BBD 2017
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Basic Building Science
Building Systems, Both Residential & Commercial- Dave Keefe, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
The physics behind the behavior of our buildings is known as “building science.” To make the buildings work, we need to control the flow of heat, air, and moisture. This session reviews some basic science we learned in school and explains how it applies to buildings. This knowledge is critical for diagnosing existing problems or avoiding new ones. And it’s more important than ever in material selection. We’ll cover the ways that heat, air, and moisture move around in buildings and how we can either encourage or reduce that flow. Some examples of common performance problems will be given, and there will be suggestions for approaches that minimize risk. No prior knowledge is needed for this introductory session.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 1About the Speaker(s)-
Dave Keefe
Dave is a former contractor and a well-known teacher who has presented more than 1000 training sessions on a wide range of efficiency topics. He has 32 years of experience with making homes work better. In 2011, he was honored by ACI, Inc. as one of “the 25 most instrumental people in building the home performance industry”. Dave is a frequent speaker at national conferences and has provided training for numerous organizations, including the Energy-Efficient Building Association, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, Professional Association for Consumer Energy Education, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), DOE Utah Regional Low-Income Weatherization Conference, Indiana CAP Directors Association, Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency, Governor's Energy Office of New Hampshire, Vermont Gas Systems, CAP Executive Directors' Association of New Jersey, and over 200 presentations for Affordable Comfort, Inc.
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Reducing Cost and Complexity with Advanced Lighting Controls
Building Systems, Commercial- Gabe Arnold, DesignLights Consortium
Advanced lighting controls (ALCs) are not what they used to be. Along with having new capabilities, many new systems are less expensive and easier to design, install, commission, and use than ever before. This course will provide an overview of the different types of ALC systems, from traditional to new and innovative. We will compare and contrast the cost and complexity of each type while providing guidance and tools for selecting the right system for a given customer and application.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NCQLP, Passive House
Room: Emerald 1About the Speaker(s)-
Gabe Arnold
Gabe Arnold is a program manager at the DesignLights Consortium (DLC), where he leads the DLC’s commercial advanced lighting controls (CALC) project. This new DLC project is working with utilities, the U.S. DOE, and the lighting industry to create a suite of tools and resources that will support the widespread adoption of advanced lighting controls. Gabe has more than 17 years’ experience in the energy-efficient lighting industry as a designer, utility program implementer, and consultant, including 10 years at Efficiency Vermont. He is a registered professional engineer and is lighting certified by the NCQLP (National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions). Gabe lives with his family in Burlington, Vermont.
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Cost-effective Strategies for Net Zero and Resilient Design
Innovative Design, Residential- Joseph Cincotta, LineSync Architecture
- Steve Davis, Vermod Homes
- Peter Schneider, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
In this session, we will present complementary economical construction strategies designed to save energy in a cost-effective manner, based on the unique experiences of the presenters. Examples will include empirically tested section details along with mistakes to avoid. We will also offer a wealth of information from a unique solar-powered HVAC system co-developed with Efficiency Vermont energy consultant Peter Schneider. There will be a concise explanation of the main concepts from the presenters and then a Q & A discussion session.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 2About the Speaker(s)-
Joseph Cincotta
Joseph Cincotta was born taking the road less traveled. He is the “Cinc” of LineSync Architecture (LSA), which he co-founded with his wife and partner, Julie Lineberger. It’s grown to be one of the 10 largest architecture firms in the state. LSA was doing green three decades ago when green was just a color. He teaches sustainable design at Southern Vermont College and has lectured extensively on the topic. LEED accredited, he holds the NCARB certificate and is licensed in Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina. Joseph earned a degree in architecture history and theory from SUNY Binghamton and a graduate degree in design from Harvard University. His LSA accomplishments include Eden, a mixed-use straw-bale building in New England, and D’Home, quite likely the first open-cell foam panel insulated geodesic dome in New England.
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Steve Davis
Steve Davis is a Hartford-based developer and lifelong community advocate. He has been building high-performance homes since the early 2000s and was named Efficiency Vermont’s Partner of the Year in 2012. Steve founded Vermod in the post–Hurricane Irene Vermont, when the state lost many trailer homes. Vermod had a unique vision: What if folks were able to replace their energy-inefficient trailers with tightly insulated, net-zero powered homes that were actually affordable? A Vermod home is a spacious, well-engineered product unlike anything else in the market.
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Peter Schneider
Peter Schneider works as a senior consultant at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation in Burlington, Vermont. He provides technical support to builders, architects, engineers, affordable housing agencies, and homeowners participating in a number of different programs, such as Efficiency Vermont Certified High-Performance Homes, LEED for Homes, and Midrise & Passive House. Peter’s goal is to help his clients design and construct more energy-efficient, healthy, durable, and sustainable buildings. Peter is a certified energy rater, Passive House consultant, and LEED for Homes quality assurance designee. His current focus is running the State’s mobile home replacement program.
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Drawing on the Past, Designing the Future
Commercial, Commercial- Andrea Murray, Vermont Integrated Architecture, P.C.
- Ashar Nelson, Vermont Integrated Architecture, P.C.
Vermont is known for its historic buildings. Many of these have not been touched in decades and have no insulation; feature leaky, rickety, and beautiful old windows; and have antiquated heating systems. As lifelong Vermonters, the presenters are committed to preserving this heritage and making these buildings relevant for future use. The presenters’ firm has assessed several local historic structures, including the Janes House in Waterbury, the Slade Hall at the University of Vermont, the Cornwall Town Hall, and the Rochester Public Library. This presentation will cover a variety of construction types; approaches to envelope design; and the careful balance between performance, structure, and the preservation of important artifacts. The presenters will share their experiences working with the State Division for Historic Preservation, Efficiency Vermont, energy consultants, and others to find the best solution to sustaining our well-loved buildings.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 2About the Speaker(s)-
Andrea Murray
Andrea K. Murray is an architect, planner, and LEED accredited professional who co-founded Vermont Integrated Architecture, P.C., in 2011. Andrea focuses her professional energies on integrating sustainable and healthy design strategies into buildings and their respective communities. Andrea teaches Introduction to Architectural Design, and Architecture and the Environment at Middlebury College. She was the lead faculty advisor to Middlebury’s 2011 and 2013 Solar Decathlon teams. Andrea grew up in Rochester, Vermont, and moved home in 2003 from New York, where she had worked on various projects with William McDonough + Partners, Flynn-Stott Architects, and the City of New York. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Pratt Institute.
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Ashar Nelson
Ashar Nelson is a lifelong Vermonter with extensive experience in design and construction. As co-founder of Vermont Integrated Architecture, occasional faculty member in the architectural studies program at Middlebury College, and faculty advisor to Middlebury College's Solar Decathlon efforts in 2011 and 2013, he is committed to promoting sustainable building designs and innovative construction methods. Ashar believes that an integrated design process, representing building users, constructors, estimators, and craftsmen, as well as design professionals, is essential in achieving high-performance buildings. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and a master’s degree from the University of Oregon. He has designed and managed projects both large and small. Ashar prides himself on helping his clients make well-informed decisions about energy and resource use in their buildings.
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Historic Museum Upgrade: Preservation and Dramatic Energy Cost Reduction
Envelope, Commercial- Steven Caulfield, Turner Building Science & Design, LLC
- Bill Turner, Turner Building Science & Design, LLC
From 2013 through 2015, the presenters had the opportunity to provide design and commissioning services for a solid masonry, century-old museum in Concord, New Hampshire. Through innovative retrofits of the naturally ventilated skylight system and replacement of the mechanical systems, energy costs were reduced over 80%, from $36,000 a year to $6,000 a year, and environmental control was vastly improved to meet museum standards. This session will present monitored energy use data, and examples of logged carbon dioxide data and fine particle data. We will present the constraints involved in preserving a historic building, as well as the decision-making process that resulted in a great finished product.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: AmphitheatreAbout the Speaker(s)-
Steven Caulfield
Steven M. Caulfield is the president of Turner Building Science & Design, based in Harrison, Maine, and is also the president of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council. He has over 25 years of experience in mechanical engineering, industrial hygiene, and indoor air quality studies. Steve received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Hartford. He has designed, commissioned, and retrocommissioned a wide variety of innovative and traditional energy-efficient mechanical systems, solved building science and air quality problems, and conducted a variety of testing in all kinds of buildings and situations. Steve has presented numerous papers and talks at conferences held by ASHRAE, AIHA, ISIAQ, and ICBEST, as well as smaller regional conferences.
