Presentation to CHBA Canadian Renovator’s CouncilBanff, Alberta Feb 24, 2011

Energy-Efficient Retrofits for Houses

11 Oakwood - 2009

Create Fact Sheets to show owners and builders energy retrofits that:

reduce heating energy by 10%

and 25%

are durable

are affordable

are good practice

don’t damage the environment

comply with Code

Study Goals

What does the study do?

looks at 4 ‘typical’ Canadian houses

looks at 6 cities in different climatic regions

uses Hot2000 to model two scales of retrofit:

10% less heating energy

25% less heating energy

shows detailed drawings of each retrofit

estimates extra cost of energy features

fact sheet for each house type

Outline of presentation

‘Now House’ (before) - 2007

Similar construction Quality improves as time progresses House forms present a variety of construction

challenges

4 Typical House Types

Different construction periods: Victory House

98 m2 (1050 ft2) with 60 m2 (650 ft2) bsm’tbuilt 1949 – 1960

Raised Bungalow 170 m2 (1830 ft2) built 1960 – 1967

Two-storey 165 m2 (1775 ft2) with 83 m2 (895 ft2) bsm’tbuilt 1977 – 1983

Semi-detached or Row 160 m2 (1750 ft2) built after1945

4 Typical House Types

Different construction for each base case house type: Air changes per hour RSI values Windows

6 Cities

ACPH50 Wall RSI Ceiling RSI Basement RSI Windows

Yellowknife 8.0 2.04 3.28 0.93 DG wood

Vancouver 11.4 1.65 3.60 0.96 SG wood

Winnipeg 4.7 1.66 4.50 1.22 DG wood

Toronto 7.9 1.72 3.83 0.85 SG wood

Montreal 8.8 1.86 3.94 1.15 SG wood

Halifax 7.5 1.85 3.51 0.93 SG wood

Proposed Base-case construction for the Victory House (1949 – 1960)*

*NRCan survey data

Different performance for each period of construction: Air changes per hour decrease RSI values increase Window RSI values increase

6 Cities

ACPH50 Wall RSI Ceiling RSI Basement RSI Windows

Yellowknife 7.4 2.04 7.69 1.4 DG wood

Vancouver 6.7 2.20 5.61 1.29 SG wood

Winnipeg 4.2 1.69 3.90 1.06 DG wood

Toronto 7.6 1.76 3.77 1.23 SG wood

Montreal 9.1 1.96 3.95 1.23 SG wood

Halifax 5.8 2.55 5.22 1.26 SG wood

Proposed Base-case construction for Semi-detached (post -1949 construction)

*NRCan survey data

How does each retrofit option affect the amount of energy needed to heat the house?

Which retrofits are most energy effective? What are optimal R-values? (diminishing returns)

Hot2000 Energy Modeling

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Annual

Gas

Hea

ting

Con

sum

ptio

n, k

Wh

Wall R-Value, hr-ft2-F/Btu

10% WWR

15% WWR

20% WWR

25% WWR

30% WWR

Hot2000 Energy Modeling

Results of individual retrofit measures (as a percentage of reduction from base case)

Small renovations with big effects on energy use: Air sealing Adding minor insulation to:

roof/attic above-grade walls basement

10% less heating energy

Roof Insulation

Basement Insulation

Large renovations with big effects on energy use: Air sealing Adding major insulation to:

attic above-grade walls basement walls basement slab

Replacing windows with high performance windows

25% less heating energy

Wall Insulation

10% less heating energy: Air seal

Add insulation to roof/attic

Add insulation to basement wall

Add insulation to above-grade wall

Alternatives: Insulate inside

Insulate outside

Details

Basement Wall

Above-grade Wall

25% less heating energy: Air seal

Add insulation in attic

Add insulation in basement

Add insulation to above-grade wall

Add insulation to slab

Replace windows with high-performance windows

Alternatives: Insulate inside

Insulate outside

Details

Exposed Floor

Above-grade wall

Cost-effective retrofits: Air seal

Add insulation to attic/roof

Add insulation in basement

Add insulation to above-grade wall

Add insulation to slab

Replace windows with high-performance windows

Costs

Increasing cost

Extend dormer to wall

Sealed polyethylene A/B

Remove roof framing

Finished room

$

$

Cost-effective retrofits:

Costs

Retrofit Approx. Cost

Improve airtightness of Victory house or half-duplex $1,500

Improve airtightness of 2-storey or raised bungalow $2,000

Install new polyolefin sheathing membrane $2.15/m2 ($0.20/ft2)

Install 50mm (2”) new extruded polystyrene $12.90/m2 ($1.20/ft2)

Remove and replace drywall (incl. mud, sanding, paint)

$16.15/m2 ($1.50/ft2)

Install 75mm (3”) new extruded polystyrene $19.40/m2 ($1.80/ft2)

75mm (3”) blown-in cellulose or spray-applied polyurethane foam

$32.30/m2 ($3.00/ft2)

150mm (6”) blown-in cellulose or spray-applied polyurethane foam

$53.80/m2 ($5.00/ft2)

Increasing cost

$

$

Simple Payback method is difficult to sell to a client

Costs

Retrofit Approx. Cost Simple Payback* (years)

Interior retrofit for10% less heating energy

$3,000 (Victory) - $6,000 (2-storey)

10 (Yellowknife) - 40 (Vancouver)

Exterior retrofit for 10% less heating energy

$3,600 (Victory) - $7,200 (2-storey)

12 -50

Interior retrofit for25% less heating energy

$10,000 (Victory) - $30,000 (2-storey)

20 (Yellowknife) - 100 (Vancouver)

Exterior retrofit for25% less heating energy

$11,000 (Victory) - $33,000 (2-storey)

22 -100+

Replace windows with Energy Star windows

$3,000 (Victory), $4,500 (semi), $5,000 (2-storey)

20 (Victory-Montreal) - 80 (semi- Winnipeg)

Incremental cost of retrofit divided by savings in energy = Simple payback (years)

Retrofit costs look better when they’re added to a mortgage

2 fact sheets per house type (10%, 25% less energy) include: Building envelope issues likely to be encountered

Cost-effective renovations to save energy

Construction details

Sustainable building practices

Check list of construction tasks

Approximate costs for each city

Other energy-saving improvements

Useful references

Fact Sheets

‘Victory House’ - 1949

‘Now House’ (after) - 2009

Thank you!

Questions?