for delivery into the low rise housing sector.

After extensive consultation with Industry stakeholders, Builders, Energy Auditors and Sustainability Consultants – and following Ontario Energy Board approval, Enbridge has launched the Savings by Design market transformation initiatives.

Qualified Builders are eligible to receive design assistance through an SBC facilitated Integrated Design Charrette workshop and are then eligible for financial incentives of $2,000.00 per home that achieve a performance verified, net energy reduction of 25% over the current Ontario Building Code requirements of SB-12, and subject to the programs terms and conditions.

Enbridge works with the existing energy performance evaluation and certification channels to streamline the application process. The same channels used for certifying homes to ENERGY STAR and EnerGuide, using the same validation tools – energy simulation software and envelope performance testing – the blower door test – to confirm the savings threshold has been achieved. Enbridge then pays the incentive, directly to the builder.

Where Enbridge’s Savings by Design program differs but supports Industry labeling like ENERGYSTAR and EnerGuide, is in their approach to acceptable measures. While NRCan approved measures are limited to the performance elements of the home and it’s systems, Enbridge’s Savings by Design program builds on their success by incorporating measures that encourage and enable the efficient operation of the home by its occupants. All off switches, in home energy displays, set back thermostats and solar ready installations, all conventional Conservation and Demand Management measures, get equal treatment by the program, allowing additional energy credits in accounting for the net energy reductions.

Additionally, Savings by Design uses a net gigajoules metric, as opposed to the EnerGuide 0 to 100 scale. This allows incremental examination of the contribution of each measure or technology to the overall net energy reduction, allowing for a more transparent cost benefit evaluation. Net Gigajoules consumed, and Gigajoules per square meter are two metrics being considered by NRCan for the next generation EnerGuide Rating System (ERS) currently scheduled for release in 2014 following public review and comment.

A secondary program benefit derives from the expertise solicited to participate in the design charrettes. Consultants and Academics are engaged by SBC to provide insight, to validate and to advise on measures and technologies as the builder is led through the process of identifying and qualifying measures from “dirt to doors” using an integrated and iterative approach. The program introduces academic researchers from the provinces leading sustainability and building science programs, drawing on professors and their students to introduce cutting edge technology while exposing the research to the rigors of real world problems in the Building and Development Industry. Leading Consultants, experts in their fields, provide insight into opportunities, costs and barriers, grounded in their experience working within the Industry today.

With the pilot program launched and several charrettes completed, the response has been outstanding with proponents returning surveys indicating their expectations were exceeded, the process deemed valuable and the targets achievable. The real test will be on uptake, and the number of Builders that go on to build homes eligible for the incentive. I expect that most of them will.

Larry Brydon is a Senior Account Executive with Reliance Home Comfort, Chair of Sustainable Buildings Canada and Chair of the Evaluator Council for EnerQuality Corporation’s Board of Directors.

Enbridge’s Savings By Design initiative is unique to the residential new construction sector in North America. The program connects builder proponents to the latest technical expertise and knowhow, and not just related to energy performance. Builders are exposed to the latest developments and techniques in low impact development including storm water management, community design and transportation alternatives. The free flowing format of the integrated design workshop allows for a creative examination of a variety of alternatives and options in a non-threatening environment. To date, the outcomes have been extremely exciting, with a number of builders finding unexpected solutions to specific challenges, demonstrating both cost savings opportunities and the potential for increased market value of their product.

 

Architecture

Vincent Callebaut Architecture – Coral Reef

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“CORAL REEF”

MATRIX AND PLUG-IN FOR 1000 PASSIVE HOUSES

Called «The Pearl of West Indies», Haiti was during a long time the most visited country of the Greater Antilles representing the occidental third of Hispaniola Island. Devastated in 2010 by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, the country has now to be rebuilt from new innovative architectural and town-planning concepts.

The Coral Reef project plans a matrix to build a three dimensional and energy self-sufficient village from one and only standardised and prefabricated module in order to rehouse the refugees from such humanitarian catastrophes. This basic module is simply made of two passive houses (with metallic structure and tropical wood facades) interlocked in duplex around a transversal horizontal circulation linking every unit.

