Twinsprings Research Institute

RecoupAerator

Posted on March 9, 2015 by ellen

LEED recommends an HRV or ERV mechanical ventilation and air purification system to provide adequate ventilation and air quality in a super tight structure. AE Building Systems also carries one of the most energy efficient Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV). The ERV tempers the incoming ventilated air by crossing it with the outgoing home air. Heat Recovery Ventilators (HRV) work about the same way, except they don’t transfer humidity from the exchanged air. The RecouperAerator, made by Ultimate Air in Ohio is both an air filtration system with a high MERV rating and a ventilation system that tempers the incoming fresh air and exhausts stale air from the home.

Sample RecoupAerator Install Example (box with green label)

The recommended ducting for the system delivers fresh air at ceiling level and returns at floor level. The unit can also be incorporated into a furnace system.

RecoupAerator Duct Option

The unit needs to be sized to deliver the right amount of ventilation for the space. Ultimate Air is a variable speed unit from about 60 cfm to 200 cfm that will serve up to a 3000 square ft home. But the actual calculations are based on ASHRAE requirements for home ventilation based on either square or cubic foot of space inside the home.

Posted in Appliances, Energy Efficiency, Ventilation | Comments Off

Designing Ducts

Posted on March 7, 2015 by ellen

Duct Design has been a bit tricky. The information about designing a suitable duct system for ventilation only has been difficult for me to find and interpret. Most duct design documentation is for heating systems and the fan speed numbers don’t seem to apply to an ERV with a variable speed fan. I was able to adjust a duct design from another ERV example to illustrate the layout for the supply ducting for our system.

Duct Layout

We are planning to limit the supply ducting to the remodeled area. Some of the air will blow back to the rear bedrooms from the living room while the returns will be located centrally in the pantry closet where the ERV will be located. Ventilation air will be released close to the ceiling and drawn in through stale air returns both above the ERV. The ERV comes with 6″ duct connections but to distribute air in our rather direct system, we will have to increase that to at least 8″. My first design was for 8″ supply and 6″ distribution but that won’t supply enough air except at the highest fan setting.

I learned this by asking the Ultimate Air folks what the static pressure should be in the system. That total static pressure determines how much air can be lost in the duct work itself. No fan can overcome a static pressure that is greater than its design capability. Although that seems intuitive, determining the fan’s capability at a certain duct length and diameter requires duct length tables.

The documentation for the RecoupAerator says not to exceed 7-8 inches of water column (in/wg) but that is the very highest resistance allowed to deliver air at the highest speed. For lower speed they recommended we keep the static pressure at 4 in/wg. So back to the drawing board.

Another confusion was the fan performance curves often published to determine sizing for a ventilation system. I could not understand the RecoupAerator curve as it was basically flat. Another question to their experts revealed that is because the fan is variable. It puts out steady air pressure all along the performance continuum.

Typical Fan Curve

Ultimate air fan performance curve

The typical fan curve shows the delivery of air changes as the length of the duct and the static pressure i.e. resistance in the ducts increases. So the fan delivers fewer cubic feet per minute of air the higher the static pressure and the longer the duct work. But the RecoupAerator from Ultimate Air has a continuously variable fan that works harder as the duct length increases and the static pressure increases but only up to .8 in/wg at 200 cfm. If there is more resistance the fan cannot deliver 200 cfm. Also this curve doesn’t show the static pressure for lower speeds which works the same way. If you want to run this fan on low speed and deliver air through the ducts the static pressure can’t be more than about .4.
So although using .8 in/wg for the duct system works with 6″ ducting in the run I planned above, the system would only deliver enough air at 200 cfm or the highest fan speed.

Posted in Planning, Ventilation | Comments Off

Flir One Floor

Posted on March 2, 2015 by ellen

Here is an infrared photo of the radiant pipes heating up in the slab. The temp shows the warmest temperature spot (red) to be just under design temperature (86˚) for the floor at zero outside. This photo was taken before the floor was entirely heated. The design temp keeps us comfortable and cozy inside and in fact the radiant heat works very well. An infrared camera allows you to “see” where the water pipes are located.

Radiant floor–just below design temp for zero degrees

The front door has a great deal of leakage underneath. We usually put a piece of polyiso in front of this door when it gets really cold. It will be replaced by a new ThermaTru-Alpen door in late March.

Cold leakage under the door

Another eye opener in the house was the temperature difference of the unprotected foundation wall on the east side of the master bedroom. This one will have polyiso insulation glued to the inside to eliminate this thermal break in the wall.

Uninsulated foundation wall on east side of Master bedroom.

The Flir iphone applications allows an image to use one of four emissivity settings. Another app records the high and low temps and temps of individual spots on the photo. The temps recorded depend on the accuracy of the setting. In this photo the high and low temps recorded outside are exaggerated with the high emissivity setting.

Exterior Flir Photo

The Flir One is a great tool but not accurate enough for official LEED evaluations. LEED requires not just a level one thermographer but a level two which requires more training. Infrared photos for our LEED evaluation will reveal any issues with the insulation installation that is not fully uncovered in the part of the house that we are not tearing apart entirely. That will determine the number of points that we earn for the thermal envelope. So I’m looking for someone who is a level two thermographer too.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Tools | Comments Off

Flir One Sons

Posted on March 2, 2015 by ellen

My Flir One Sons as captured by my Christmas present to myself, a nifty iphone infrared camera accessory.

Flir One Son #1

Flir One Son #2 with temp spread in sunlight

Earlier last year I splurged on an iphone after using the first G1 for six years–but it was just before the iphone 6 was released and I wanted to be sure to get an iphone 5s because it fit the new infrared camera device from FLIR. The Flir One for the iPhone was released at $359 but it was reduced to $259 around Christmas time and then I had a $100 gift certificate from Apple so I bought one of these nifty cameras for myself.

The next larger camera is about $1000 and having an infrared camera to capture the temperature differentials in the rooms allows us to determine where more sealing is required and to measure the warmest and coldest temperatures in the house. There are other uses as well, and soon everyone will have an infrared camera in their tool bag but for now they are definitely a “geek” toy, I mean tool.

