A Passive House for Fort St. John, British Columbia, #Passivehouse

A Passive House for Fort St. John – a learning demonstration project

by Ayme Sharma

With the municipal slogan “The Energetic City” we should not have been surprised when a young, ambitious sustainability & planning team approached Marken Projects to design a Passive House for the first building in a brand new sustainable neighbourhood in Fort St. John, BC.

The City of Fort St. John is aiming to become an environmental leader in the Peace River region through the use of pervasive sustainable and environmental best practices. They own a 37-hectare site that is currently zoned for agricultural use. They have deemed that the future use of the site should be principally residential and has allocated it for implementation of a sustainable neighbourhood. The City drafted a concept plan for a sustainable neighbourhood in 2009. In their view, the implications of the neighbourhood reach beyond the confines of the 37-hectare site. They are interested in developing an approach that can be tested and refined and eventually applied community-wide. In essence the current neighbourhood plan is a learning demonstration.  It is a classroom where new approaches and new technologies can gradually be introduced to the Fort St. John area through developing local skills and supportive policies, and providing residents and decision-makers with familiarity and confidence.

The site is currently a blank slate (and a flat slate as well). The concept plan defines some broad land-use zones but no specific subdivisions.  The general location of our project site was identified but with no indication of the typical site information one normally begins a project with – site elevations, streets or utilities. We were given the amazing opportunity to break ground for this neighbourhood before the development plan is even in place.

This first building in this sustainable community will be a demonstration project of a single-family dwelling designed to meet Passive House standards. The City is interested in certifying the project as Passive House to validate cold climate applications of this building standard. The design parameters for a lot size of 50 feet X 120 feet were to design a 1.5 storey house with a footprint of 1200 sqft with a 300 sqft loft at a budget of $300,000 (approximately $180/sqft).

We started with a rectangular floor plan oriented to maximize southern solar exposure. The layout meets universal design principles to attract a wide range of demographics. It is efficient enough to enable a compact size but adaptable to the different end-uses of potential future owners.  The open plan kitchen/dining/living spaces are centered on the ground floor to face a wall of southern glazing and open onto a generous south-facing deck.  There is a flex room near the covered entry to the west, which could function as a home office, meeting room, an extra bedroom or even a playroom. The master bedroom and bathroom are located to the east. The upper floor was originally designed as an open loft with a bedroom and flex area looking out over the living space, opening to a dormer in the roof that would share clerestory southern daylighting with the ground floor spaces.

The design concept is a house with an overbearing roof that wraps the northern side like a warm winter coat and opens up to the south.

The darker aesthetic will have high contrast in the generally snowy climate. The dark wood siding has a rustic look taken from the Japanese blackened board technique (shou sugi ban). Traditional Japanese homes commonly used this technique for exterior siding so that it would resist rot and fire.  The blacked board has a silver sheen.

 Shou sugi ban – Japanese blackened board

Southeast View - June 21, 10am

The house will be equipped with a subsoil heat exchanger plus HRV, ductless mini split heat pump, mini baseboard heaters as backup, a solar hot water system, rainwater collection, and pre-wired for photovoltaic.

If we are successful in building this project and certifying it – it will not only be a demonstration of the most ambitious building standards, it will also demonstrate that being uber-green is not only achievable but also highly affordable.

Thank you to our clients at the City of Fort St. John – who have inspired us with their proactive and progressive vision!

Southwest Winter Rendering

Fast Facts:

• Total Sqf: ~ 1,700 sqf.
• Design heat load: 15 Kwh/m2/year
• Design max. energy demand for heating/cooling:  9800 BTU/h/W
• Design Air tightness: less than 0.6 ACH
• High Performance Heat Recovery Ventilation: 93% efficiency
• Triple Pane Wood Windows: U-value 0.8; SHGC 52% / 64%
• Prefabricated Panelized Building Shell: R-values: R 52 (Walls), R 70 (Roof), R 57 (Slab)

The project will also incorporate the following:

• Rainwater collection
• Low flow fixtures throughout
• Solar hot water panes and drain water heat recovery
• Native landscaping and permeable paving where necessary
• Lumber from FSC certified sources
• Flooring and millwork from sustainable sources
• Regionally sourced materials where possible and appropriate
• Use of recycled materials where possible
• No VOC to be used

Marken Projects have recently completed the Building Permit Drawing Set for this Passive House. The design is being presented to the Fort St. John City Council for approval to proceed. Watch this space for more updates.