Inspired from a Coral reef with fluid and organic shapes, the overall project presents itself as a great living structure made of two waves dedicated to accommodate more than one thousand Haitian families. These two inhabited waves undulate along the water on an artificial pier built on seismic piles in the Caribbean Sea. From concave curves to convex curves, the housing modules are aligned and piled up by successive stratums such as a great origami. Between the two inhabited waves is created a sumptuous interior canyon in pixels with terraces and cascades of food gardens.

Actually, the laying-out in staggered rows of the plane-parallel base modules enables to superimpose the passive houses in cantilever and to multiply the vision axes towards an endless number of perspectives. Each roof of each module becomes then an organic suspended garden enabling to each Creole family to cultivate its own food and to use themselves their own wastage as compost

This canyon is a true tropical ecosystem for the local fauna and the flora. Ode to the urban biodiversity, it is also the central axis of the communitarian life of this futuristic village and respectful of its environment. Between the waves of these ecological housing, the sinuous lines of the anti-seismic basement (absorbing the vibrations in case of earthquake) integrate the public functions of the social life. Aquicultural farms welcome pisciculture pools whereas the purification plant lagoons recycle the used waters before rejecting them in the sea.

The Master Plan can evolve and extends itself according to the «plug-in» principle. The urban framework of this ecological village remains thus undetermined, flexible and develops itself continuously according to the time and the space. New extension modules, also prefabricated in factory and brought by cargo will be actually added such as a giant meccano set to correspond to the needs of inhabitants completing the basic matrix.

The visible sinuosity of this built landscape is structured by eight spine columns integrating all the vertical circulations linked together by two horizontal storeys crossing through a straight line the whole village from end to end. The whole set forms a compact orthogonal system that distributes all the flows through each module.

The project is eco-designed and integrates all the bioclimatic systems as well as the renewable energies. Actually, the sea thermal energy conversion is made in the coverage of the pier by using the difference of temperature between the superficial waters and the deep waters. The kinetic energy from marine currents is converted by hydro-turbines under the pier into electrical energy; the sinusoidal pergolas on the roof attract the solar energy by photovoltaic panels and a park of spiral wind turbines is planted in the great tropical garden that covers the logistical basis.

Taking advantage of the same natural and climatic conditions from the beginning as its neighbour island, Dominican Republic, Haiti is one of the countries that profits from one of the biggest potentials to reinvent a new sustainable urbanity and to implement the biggest challenges of reconstruction as a matter of urgency. The Coral Reef prototype project is in this context of humanitarian crisis a positive and dynamic answer fighting for the sustainable industrialised and standardised rebuilding of collective social housing of humanitarian and environmental high quality in disaster area.

 

Vincent Callebaut Architect

Sustainability

Newmarket Family Makes ‘Green’ Their Favourite Colour

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Newmarket Family Makes ‘Green’ Their Favourite Colour

Off-Grid Log Home Saves Money, Helps Form New, Energy-Friendly Habits

Hear the words “family meeting” and you might think it’s time to discuss homework, computer use or chores. But when Derek Zoldy and his wife Casey sat their two teen-aged sons down for a group discussion, there was a lot more than that on the table.

The Newmarket, Ontario, family was planning to take their new 1867 Confederation Log & Timber Frame vacation home “off-grid” and they needed to know everyone was onboard.

“You really have to have the mindset that you are going to live with the choices you make,” says Derek, a professional engineer and Canadian Ski Patrol volunteer. “A few habits had to be reformed but in the end, the savings are tremendous.”

The Zoldys’ log home is their ‘dream cottage’ at the base of Sir Sam’s Ski Hill in Haliburton, Ontario, with access to Eagle Lake. Logs were the family’s first choice of building material not only because wood blends in with the natural beauty of the land, but also because of the high level of energy efficiency of 1867 Confederation’s construction.

After visiting several construction sites and investigating a number of builders, they opted for 1867 Confederation Log and Timber Frame and designed a custom 1,400-square foot floor plan that includes vaulted ceilings on the main level, a walkout basement and a loft.

From an environmental standpoint, one of the factors that swayed the Zoldy’s in favour of Confederation is the fact the company uses carefully harvested FSC-certified logs, that are air dried on-site at the Bobcaygeon, Ontario, manufacturing facility, and that any un-used wood is recycled.

Rick Kinsman, owner of Confederation describes some of the company’s Eco Wise practices.  “Our entire Production Facility is totally Green and waste free.  Our cut offs are used as firewood, scrap logs are used for boat blocks at local marinas and even our sawdust is donated to a local farmer for animal bedding.”