Posted in Tools | Comments Off

Time out for an RV trip!

Posted on February 26, 2015 by ellen

RV in New Mexico Desert

Yep, we are retired and I have always wanted to be able to get away in the RV for a couple of weeks. So we left for two weeks in February to explore New Mexico. On the way back we stopped to soak at my favorite hot springs so far. Pagosa has lots of smaller tubs and a nice sized swimming pool so that it is comfortable to soak outside even in temperatures down into the teens.

Pagosa Hot Springs

It took us three camping nights to make it to Carlsbad Caverns where we toured two days while staying at Guadalupe National Mountains.

Carlsbad Cavern

On the way back we stopped to hike near Albuquerque, stopped at White Sands, Hatch NM for hot peppers, and Chaco Canyon Pueblo Ruins. Very impressive.

Chaco Canyon Pueblos

We got home just in time for our grandkids birthday parties!

Posted in Diversions | Comments Off

Window and Door Performance

Posted on February 4, 2015 by ellen

The best performance is expensive, but is it more expensive than it is worth? I hope not! Here are the tested performance values for the 525-S Alpen window and doors that I chose. All the 525-S window panels are glazed with 2 panes of glass and 1 of film with argon fill. The depth of the panel is 1 3/8″.

Style	U-Factor	R-Value	SHGC	VT	Air Infiltration
Picture Window LP	0.17	6.3	0.3	0.49	0.01
Casement Window	0.19	5.3	0.24	0.38	0.01&.02
Picture Window LP	0.17	5.9	0.48	0.62	0.01
Casement Window	0.2	5	0.38	0.48	0.01&.02
Awning Window	0.19	5.3	0.24	0.38	0.01
Patio Door Glass	0.19	5.3	0.41	0.53
Patio Door Frame	.27/.18	3.7-5.5			.02 & .04

The air infiltration figures are particularly high performing. I read that the NFRC cannot test lower than .01. I found this chart comparing the difference between air infiltration rates for a 12 x 12 room in hours to change the air completely.

Window Air Infiltration Rates

Although the u factor and r value are higher for the sliding patio units, the uncontrolled air change rate according to this chart would be 9.1 hours, while the patio doors would leak a full room of air in 16 hours. The casement windows will take 64 hours to allow enough air in to replace all in a 12 x 12 room. Lots of difference in the air infiltration rates.

The solar heat gain coefficient numbers are not high for the south facing glass but they are the highest I could find with low u factors. Visible transmittance or the “clearness” of the glass is about half that of untreated glass except for the low solar heat gain windows on the north, east, and west.

These are current day high performance windows and doors, but they are sure to improve in the next 30 years so that one day, another owner will replace them with truly energy efficient units!

UPDATE: At the last minute I decided to upgrade the door inserts to the 725 glass. This unit has two layers of film inside and for the doors, the upgrade was very reasonable.

Style	U-Factor	R-Value	SHGC	VT	Air Infiltration
Patio Door Glass	0.18	5.6	0.41	0.53

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Energy Efficiency, Green Building Interests | Comments Off

More Window and Door Decisions

Posted on February 4, 2015 by ellen

Alpen Window Corner

I spent the whole morning with Mark Attard from AE and we finalized the order for the windows and doors. I was not completely happy with the limit on door options, but I hope I picked the best of each option available.
Mark brought a frame corner and color samples which was great because it was hard to imagine the “sandstone” color. Actually it was more beige than tan so we ended up picking a darker brown just not quite as dark as the bronze in the sample. Believe it or not the sample and the window are two different colors. I was tempted to go with a brick red but Dave preferred the brown and thank goodness I had a second opinion to rely on.

Alpen Color Choices–Buffalo and Black

I took a couple of pics of the insulated fiberglass frame too and the metal strips are the new 525-S spacers.

Alpen Frame Insulation

The door frames are purchased from Therma Tru–the best match is the Smooth Star version. Unfortunately, Alpen does not offer the full range of Therma Tru doors. I could only choose single and dual panel inswing hinged doors. Any sidelights would have to be Alpen frames which don’t really match the doors as well as the integral versions. So I chose full lite single panel opening doors for the front door, master bedroom door and east hall back door and dual panel full lite french patio doors for the large south living room area. Three 69 inch doors fit the space almost perfectly though so there is little to complain about. We will figure out how to keep the inswing doors out of the way in the hallway. The doors don’t come with screens but we should be able to screen them not too expensively with regular big box screening.

All I have to do is sign the contract and send in the check and the order will be on its way. Mark also recommended an installer and we have that quote and will use his expertise because he works with Mark and will seal everything with AE offered products which are the SIGA line. WOW this is a big step! ($$$$)

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Energy Efficiency, Planning | Comments Off

Alpen 525-S Windows

Posted on February 2, 2015 by ellen

Alpen HPP makes “cadillac” windows in my opinion. The specifications are far beyond Milgard as I’ve pointed out, and they have a lot of information available about their windows on their website that shows the quest for very high energy efficiency in their products. There are many recommendations for the windows on green building forums and sites. Some prefer the uPVC technology from Canada or Europe for a bit higher ratings at less cost, but uPVC is a cheaper product overall than fiberglass so I’m not impressed by the differences.

As mentioned before Alpen uses a “Mirror Film” technology that is manufactured in Chicago by Southwall and unlike other window companies has had success with its use. This film creates a third or forth pane within the window to capture heat and lower the u-values. They pair this technology with a super insulated fiberglass frame that holds its shape and spacers that maintain a good seal within the window. They offer a limited life time warranty to the original owner/purchaser of the windows, excluding color fade, screens, and labor. Still a very good warranty in the industry.

Originally I had Mark send a quote for Series 725 which was the Alpen mid range window. Since then Alpen has released an upgrade version of their 525 series using a new spacer that improves the performance.

Energy Star uses the test data from the National Fenestration Rating Council to determine efficiency. The data used are U factor, the measure of heat transfer through the window, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, the measure of solar energy transfer (low ratings block heat from the sun), Visual Transmittance, the light that gets through the window–higher values equal more light, air infiltration, the measure of air leakage through the closed window and Condensation Resistance, the amount of condensation that builds on the window surface.

