TECA Member Meetings

Overview

The building envelope (exterior walls, roofs, decks, windows/doors, below grade assemblies) of a building needs to be designed and constructed to have satisfactory moisture management, thermal performance, and long-term durability. The HVAC systems on the other hand, need to be designed and constructed to provide appropriate indoor environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity, ventilation rate, etc.) for occupants. Although these two disciplines are separate, there are noticeable overlaps between the two, to a point that the performance of one will affect the other one.

Our experience has shown that the overlaps between these two disciplines are often not effectively coordinated, leading to compromised moisture management (rain penetration and condensation) and/or thermal performance (heat loss or gain) of the building envelope, or compromised efficiency of the HVAC systems. In either case, the end-result is that the performance and long-term durability of the building as a whole have been compromised.

This interactive and collaborative presentation built upon a wide range of real and interesting case studies will:

• Discuss the overlaps between the scopes of the building envelope and HVAC disciplines

• Highlight examples where the lack of coordination of the overlaps has led to performance problems

• Demonstrate the required coordination measures and provide practical solutions to effectively handle the overlaps between the two disciplines
  
  

About the Presenter

Hamid Heidarali has a strong passion for high performance, durable buildings that minimize their impact on the environment, while providing a superior experience for their occupants. He has been providing building science consultation on a wide range of projects in Canada over the past 14 years. He enjoys sharing his experience with others and to that note, he teaches Building Envelope courses to Masters Students as part of the Building Science Graduate Program at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), and also presents to construction professionals on a regular basis.

Hamid holds Professional Engineering designation (P.Eng) in Ontario and British Columbia, a LEED Accredited Professional in Canada, and certified Passive House Tradesperson through Germany. He received his Master of Engineering in Building Science and Construction Management, and his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Hamid is a Principal at Hamid Design Build (HDB), a Building Science consulting firm, offering services with the focus on improving energy efficiency, moisture management, durability, and thermal comfort.

This seminar provides a fundamental understanding of the radiant design process and the types of control systems which are used. Learning Objectives:

• Describe the advantages of using radiant floor heating technology;
• List application opportunities for radiant heating in residential, commercial, civic and institutional categories;
• Utilize the design process for radiant heating systems to determine floor temperatures, pipe spacing and fluid flow rates;
• Explain the types of control systems incorporated in radiant heating systems.

Agenda highlights

• FortisBC initiatives, rebate offers, and tools for your trade
• High-efficiency appliance innovations, and qualify retrofit installations
• HVAC 101: inspection process – City of Kelowna
• B.C. Energy Step Code – Building and Safety Standards Branch
• Building envelope: a holistic and collaborative approach towards improving/optimizing the energy efficiency of a building

Keynote speaker Chris Collette will talk about indoor air quality: sources of problems, and strategies to avoid and mitigate against them

Drawing on Chris Collett’s experiences as an IAQ consultant for over 35 years, the presentation will focus on sources of IAQ problems in both residences and workplaces. This field experience has shown that inadequacies in the design, operation and maintenance of HVAC systems are a significant cause of IAQ problems. However, many HVAC-related inadequacies can be cost-effectively mitigated.

There are also many other sources of potential IAQ issues in our homes and places of work. This presentation will discuss sources including the generation and infiltration of combustion by-products; moisture issues and mould growth; illicit uses of homes (i.e. grow-ops); and excessive use of household chemicals (this source is not widely recognized or discussed in IAQ circles!)

The presentation will conclude by looking at lessons learned from past mistakes, and will focus on the design and construction of new buildings, and the Canada Green Building Council’s LEED programs. Specifically, Chris Collett’s experience in IAQ testing in more than 90 LEED buildings will be reviewed.

Chris Collett is Principal Consultant at Christopher Collett and Associates Ltd. which has now been in business for 22 years. Chris has performed more than 2,000 IAQ investigations of commercial, institutional, industrial and residential buildings worldwide. Chris has authored numerous scientific and technical papers on IAQ, building performance and occupant health and comfort. Chris has also conducted LEED IAQ testing in over 90 projects throughout Western Canada.

Chris is Past President and Treasurer Emeritus of the ASHRAE British Columbia Chapter; Membership Director of the IAQA Vancouver Chapter; and his company is a Green Building Specialist member of the Canadian Green Building Council.

As your ultimate heat exchanger designer and manufacturer, AIC Heat Exchangers offers training and educational programs to support our product lines and assists in the transfer of knowledge to our clients. The training is suited to consulting engineers, contractors, maintenance professionals, wholesalers and students.

Basic heat transfer equations, Optimization of heat exchanger size and materials, Selection of equipment, Variables in heat transfer, Case studies.