Another was the fact that Confederation is one of the few log and timber frame builders in North America with experience building Energy Star-rated log and timber frame homes.  In light of these details and the fact their home was already an energy efficient and sustainable choice, taking their home off-grid seemed a logical next step, says Derek.

“I saw the potential right away,” he says. “It made a lot of financial sense right out of the gate.”

For about $30,000 – representing a $10,000 savings on the cost to clear the right of way and bring hydroelectricity to their six-acre property – the Zoldys installed a starter solar system that includes a backup propane generator. Using four roof-mounted solar panels from Sharp, they currently generate one kilowatt of energy that is stored in a DC battery bank and then converted to AC for consumption as required. This summer, they plan to add an additional four panels for a total of two kilowatts.

Primary heat during the winter months comes from a wood-burning fireplace in the great room and is supplemented by a propane stove in the basement. Water, meanwhile, is pumped from a deep rock well using a highly efficient 110-volt pump that consumes less energy on start-up than a 220-volt pump and yet supplies the same amount of water.

“Even if we were on-grid, the lower voltage pump would have made the most sense in terms of energy conservation,” notes Derek.

Other environmental considerations up for discussion and winning family approval included using LED lighting as opposed to conventional lighting, installing economical low-flush toilets, and replacing electric or gas kitchen appliances with propane appliances. The on-site septic system is gravity fed and doesn’t require a pump. And every window in the home comes from Confederation’s energy-efficient Standard Package and is wood framed to fit in with the aesthetics of the log home.

“Much like when we manufactured the first Energy Star Certified log home in Canada,” Rick states, “we didn’t have to change any component of our Standard Package or our Manufacturing Process.”

Even with the savings they are now realizing – the Zoldys only receive one bill for consumption of propane which Derek considers a clean and efficient fuel – the choice to go off-grid wasn’t necessarily an easy one.

“At first we were getting some complaints from the boys,” says Derek. “But what it really boiled down to was equipment issues.”

For example, the Zoldys have a rule at their cottage that phones and computers can’t be recharged at night or on days when there’s no sunlight. That means they need to rely on batteries and one son, who was in the habit of leaving his computer plugged in all of the time, found that he wasn’t getting enough battery life.

“He had to get in the habit of only plugging in when his battery is low, but now he’s even doing it at home in Newmarket,” says Derek.

Other new habits include making sure lights are off and that the toilets have finished their flush cycle before they leave the bathroom – a small price to pay for the satisfaction of being green.

“We’re all very comfortable with the choices we’ve made, and one of the best was our decision to work with 1867 Confederation Log & Timber Frame,” says Derek. “Even my wife is now talking about moving up here permanently as soon as she

HVAC

Reversomatic & Industry’s First Self-Balancing HRV

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Reversomatic Celebrates 40 Years of Innovation by Launching Self-Balancing HRV

They said it couldn’t be done, but Reversomatic has made life much easier for builders, especially high-rise builders. It has released the industry’s first self-balancing HRV and ERV series, to save time while addressing stack-effect inefficiencies in condominiums and other tall structures.

Still family owned, innovative and customer responsive, this leading North American fan manufacturer continues its run of some four decades, setting the pace with exciting new and sustainable product offerings.

The new patent pending Deluxe Series from Reversomatic is the only HRV and ERV line in the marketplace with what the company calls built-in True Automatic Electronic Air Balancing and Constant Flow Technology.

“The efficiencies claimed by other heat recovery ventilators in the market are based on the assumption that once installed, the system is properly balanced,” says Reversomatic founder Joe Salerno. “But savings are sometimes not realized on tall buildings, because the pressure varies between the upper and lower floors. An HRV in every unit can represent hours of balancing. Our Deluxe series makes it a breeze.”

Deluxe Series Self Balancing HRV/ERV Line

The slim-design 55 lb. units meet all standards and building code requirements and feature a tilted core for maximum efficiency, permanently lubricated PSC motor for continuous operation, a unique electronic control board that allows the unit to return to the last memory mode when power restores after failure, washable foam filter
and an enthalpy core for -25°C. They are ideal for horizontal or vertical installation, with air flow of 45-95 CFM (normal operation)
and power ratings of 115V / 1 / 60 Hz, 1.10 Amps.