1st Passive House for South Surrey, British Columbia, #PassiveHouse

An exciting new Passive House project ready to break ground in the Lower Mainland, BC

by Noel McNally

In Mid 2011 Marken Projects was approached by a family from Surrey, BC, to design a house for them that would have a strong legacy for their family (their daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren). The Hotells envisioned a house that could use less energy, have great access to light, be composed of materials that are sourced from sustainable sectors and provide a healthy indoor living environment. The Passive House model met all their desires in a new family home and more.

Design of this innovative building in South Surrey began in the summer and through close dialogue and interaction with the clients to incorporate their wish list items, the building developed through the later months of the year to a completed design and building permit ready project by Christmas.

The client’s desire to gain as much natural light into their home as well the passive solar gain benefit meant they were open to a design move that is not the norm of the East-West orientation of these 137’x60’ lots. Typically we see houses adhere to the front yard setback then maximize the footprint across the width of the lot.

Through some quick massing studies to see the solar shading effect of the neighbor to the south (and potential for the neighbor to build a 2 storey residence) we decided to increase the sideyard setback to the south to allow greater penetration of sun and light and avoid any overshadowing in the future. This also benefits the client by getting a little south deck and vegetable growing patch for the ground floor residents.

The clients desire to have three generations live under one roof reduces down their ecological footprint, as a family such as this would normally be living in separate houses.  There are a lot tangible and maybe not so tangible benefits to this. Less car journeys for the grandparents and grandchildren to meet and play/babysit, social benefit of having family close by to provide care saving health care costs/demand- especially with the generation that are advancing in age, to name but a few.

The Passive House design brief called for the younger family to be housed on the upper floor with the grandparents on the ground with the direct access to the garden whilst providing both units with access to common rooms on the ground floor like guest bedroom, office and laundry. The living spaces are stacked to the south to take advantage of light and solar heat gain whilst the bedrooms are pushed to the north. The ground floor opens up on the east and south to extend the living spaces into these adjoining garden spaces- something that was very important to the client. The upper floor has access to a south and west facing deck that also has direct access back down to the garden- a feature invaluable to a family with small children.

 Fast Facts:

Total Sqf: ~ 3,500

• Design heat load: 12 Kwh/m2/year
• Design max. energy demand for heating:7,850 BTU/h/W
• Design Air tightness: less than 0.6 -1 ACH
• High Performance Heat Recovery Ventilation: 93% efficiency
• Triple Pane Wood Windows: U-value 0.8; SHGC 52%
• Prefabricated Panelized Building Shell: R-value 39 (Walls), R 50 (Roof)

 The project will also incorporate the following:

• Rainwater collection
• Low flow fixtures throughout
• Solar hot water panes and drain water heat recovery
• Native landscaping and permeable paving where necessary
• Lumber from FSC certified sources
• Flooring and millwork from sustainable sources
• Regionally sourced materials where possible and appropriate
• Use of recycled materials where possible
• No VOC to be used

Marken Projects have recently completed the Building Permit Drawing Set for this Passive House, we expect construction to start spring 2012. Watch this space for more updates as the construction starts on this innovative project for South Surrey.

Project Team:

Design Studio: Marken Projects Inc., Vancouver: www.markenprojects.com

Builder: Picosso Homes, Langley: picossohomes@yahoo.ca

Prefab High Performance Shell: BC Passive House, Williamslake: www.bcpassivehouse.com

Mechanical Design/Consulting: ReNuEnergy, Edmonton: www.renubuildingscience.com/

Another Sunny Day at the Whistler Passive House

Last week, I traveled up to Whistler for another site visit to the Rainbow Duplex Passive House and to chat with the Durfeld team, which is always a pleasure.  Everything is coming together nicely as the following pictures show – let’s start in the basement/garage:

Basement Level: Heat Recovery Ventilator + Duct Collector

For this project, we selected the Paul by Zehnder HRV with a 93% efficiency rating.  In addition, we have added the Comfofond by Zehnder Subsoil Heat exchanger unit, which is connected to 60 meters of pipe filled with a Glycol-Water brine buried about six feet below grade.  This “passively” tempers the incoming air, warming it in winter and cooling it in summer, which ensures that the HRV operates at its most efficient temperature range.

Basement Level Viessman Solar Hot Water System

Viessman’s high efficiency Solar Hot Water system with vacuum solar tube panels should provide up to 60% of the hot water demand – one panel for each duplex unit.  In addition, a drain water heat recovery system will bring additional hot water energy savings.