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Bill Turner
Bill Turner received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Northeastern University. He served for 10 years on the research staff of Harvard University School of Public Health, conducting air quality studies inside and outside homes in six cities evaluating secondhand smoke and gas appliances. Since then Bill has focused on building science, sustainability, and building forensic issues, including energy use, indoor air quality, moisture, high-performance building design, net-zero design, building commissioning, and forensic evaluations. His experience includes rebuilding existing homes and buildings and designing new buildings. He has published and lectured extensively throughout the United States.
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Three High-performance Homes, Three Approaches
Envelope, Residential- Jean Terwilliger, Vermont Integrated Architecture
- Alex Carver, Northern Timbers Construction
- Tom LeBoeuf, Northeast Craftsmen Group
This presentation will compare the design, construction, and performance of three Vermont high-performance homes completed in 2015 and 2016. All two-story buildings on small lots, these homes used a variety of construction systems to accommodate aesthetic, site, and builder considerations including a walk-out basement, slab-on-grade, traditional double-stud wall with cellulose insulation, double-stud with an air barrier behind the inner stud, exterior I-joist walls with cellulose and mineral wool insulation, and different window and vented roof systems. We will discuss how overall home designs met the interests and goals of the homeowners, the ease of construction, the cost and performance of the different envelope systems, and reasons to choose one system over the others.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 3About the Speaker(s)-
Jean Terwilliger
Jean Terwilliger, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP Homes, CPHC, specializes in the design of sustainable buildings using collaborative design methods and cost-effective green building technologies. She has worked on several high-performance custom homes as well as the high-performance 14-unit Bristol Village Cohousing, and is looking forward to her first opportunity to complete a Passive House project. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jean worked for firms in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont and spent several years raising two children before starting her own firm in 2003. She joined Vermont Integrated Architecture in 2014.
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Alex Carver
Alex Carver, co-owner of Northern Timbers Construction since 2004, has been a builder since 1985. Seven of his projects have received both AIA Vermont and AIA New England Awards. In 2013 Alex built a house designed and overseen by Passive House builder Chris Corson of Belfast, Maine. Since then Alex and his company have built several high-performance homes each year. He likes working with architects and building in the modern vernacular, with an eye toward affordability and energy efficiency. Alex was named Builder of the Year by Efficiency Vermont for his work on promoting high-performance homes and doing what he could to educate those around him.
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Tom LeBoeuf
Tom LeBoeuf has 15 years of construction experience and runs a full-service cabinet shop. He attended the University of Missouri–Saint Louis, worked in construction in Saint Louis, and moved to Vermont in 2008. He has experience in building science, project procurement, estimating, and project management, and as a foreman. He was with H.J. LeBoeuf & Son in Vergennes, Vermont, before launching his own business in the summer of 2016. Tom hit the Passive House airtightness target on his very first blower door test on a high-performance home in Middlebury. His company, Northeast Craftsmen Group, is a full-service building company and cabinet/millwork shop working on projects including historic restoration and contemporary estates. Its approach combines sustainable building practices with the most current construction techniques.
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Airtightness Testing of Larger Buildings
Envelope, Both Residential & Commercial- Dave Keefe, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
This session is designed for those who already do blower door testing and want to be able to test larger buildings, including manufacturing, retail, and apartment buildings. We’ll cover the challenges posed, equipment, organization, setup, and measurements. Wind, access, occupants, and other "inconveniences" will also be covered. Attendees should be experienced with blower doors.
Presentation(s):
Level: Advanced
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 3About the Speaker(s)-
Dave Keefe
Dave is a former contractor and a well-known teacher who has presented more than 1000 training sessions on a wide range of efficiency topics. He has 32 years of experience with making homes work better. In 2011, he was honored by ACI, Inc. as one of “the 25 most instrumental people in building the home performance industry”. Dave is a frequent speaker at national conferences and has provided training for numerous organizations, including the Energy-Efficient Building Association, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, Professional Association for Consumer Energy Education, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), DOE Utah Regional Low-Income Weatherization Conference, Indiana CAP Directors Association, Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency, Governor's Energy Office of New Hampshire, Vermont Gas Systems, CAP Executive Directors' Association of New Jersey, and over 200 presentations for Affordable Comfort, Inc.
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All of the Above: High Design and High Performance in Single-family Home Design
Innovative Design, Residential- Jesse Thompson, Kaplan Thompson Architects
- Colin Lindberg, Shelterwood Construction
How does good design enhance high performance, and how does the goal of high performance affect good design? We will discuss how project design and energy concerns work together and how they clash—and how the final outcome can perform against design and performance goals. Topics will include: 1) barriers to high design and high performance, 2) untapped design opportunities in high-performance construction systems, 3) ways to modify the design process to integrate thermal performance on an equal footing with design and structural considerations, 4) how local design culture affects design performance decisions and technical methods (e.g., California thin vs. New England thick), and 5) disengagement of surfaces from interiors with rainscreens, and the design possibilities available.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 2About the Speaker(s)-
Jesse Thompson
Jesse Thompson is a partner at Kaplan Thompson Architects in Portland, Maine. He grew up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont (in Lyndonville) and received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon in 1996. He is a Maine licensed architect (NCARB), a board member of Maine AIA, a LEED accredited professional, and one of the first architects in northern New England to become a certified Passive House consultant.
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Colin Lindberg
Colin Lindberg, certified Passive House builder, is the owner of Shelterwood Construction, a residential construction firm focused on high-performance, energy-efficient building. His career has focused on building high-quality, long-lasting homes. Colin has a B.A. from Warren Wilson College (near Asheville, North Carolina) in outdoor leadership. His first career involved leading outdoor education trips all over North and South America. When it was time to get a real job, he turned to high-end carpentry and building. Shelterwood Construction is based in central Vermont. When Colin is not working or chasing his son around, you can find him on his mountain bike, surfboard, or snowboard, or climbing up a mountain.
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Lighting Control Systems Hands-on Workshop (Part 1)
Building Systems, Commercial- Steve Mesh, Lighting Education & Design
How do advanced lighting control systems really work? Find out by wiring one yourself, even if you’ve never wired anything in your life. Wiring a complex control system is not as hard as it sounds! In this workshop, attendees will help the presenter get a lighting control system up and running. We will wire, commission, and program a system including fixture controllers, occupancy sensors, photosensors, and switches. Learn about different transmission protocols, digital vs. analog signals, and much more. No prior wiring experience is necessary. All tools and materials will be supplied.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NCQLP, Passive House
Room: Diamond 2About the Speaker(s)-
Steve Mesh
Steve Mesh attended Parsons School of Design and has been a lighting designer and educator for 36 years. He has designed the lighting for a wide variety of projects in the U.S. and internationally. He was the lighting program coordinator at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco. He’s a member of the IES and was previously the IES northeast regional vice president. For 25 years, he has served on the Energy Management Committee. He is an EPA Green Lights Program surveyor ally and has been an AIA registered provider. Steve was on the development team for the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program. He has been a contributing editor of Building Operating Management magazine. He’s given several workshops at Lightfair and has spoken at Lux Pacifica in New Delhi, India.
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New Indoor Air Quality Standards for Homes Based on Cognition, Health, Sleep, and Productivity
Building Systems, Residential- Ty Newell, Build Equinox
Today’s ventilation standards reduce human productivity and increase disease transmission. Sleep degradation due to poor air quality is reflected in poorer work performance the next day. Modern building materials submerge us in a variety of chemicals that didn’t exist 80 years ago. Improvement of today’s ventilation standards can increase human productivity at a value that’s more than 100 times the associated energy cost of increased ventilation. A new set of air quality metrics for residences based on health, cognition, sleep, and productivity will be presented. These metrics are based on research that relates human performance and health to carbon dioxide and VOC (volatile organic compound) levels. Quantitative results demonstrate that high-quality air can be achieved in combination with high energy efficiency.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 1About the Speaker(s)-
Ty Newell
Ty Newell is a co-owner of Build Equinox, a company devoted to inventing technologies for sustainable living. He is an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois. Ty lectures around the world on sustainable living, including giving keynote addresses at the Solar Energy Society of India’s Silver Jubilee and the TTMD Conference in Turkey. He has been a Fulbright Scholar in Argentina, an Ercoftac Scholar in Switzerland, a United Nations workshop leader in China, and an academic leader in Mexico. Ty’s 100% solar-powered home in Illinois features automated fresh air control (CERV) and two solar-powered electric vehicles, and is one of the earliest examples of a home within an Illinois municipality to be permitted for rainwater harvesting. Build Equinox is located in a 100% solar-powered, 4,500-square-foot Morton building.