Generally the more expensive the window, given similar construction materials, the better the NFRC figures, at least that is what I have found in shopping. I wanted to find the best figures for the money. That is an arguable measure. My daughter’s new windows and doors are Energy Star. They have the minimum ratings to make that designation and perform well for her normally built stick house. The cost was typical builder supply cost and that is about an order of magnitude lower. So $300 retail for a door vs. close to $3000 for a special order high performance door. Custom special order doors are also that expensive though so compared to Pella or Anderson or even the more energy efficient Milgard, the price difference is much less. We are trying to produce the most energy efficient, highest LEED rating, closest to Net Zero home that we can afford and that makes sense for the final value of our property.

Even within the Alpen window lines, the 725 was mid-range with great performance, but the 925 is their highest rated window–and has Passive House approval. But they are even more expensive. We would have gone with 725 but Mark’s advice is that the 525-S is a better “deal”. Great performance for less cost.

The 525-S series has better air infiltration figures than the 725. The seal must make the difference as the numbers typically are .05 for the 725 and .02 for the 525-S. Otherwise the 725 have lower U factors. A fixed glass low profile higher solar factor window is .16 while the same 525-S fixed glass window is .17. So with that difference we have switched to the 525-S series for the more affordable performance.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Energy Efficiency, LEED Project, Local Products | Comments Off

AE Building Systems

Posted on February 1, 2015 by ellen

I was fortunate to be referred to Mark Attard at AE when I contacted Alpen for a quote. He is very involved in the Passive House interest group in Colorado and AE Building Systems carries a full line of products to achieve excellent thermal efficiency in any building.

We purchased the Siga air barrier from AE and will also buy the Ultimate Air RecoupAerator Energy Recovery ventilation system from them. So Mark is an important partner in our LEED certification quest.

So far Mark has completed 13 quotes for either the entire set of windows and doors or partial quotes for variations. We are still not to the final quote, but getting very close.

Mark also carries Intus doors and windows. This is a European company that sells uPVC windows and doors as well as aluminum clad wood. I really like the aluminum clad wood, and they make outswing french doors and “window walls” that slide completely open. My friend Sarah the architect, who grew up in the house recommended we look at Nana Walls that open like this. I contacted the rep in Colorado but found that their aluminum version would cost about $20,000 for the 212 inch space. Intus’s folding wall option in aluminum clad wood is about the same. Filling the opening with two sets of outswing french doors costs about $12,000 from Intus and using Alpen sliders is closer to $7000. The sliders have the best u values so the Intus can gain just a tiny bit on the SHGC (.47 vs. .41 for Alpen.)

I didn’t want the openings to protrude into the “solar hall” space as that is the main passage between the entry and rear of the house but our last house had a slider and I always wanted to replace it with a french door. Also we had sliders on our first home and they stuck after several years. One set we replaced with an outswing french door and we really liked that door. It worked well off the kitchen and did not require space in the room itself.

But Alpen does not offer outswing french doors. Mark said outswing doors have sealing and longevity problems so don’t meet Alpen’s specifications at this time. They are working with a uPVC company to put their glass in uPVC windows and doors, however, I really want to put in fiberglass due to its proven durability and I prefer the locally manufactured products from Alpen.

My daughter just had me look closely at her home improvement store inswing french doors. She said for the money, the energy efficiency and operation of the doors is much more cost effective. She has a point. The doors are about .3 or close to the high end Milgard, but the low e coating really limits the heat from the sun. Her doors are on the south side of the house too. But they do open all the way so that if room was provided for them to fold back against the wall, they could open the space in a similar way as outswing doors would. So again I may ask Mark for another variation.

In my defense if I had access to the product software, I could do all this work myself and would love it. As it is, every time I consider an alternate style or design, Mark has to send me another quote. This has been time consuming for both of us.

There is also the installation that we have to think about. Mark works with an installer who is coming out this week to look at the job. We will be able to expose the studs inside for the new windows but the outside is covered either in siding, masonry, or stucco, so the windows probably won’t be able to use “fins” to seal against the building. Instead we will use an attached aluminum brick mold that Mark recommended to trim out the outside of the windows and seal under that, then use foam around the units. Our current windows have a brick mold and use spray foam to seal them so that should work great. Instead of fins the windows can be equipped with brackets to attach them.

Although we are excited to be making this big step in the energy upgrade to this house, it is also a tense time, making the right decisions and having the foresight to have high energy efficiency, workable openings, and attractive design is time consuming for us and our vendor.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Design Style, LEED Project | Comments Off

Local Manufacturers of Windows and Doors

Posted on January 31, 2015 by ellen

We live near Denver, Colorado. Locally manufactured items qualify for LEED points if they are made within 500 miles of home. There are several local manufacturers of vinyl or uPVC windows in that radius but far fewer for fiberglass. Milgard, one of the largest window manufacturers in the U.S., have had manufacturing facilities in Denver, Colorado since 1996, although they also manufacture at other sites outside the 500 mile radius.

Milgard Wood Clad Casement

Among the most energy efficient windows made in the USA, Alpen High Performance Products manufactures in Longmont, CO. They have been making energy efficient windows since the 70’s. Although briefly owned by Serious Windows in CA, ownership transferred back to Alpen in 2012.

Alpen Fiberglass Casement

I fortunately found a website that allowed me to cost out Milgard windows and doors. The Window Store is located in California but my quote showed that the doors I would order would ship from Denver–and I had the option of picking up the order to save the shipping of $150. I was thrilled to work with the software putting in the numbers for the doors and varying the configurations. I got lots of idea about how to arrange the large window/door area and used the overall quote to get an idea of the pricing on higher end fiberglass doors with wood interiors.

The cost of Milgard doors is about 20 to 30% less than the fiberglass high performance options from Alpen. But the numbers are not nearly as impressive. For French doors the u factor is about .29, the solar heat gains are low with every choice of glass–about .2 and lower and low visual transmission figures too. The numbers for the Alpen solar heat gain glazing option on a sliding door is a u value of .19 and SHGC of .41. That is impressive and qualifies for “Very High Efficiency” ratings from LEED.