Mitsubishi Air-to-Air Ductless Heat Pump

The main heating system, when needed, is an Air-to-Air Ductless Mini Split heat pump by Mitsubishi featuring a SEER 26 rating, wide operating range up to -30C, humidity control, 9000 BTU heat output, and I-sensor to pick up cold spots.

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) Decking

The cross laminated timber (CLT) decking on the upper level is still a somewhat novel building system in North America.  Manufactured by Structurlam in Penticton, the precision of prefabrication offered a streamlined construction process with reduced waste.  The assembly is quite nice looking and therefore can be left exposed.  It is also extremely strong, has excellent acoustical properties, and performs well in life cycle assessment studies.

Insulated Interior Stud Walls for service runs

The wires and pipes are neatly tucked away in the 2×4 service wall with Roxul insulation.

R47 Wall Assembly mock-up

This on site mock up shows the full R47 wall assembly, consisting of exterior Cladding, diffusion open, cellulose blow-in insulation, OSB (vapour barrier), AND the interior service wall with Roxul insulation.

Hardiboard Exterior Wall Panel

Basement Level Entry

Side Exterior Stair and Canopy

If you would like to know more about the details shown above or the project itself, please feel free to contact us:  maurer@markenprojects.com

High Performance Prefabrication for Passive House & Low Energy Buildings

Slowly but surely, construction practices developed and employed over the last 20 years in Europe are making their way to North America. Departing from the “2×4 mentality” seems to be harder for some, although I believe it makes perfect sense. The prefabrication of building components, such as exterior walls, roof and floors as large panel systems with swift onsite assembly, has  numerous  advantages, if done properly. One company has started doing just that,  using environmentally friendly cellulose blow-in insulation to fill large wall and roof panels with surprisingly solid U-values suitable for different climate zones. BC Passive House’s Prefab Panelized System is currently used for projects in moderate climates, such as the Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island, but also in colder climates, such as Fort St. John where winter temperatures can drop lower than -30 degrees celsius.

What we like about this product is its supreme quality and the fact that it uses wood, has a firm price, and allows a building shell to be erected within a few days, which can save the owner months in construction time. Also notable is that these diffusion-open, “breathable” panels are constructed indoors under controlled conditions using environmentally preferable materials, such as the cellulose blow-in insulation. And at the end of the day, when it always comes down to price, the Prefab Panels are very competitive, from what we have seen. Certainly, the savings lay less in the built costs, and more in the reduction of construction time and related savings. Down the road, durability and performance will add value and bring piece of mind.

Have a look at the assembly of these panels at the Whistler Passive House Duplex:

Gearing Up: Net Zero Energy Buildings

Yesterday, the International Living Future Institute announced it’s new Net Zero Energy Building Certification program.  Adding to the ever-growing list of green building certifications, the NZEBC has been developed to “galvanize and recognize widespread efforts to eliminate fossil fuel use and conserve energy”.  The program will be linked to the Institute’s Living Building Challenge program and intends to provide 3^rd party verification that net zero energy claims for building projects have actually been achieved.  This unveiling is not very surprising given the movement in the building industry over the past few years towards going not only green, but energy-reducing green.

For example, in August, the Net Zero Energy Home Coalition opened up the first of its volunteer-based Activity Task Forces for their long-coming Industry Implementation Plan.  Last year, the Canadian Passive House Institute became an officially registered non-profit, focusing on educating building professionals in Passive House design and construction.  And of course, the continual “greening of the BC Building Code” has incorporated a variety of energy efficiency regulations, including ASHRAE 90.1 energy standards derived from LEED credit requirements.  2012 will bring the newest BC Building Code updates, which promise to raise the bar by mandating even higher energy performance requirements.  Further, the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan has outlined ambitious Targets for 2020, including a requirement for all buildings constructed from 2020 onward to be carbon neutral in operations.

It seems slow but steady progress is being made by the City, Province and various green building organizations, and who is leading whom could be up for debate.  We are just happy to see forward movement from the top.  At the practicing level, we can use the momentum from successfully executed energy-efficient designs to keep pushing innovation forward.  For example, Passive House projects have proven to us that we have the knowledge and technology to seriously conserve energy through our building practices, and projects such as UBC’s CIRS building, which opened to the public last month, teach us that we can also harvest and regenerate more energy than a building even requires if we tap into its sources.

Conservation and regeneration.  Through both we come to net zero.   And net zero energy buildings are coming to BC!