Cutting Edge Ventilation Products Since 1972

In the early 1960s Joe Salerno heard about the land of opportunity overseas and dreamed of a better life in North America. He packed up and left his beloved hometown of Mondalto Uffugo, Italy in 1963, sailing for Canada with a lot of hope and not much money. He got a job working for a sheet metal heating firm, and when the owner decided to return to the UK, Joe bought the tiny company, convinced that he could build something special.

He knew that installers faced innumerable problems and he was determined to create a company that cared. In 1972 the company began specializing in the manufacture of fans, related products and listening to customers.

Innovative, Fast and Customer Sensitive

Forty years later, Reversomatic is one of Canada’s largest fan manufactures,with four manufacturing plants in Ontario, a sales office in South Florida and distribution all over North America. Yet it is still family owned, with Joe’s son Peter and two sons-in-law working in the business. It is responsive and very nimble.

“There is no huge corporate decision-making structure here,” says Joe Salerno. “If a customer asks for something special to be customized for a particular job, our competitors might take six months just to come to a decision. Long before that Reversomatic product would be already installed in the building.”

“We only sell to the trade, not to the retail market, because our customers don’t want us to compete with them and they want us to be focused on developing new products for the changing technology landscape,” says Peter Salerno.

“Our newest products help minimize frustration, solve problems and prevent costly callbacks; just like we rarely discontinue parts for our older products, so that installers aren’t faced with a headache instead of a minor repair. Everything we do is based on understanding the daily needs of the trade. We’re centrally located and we’re focused on the fastest growing segments of the market, like high-rise installations.

“That’s why we’re number one in the market. We just did installations in Donald Trump’s new building and at Shangri La in Toronto. We have dealers all over America and we are expanding into other countries too. One recent project was in Puerta Vallarta in Mexico.”

In-House Research Lab for New Green Tech     Reversomatic developed self-balancing HRVs to support the construction industry as it moves into the new energy age. Energy savings might be designed into products, but they should also be assured during installation and commissioning. This has long been the philosophy with a company that continuously designs new products for a changing industry and a changing world.

To ensure products exceed standards such as ASTM E547-00, Reversomatic has developed research, design and testing facilities with an in-house air chamber to conduct performance tests such as wallbox water penetration and wind tests. It maintains membership in HVI and AMCA and is an Energy Star partner. All products are CSA approved, most are HVI approved and some are AMCA approved.

Fans and kitchen range hoods are Energy Star efficient. Products, parts and accessories are precision manufactured using state-of-the art equipment, which allows the team to respond to customer requirements quickly. Custom-made products and parts can be machined to exact specifications

One-Stop Shop for Ventilation, Especially in Condos

With US customers still experiencing a soft market, Reversomatic has redoubled its focus on Canada and high-rise builders in particular. Many of the newest products solve problems that are unique to these kinds of structures.

Unlike manufacturers who split their focus between trade and retail products, the company deals in job specifications and unique challenges. “Some of today’s buildings are trying to achieve all kinds of goals including sustainability goals,” says Joe Salerno, “They might come to us and say this design means the cavity for an HRV is only 9 inches instead of 10 inches. They know we will help them. We’re probably the only company who can quickly respond that that kind of custom-design request. But at the same time, we’ve been doing it for so long, we also make everything else they need for a condo.”

The company manufactures a complete line of residential, commercial and industrial fans.  As well as accessories such as lint traps, wall boxes and wall caps.  It also manufactures custom louvers and dampers to exact customer specifications in extruded aluminum or formed steel.

They’re all CSA Approved, UL Approved or both.

It supplies custom louvers and dampers to exact customer specifications from extruded aluminum or formed steel; a whole line of commercial grade fans; wall boxes and balance boxes that are weather proof and super quiet; and sensors and controls for more control and less worry: Pressure sensors, heat sensors, amp sensors, humidistats and time delay switches.

Happy Birthday

“After 40 years of manufacturing fans I am pretty happy,” says Joe Salerno. “They said we couldn’t design an electronic self-balancing HRV, but we did it. They said we couldn’t grow as big as we have and still remain privately owned and responsive to customers, but we did it. They said we couldn’t specialize with condos and do custom work and still offer everything needed in the ventilation business, but we did it. They said it couldn’t be done, but Reversomatic did it.”