Alpen windows and doors offer a “triple pane” option by using an interior film to improve u values. We already have two windows with cracked films, but there were lots of film failures in the 80’s and 90’s while Alpen seems to have had success. Apparently all these films come from Southwall (now owned by Eastman Chemical) in Chicago and they manufacture “Heat Mirror IG”. The company was sued for many failures but they won the cases because the other manufacturers did not follow the specifications published by the company. There are several window companies that use the film.

Milgard also states higher air infiltration rates than Alpen–.1 and .07 for Milgard and .02 for Alpen for 525 series casement windows. So Alpen is our first choice for the new windows and doors for the house.

Unfortunately although the Milgard options have wood clad interiors for both the windows and doors, Alpen offers wood clad fir or oak only for windows.

Also I had hoped to purchase outswing french doors for the living room to really open up that area to the courtyard, but Alpen does not offer them although Milgard does. They do offer both inswing french doors and sliding patio doors.

Configuring new windows and doors differently from what is already installed can be very tricky. We are working on that configuration now and have gone through almost every option we could think of for the doors and several for the windows.

More about the ordering process next.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Energy Efficiency, Local Products | Comments Off

Window and Door Decision

Posted on January 30, 2015 by ellen

I’m in the throes of deciding about the replacement windows and doors. After the total replacement of the slab in the main part of the house, this is the most expensive single energy efficiency upgrade.

Our current windows are all wood and double pane, the large picture windows do not have frames but are just the glass panels installed with spray foam borders. Since this house was built to be energy efficient, the windows are very well sealed with foam. But the picture window seams have deteriorated so that the seal is cracked and they form precipitation inside and one pair in the family room had interior film which has cracked severely.

Moisture between panes

Cracked window film–both window films are cracked now

The windows are deteriorated on the outside due to neglect too. They are cracked and peeling paint and some of the glazing trim is missing.

Window damage

I had a couple of window specialists come out to estimate the cost of repair and replacement of the glass and the estimates for glass replacement were in the $10,000 range. So the easiest repair is to just replace them. The doors are just old and need to be replaced because their functions are changing and we might as well get better energy efficiency in new doors as well as the windows.

LEED has two paths for energy rating the house. One is prescriptive where each type of energy efficient component is scored separately and a large number of points are given for solar panels that offset electrical usage. The other is performance based where fewer points are awarded for individual choices of energy saving components but the prerequisite is based on the Energy Star Thermal Bypass checklist and points are awarded according to the HERS rating. Of course all the individual choices are then transferred to the checklist and to the mysterious HERS formula, but the overall rating (performance) earns the points instead of each choice.

So I don’t have a clear idea how the new windows will play into the HERS formula (Doors are apparently excluded) and the prescriptive path points to the Energy Star builder options to define “best” windows, which can changed if the ratio of windows to floor area is 18% or higher. Since our house is passive solar, our ratio is high. We have LOTS of south facing glazing. But for the whole house, the percentage of windows to our floor space is less than 16%. So we wouldn’t have to meet an even more stringent threshold in the prescriptive path. (at any rate for our Northern climate it is the limit of 18% divided by the existing–say ours was 20%–times the Energy Star required u value for our climate zone–less or equal to .4 or a required u value of less than or equal .36)

There is an additional LEED point for buying locally manufactured products, so one of our first choices is Alpen windows. They are both highly energy efficient and manufactured in Longmont, CO. which is very close to us. But the price tag is a bit overwhelming and we are limited to the glass they offer in their windows and doors. My biggest concern is the solar heat gain coefficient, or the fraction of available solar heat that the windows pass for heating our passive solar home. Single pane clear glass is close to 100%, most low-e coatings that improve u values reduce that considerably. Most big box doors and windows have SHGC of less than .3 which means that less than a third of the available solar heat passes through the glass due to the low-e coatings. Alpen offers a higher rating of .41 as a glass option. Although that is still below 50%, it is one of the higher SHGC ratings that also have low u values.

I’ll explain more about the Alpen windows in another post. But for now, we are getting quotes to replace all our windows and doors and Alpen seems to be the best bang for the buck.

Posted in Construction, Energy Efficiency, Local Products, Planning | Comments Off

LEED Checklist

Posted on January 6, 2015 by ellen

LEED for Homes

Recounting where we are and where we need to be certainly requires a look at the LEED checklist. We are planning for most of the same points as in our preliminary rating and Platinum certification. Although some of the points we had hoped to gain will not be possible, others may be added.

Due to our long term project timeline all of the experts included in the design charrette could not be involved in all phases of the project and meet regularly so that point is not gained, but we didn’t lose any other points in Project Planning.

The durability checklist is being followed and we should gain all points for addressing these issues: air infiltration, radon, and ground moisture under the slab. We hope to apply for the innovative use of the waffle mat slab to control the heaving due to ground moisture too. For durability the bathroom in the crawlspace area of the house will have to be re-tiled with waterproof backing as the demolished bathrooms were tiled on regular drywall and waterproof backing in the bath/shower area is a requirement.

Energy Logic is due to be our third party evaluator so for Innovation and Design we should earn 7 points.

Location and Linkages have basically not changed since our preliminary rating for a total of 7 points.

In the area of Sustainable Sites, we have worked to improve the landscape and have the professional landscape and irrigation plan. Unfortunately several of the trees we planted for 50% shade of the driveway have died. We are planting again this spring. Dave has started some hand terracing to capture natural runoff for trees and is building a garden wall that terraces the vegetable garden. We have very little impermeable paving compared to the size of the lot, and all the plants except for the vegetables and fruit trees will be drought tolerant varieties. A few plantings have survived the rabbits. Although the calculations have not been done for water reduction, there should be some based on the changes in the irrigation system. Without whatever points the watering plan will gain, we should have at least 14 points in Sustainable Sites.

We still predict 10 points in Water Efficiency due to Water Sense faucets, low flow showers, and low water using flush toilets as well as a reduced and highly efficient irrigation system.

