Absorption Chillers, Einstein refridgerators and cool stuff like that

Check out this Youtube TED video on a low-cost, high-tech refridgeration technology by Adam Grosser;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSdXqmnNCp0
Crazy cool stuff - use a campfire as an energy source for cooling 3 gallons of water down to just above 0deg C, for 24hrs, in a 30deg C environment.  Funny thing is that to figure out this technology, they had to get the entire thermodynamics dept at Stanford involved and used CFD (computational fluid dynamics) to regenerate the property tables for ammonia, discovering that the old ones were all wrong.....this is pretty freaky stuff.

So, we need something that takes energy from the sun to power an absorption chiller designed to cool down a house.

Alternative:  Take the heat from inside the house (via the ERV/HRV), concentrate it to use as a heat source to power the absorption chiller to cool the house (again via ERV/HRV).  Any losses in efficiencies (waste heat) go to the domestic hot water system.  How cool would that be?
The Einstein refridgerator (an absorption chiller variant) uses no moving parts.  A guy named M. McCulloch is involved with reviving this technology at Oxford university.

Now the search for practical units in the marketplace begins.

LT

Hot Water and Heating with Heat pumps

Using only electricity for DHW and heat on our project results in a primary energy consumption of some 180kWh/m^2an, so this simplest of solutions is definitely not passive house.  Using heat pumps exclusively for both cuts the number in half (the limit is 120kWh...).

There are many types of heat pump module available.  Therma-Vent, Aqua-Plus, Heat Harvester, HotPlate...  The issue is heat pumps degrade in COP significantly as the output temperatures reach 55 to 60deg C for DHW (but they can still do this with a COP of about 2).

Anyway, we need to look at harvesting the incoming ventilation air heat in summer and the outgoing ventilation air heat in summer, and the outgoing ventilation air heat in winter - got that?

The other thing is to integrate this all with solar thermal, and a 600' 3/4" pex loop in the ground should provide a fair bit of the needed energy as well.  It would be nice to have an insulated concrete tank where we can dump excess heat in summer and recover it in winter.  The earthtube seems more and more of an impracticality, though it is still a minor possibility.
LT

Windows again

Had another conversation with Thermotech.  They confirmed the use of the zeros (apparently PHIUS is in agreement with this) in the PHPP for Psi spacer and Psi installation.  This makes a huge difference to the energy calculations reducing specific annual energy by a kWh/m^2 or more.
Also the cost of their windows with the 322Gain+ triple pane glass is about $65-70/SF depending on options.  The windows come with or without installation flanges, with or without brick mold.
No tilt and slide patio doors available - so this is an issue, since I don't want to pay shipping from europe for just a couple of doors.
LT

Windows - Thermotech vs Others in PHPP

I went through detailed modelling of the thermal envelope recently and compared Thermotech windows to Euro-style PH windows:
Here's an email I sent to Stephen Thwaites of Thermotech about the results:

Dear Stephen and Ken,

.......preamble....

Our design is a 2.5 storey house 41.5ft e-w by 36.5ft n-s. It is a rectangualr box with a gable roof, the ends facing e-w. Very simple and compact shape, with basement. 35 Openings totalling 39.9Sq m of windows, including 4 doors with 1/2 lites and including door and window frames, 20.9 sqm of that on the south.

What I found is:

1. Compared Thermotech glass to a high-performance 'Low-E 0.51 Neutralite Guardian Luxguard (item 35 in the PHPP)' glass with SHGC 0.51 and Ug 0.51, the model showed a 1kWh/m^2an advantage over the Thermotech 322Gain+(75/68) glass. With Thermotech glass, we were at 12.966kWh, and with the Neuatrilite, it was down to 11.99. This compares to the 15kWh/m^2an threshold to be a passive house. The comparison was done with the Thermotech casement frames in the model.


2. Returning the model to the Thermotech glass, I compared Thermotech frames to Optiwin Solarfassade frames, but keeping the 4 doors as before, which are generic. The narrowness of the Thermotech frames (0.68m compared to Optiwin's 0.100) is definitely a significant boost to performance.  Switching from Thermotech Casements all around to the Optiwin degraded the building's performance from 12.97kWh/m^2an to 14.81 - a very significant difference. Fixed (non opening) Thermotech windows will be good as well, of course, though there is still more comparing to do.
I didn't look at the sliding glass doors since I don't think they'll meet airtightness needs without the lift and slide hardware.

LT

SIPS for an R100 Roof

Well, the roof is not turning out to be easy.  the first option I've been working on is a 2x6 rafter system conventionally framed with sheathing and Grace Ice and Water Shield on the outside of it as an air and vapour barrier.  (PERSIST system).  Then 20" deep I-joists go on top of that assy, sitting on 2x4 purlins on the flat to minmimize thermal bridging.  Something is done at the top to form a 2.5" deep vent channel and then another layer of sheathing and then the roofing.  Long process, some big parts of it on scaffolding.  Costs are significant too.  Costing is complicated, but I have most of the numbers.  It is something like $19,000 of materials not including roofing.  Labour - who knows?


Then the SIPS solution.  the idea would be to frame the roof with the previously planned 2x6 rafters, then place the SIPS on top.  Air and vapour barriers are not needed, and neither is the vent channel.  It is solid insulation right through to the outside.  If code officials balk, then a conventional poly VB can be placed on the inside of hte inner frames.
Talked with Kent Truss in Barrie - they say the value of the SIPS materials for this application is about $30,000 delivered to site, (SIPS and their accessories only - no roofing).  The roof is a simple 8/12 pitch gable, total 2160SF on the outside.  Apparently this is about 2 truckloads of SIPS materials.
Installation is an additional $2/sf approx, but in our case, maybe double that.  Sips are max 12.25" thick - this is for manufacturing reasons, and also the 2x12 studs used to connect them.  since the thickest SIPs are R45.5, they would need to use 2 layers, the second being faced one-side only with OSB.  Special 14" long screws are used to secure the SIPS.  OSB facings are 7/16" standard thickness.