Style

Hush Homes

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Hush: Seeing green through the customer’s eyes

By Saul Chernos

Hush and its president Naheel Suleman have enjoyed early success building luxury houses in the Toronto area.

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association decreed one of the company’s projects, at 6920 Second Line in Mississauga, best model home of the year in 2009. Then, just 12 months later, the OHBA named The Avalon and The Gardens in Oakville project of the year and The Brownstone on Birch best new townhome.

Born in Tanzania, he was one year old when his family moved to Canada in the early 1970s. His father is a chartered accountant, and Suleman followed in his footsteps. Over time, as he worked with developers, Suleman developed an appreciation for architecture, and gradually shifted into home-building. Married with two young children, he’s decidedly private. It’s his business and the methodological, customer-conscious approach he takes to it that he wants to talk about. He founded Hush in 2005 as a builder of high-end, custom houses, and he keeps busy, with 10 to 20 low-rise residential projects on the go at any given time.

“I wanted to change the way business was done in our industry,” explains Suleman, Hush’s sole owner and founder. “The idea was to create a new type of home-building company that was focused not on houses or the buyer but, instead, on the buyer’s experience.”

To that end, Hush has come out with what Suleman and his own marketing materials call the Hush Methodology. This literal branding of the company’s approach seems like common sense, and no doubt it is.

However, it’s also a philosophical positioning. Suleman insists he doesn’t want to put down other builders. Yet, he acknowledges that the time he spent in building circles before launching Hush taught him that houses are more than just a product and that people don’t buy homes just to live in them but, rather, that homes are central to peoples’ lives.

“A house to a home-owner is very different than a house to a builder. For the owner it’s their everything. It’s where they live, it’s family, it’s personal. The home is the by-product – it’s how we make our customers happy.”

The Hush methodology plays out, then, in the nature of the relationship the company and its personnel set out to form with each customer. The first step with any potential customer is to meet with them, and learn about their lifestyle, and then to work with them to determine what they want in their new dwelling.

As far as environmental features are concerned, Hush is reluctant, as Suleman puts it, to “shove green down their throat.”

Hush doesn’t seek independent, third-party environmental certification through bodies such as the Canada Green Build Council. However, the company devises and presents potential attributes, including environmentally-minded components, from an experiential point of view.

The company’s literature includes a green glossary, with basic information about options such as air-source heat pumps and paints and stains that are low in volatile organic compounds. But this information is presented in terms of benefits such as health, safety and long-term savings – in other words, a home that heats and cools efficiently and respects the health and wellbeing of occupants.

“To us, green isn’t about saving the world, it’s about having a better built home that contributes to a buyer’s health, comfort and economics,” Suleman says. “That’s how we jump to green.”

In order to give customers what they want, and yet maintain organizational sense and consistency, Hush breaks its green home offerings into categories, each with an array of features. But, one of the categories is à la carte. Suleman says Hush is flexible. If solar panels or geothermal systems are desired, Hush will provide.

The methodology continues as work proceeds. From initial planning and design through to construction and completion, there’s frequent walk-throughs and meetings with Hush’s in-house personnel, including the architect, engineer, interior designer and Suleman himself, with thought and consideration to what life will eventually be like for the occupant.

“If we follow that process properly it will ensure that the buyer receives the best-in-class experience,” Suleman says. “We want our home buyers to tell us that this is a house they want to live in as opposed to us telling buyers that this is the home they should live in. The look and feel has to be about who lives in the house.”

Hush employs a client concierge, who liaises directly with customers and is available as a key point of contact should any questions or issues arise, and to ensure consistency and continuity in the flow of information.

Separately, Hush also offers a virtual concierge, whereby all customers have password access to a private, dedicated web portal that contains up-to-date and ongoing information about the home, including legal documents, owner manuals, floor plans and a schedule of meetings with Hush personnel. Photos capture and document the entire construction process, and Hush uses the portal to offer post-occupancy services.

Providing this degree of customization might, at first glance, seem uneconomical. However, Suleman says Hush restricts itself to approximately 50 projects a year. All are in the million-dollar-plus market, and in an area largely bounded by Toronto, Mississauga and southwest Oakville, so the economics work for Hush.