It appears that the performance path is the best option at this time for Energy and Atmosphere. That means passing the thermal bypass inspection and obtaining a low HERS score. If we can meet our goal of 40 we will gain 26 points with one of those for pipe insulation and another for not having air conditioning.

Salvaging the lumber from our deconstruction, purchasing used and recycled materials for the shell and finish materials and diverting a great deal of our construction waste from the landfill will gain us several points in Materials and Resources–at least 13.

We have lots of work to do yet for Indoor Air Quality. The ventilation system has to be installed, and the Energy Star Air Plus requirements must be met. The garage needs a vent fan that runs on a timer when the garage door is opened. But all the combustion appliances have outdoor venting, the radon system is installed, the airlock entry with shoe removal facilities is designed. We should have third party verification on the indoor air quality and a backdraft test on the wood burning boiler so that we could qualify for all 21 points in this category.

Finally the Awareness and Education requirements are starting to be met with this blog, the presentation about our project at the Sustainability Fair, which may take the place of a newspaper article, and open houses that will probably happen after the window and membrane installations for the Passive House group and perhaps for USGBC Denver. The advanced training that I took for LEED green rating qualifies for enhanced homeowner training. I have already started the user manual and an advanced technical manual will also be written. We should qualify for all 3 AE points.

The projected total with a couple of points for irrigation reduction is about 103 points so we have a few to lose and still make the 94 point Platinum level. But there is still a lot of work ahead.

Posted in LEED Project | Comments Off

Inspections to Complete in 2015

Posted on January 5, 2015 by ellen

So far we have had two building permits and five or six visits from the Arvada inspectors.
The first building permit was for demolition and the under-slab plumbing. We passed after two or three visits from a very nice inspector who did a courtesy inspection to help us prepare for the actual inspection and then helped us be sure all the piping had the correct fall. That was a good experience when we had none with building departments. We consider ourselves fortunate to be working with a helpful and friendly building department.
We were then able to move ahead with the re-building permit in February 2013.
The foundation layout was approved easily because we had the engineer’s drawings and his written approval. And as part of that inspection, the radiant pipe layout and underground HVAC was approved. These inspections were done in March of 2013. We spent the rest of 2013 working on the HVAC boiler install, finishing the demolition by removing the rest of the drywall, the kitchen attic, and all the fiberglass insulation. Then we ordered the new rockwool insulation and started the installation. All of this on a part time basis of about a week a month.
When 2014 rolled around and Dave retired, we had lots of work to do to get our Arizona house sold, move, and get settled in the unfinished house. The permit had to be renewed in March and all that was accomplished was installing the insulation and tweaking the boiler and hot water return installations. Work in Arizona on the move and house sale took up most of the winter and spring. The house sold after lots of remodeling and upgrades at the beginning of June but took until late July to close.
In the summer we were pretty distracted from the remodel due to a trip to Indiana and our son’s wedding in California. So when we renewed our permit in September, we didn’t have much to show for a year of effort. Then when we got the gas line installed in October, the inspector approved the installation and the HVAC except for the ventilation system that is yet to be installed.
We need to get to the next inspection before our current permit has to be renewed in March because we must be able to show constant effort or the project could be considered abandoned and we would have to purchase a new building permit.
Here are the remaining inspections for the building. The head of the Arvada building department is expecting us to finish these steps in 2015!
Insulation
Rough Framing
Rough Electric
Rough Plumbing
Partial Electric
Drywall
Final HVAC
Final Plumbing
Final Electrical
Final Building
We can call for the insulation inspection in a couple of weeks and hopefully get an electrician who will install the rough electric by the end of March.
We could install the ventilation system and ducting to get the Final HVAC inspection in March too.
Installing the new windows and doors will need to be done about that time to finish the outside walls. Then we can build the inside walls in April and May and rough in the plumbing, so we can get the rough framing and plumbing inspections in late May or June.
Partial electric to all the outlets and light fixtures should go in next and then drywall. I figure those should be ready by September.
Of course these are rough estimates as to timing. Remember the two questions I can never answer? How long will it take and how much will it cost? We are trying to meet a schedule, but we want to be sure that everything is done as well as possible and according to the LEED and Energy Star guidelines so that takes time and attention to detail.
But the plan is that by next New Year’s we will have the final building permit passed and closed.

UPDATE: The hoped-for progress in this post was far too ambitious for reality. The only inspection completed in 2015 was the insulation, a rough electrical was denied but that was a courtesy inspection i.e. one to find out what had to be done to pass.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, House Systems, Inspections, LEED Project, Planning | Comments Off

New List for 2015

Posted on January 5, 2015 by ellen

Now that the holidays are over, it is time to re-check the fall list. I thought the kitchen beam was on it, but this is what I published in October.

Remaining Fall Tasks (finished items marked out)

~~Finish insulating wiring chase~~

Install polyiso on ceiling—ALMOST done
Install membrane/air barrier
Install ceiling battens

~~Lay vapor barrier in crawlspace~~
~~Seal vapor barrier to walls and connect pipe from under barrier to passive radon vent.~~
Insulate south facing crawlspace wall with spray foam.
~~Seal vent.~~
~~Set up wood boiler~~–except for final connections to water and heat exchanger this is done too.

We can start the year with three items from the previous list with one almost done and another completed.

Winter Tasks 2015

Install kitchen beam.
Install polyiso on ceiling—ALMOST done
Install membrane/air barrier
Install ceiling battens
Connect wood boiler

Now we have to think about what else has to be done. Basically we would like to be ready for another inspection by the onset of spring. The insulation inspection could happen before the sealing membrane and battens, but the electrical has to wait until the outside walls have a chase for the electrical wires. We need to decide on new windows and doors to finish the thermal envelope and they will be a major contribution to our LEED qualification.

In order for the electrical wires to have a chase through the walls, they will have to be built. That is a major task that will take us at least most of the summer I would guess.

Once the walls are up and the battens installed and the wiring run, we can have the house drywalled. Then we will be on to rough plumbing install and inspection and installation of bathrooms and finalized electrical installs.