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Sweating the (Enclosure) Details
Envelope, Both Residential & Commercial- Jon Haehnel, Zero by Degrees, LLC
- Andy Shapiro, Energy Balance, Inc.
- Michael LaCrosse, Zero by Degrees, LLC
Maintaining the thermal barrier, air barrier, vapor control plane, and water control plane through every building transition is challenging. In this presentation we will take a tour of some particularly elegant enclosure details, both on the page and in the field. We will also explore the process behind selecting materials to match their strengths with the overall design. Finally, we will present design guidelines that can be employed to break down a difficult enclosure detail so that a solution can present itself. This presentation is recommended for builders and designers who already have experience with building enclosure design and construction.
Presentation(s):
Level: Advanced
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 1About the Speaker(s)-
Jon Haehnel
Jon Haehnel has been testing and inspecting residential and commercial buildings for over 14 years. His expertise is in building envelope testing and design, focusing primarily on commercial and institutional construction. Jon has tested buildings as large as a city block in downtown Manhattan and as small as a nine-foot cube slated to go to Antarctica as an automated weather station. On both new construction and renovation, he has built energy models, reviewed construction documents, specified airtightness targets, trained project teams on how to reach the targets, and tested buildings through to completion to verify targets were met. Jon is a past presenter at Better Buildings by Design in 2013, 2014, and 2016.
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Andy Shapiro
Andrew Shapiro, president of Energy Balance, Inc., has provided high-performance building energy analysis, design, and monitoring consulting services for 30 years to a wide variety of clients, including owners, architects, engineers, builders, housing developers, universities, businesses, and efficiency programs. He provides guidance and technical expertise along the path of conceptualization, design, construction, commissioning, and post-occupancy assessment, aimed at optimizing the environmental impact of the building, indoor environmental quality, operating and maintenance costs, and building durability. He works with new and existing buildings, from single-family homes up to larger commercial and institutional buildings. He is also the director of science and engineering education for the Vermont Energy Education Program, raising the energy literacy of the next generation.
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Michael LaCrosse
Michael LaCrosse has worked in the industry for about five years, after graduating from Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire, in 2012 with a degree in architecture and a focus on building science. With Zero by Degrees, Mike has broadened his experience into commercial and institutional construction. He has conducted and managed large-scale blower door tests on buildings as large as 70,000 square feet, tested and inspected dozens of building envelope details, performed whole building infrared scans, reviewed construction documents, and built energy models to predict energy savings and payback estimates on potential building improvements.
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Using Data to Measure Building Performance, Find Savings Opportunities, and Track Progress
Innovative Design, Both Residential & Commercial- Ethan Goldman, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
Buildings are generating more data than ever, not only from smart meters but also from connected thermostats; energy management systems; and numerous other devices and systems that measure, control, and communicate over the Internet. This information can seem overwhelming, but a variety of software tools and analysis techniques are also emerging that can organize, visualize, and analyze the data to understand and improve the performance of buildings. This session will focus on how this software can transform smart thermostat data and other indoor temperature data into performance metrics that can be used to diagnose problems and measure improvements to the envelope and HVAC system. We will also review other emerging building monitoring technologies and analytical software, using case studies and graphical examples. Further, we will discuss practical recommendations for how to incorporate these technologies into buildings and make use of the data analysis tools and results.
Presentation(s):
Level: Advanced
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: AmphitheatreAbout the Speaker(s)-
Ethan Goldman
Ethan Goldman is the energy informatics architect at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and is the technical lead for Efficiency Vermont’s work with smart grid, connected thermostats, and other emerging technologies that help consumers understand their energy data and find savings opportunities. Ethan is part of the team responsible for developing systems for acquiring, storing, and analyzing both smart meter and submeter data from utilities and building systems. He has conducted research on the impact of information feedback from energy consumption patterns and on non-intrusive load analysis using whole building electric meters. He holds a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
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How Low Can You Go? Deep Energy Retrofits in Vermont Commercial Buildings
Building Systems, Commercial- Holly Andersen, Bennington Early Childhood Center
- Andrew Goldberg, Hannaford Supermarkets
- James Secor, The Secor Group, LLC
- Jim Cameron, Green Dolphin LLC
Getting to 50% savings—is it possible in Vermont commercial buildings? Join a panel representing four businesses that were successful in completing a deep energy retrofit on their commercial buildings to learn about the strategies and approaches, the challenges, and ultimately the steps taken to achieve this rigorous goal. This session will include project-specific details from Efficiency Vermont’s first cohort of commercial deep energy retrofit program participants. Hear their challenges, lessons learned, and successes to date in a grocery store, private school, daycare center, and municipal City Hall. Everyone put in LED lighting, but how important was the shell? Did they have to install heat pumps? Panelists will present their implementation plans, measures installed, costs, and savings thus far.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: AmphitheatreAbout the Speaker(s)-
Holly Andersen
Holly Andersen is an active parent on the board of the Bennington Early Childhood Center. In her professional life she is the project manager for the Planning Office at Bennington College. Among other things, she manages all aspects of capital construction on campus, as well as spearheading sustainability initiatives. With a background in construction management, Holly works to balance budget, energy efficiency, aesthetics, maintainability, and occupant satisfaction at this small liberal arts college. In the time she does not spend on campus, she skis, snowboards, bikes, fishes, and gardens with her two young daughters.
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Andrew Goldberg
Andrew Goldberg is an energy project manager at Delhaize America, parent company of Hannaford Supermarkets, with experience and passion in electrical and fuel efficiency projects. Goldberg received his bachelor’s degree from Babson College in business administration in 2002. He began with Hannaford as a retail management trainee, quickly becoming a store manager in multiple locations. Later, he took on a temporary project in retail communications before moving to store engineering in his current role. He manages energy efficiency projects in Hannaford’s 181 locations, including managing efficiency upgrades, distributed generation projects, and fuel conversions, as well as utility and efficiency agency relationships. In his Maine community, he is an active member of the Saco Energy and Sustainability Committee, as well as the Economic Development Commission.
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James Secor
James R. Secor, P.E., is owner of the Secor Group, LLC, located in Bennington, Vermont, specializing in design/build for industrial and commercial as well as residential projects, bringing into the mix high-end energy upgrades. Jim began his engineering and construction history as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, designing and supervising construction of communications and radar facilities throughout the European Theater. After leaving the service he settled back in Vermont, opening a successful construction firm and engineering company; doing all aspects of building design as well as state, local, and federal permitting; and taking on site and building construction. Jim holds professional engineering licenses in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, as well as BPI certification as an envelope and building analyst professional.
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Jim Cameron
Jim Cameron is the owner of Green Dolphin LLC, based in East Fairfield, Vermont. Green Dolphin LLC is a project management, real estate development, and consulting company for both rehab and new construction projects. Recent projects have included the complete gut and rehab of a historic downtown Saint Albans landmark; gut, remodel, and rehab of a 25,000-square-foot municipal building; ADA modifications to student housing; and project evaluation/consultation for a site redevelopment. Clients include private developers, Vermont state agencies, municipalities, and national management corporations. Jim is particularly proud of the deep energy retrofit work his firm performed on the Saint Albans City Hall.
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Lighting Control Systems Hands-on Workshop (Part 2)
Building Systems, Commercial- Steve Mesh, Lighting Education & Design
How do advanced lighting control systems really work? Find out by wiring one yourself, even if you’ve never wired anything in your life. Wiring a complex control system is not as hard as it sounds! In this workshop, attendees will help the presenter get a lighting control system up and running. We will wire, commission, and program a system including fixture controllers, occupancy sensors, photosensors, and switches. Learn about different transmission protocols, digital vs. analog signals, and much more. No prior wiring experience is necessary. All tools and materials will be supplied.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NCQLP, Passive House
Room: Diamond 2About the Speaker(s)-
Steve Mesh
Steve Mesh attended Parsons School of Design and has been a lighting designer and educator for 36 years. He has designed the lighting for a wide variety of projects in the U.S. and internationally. He was the lighting program coordinator at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco. He’s a member of the IES and was previously the IES northeast regional vice president. For 25 years, he has served on the Energy Management Committee. He is an EPA Green Lights Program surveyor ally and has been an AIA registered provider. Steve was on the development team for the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program. He has been a contributing editor of Building Operating Management magazine. He’s given several workshops at Lightfair and has spoken at Lux Pacifica in New Delhi, India.