“We are an elite home-builder that limits the number of homes that we build, and we allocate staff to properly handle that load,” Suleman says, adding that the sub-trades Hush works with come from the custom world and are used to this level of work. As well, he adds, Hush also wants its partners also enjoy a positive experience and feel respected.

At the end of the day, all the pieces fit together for Suleman. “We want to be forefront,” he says. “We know it’s important to be ahead of the curve.” GB

 

Ideas

With Small Steps Towards Energy Independence

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With Small Steps Towards Energy Independence

By Benjamin Fuehr

Several factors are driving a worldwide growing interest and demand for green energy, not the least of which is skyrocketing energy prices. Whether it is oil, coal, natural gas or nuclear power, it is a well known fact that we are rapidly depleting these non-renewable energy resources. That drives the prices for energy to record levels and will continue to do so in the coming years.

Renewable energy sources are the only feasible alternatives to our current expensive and narrow-minded energy policy. Green energy is clean and safe – unlike the environmentally disastrous oil production from the dirty Alberta tar sands or the highly dangerous and ridiculously expensive enrichment of uranium.

There are several options for home owners wanting to invest in renewable energy systems and make their first steps towards a sustainable and environmentally-friendly future.

Most common for home owners in Canada are solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. In Ontario, where the provincial government introduced the Green Energy and Green Economy Act in 2009, it is not an uncommon sight to see solar panels mounted on homes or garages, or to see ground mounts or trackers installed in fields.

But what other options are out there if you want to go green?

“There are many opportunities available in Canada”, explains Klaus Dohring, founder and president of Green Sun Rising Inc., a renewable energy company in Windsor, Ontario and one of the pioneers of green energy in Ontario.

“Geothermal and solar thermal systems, solar hot air systems and biomass boilers for domestic heat and heating water – making your house more energy efficient, potentially even energy Net Zero is absolutely possible,” says Dohring.

To achieve this, Green Sun Rising’s engineers constantly work on new ideas and products. Their latest example for an innovative product is the Solar Bikeport. With electric bikes, so called E-bikes becoming more and more popular, the company’s designers developed a device to protect these trendy gadgets from the elements – and simultaneously charge them for their next trip!

How does that work? Green Sun Rising’s solar experts have installed three flexible solar modules on the curved roof of the Bikeport. These thin-film modules, with a combined rated output of over 200W, produce enough power to fully charge an E-bike battery during the course of one sunny day.

But it doesn’t just charge E-bikes. Combined with a small bench, it can also serve as a simple and effective lounge that can be used as a bus stop or a covered seat in a park. The electricity could be used for charging smart phones or laptops while waiting or resting.

Green Sun Rising also offers carports covered with solar panels, in case customers want to protect their cars. With many major automakers now selling electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, these carports are also available with an integrated level-2 charging station for electric vehicles.

These are just two examples of creative products and applications discovered when one starts exploring the growing fields of renewable or green energy. It can start with very small steps, with saving energy, installing a new furnace or a small solar photovoltaic or solar thermal system.

But the long term goal for all of us can only be an intelligent exit strategy out of our current fossil energy crisis. For that we need the enduring support of provincial and federal governments and the understanding of the Canadian population, that not only do we need to change our attitude towards energy consumption, we also need effective energy policy changes in our political system.

The Green Energy and Economy Act in Ontario is only the first small step on our journey to a sustainable energy world.

Benjamin Fuehr is a Marketing and Sales representative with Green Sun Rising Inc. GB

Green Energy

The Living City Campus hosts Canada’s Outdoor Photovoltaic Test Facility

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The Living City Campus hosts Canada’s Outdoor Photovoltaic Test Facility

By Paul Luukkonen

Through Ontario’s Green Energy Act and the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) Feed in Tariff (FIT) program, clean energy producers receive guaranteed rates per kWh of solar energy sold back to the grid, for the lifetime of a 20 year contract.  Due to a domestic content requirement in the program, the photovoltaic modules for every installation must undergo some manufacturing process in the province of Ontario.  This has brought an influx of PV module manufacturers that have invested and set up facilities in the province.  A third party quality assurance program located in Vaughan puts Ontario made modules to the test in its outdoor performance verification program.

The Photovoltaic Performance Verification Program (PVPV), operated by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is located at the Living City Campus, Canada’s hub for emerging developments in renewable energy.  The Campus is Canada’s most established green building and sustainable technology research and education centre (www.thelivingcitycampus.com).

