Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
A summary of recent advances
Glazing considerations such as window area, elevation and orientation, thermal performance and solar shading to optimize natural daylighting and passive solar heat gain are very important to the envelope performance and energy consumption of buildings [1]. [BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, IBI Group and Henriquez Partners Architects, Photo: Nic Lehoux]
by Hugh Perry
Many of Canada’s commercial buildings were built over 40 years ago when there were few, if any, worries about energy performance and environmental responsibility. In an era of cheap and abundant energy, heating and cooling loads were of little concern; buildings were often clad entirely in glass with no differentiation between facades having different orientations. (more…)
Tags: aluminum frames, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Busby Perkins + Will’s Normand Maurice, ceramic dot pattern, Commercial glazing systems, Cradle to Cradle, energy consumption, energy savings, envelope performance, Environmental modelling software, environmental responsibility, green building, Heat Mirror, Henriquez Partners Architects, Hugh Perry, IBI Group, indoor environmental quality, material reuse, natural daylighting, Oldcastle Glass, orientation, passive solar heat gain, raw material extraction, Solar control, Solar shading, sourcing recycled materials, Southwall Technologies, thermal performance, thermopanes, vision panel
Posted in Tech Note | No Comments »
Saturday, March 15th, 2008
Design flexibility, energy efficiency and healthy environments
by Bill Reynolds
.
A sustainable approach to building design brings with it demands for flexibility, energy efficiency and healthy work environments. Interior spaces need to respond rapidly and cost effectively to organizational and technological changes. Meanwhile, steadily increasing energy costs require building systems that operate with improved efficiencies while ensuring a healthy, comfortable environment for building occupants. (more…)
Tags: air leakage testing, Armstrong, Beaulieu, Bill Reynolds, commissioning agent, controllability of systems, cork, cork flour, cost effectively, daylighting, Design flexibility, energy efficiency, flexible access, Forbo, Formica, granite, green-driven solution, healthy environments, high pressure laminates, iFloorazzo, Inc., increased ventilation, indoor air quality, InterfaceFLOR, Interior spaces, J. Lynn Fraser, limestone, Linoleum, material reuse, Modular plug-and-play wire, modular wiring, Natural marble, Nevamar, optimizing energy performance, PosiTile, PVD termination boxes, quartz aggregate, Raised access floors, recycled content, recycled glass, recycled packaging, resilient materials, rosin, sander dust, service distribution system, Shaw, solidified linseed oil, Synthetic rubber, Tandus, Tate Access Floors, thermal comfort, UFAD, VPI, wood, wood flour, zero VOC adhesives
Posted in Tech Note | No Comments »
