Monthly Archives
July 2016
Occupant Behaviour and Net-zero Design
The focus of this blog post is on how occupant behaviour effects designing buildings for net-zero. The topic of user-behaviour and net-zero design came up when we were analyzing the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) energy modelling software for a net-zero energy envelope retrofit project this week. We noticed that the clothes dryer used close to 20% of […]
Read moreChanges to Ontario Building Code SB-12
New changes in the Supplementary SB-12 “Energy Efficiency for Housing” section of the Ontario Building Code were announced on July 7, 2016. These changes, which come into effect January 1st, 2017 and include: – New prescriptive compliance packages that provide minimum 15 per cent energy efficiency improvement over existing packages – Drain water heat recovery units […]
Read morePassive Solar Design in Ontario
Passive Solar Homes are gaining popularity once again, having first emerged into general public consciousness in the 1970’s. Defined succinctly by the US Department of Energy: passive solar design takes advantage of a building’s site, climate, and materials to minimize energy use. In a “heating climate” like ours, where the major demand on the buildings […]
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