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Profile of a Passive House–Inspired Home
Innovative Design, Residential- Roger Cooney, Wright Builders, Inc.
- Roger Buzzell, Wright Builders, Inc.
- Steve Spatz, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
This session will detail the benefits of designing and building an all-electric home with grid-tied photovoltaic panels and the following: subterranean water management; a robust building envelope including a precast foundation system with added insulation, double-wall construction with dense-pack cellulose, LVL roof framing with mixed closed-cell spray foam and dense-pack cellulose, and Alpine windows and doors; bulk water management; a vapor management layer; air infiltration reduction strategies; and advantageous solar orientation and glazing. We will also cover connected plug loads calculations; testing; and building systems, including a high-efficiency mini-split system, energy recovery ventilator, and PV array. We will present an overview of the construction followed by a Q & A session.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 1About the Speaker(s)-
Roger Cooney
Roger Cooney has a career committed to high performance and sustainable design and construction. This work includes designs that meet or surpass the standards of the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Tier III, LEED for Homes, deep energy retrofit, and the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge. His firm is currently constructing the final phase of its Village Hill development project, which is built to both ENERGY STAR Tier III and LEED for Homes (Gold certified) standards, along with a LEED for Homes single-family home (Platinum certified), two Living Building Challenge projects, and a Passive House–inspired home in southern Vermont. Roger holds multiple degrees, formerly owned his own design business, and has been with Wright Builders for 11 years.
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Roger Buzzell
Roger Buzzell manages high-performance construction for commercial, institutional, and residential projects. Currently he is overseeing the construction of the final phase for his company’s Village Hill development, which is an ENERGY STAR and LEED for Homes certified project. He is also overseeing a new single-family home being built to ENERGY STAR Tier III & LEED for Homes Platinum standard, along with a Passive House–inspired home in southern Vermont. Roger formerly managed an alpine program at a skiing resort in western Massachusetts. He is a master builder and a Massachusetts-licensed contractor supervisor, and has been with Wright Builders for a decade.
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Steve Spatz
Steve Spatz is a residential energy consultant with the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC). Steve works as a consultant in both the Residential New Construction and Home Performance with ENERGY STAR programs with Efficiency Vermont. Prior to coming to work at VEIC, Steve owned and operated Redbarn Design and Build, a residential construction and home performance contracting company that he founded in 2002. Redbarn Design and Build’s focus was high-performance new construction and renovation; the company also completed over 150 residential energy retrofits of existing homes. Steve is a BPI-certified building analyst and envelope professional, a RESNET-certified energy rater, and a National Association of Home Builders certified green professional.
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Reassessing Passive Solar Design Principles
Envelope, Residential- Martin Holladay, Green Building Advisor
In the 1970s, residential designers learned that a passive solar house should be oriented with the long dimension aligned from east to west. They also learned that a passive solar house benefited from extra south-facing windows, an adequate roof overhang to shade south-facing windows from the summer sun, and extra interior thermal mass. Although many designers still promote the passive solar approach, research suggests that following these principles won’t necessarily save any energy. Even when some of these measures save a little energy, the energy savings are too low to justify the measures’ cost.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 2About the Speaker(s)-
Martin Holladay
Martin Holladay has been reporting on energy issues for a variety of publications, including the Journal of Light Construction, Energy Design Update, and Environmental Building News, since 1999. Before becoming an editor, Martin worked for many years as a design/build contractor in Vermont. Currently employed as a senior editor at Fine Homebuilding magazine and the Green Building Advisor website, he writes a weekly blog called “Musings of an Energy Nerd.”
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The Secrets of Commercial Building Mechanical Systems
Building Systems, Commercial- Roy Swain, Kohler & Lewis Mechanical Engineering
Commercial buildings, such as schools, endure for decades, while the people occupying and working in them change frequently. In many buildings, enough time passes so that the understanding of mechanical systems within the building becomes lost, and critical secrets remain hidden within the HVAC and plumbing systems. At such times, performing a detailed mechanical needs assessment can allow the building owner to expose and understand the secrets and then operate the systems in an optimal fashion immediately, as well as laying the plans for needed periodic revisions and upgrades. This presentation will review the process and content of such an assessment within the framework of the nine objectives of building mechanical systems, and will include many real-world examples from Vermont. It is designed for anyone associated with commercial buildings, including owners, facility managers, architects, building committees, and contractors.
Presentation(s):
- The Secrets of Commercial Building Mechanical Systems
- Facilities Operating Plan by Efficiency Vermont
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NATE, Passive House
Room: Diamond 1About the Speaker(s)-
Roy Swain
Roy E. Swain is the owner of Kohler and Lewis Mechanical Engineers in Keene, New Hampshire. He specializes in helping commercial building owners understand and optimize their mechanical systems. He designs practical and efficient HVAC, plumbing, and control systems, including those for numerous LEED buildings, net-zero projects, and Living Building Challenge buildings. Previously, Roy managed the development of the McQuay MicroTech line of DDC controllers and was a senior project engineer at the Carrier Corporation.
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What Can Sunny California Teach the Chilly Northeast?
Innovative Design, Residential- Ann V. Edminster, Design AVEnues LLC
California’s 2020 “big, bold goal”—that all new homes will be zero net energy (ZNE)—has spurred the development of ZNE homes throughout the state. One demonstration project in particular, in Habitat for Humanity’s Stockton Dream Creek subdivision, stands as a shining example of cost-effective innovation. A very clever builder, armed with knowledge gleaned from utility ratepayer-funded education programs to supplement his own considerable experience and ingenuity, has honed some time-honored resource efficiency strategies to a rare degree. This session will showcase those strategies and present the performance and cost findings from the project, demonstrating that the human brain is the most potent technology at our disposal. Unless you build in a wimpy climate like California's, you may not be able to get to a 12% framing factor after attending this session, but you’ll have some new ideas about how to make some great efficiency improvements! No silver bullets, but 100 silver BBs…
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NATE, Passive House
Room: Emerald 3About the Speaker(s)-
Ann V. Edminster
Ann Edminster, M.Arch., is an international expert on sustainable residential construction and zero-net energy. A principal developer of LEED for Homes, Ann authored Energy Free: Homes for a Small Planet, an award-winning guide to designing and building zero-energy homes. She consults on zero-energy initiatives throughout North America, served as a 2015 U.S. DOE Solar Decathlon juror, and is a board member of the Net Zero Energy Coalition, as well as its summit director. She collaborates with building professionals, utilities, nonprofits, supply chain clients, investors, public agencies, and homeowners to create leading-edge projects and advocate for zero-energy and low-carbon building solutions at all scales.
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ASHRAE Guideline 36: Advanced HVAC Control Sequences
Commercial, Commercial- Rick Stehmeyer, Cx Associates
- Matthew Napolitan, Cx Associates
In the commercial industrial sector, retrofit energy efficiency measures such as the installation of LED lighting and variable frequency drives (VFDs) on HVAC equipment have become commonplace. We will focus on HVAC control sequences, the algorithms that building automation systems employ to keep commercial buildings comfortable and efficient. We will present an overview of ASHRAE Guideline 36, which is a set of HVAC control sequences that can be implemented as part of a retrofit or new construction. When implemented correctly, these sequences can help regain or increase the efficiency of a building’s HVAC systems. We will explain the advantages of implementing the Guideline 36 sequences and present an in-depth look at the guideline’s current state and plans for its future.
Presentation(s):
Level: Advanced
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NATE, Passive House
Room: AmphitheatreAbout the Speaker(s)-
Rick Stehmeyer
Rick Stehmeyer is a senior engineer at Cx Associates in Burlington, Vermont. Rick is an expert in HVAC controls and the former technical services manager for a major controls contracting firm in New England. He has over a decade of experience as a systems integrator, commissioning agent, and installer of major name-brand building automation systems across a wide range of markets including New York City, New Jersey, and Vermont. Using his background and experience in information systems, Rick identifies opportunities in building systems for increased efficiency through controls reprogramming. He specializes in analysis of control logic implemented by controls contractors, often finding ways to improve equipment operation while decreasing energy consumption.