Other LEED projects would be to order and install the ventilation unit with best air filtering levels, plus a ventilation fan in the garage. Continue to collect used and recycled materials for the bathrooms and finish work as well as obtain water saving toilets and faucets. I just installed a .5/1/1.5 flow shower head in the the existing shower. Mostly it is set on 1 gallon but higher flow and lower are possible when needed. The LEED qualification we will meet is less than 1.75 gpm average flow rate for all showers plus all water sense lavatory faucets.

Before we know it, maybe next winter, we will be painting and finishing the interior. I hope!

Posted in LEED Project, Planning | Comments Off

Raise High the Ceiling Beam…

Posted on January 5, 2015 by ellen

Today we finished putting up the kitchen beam that will hold the wall that divides the kitchen and the bathroom. I had to cut the joist holder to fit under the ceiling insulation and trim the beam to rest on the concrete wall.

Kitchen Beam on Concrete Wall

The beam is hanging on the laminated main beam with a full joist hanger but that one had to be shimmed to line up with the rear wall. These are the type of joist hangers that fold behind the beam instead of outside of it. We are reusing screws that we saved from the demolition. I have them sorted into bags by thread size and length. They are mostly drywall screws. Very useful and no extra expense.

Simpson Strong Tie LUC26Z Concealed Flange Hanger

Kitchen Beam on Laminated Beam

The wires for the kitchen and utility rooms will extend along this beam and around the rear of the utility room instead of draping across the kitchen ceiling.

Beam to South Wall

The wall will be hung from the beam instead of the ceiling and the wall to the ceiling will also be supported by this beam.

Beam to North Wall

A platform will be installed over the rear of the bathroom and the closet to hold the ERV ventilation unit. We plan to have the rest of the bathroom ceiling be open to the cathedral ceiling with an interior window over the door to let natural daylight into the bathroom that has no outside window.

Future Platform between the family room and kitchen walls.

The pantry closet will hold a subpanel that will feed the kitchen, utility, and most of the north side of the house. UPDATE: The electrician can’t put a subpanel in the pantry as it needs 30 inches of access in front of it. So he will run the power from the garage instead.

The ventilation system will be located above the closet and the toilet area of the “triangle” bathroom.

Dibble Floorplan With Electrical Core

The electrical rough install and re-building the walls are major tasks we hope to complete in the spring/summer.

Posted in Construction | Comments Off

Storage Switch Outlet Wiring for Fireplace Boiler

Posted on December 18, 2014 by ellen

The wiring on the storage side became a little tricky when I decided to use a switch/outlet combo to allow both the transformer to be switched on and off and the Taco Relay to energize an outlet, since the pump has a cord and plug instead of direct wiring. This diagram does not show all the grounds but they are all connected like the white wires.
Leviton 109-05225-WSP Combo Switch and Receptacle, White

Combo Switch Outlet

I also needed the power to go through this box on to the Taco Zone Valve so the wiring also required a pass through the box. For that I used this diagram. I use these circuit diagrams frequently as they cover most all wiring configurations. I have 31 of these from an ibook version of the Black and Decker wiring handbook. I’m glad I saved them to my computer.

Switched Receptacle

This is the wiring example for extending full power to the last receptacle, except I’m extending it to the Taco Zone Valve Controller.

I was able to wire this equipment and complete the wiring so that the transformer and aquastat won’t use energy unless turned on and the Taco Pump Relay will control the pump that circulates water from the storage tank through the heat exchanger.

Taco Pump Relay and Swtich

If the logic I’m using is correct, I will also move the gas boiler TT which is the trigger to activate the boiler from the zone valves to this relay and the primary pump wiring would be moved to the normally closed position on this relay. Since I don’t want the heating system to be down in case I have an error in my thinking, I will wait until March to hook the entire system up. Another few months wait in a project like this is inconsequential. I can cross “set up boiler” off the list and add connect boiler to the spring list.

Posted in Electrical, Fireplace Boiler | Comments Off

Amory Lovins’ House Systems

Posted on December 17, 2014 by ellen

The Lovins house tour was most interesting because of the various house systems; heating, water, electricity, etc. I’m sure there was more going on than what met the eye but what met the eye was pretty exciting.

First, there is a lot of data collected in this house. I would have loved to learn more about the data systems. I don’t know what the Johnson Controls box housed, but they are HVAC products–there was a rack for network equipment and this Davis Weather Instrument Panel.

Data Collection

Apparently the house has sensors like ours did–and the data is collected and recorded from various locations. The new array of solar panels use Enphase microconverters that have data collection built in and a website at EnPhase delivers data about the performance back to the house. A monitor in the entry hallway displays various house data including the solar collector data.

The electrical system is solar photovoltaic and grid tied with a huge battery backup. The battery bank was enclosed in plexiglass and probably vented to the outside. The batteries were sealed lead acid Absolyte from Exide Technologies in a stacked array. The batteries are always kept topped up, however, they are only used in the case of a power outage–I read that they had been used 5 times since the system was installed.

Battery Bank Used for Backup

This was labeled as a control panel, with two large conduits leading from the battery bank, it is the DC shutoff.

DC Control Panel and Shutoff

The system had not one, but TWO Sunny Boy inverters–they explained that this grid tie system overproduces energy for the house during the day and they purchase green wind energy at night to reduce the total carbon footprint of the home’s energy needs.

Two Sunny Boy Inverters

The radiant heat system was similarly very impressive. They had embedded polybutyl tubing in the floors when the house was built but only put in an active radiant system in 2009. The system is heated by solar thermal panels on the roof and each zone has its own tube in tube heat exchanger so that the thermal panels use glycol while the house system is water. There is a water meter on each zone. Not sure why the water is metered–but the white cylinders are ABB Hygienic Master food quality water flow meters from Germany.

Water Meters and Electric Boiler

There appear to be shutoffs just before the expansion tank, probably where the heating water enters and leaves the heating system for the zones.

Expansion Tank

The system has an electric boiler boost from whatever the solar panels are producing to usable hot water.

Electric Boiler

The plumbing has very few 90 degree angles to eliminate head issues. Although there are also several Grundfos pumps.

Slanted Pipes

There seem to be a lot of monitoring devices on the radiant system too.