This outdoor quality assurance and energy yield test of Ontario made modules conforms to international test standards and provides unbiased, open source data that helps industry determine realistic expectations for photovoltaic performance.

The program and test facility are monitored by the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) (www.sustainabletechnologies.ca) and provide valuable unbiased information to residential and commercial property owners.  With the launch of the FIT program in October 2009, there was an onslaught of sales professionals looking to impress customers with impressive paybacks based on energy yields that were not historically substantiated.  This program helps provide accurate information with which consumers can make informed decisions regarding photovoltaic yields and realistic Returns on Investment (ROI).

PVPV’s one-of-a kind research facility monitors the performance of Ontario’s PV modules from numerous manufacturers under real outdoor test conditions.  The program informs consumers and industry professionals about the true value of PV products by monitoring and recording their annual energy yield.  While panels are generally sold according to their power values determined in a lab or manufacturing facility under simulated or Standard Test Conditions (STC), it is the actual energy produced in the field that translates into revenue from the OPA for the renewable generation of the solar system.

Standard test conditions are based on a 25 °C module temperature and 1000 watts per meter² (W/m²) of irradiance.  While this standard condition provides some means of module to module comparisons, the (STC) conditions do not represent the standard operating conditions of the modules.  Modules operating during the summer, the peak production season, regularly operate 30 degrees C above ambient temperature.  With this increase in temperature above STC, comes a decrease in performance.  While calculations can be performed with the temperature coefficients provided by the manufacturer, there is always a preference for real world data over system models.

New microFIT rates will pay the generator 54.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).  Potential annual generation is approximately 1161 kWh of energy per kilowatt (kW) of PV in Toronto.  This reference is provided by a Natural Resource Canada study investigating photovoltaic potential in Canada (Pelland et al. 2006).  While this model is useful as a general guideline, the PVPV data will provide energy yields for each of the Ontario manufacturers on test.  This information is of great significance not just for solar industry professionals but also consumers and end users contemplating their own system.

Results to date have been positive with regards to the general quality of modules made in Ontario as noted in consistent performance across all the manufacturers taking part in the test.  PVPV is evidence of a technologically sound, and mature photovoltaic industry in Ontario, producing megawatts of quality modules for the province’s Feed-In-Tariff program.

PVPV’s state of the art data acquisition system has also yielded valuable insights that have ramifications for module and system performance, and to local distribution companies, tasked with distributing the inherently intermittent generation to the grid. PVPV produces its monthly energy yield reports on-line at http://pvpv.ca.

Through its STEP program the TRCA publishes reports and guidelines for industry best practices, including contributions to the (CSA) F900 guideline: Solar PV Rooftop Installation Best practices, and numerous case study evaluations of PV sites through the Solar City Partnership (www.solarcitypartnership.ca).

To help ensure the adoption of safety and best practices, the Campus provides training for numerous colleges and universities; trades associations and professionals throughout the GTA.  The Campus is home to Ontario’s leading Photovoltaic Training Program and various other renewable energy workshops for the public.  Every year over 120 000 visitors pass through the campus to see the latest demonstrations in sustainable technologies and green buildings. The Campus hosts two research and demonstration homes (LEED platinum), (www.sustainablehouse.ca), the Restoration Services Building (LEED Platinum), and the Earth Rangers Centre (LEED gold), showcasing Green Building technologies and systems integration for the residential and commercial sectors.

For more information visit the following websites or visit the Campus in Vaughan.

www.thelivingcitycampus.com

www.pvpv.ca

www.sustainabletechnologies.ca

www.sustainablehouse.ca

www.solarcitypartnership.ca

References

Pelland, Sophie (2006) Yves Poissant, Robert Morris, Kevin Lawrence, Kathy Campbell. The Development of Photovoltaic Resource Maps for Canada.  31st Annual Conference of the Solar Energy Society of Canada (SESCI). August 20th – 24th, 2006; Montreal, Canada

http://198.103.48.154/fichier.php/codectec/En/2006-046/2006-046_OP-J_411-SOLRES_PV+map.pdf

Paul Luukkonen, HBSc, is a Sustainable Technologies Coordinator at Kortright Centre for Conservation in Vaughan, ON  GB