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Matthew Napolitan
Matthew Napolitan’s hands-on, collaborative approach to new and existing building commissioning results in better projects for Cx Associates’ clients. His prior experience as a mechanical engineer and project manager at two major multinational engineering firms coupled with his current tenure as a commissioning provider gives him a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience. Matt’s expertise and professionalism allows him to bridge the gaps between project stakeholders. With experience in commercial, institutional, military, and health-care work, Matt brings a well-rounded perspective to any project, whether its goals are reduced energy, simplified maintenance, increased reliability, or all three.
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Building Energy Systems for Low-energy Homes: Comparing a Net-zero Home Built in 2016 to a Superinsulated Home Built in 1983 with Renewable Energy Upgrades
Building Systems, Residential- John Call, Home Energy, Inc.
Home Energy, Inc.’s first project, constructed in 1983, was a superinsulated, passive solar structure, incorporating south-facing windows, insulated shutters, thermal mass for passive solar storage, high R-values, and Mitsubishi air-to-air heat exchangers. Our latest project, an all-electric, net-zero home, employs the same basic concepts as the initial project, as well as technologies such as thermal mass with radiant heat, a ground-source heat pump, solar PV with a Tesla battery backup, and a Zehnder heat-recovery ventilator. We will explain current concepts and technologies and demonstrate how they can be incorporated into retrofits of existing structures, remodeling and performing of deep energy retrofits, and building of low-energy and net-zero homes.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 1About the Speaker(s)-
John Call
John J. Call is president of Home Energy, Inc., the company he established in 1979, focusing on energy-efficient building and home improvement. It is a design/build firm, constructing new ENERGY STAR homes and remodeling and retrofitting existing homes. The company has worked for demand-side management utility programs, performing insulation and weatherization on low-income homes and municipal housing units. In 2008, it added renewable energy to the services provided, installing ground-source heat pumps and solar PV. In 2012, the firm began performing deep-energy retrofits through National Grid’s DER Program. Its most recent project is a net-zero home in Warren, Vermont. John holds a Massachusetts unlimited construction supervisor license. He is an accredited ground-source heat pump installer and member of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association.
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Developer-driven Net-positive Building: Challenges, Insights, and Successes
Commercial, Commercial- Bill Maclay, Maclay Architects
- Mike Foster, Malone Properties
- Duane Peterson, SunCommon
- Andy Shapiro, Energy Balance, Inc.
Learn how a developer-driven project can be net-zero energy, and even net-positive energy. The client, architect, and developer for the new SunCommon headquarters will share stories, lessons learned, and individual insights associated with pursuing and achieving a 14,000-square-foot net-positive energy office/warehouse. The integrated design process included close team coordination, open communication, and progress testing. The team will share how, through this process, attention to detail became integral to the success of the project. Furthermore, Mike Foster of Malone Properties will share how the practices and techniques employees learned on the jobsite while executing the superinsulated and airtight envelope details developed by Maclay Architects are replicable and will become standard practice for the company’s cost-effective delivery of net-positive buildings in Vermont.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 1About the Speaker(s)-
Bill Maclay
Bill Maclay is the author of The New Net Zero (Chelsea Green Publishing) and founding principal of Maclay Architects of Waitsfield, Vermont. Bill has been recognized as a leader in innovative ecological planning and architectural design since 1971. Maclay Architects specializes in net-zero energy design and was the recipient of the 2012 NESEA (Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) Zero Net Energy Building Award. Bill has a B.A. from Williams College and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a past President of the Vermont chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He has served on many boards and has taught and spoken at colleges, universities, and conferences focused on environmental design. Bill and the firm have continuously been involved in research on all aspects of environmental design, including sustainable design, indoor air quality, building science, material selection, and related issues.
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Mike Foster
Mike Foster is the project manager and the driving force behind Malone Properties. He has been with Malone Properties for 15 years, helping grow the company to over 1,000,000 square feet of property owned. Mike is hardworking and dedicated to creating buildings that clients can be proud to call their own. In 2016, Mike took a double dip into the net-zero phenomenon that is sweeping the building industry, in both residential and commercial building. Having built the SunCommon building in Waterbury, Vermont, and the Community Sailing Center in Burlington, Vermont, Malone Properties is becoming well versed in net zero.
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Duane Peterson
Duane Peterson is co-president of SunCommon, Vermont’s largest residential and community solar provider. A social entrepreneur, he’s on his seventh career, having had stints in emergency medical services, community policing, electoral politics, and the executive and legislative branches of government. The common thread is Duane’s commitment to positive social change. Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen lured Duane to use the business as a force for good; at the ice cream company, he further developed the values-led business model and literally helped write the book on the subject. After 12 years as Ben’s chief of stuff, Duane left to co-found SunCommon, a Vermont Benefit Corporation and certified B Corp. He was recognized by Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility with the 2015 Terry Ehrich Award for lifetime achievement in conscious capitalism.
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Andy Shapiro
Andrew Shapiro, president of Energy Balance, Inc., has provided high-performance building energy analysis, design, and monitoring consulting services for 30 years to a wide variety of clients, including owners, architects, engineers, builders, housing developers, universities, businesses, and efficiency programs. He provides guidance and technical expertise along the path of conceptualization, design, construction, commissioning, and post-occupancy assessment, aimed at optimizing the environmental impact of the building, indoor environmental quality, operating and maintenance costs, and building durability. He works with new and existing buildings, from single-family homes up to larger commercial and institutional buildings. He is also the director of science and engineering education for the Vermont Energy Education Program, raising the energy literacy of the next generation.
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Measuring NZE Home Performance in New York
Innovative Design, Residential- Ryan Pollin, ERS
- Nick Collins, ERS
We set out to verify the energy savings of new net-zero energy (NZE) homes in the northeastern United States with the use of metered data and site-specific energy analyses. Through this process we gained insight into the factors contributing to the success or failure of these homes in achieving their NZE goals. During this presentation, we will provide an overview of the 20-plus homes inspected and metered through this work and the key design features of these homes that allowed owners to target NZE consumption. We will review our preliminary findings regarding home performance and our strategies for verifying the actual energy performance of these homes. Finally, we’ll present the results of our end-use metering and analysis.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 2About the Speaker(s)-
Ryan Pollin
Ryan Pollin is a project engineer II at ERS. He works on program impact evaluations at the site- and program-wide analysis levels using a range of analysis techniques. Ryan provides ongoing technical review support for custom energy efficiency applications in residential, commercial, and industrial facilities across a wide range of technologies and supports process evaluation efforts with data processing and analytics. Prior to joining ERS, Ryan worked as an energy efficiency engineer intern for GreenerU in Waltham, Massachusetts. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
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Nick Collins
Nick Collins, P.E., LEED accredited professional, is a senior engineer for ERS. His areas of expertise include the monitoring and verification of energy efficiency projects and the analysis of energy efficiency measures in residential, commercial, and industrial facilities. Nick is proficient in project and construction management, with an emphasis on sustainable design, high-performance buildings, and building methods in commercial construction. He has significant experience with LEED and core performance rating systems and project delivery. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maine.
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The Applied Science of Air Barriers
Envelope, Both Residential & Commercial- Frederick McKnight, Turner Building Science & Design, LLC
Building enclosure assemblies now include components designed to limit vapor and air migration through the assembly. These membranes also take on other properties from time to time, including acting as a water-resistive barrier and thermal barrier. The additional properties may require that alternative installation details be followed. Some performance testing of the installed product will also identify problems that can be addressed prior to the covering of the barrier with other enclosure assemblies and materials. We will look at how to analyze a wall assembly to identify the function of the enclosure assemblies.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 2About the Speaker(s)-
Frederick McKnight
Frederick McKnight is the senior vice president of building science at Turner Building Science & Design. He has over 30 years of experience in HVAC design, indoor air quality evaluations, building enclosure, and HVAC commissioning in both industrial and non-industrial environments. Frederick McKnight and Turner Building Science are members of ABAA (the Air Barrier Association of America) and BCxA (the Building Commissioning Association). He sits on ABAA’s national Whole Building Testing technical committee, which recently finished work on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) Air Leakage Test Protocol for Building Enclosures Standard and which is now focused on developing a new whole building air leakage testing standard for submission to ASTM. He is a registered professional engineer with the State of Vermont. In addition, he is a LEED accredited professional and certified commissioning authority.