Monitoring Equipment

A mixing valve with an outdoor reset is used in the system to modulate the temperatures going into the radiant house piping.

Tekmar Mixing Control

Finally an indirect water heater provided household hot water–these have a coil heat exchanger in them that heats domestic hot water–probably boosted by the electric boiler as well.

Superstore Indirect Water Heater

The variety of lighting systems was very interesting. Most of the house had LED strip lighting for general night time illumination, as well as large hanging fixtures with shades that had circline florescent bulbs in them. Daytime lighting is mostly solar through the large windows and also through a few solar tubes in the north hallway.

Kitchen to Living Area Chandelier

More LED track and a line of Japanese Lanterns

LED track and Japanese Lanterns

Both LED bulb and strip lights were used.

LEDs

Interesting Frank Lloyd Wright type use of a white translucent material in a wood panel probably to cut the glare on this desk from the direct sun into the solar greenhouse.

Solar Shade

We were told a bit about the ventilation system. The tower held an Energy Recovery Ventilator–they called them panel exchange ventilators. I did see one ceiling fan in a high area of the office ceiling.

Ceiling Fan

And the ventilator inlet and outlet seemed to be located side by side in the tower.

Ventilation Vents

In addition to these there were several operable panels on the high north wall opposite the low intake windows of the greenhouse that could be opened with a system of pulleys and cords to vent hot air and pull fresh air in from the low greenhouse windows.

The water system was designed for low use also. I didn’t take photos of the bathroom, but there was a Toto toilet with a tank sink–water from washing hands drains into the tank for the next flush. A waterless urinal, a small hand sink with low flow faucet and a corner shower also with a low flow shower head, although this shower looked decorative and unused.

They mention on the website that the gray and black water systems are separate, although Colorado has been slow to legalize gray water systems and rain water systems are so restricted that collection is not plausible for most people.

So the systems were both relatively simple (greenhouse with vent panels) and very sophisticated–photovoltaic electric system). I’m sure there was more to see and learn but the tour was only a couple of hours long. We both really enjoyed it though!

Posted in Design Style, Energy Efficiency, Green Building Interests, House Systems | Comments Off

Diagrams for Fireplace Boiler Wiring

Posted on December 17, 2014 by ellen

These are diagrams of the parts and functions for the fireplace boiler wiring.

The storage side is powered by a 24 Volt transformer. Wired with 120 on one side, 24 volt is delivered on the other.

Transformer Wiring

This is one 24 Volt transformer that I bought-not realizing the Taco Zone Valve Controller had its own internal transformers. This is a 50 amp model that I’m using to power the aquastat and valve.

Plate Mount Transformer

This is the diagram of the Honeywell 8043 valve. It has four leads, two yellow and two red. The yellow are the power lines and the red are the end switch that can be used to trigger another action. On the zone controller the red are wired to turn off the zone valve lights when the valve closes. A 24 volt current is sent when the valve is open and turns off when it closes. The valve can also be opened manually, but the end switch only operates if the valve is opened by current.

Honeywell Valve Diagram

Although the aquastat is controlling a pump in this diagram, the wiring to the valve is the same. The hot side is interrupted by the aquastat, when the aquastat makes the connection, then the circuit is on, when the connection breaks then the circuit to the valve turns off.

Simple Aquastat Wiring

This is an explanation of the aquastat wiring for W-R-B terminals. I am not using the R-B terminals.

Aquastat Function

The Honeywell 6006 aquastat is controlling the valve using the yellow power inputs. The red wires are sending a 24 volt signal to the pump relay. This aquastat works with either 120 volt or 24 volt power–something that was not clear in the documentation.

Honeywell Zone Valve Wiring to Taco Relay

A powered signal from the aquastat to the pump relay requires the alternate relay wiring. A thermostat wire connected to the relay instead would be getting its power from the relay’s transformer and would be wired to the RW terminals, however, the valve must be powered on the yellow side and an external transformer is required. So the W and 24 V/COM terminals on the pump relay are used and 120 VAC is not connected to the relay’s transformer.

The pump relay has both a normally open (N/O) and normally closed (N/C) circuit that can be used when the valve is open and when it closes. Normally closed means the circuit is delivering power except when the valve is on. Normally open means that it will only deliver power or close the circuit when the valve is on.

The storage pump will be on the normally open circuit, it will only come on when the aquastat is letting the valve open because the water in the tank is hot enough to circulate instead of heated water from the boiler. The boiler pump and firing circuits will be normally closed, they will only open when the aquastat sends the signal that the storage water is hot enough to circulate, the valve will be closed and the boiler will operate normally.

The primary pump wiring should remain the same, i.e. wired to the zone control instead of the boiler. The boiler signal from the zone control will have to be interrupted by this set up too. That would avoid having the call for heat sent directly to the boiler. Although not shown below, I believe that it will be wired to the TT connections on the Taco switching relay next to the T and COM ports. That will transfer the signal to the 24 volt side of the relay and connect to the TT on the boiler, where the circuit is normally closed (or ON) unless wood heated water is being circulated to the system instead.

Taco 501-4 Switching Relay Alt 24 V Wiring. UPDATE: The boiler pump can’t be connected like this–moved back to the main controller.

The boiler side also has a transformer for the valves too. I found another one at the Restore that was brand new in the box for $3. It was not plate mounted so I bolted it to the box cover.

Transformer Wiring

The transformer is wired to a Honeywell 8043 zone valve that opens when the Grundfos pipe aquastat reads that the water in the bypass line is hot enough to send to storage. UPDATE: The Grundfos aquastat is set to turn on at 95 but it also turns off at 120, so I had to replace it with the Honeywell high/low aquastat.

This is a one way aquastat unlike the Honeywell 6006, it makes and breaks on only one circuit but the Honeywell can make or break either as a high temp limit or a low temp limit.

Grundfos Clip On Aquastat–Temp. range does not work!