Also, largest SIPS panels available from Insulspan are 8'x24' (x previously mentioned 12.25"thk).


LT

Windows Again

Wow,
There are some fantastic window discussions out there.  Green Building Advisor has so much information in it. Fantastic!
Here is the link (Thanks to the Loading Dock Blog for the link  http://blog.loadingdock5.com/?p=192 )

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/passivhaus-windows

Window Sourcing

Gualhofer, Optiwin, are two Euro window makers selling in NA. 
Here is the Gaulhofer NA site:  http://www.gaulhoferwindows.com/contact-us.php

Optiwin NA is easy to find.
Their Frostkorken door is approx $2000, I think, with VIP panels inside, rated R60 (!), this price with no frills.

Windows and really good Windows!

Conversation with Stephen at Thermotech was very enlightening.  Here is some info about their windows and windows in general.

Only 3 NA companies make the high-performance windows needed for Passive House.

1. Serious Windows
2. Thermotech
3. Fibertec

The 2nd and 3rd are Canadian Companies.  you can also buy Optiwin, and Gaulhofer in North America.  Prices need to be determined.  This is a Blog http://blog.loadingdock5.com/?p=192 where they found windows from France for about $30,000 as opposed to the NA ones for about $10k.  That seems crazy, so I phoned up Thermotech to see if I can use theirs.  They apparently have performance data good enough to use in the PHPP software, so I'll be able to see if our house design can use their windows effectively.  Their frames are smaller and lower profile than the Optiwin and other Euro ones, so this makes some difference when choosing, as smaller windows may benefit substantially from the increased glass areas that low profile frames can provide, compared to the larger framed euro windows.  Thermotech windows use both Truth (operator) hardware and Roto (euro multipoint locking) hardware.  The Roto hardware operates multiple locks with a single lever.  The pultruded fibreglass frames are filled with insulation and joined using an injection-moulded grn corner piece, to which the frame stanchions are screwed (4 screws per corner).  The joints are then sealed with a marine-grade sealant (not silicone).  Thermotech windows all open outward.  There is no tilt and turn feature like the Optiwin and other euro styles. 
Here are some numbers on sizing:

1. Tilt and turn windows work best at about 3 to 4ft wide.
2. Triple pane casements should not be wider than 34" or the hinge hardware becomes inadequate
3. Casement dimensions are max about 34"x72".
4. Awning windows are good up to 4'x4' sizes.
5. Pricing is by perimeter, except the customer base prefers 'united length'.  At a certain size, windows jump in price due to the need to thicken the glass, which is determined by wind pressures and CSA codes.  This size is 95 united inches (outside dim of windows, length plus width).  Above 95 Ui, glass must be 4mm thick, rather the 3.
6. Thermotech recently began offering a triple pane glass with low -e, argon, and now low-iron glass called their 322 Gain Plus.  The low iron improves SHGC, though drops R value slightly.  Krypton fill adds about $20 to $30 per SF to window costs (!).
7. Nice window hardware is by Roto, Segania, G. U. 
8. Energy Rating (ER) rating is a Canadian rating system for windows that takes solar heat gains into account as well as R-value.  Thermotech windows perform very well in this rating system, in which solar gains over 200 days in the year are averaged.
9. Here is a window discussion in GreenBuildingAdvisory.com:  http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/community/forum/energy-efficiency-and-durability/14850/serious-windows-vs-thermotech-fibertec-inline

Footing Insulations

Structural connections are the hardest parts to design for thermal bridge-free construction.  I've decided to install insulation under my strip footings.  There are high-strength insulation products such as Foamglas and Pur-knit and others.  They are expensive, and Foamglas is friable (brittle).  Therefore I plan to use HI-load 60.  An XPS 60-psi compressive strength rated insulation under the strip footings.  This stuff is R-5 per inch.  For nearly twice the price, you can buy HI-load 100, and Foamglass is beyond that price.  As an added benefit, the HI-60 comes in thickness up to 3".

The DOW building solutions rep said footings are insulated routinely by a large production builder in the Ottawa area - they have clay/silt soils that are highly prone to frost heave, and the builders insulate under the footings to protect their foundations during construction.  Railway tracks are also insulated using these HI-load insulations.
More on this later.

In Europe, they are making Foamglas gravel - all with recycled glass - I think this is fantastic, but no luck getting it here.

Kitchen Recirculating Range Hoods (Ductless)

Terrel Wong of Stone's Throw Design (see link to the Rosedale House) found the VentaHood Ductless range hood on the internet - It is a nice looking unit which has 3 grease and smoke removal stages, and it doesn't use a filter pad.  It employs centrifugal grease removal first, then a carbon pellet bed filter, then a large paper filter.  This is the best residential ductless range hood I've seen so far.  There are others by Kobe and Berbel, but this one seems the best to me, based on specs.  Canadian Appliances Inc. is to give me a price on these.

Note that a large capacity ducted range hood depressurizes the house, increasing the entry of soil gases into the home - such as radon.  If you are running the range hood with a fire going in the fireplace in the other room - bad situation - smoke all over the house.  Also, if you are running the ducted range hood and you have a gas furnace, gas water heater - also bad situation - CO gases may easily come into the house.  In these cases, you want to have a very leaky, energy hog of a house - then you might be okay.

Ductless is very much the way to go in an energy efficient, airtight house.
LT