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Top Ten "Outside the Box" Case Studies
Innovative Design, Residential- Eli Gould, The Ironwood Brands/PreCraft, Inc.
The founder of a custom prefab firm specializing in high-performance homes, low-load mechanical systems, and innovative PreCraft assemblies speaks on a series of case studies from 2015 and 2016. The chosen examples and themes are ones that stretch the definitions of high-performance homes, challenge the assumptions of rating systems, and define some of the elements which Vermonters continue to lead in practice in which may not be broadly supported by incentive programs. Our intent is not to criticize incentives but to illustrate the key trends and goals of our unique client-driven projects to see if they merit a policy or pilot project focus that could maintain our region's leadership.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 3About the Speaker(s)-
Eli Gould
Eli Gould left his hometown in southern Vermont in the early 90s to develop a new dual major track at Yale in Architecture and Forestry then returned home soon after to found the vertically integrated design/build firm Ironwood Brand. After serving out the experience based track to architecture licensure in some leading area firms including the national timber-frame and custom prefab markets, Eli returned to his hometown to lead a small firm dedicated to top tier projects and system development. The Ironwood Brands now include dedicated manufacturing under PreCraft Inc, and wood product focus under STIX, L3C. Eli's project highlights covered in past years include a "Best of the Best" Passivehaus, the Open_1 Prototype home by Bensonwood, the leadership projects at Leonard Farm for Alex and Jerelyn Wilson, but has focused in recent years on ways to take that leadership to broader and more affordable mainstream practice.
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Elm Place Senior Housing: The Adventures of an Affordable Multifamily Passive House Project in Vermont
Innovative Design, Residential- Michael Wisniewski, Duncan Wisniewski Architecture
- Miranda Lescaze, Cathedral Square Corporation
- Chris West, Eco Houses of Vermont, LLC
Elm Place is the first multifamily passive house building in Vermont. It is also affordable housing developed by a nonprofit. How did we reach the Passive House standard when funding sources are so limited? The iterative design process of a typical passive project does not easily slip into the nonprofit world of tight schedules and project delivery. In this session, the presenters share how they were able to bring this 30‐unit affordable senior housing project to the PHIUS (Passive House Institute U.S.) standard for just a 1‐2% upcharge. In a nutshell, we learned that the inherent surface‐to-volume advantage of multifamily buildings enables attainment of the Passive House standard with incremental upgrades. This will not be a highly technical presentation, but it will cover the details of the design and systems so the audience can understand exactly how the building is configured. Both challenges and ideas for improvements will be included.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 3About the Speaker(s)-
Michael Wisniewski
Michael Wisniewski is a principal at Duncan Wisniewski Architecture in Burlington, Vermont, and a certified Passive House consultant (PHIUS). He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University. His firm received the 2015 Efficiency Vermont Commercial Partner of the Year award. One of his design focuses is affordable multifamily housing, and his firm has completed nearly 1,000 units over the past 30 years, including entire neighborhoods. Michael is also a photographer, storyteller, and tango dancer.
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Miranda Lescaze
Miranda Lescaze is a real estate developer for the affordable housing nonprofit Cathedral Square. Miranda is interested in community development, and has over 15 years’ experience working for community‐based nonprofits. At Cathedral Square she leads development projects from inception through permitting, funding, and construction. She previously worked as the director of the Center for Workforce Development and Diversity at Vermont EPSCoR, and was the technical coordinator at the Lake Champlain Basin Program, among other pursuits linking natural resources to community development. She has a master’s degree in natural resources from the University of Vermont and a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College.
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Chris West
Chris West is a building science acolyte who has studied and practiced building science principles since 2010. Chris’s background in mechanical engineering was his springboard into the Passive House movement. In 2010 he became a certified Passive House consultant. Since starting his Passive House consulting firm, Eco Houses of Vermont, LLC, Chris has been involved with more than 20 Passive House and near Passive House projects, mostly single-family homes. The Elm Place senior housing project was Chris’s first large building project, which provided him with the opportunity to apply his experience with Passive House on a larger scale. He believes the future of building is Passive House.
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Considerations for High-wattage Exterior Lighting
Building Systems, Both Residential & Commercial- Eric Haugaard, Cree LED Lighting
LED Lighting has been an obvious choice for lower wattages in street and area lighting for years. However, there has been a perceived barrier to adoption for applications where 1000W HPS and metal halide solutions are typically used. In the past, the economics and lighting performance delivered by LED systems, for these applications, were not compelling. This session will feature some case studies, where traditional 1000W luminaires were replaced with high output LED luminaires. A review of illumination performance improvements and life-cycle cost improvements will be emphasized. Additional discussion will focus on dramatic improvements in color quality performance and optical precision along with other application elements.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NCQLP, Passive House
Room: AmphitheatreAbout the Speaker(s)-
Eric Haugaard
Eric Haugaard is the Director of Product Technology for Cree Lighting. His career of 29 years includes a variety of positions primarily focused on advanced lightning systems development. Over the past decade Eric has presented lighting technology programs to diverse audiences throughout the world, including a strong focus on LED luminaire technologies. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, with Post-Baccalaureate Program studies completed at NASA/Ames Research Center. He holds 48 US and 16 foreign patents related to lighting technology.
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Renovating the Old Hinesburg Police Station to Net-zero Energy
Commercial, Both Residential & Commercial- Richard Faesy, Energy Futures Group
- David Pill, Pill - Maharam Architects
- Andy Shapiro, Energy Balance, Inc.
- Chuck Reiss, Reiss Building and Renovation
Energy Futures Group (EFG), a clean energy consulting firm in Hinesburg, Vermont, needed room to grow. The owners purchased the old Hinesburg police station for their new office and rental space. In addition to adhering to the Town’s requirement of maintaining the structure of the old building, one of EFG’s primary goals was to develop a net-zero energy building that put into practice much of what they preached. EFG worked with a leading architect, engineer, and builder to develop a model project that demonstrated how to achieve a very low energy building that produces all of its annual energy on its east-, west-, and south-facing roofs. This presentation details the design, decision, and construction process in achieving a model net-zero energy project.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 1About the Speaker(s)-
Richard Faesy
Richard Faesy is a principal and co-founder of Energy Futures Group, a clean energy consulting firm in Hinesburg, Vermont. He has 30 years of experience in the energy field. As a certified energy rater, LEED accredited professional, and DOE home energy score assessor, he specializes in residential buildings, technologies, and markets. He has expertise in residential new construction and retrofits, energy rating and labeling, building codes, financing, green building and effective energy efficiency policy, and program design and implementation. He currently works with clients in Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Prior to founding Energy Futures Group, Richard worked at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation for 21 years.
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David Pill
David Pill is the principal of Pill-Maharam Architects, a small firm in Shelburne, Vermont. He has a master’s degree in architecture from Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and art history from Lake Forest College. David has been a practicing architect for 25 years and is licensed in all six New England states and New York. After working at The Architects’ Collaborative in Cambridge, Massachusetts, David founded Pill-Maharam Architects in 1991 and has been involved with sustainable design practices since its inception. David’s passion lies in creating sculptural and pragmatic environmentally responsible buildings that produce zero carbon emissions. Pill-Maharam Architects’ work has been widely published, and the firm has received a number of local and national awards.
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Andy Shapiro
Andrew Shapiro, president of Energy Balance, Inc., has provided high-performance building energy analysis, design, and monitoring consulting services for 30 years to a wide variety of clients, including owners, architects, engineers, builders, housing developers, universities, businesses, and efficiency programs. He provides guidance and technical expertise along the path of conceptualization, design, construction, commissioning, and post-occupancy assessment, aimed at optimizing the environmental impact of the building, indoor environmental quality, operating and maintenance costs, and building durability. He works with new and existing buildings, from single-family homes up to larger commercial and institutional buildings. He is also the director of science and engineering education for the Vermont Energy Education Program, raising the energy literacy of the next generation.
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Chuck Reiss
Chuck Reiss is the owner of Reiss Building and Renovation, a green construction company, which has been building high-performance net-zero energy homes and moving existing homes closer to net-zero energy since 1982. Chuck is one of the founding members of Building for Social Responsibility and a director of the Building Performance Professionals Association of Vermont. A certified BPI professional and a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractor, he is dedicated to getting existing homes off fossil fuel through a combination of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and heat pumps. Chuck is also an adjunct professor at UVM, where he teaches courses on building green, low-energy-load homes, and chair of the Hinesburg Energy Committee.