The Taco Mixing Valve is also wired to the transformer–there is no integrated end switch. (An end-switch makes or breaks to indicate positive proof of equipment position being ON or OFF such as with a damper or valve.) There are only two sensors hooked up the Taco i-series valve, one is the boiler supply sensor, and one is the boiler return sensor. The fireplace boiler will not operate steadily enough to use a setpoint or outdoor reset sensor. The sensors will work together to determine the amount of water each pipe will deliver to optimize the water temperature going back to the boiler.

Taco Mixing Valve Wiring

The Taco 006 stainless pump on the fireplace boiler is wired directly to 120 and the entire circuit will be controlled by a light switch in the utility room that will be manually turned on when the fireplace burner is started. I’m planning to put a timer on the circuit so that it can turn off without being monitored until the end of the heat cycle.
This is the logic behind the operation of the stove.

Fireplace Boiler Logic Diagram

Posted in Fireplace Boiler, Planning, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Wiring Plan for Fireplace Boiler

Posted on December 16, 2014 by ellen

The fireplace boiler wiring has to control the water circulation through the boiler on one side–in the living room, and the circulation through the storage and heat exchanger on the other–in the utility room.

The piping diagram shows some of the wiring logic for the system. I revised the drawing adding a zone valve to the gas boiler side of the radiant circuit so that the water from the heat exchanger only flows when the storage tank is hot enough.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-15 Revised

On the boiler side, there is also a Honeywell 8043 zone valve that opens only when the water is hot enough to send to the storage tank–it is wired to a small strap on Grundfos clip on aquastat with a fixed temperature range (95 to 120 F) to send it a signal to open or close. UPDATE: The temperature range of the Grundfos is opposite of what is needed. It turns on at 95 and off at 120. The aquastat needs to turn on at 120 and off at 95!

The zone valve will not transfer the signal to any other device so the red wires will not be used. A 24 volt transformer is mounted in the electrical box to power the valve and the Taco i-series mixing valve and 120 volt power is wired to the pump.

FP Boiler Wiring

In real life it looks like this:

FP Boiler Zone Valve and Aquastat Wiring

The boiler circulator/pump will be turned on whenever there is a fire in the fireplace. The Taco iseries mixing valve with sensors on the feed and boiler return will mix water from the storage tank and the circulator bypass to ensure that warm water returns to the stove.

FP Boiler pump and Taco Iseries Mixing Valve

On the storage side several electrical components feed the radiant system from the heat exchanger.

FP Boiler Storage Wiring

There is a Honeywell 6006 strap on aquastat on the delivery pipe–this is an adjustable aquastat that will either make (the electrical connection, in this case to open the zone valve) on temperature rise or temperature fall. I am using only the temperature rise side. I have added a zone valve that the aquastat will trigger to open when the storage water is hot and close when it cools–initial setting will be a 25 degree differential–on at 120 and above, off at 95 and below–same as the grundfos aquastat. (UPDATE: I was wrong about the Grundfos aquastat–it turns on at 95 and off at 120.) By the way for this DC wiring job I’m using high quality marine grade 14 ga. DC wire, because I bought it for an RV project and have it available.
Ancor 121510 Marine Grade Electrical Standard Duplex Tinned Boat Cable (Flat, 14-Gauge, 100-Feet)

Honeywell 6006 Aquastat

This Honeywell 8043 zone valve on the boiler water side will allow hot water from the heat exchanger to move through the radiant system when the aquastat triggers it to open. The aquastat and zone valve are powered by a 24 volt transformer. The zone valve’s end switch (red wires) is connected to the Taco pump relay so that when the valve opens the circulator pump will turn on.

Honeywell 8043 Zone Valve and Taco 501-4 Pump Switching Relay

A small Laing circulator pump will send hot water to the exchanger when it is triggered by the aquastat.
Laing LHB08100085 Low Flow Circulator Pump with Line Cord

Laing Pump and Strap On Aquastat on Storage Tank

I’m working on diagrams and a logic document that I hope will help describe the functions and help me make sure it will all work as designed. There were several mysteries about how the various parts work that I researched and might be helpful if I explained them more thoroughly.

Posted in Electrical, Fireplace Boiler, Planning, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Current Wiring for the Boiler

Posted on December 15, 2014 by ellen

Way back last spring when I was finishing up the boiler wiring, I had problems with the secondary pump such that I replaced the used pump I bought on ebay with a brand new Taco 011. That was expensive but not as expensive as buying more than one rebuild kit for it or guessing whether the capacitor was bad too. In the post about the pump problem, I promised to explain the change in wiring that the problems with the pump led me to, but I never posted about the wiring and now I can’t remember clearly why there was a problem!

I have some documentation that shows the changes in the wiring. This was the original pump wiring. The primary pump was wired to the boiler and the secondary was wired to the zone control pump end switch.

Original wiring diagram

This is a close up of the zone controller with just one pump wired.

Original Boiler Zone Control Wiring–the end switch is wired to the secondary pump

In this photo of the system, there are only two black wires to the boiler, one is the outdoor reset and the other is the zone valve thermostat end switch that tells the boiler there is a call for heat.

Original Pump Wiring

The secondary pump seemed to have issues with this wiring, it caused the secondary pump to run when the primary did not. That stressed the secondary pump.
I have a diagram of the wiring changes.

Zone Control with Mod-Con pump control. UPDATE: The secondary pump cannot be wired to the Priority Zone–instead both pumps are wired in series to the Space Heating Pump connection.

Close up of the wiring of the pumps on the zone controller.

Revised Zone Control Wiring-Both pumps on Zone Controller UPDATE: This wiring is an error and does not work–Priority zone even with the dip switch set to off, is always on with the NC connection and does not sync with the main boiler control with the NO connection.

Wires changed to boiler–if you can follow them. The boiler pump control wires are routed to the zone control end switch and the two pumps are both wired in series. This works!

Revised Boiler Wiring for Pumps

Although the changes made perfect sense at the time, I’m not sure why the Taco controller diagram for a Mod-Con boiler had the system pump on the zone end switch instead of from the boiler connection, or why the secondary pump runs without the boiler pump when not wired together. This is a problem because I want to add the third pump from storage and that would separate the wiring for these pumps again.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Electrical, House Systems, Radiant Heat | Comments Off