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Safety and Efficiency Issues for Installed Combustion Equipment
Building Systems, Both Residential & Commercial- Brad Cook, Building Performance Services LLC
- Brian Howes, Gas Appliance Services of Vermont
Many problems can be caused by the improper installation of combustion equipment, both residential and commercial. This workshop is aimed at the auditor, home inspector, builder, architect, or installer, and its goal is making even the casual observer aware of visual clues to potential safety issues with combustion appliances. Starting with a basic review of a few important laws and principles of science, we will use real-life examples to look at what can go wrong when the installation is not right. Topics will include fuel supply (with a focus on gas), combustion air, the combustion chamber, and the venting of combustion gases. Also discussed will be how overall efficiency depends on proper installation and appropriate application.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NATE, Passive House
Room: Diamond 1About the Speaker(s)-
Brad Cook
Brad Cook is the owner of Building Performance Services LLC, a home performance contracting company and winner of several Efficiency Vermont Best of the Best Awards. His formal training started with the naval nuclear submarine program, including coursework in thermodynamics and fluid flow, and was followed by obtaining a B.A. in physics from St. Michael’s College. With over 25 years of inspecting and repairing homes in central Vermont, he started specializing in energy efficiency in 2006. Since then he has continued to maintain several BPI certifications, including heating specialist. He also holds certifications from HRAI and Snell Infrared. He has presented many energy efficiency workshops across Vermont, including Button Up Vermont and DIY Skillshops.
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Brian Howes
Brian Howes is the owner of Gas Appliance Services of Vermont. With an associate degree in applied science from Vermont Technical College, he has been active in the gas industry for 43 years. He is licensed in Vermont as a master plumber, as well as certified for both LP and natural gas installation, and he is EPA certified for refrigeration and air conditioning. He served on the Safety and Education Committee for the former Vermont Gas Association. He has taught classes on gas safety and forensics to the Vermont chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators and the Vermont State Fire Marshalls.
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The Essential Role of Design Vision in the Widespread Adoption of Low-carbon Buildings
Innovative Design, Both Residential & Commercial- Harry Hunt, Harry Hunt Architects
In order for our society to effectively curb climate change, a rapid transformation of the construction industry is of paramount importance. Historically, similar rapid market transformations that have occurred have been catalyzed by a compelling design vision. In considering a shift toward low-carbon buildings, architects and building professionals should recognize and accept their important role as leaders of a new movement. That role involves the proliferation of a new and compelling design vision. What are the underpinnings of such a vision? From where might architects and designers draw their inspiration? Seven key low-carbon building characteristics will be outlined and explored in terms of their design implications. Existing built examples will be cited and analyzed.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 2About the Speaker(s)-
Harry Hunt
Harry L. Hunt, AIA, owner and principal of Harry Hunt Architects, has specialized in sustainable design across a wide range of contexts—residential and civic buildings, urban planning, interiors, and landscapes. With over three decades of experience in architectural design, engineering, and construction, Harry balances a strong sense of aesthetics with cutting-edge building science and practical construction know-how. He earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Vermont in 1986, and his master’s degree in architecture from the University of Colorado in 1994. He is a current member and past president of the Vermont Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and is certified as a Passive House designer through the Passive House Institute in Darmstadt, Germany.
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University of Vermont Medical Center: Approach and Strategy for Sustainable Design and Construction
Commercial, Commercial- Dave Keelty, University of Vermont Medical Center
- Michael Pulaski, Thornton Tomasetti
- Bill Repichowskyj, E4H Architecture
This session will cover the process and implementation for integrating sustainability and energy efficiency into the University of Vermont Medical Center inpatient bed project, which is anticipated to have half the EUI (energy use intensity) of the average building on campus. We will outline the guiding principles of the project, the sustainability goals, the energy modeling and due diligence that was incorporated into the planning stage, and the architectural response to these directives. Attendees will learn about best practices for integrating sustainability into the design process, as well as the tools and methods that can be applied to meeting energy efficiency goals.
Presentation(s):
Level: Advanced
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 2About the Speaker(s)-
Dave Keelty
Dave Keelty, B.S., CEM, CHFM, CHC, has 40 years of experience in health-care facilities management and health-care construction and is currently director of facilities planning and development at the University of Vermont (UVM) Medical Center. He is overseeing the planning, design, and construction of the new Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building, a $187 million initiative for a new inpatient building that has integrated sustainability into the approach for planning and design. Dave serves on the Sustainability Council of UVM Medical Center, a multidisciplinary steering committee charged with oversight of all elements of sustainability programming. He is a certified energy manager with the association of energy engineers and holds a bachelor’s degree from Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont.
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Michael Pulaski
Michael Pulaski, Ph.D., LEED AP BD+C, has more than 12 years of experience in sustainability consulting, offering sustainability strategies and programming, energy and environmental analysis, and certification management to building owners, design teams, and contractors for new construction and existing structures. He is well-versed in all LEED rating systems, the WELL Building Standard, Living Building Challenge certification, Passive House standards, and international rating systems such as BREEAM, Three Star, Estidama, and Green Star. Michael Pulaski is a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) Emerging Professionals National Committee and has served on the USGBC’s Maine chapter and Upper Northeast Regional Council boards. He is an ambassador for the International Living Future Institute.
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Bill Repichowskyj
Bill Repichowskyj, AIA, NCARB, is a partner, architect, and design leader at the firm E4H MorrisSwitzer Environments for Health, a national architectural firm focusing exclusively on health-care design. With 27 years of experience, he has worked both nationally and internationally on a variety of health-care project types. Bill works with both clients and colleagues in a collaborative approach to optimize thoughtful, quality design. He has a B.S. in architectural studies and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Nebraska. He is currently partner in charge for the University of Vermont Medical Center Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building, a $187 million inpatient building that has integrated sustainability into the planning and design of the project, which is targeting LEED Silver certification.
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Balancing Your Energy Investments When Funds Are Limited
Envelope, Both Residential & Commercial- John Rahill, Black River Design Architects
Anyone can build an energy-efficient or net-zero home with unlimited funds, but for most projects, funds are limited. The challenge is how to assess where investing in energy savings is most effective and where it does not make much sense. With the cost of photovoltaic panels coming down, getting to net-zero energy use is now a realistic goal. Understanding when to stop investing in energy savings and when it is better to invest in energy generation instead is now the responsibility of designers. Using several recent net-zero and energy-efficient projects as examples, the presenter will demonstrate a simple methodology for determining the best uses of energy savings dollars.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 1About the Speaker(s)-
John Rahill
After graduating from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, John Rahill spent several years running a small general contracting firm involved in building active and passive solar homes. John’s career has been committed to sustainable and high-performance design with an emphasis on durability, aesthetics, and occupant comfort. Recently, he has designed projects incorporating renewable energy sources and tight building envelopes. He also recently completed a net-zero energy and water project that is in the performance monitoring phase under the Living Building Challenge. John believes that his most powerful learning experiences have been the many mistakes he has made over his career.
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Exploring Energy Modeling Tools in Passive House Design
Building Systems, Residential- Craig Simmons, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
- Karen Bushey, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
This session will use case studies to explore widely available energy modeling tools that inform the design of Passive House and other high-performance residential buildings. We will evaluate when and where it makes sense to use dynamic modeling tools alongside well-established residential compliance tools to drive advanced building design and develop cost-effective problem-solving approaches in advanced building design. This session will compare the modeled building characteristics of building energy modeling tools: REM/Rate, PHPP, OpenStudio, and eQUEST. We will look at one multifamily and two single-family case studies to guide a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of these commonly used tools in evaluating advanced residential building design. Each case study is designed to Passive House standards and has an associated PHPP model.
Presentation(s):
Level: Advanced
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 2About the Speaker(s)-
Craig Simmons
Craig Simmons is a professional engineer with more than 10 years’ experience in commercial building energy analysis and energy modeling. Craig specializes in new construction and major renovation energy analysis using a variety of energy modeling tools. He previously worked as a building energy design consultant in Boston, providing guidance to owners and design teams in pursuit of performance-based energy code compliance, LEED certification, and utility incentive programs. His project experience includes high-rise glass office towers and high-intensity chemical laboratories as well as low-income multifamily and small office renovations. In his role at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Craig advises clients on building energy efficiency improvements, and provides energy modeling in support of statewide efficiency programs. Craig is currently focused on developing energy efficiency projects for public-purpose buildings through Commons Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of VEIC.
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Karen Bushey
Karen Bushey joined Vermont Energy Investment Corporation in 2014 as a residential energy consultant with the goal of helping homeowners, builders, and architects create comfortable, durable homes that optimize building performance. A licensed architect, certified Passive House consultant, and PHIUS+ rater, Karen earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University. Karen has over 20 years of experience in the field of architecture, with 14 of those years concentrating on low-environmental-impact building design and construction. Karen’s knowledge of high-performance design and experience working closely with numerous contractors has been key to the success of many residential and commercial projects in New England.
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Greatest Energy Efficiency, Minimum Negative Impacts, and Preservation of Dark Skies: New Best Practices for Street and Area Lighting
Commercial, Commercial- James Benya, Benya Burnett Consultancy
With an announcement concerning LED outdoor lighting by the American Medical Association in June 2016, the entire lighting industry was put on notice that outdoor lighting practices can have human health impacts. The presenter helped identify the potential problem in 2009 and has developed practices in lighting systems that can be used to address the AMA concerns as well as reduce light pollution, energy use, and other environmental impacts. He will present the theory and applications for street and area lighting practices that allow projects to meet energy and environmental codes and IES recommendations. He will discuss how to meet the evolving new requirements for outdoor lighting practices. The presentation will include current trends in outdoor lighting controls, illumination in “smart” cities, and how communities can use local and regional lighting regulations and planning to ensure a community-wide plan capable of broad acceptance.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 2About the Speaker(s)-
James Benya
James Benya is a professional electrical and illuminating engineer and lighting designer with 43 years of experience. He is a Fellow Emeritus of the IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) and a Fellow of the International Association of Lighting Designers. His work has been recognized for over 40 years for combining energy efficiency, environmental concerns, and lighting design, and for promoting initiatives that improve the sustainability and human wellness opportunities resulting from good design. He has served on the board and the Technical Committee of the International Dark-Sky Association for 15 years, promoting practices that preserve dark skies and the environment. He was co-chair of the Model Lighting Ordinance Committee and among the first to identify the environmental and light pollution issues of LED outdoor lighting.
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Heat Pumps: The Past, Present, and Future of This Transformative Technology
Building Systems, Both Residential & Commercial- Jake Marin, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
How did we get from a technology that no one would consider installing north of the Mason-Dixon line to one with the level of exuberant uptake we see with heat pumps in Vermont today? From shutting down at 32 degrees F to running when it’s colder than 20 degrees below zero, we have seen some dramatic changes in heat pump technology during just the last few years. Cold climate multi-zone, air-to-water systems, and combined space heat/domestic hot water are just a sampling of the recent innovations we’ve seen in this technology. How did we get here? What, specifically, is available on the market today? And what is coming down the pike? During this presentation, we will explore the evolution of heat pump technology and peer into the future to predict what will arrive next.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NATE, Passive House
Room: Diamond 1About the Speaker(s)-
Jake Marin
Jake Marin is the program manager for HVAC and refrigeration at VEIC/Efficiency Vermont. He developed Vermont’s first heat pump program and has continued to develop programs and guidelines for the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region through his work with Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP). During the last few years of looking at equipment performance, he has seen the technology improving by leaps and bounds. This piqued his interest in the technology journey we’ve traveled as we see heat pumps gaining such tremendous momentum in Vermont. This also prompts the question, “Where, exactly, are we headed?” He is excited to guide attendees on this journey.
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Step Away from the Cliff! Avoiding the Unhealthful Home
Innovative Design, Both Residential & Commercial- Brian Just, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, yet there are several building practices—and not necessarily the ones you think—that may be harmful to all occupants. “Build tight, ventilate right” is a mantra in energy efficiency, but mantras, like codes, fall short of guaranteeing safety, health, and comfort. Ventilation and materials are two factors you can directly control that strongly affect air quality and the healthiness of surfaces. This information-packed session summarizes key research, not hearsay, to highlight recent findings and looks at data from Vermont homes. It then covers a “top five” of actionable things you should know. Whether you’re a new/existing home building professional or an interested homeowner, you’ll walk away with strategies for creating healthy, budget-friendly work and living spaces.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: AmphitheatreAbout the Speaker(s)-
Brian Just
Brian Just manages Efficiency Vermont’s Residential New Construction team and works on a variety of energy efficiency initiatives at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. He is a mechanical engineer by trade who, after beginning his career designing and installing large-scale custom test equipment used in water-wave and automotive aerodynamics research, slowly shifted his focus to energy and health. While obtaining his master’s degree at the University of British Columbia, Brian researched biomass combustion and indoor air quality. He is RESNET, Passive House (CPHC), and LEED accredited professional certified, and is committed to serving Vermont’s residential design and construction community as its members pave the way to a future of highly efficient, healthy, durable homes.
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The Future of Affordable Housing: Maine’s Village Center Demonstrates the Potential for Ultra-low-budget Passive House Construction
Building Systems, Both Residential & Commercial- Michael Pulaski, Thornton Tomasetti
This presentation will demonstrate the potential for affordable housing in New England’s difficult climate and share lessons learned. This 48-unit, 54,000-square-foot affordable housing project faced a challenging climate, budget environment, and unconventional design process. All affordable housing projects in Maine are subject to spending limits, forcing the team to design and permit a conventional building, develop creative solutions to meet Passive House standards, and take into consideration the life-cycle environmental impact of the project.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 3About the Speaker(s)-
Michael Pulaski
Michael Pulaski, Ph.D., LEED AP BD+C, has more than 12 years of experience in sustainability consulting, offering sustainability strategies and programming, energy and environmental analysis, and certification management to building owners, design teams, and contractors for new construction and existing structures. He is well-versed in all LEED rating systems, the WELL Building Standard, Living Building Challenge certification, Passive House standards, and international rating systems such as BREEAM, Three Star, Estidama, and Green Star. Michael Pulaski is a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) Emerging Professionals National Committee and has served on the USGBC’s Maine chapter and Upper Northeast Regional Council boards. He is an ambassador for the International Living Future Institute.
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Lighting Design for Health-care Spaces
Building Systems, Commercial- Mel Buss, Buss Lighting LLC
- Kandice Cohen, Acuity Brands Lighting
- Michael Skurla, Acuity Brands Lighting
Participants who attend this engaging and interactive session will learn how lighting technology can impact various health-care stakeholders in both financial and nonfinancial ways. Modern lighting offers more than just a great ROI. The right lighting can make the difference between a dull, boring space and one that is sparkling with life. Good design includes careful attention to illumination levels and to lighting controls’ ease of use. The controlled lighting infrastructure can positively affect occupant health and satisfaction as well as safety and security, while helping the facility save energy and money. Asset tracking can alert a clinic that a returning patient has arrived for an appointment, automatically direct the patient to the right room through an app, and alert a nurse to the arrival. Lighting infrastructure in concert with modern-day building technology creates health-care environments that not only positively impact the bottom line, but encourage well-being for patients, staff, and visitors.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AFE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NCQLP, Passive House
Room: Diamond 2About the Speaker(s)-
Mel Buss
Mel Buss, LC, IES, IALD, is an independent architectural lighting design consultant providing comprehensive, professional lighting design solutions to his commercial projects. He is committed to making interior and exterior spaces more enjoyable places in which to live and work. He has spent the last two years as the resident lighting designer for the University of Vermont Health Network–Central Vermont Medical Center’s environment initiative, which resulted in reducing energy consumption by 26%. He has been intensively involved both in commercial architectural lighting design and (as an industrial designer) in luminaire design for the gardening and agricultural industry, including development of specialized spectrum lamps.
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Kandice Cohen
Kandice Cohen, vice president of health-care for Acuity, focuses on human-centric lighting to help health-care facilities use lighting as a tool to improve their environment for patients and staff. Kandice has worked with a wide range of businesses to accelerate the adoption of light management solutions. Over the past decade, Kandice has driven incentive strategy and served as a subject matter expert; she understands all incentives for lighting and controls that can establish a paradigm shift in the lighting and control industry. She is an energetic and engaging public speaker and excels at communicating product impact to the marketplace. Kandice’s impressive slate of high-profile speaking engagements in settings with large national audiences has allowed her to establish professional relationships throughout the energy efficiency industry.
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Michael Skurla
With a B.S. in computer science and a strong background in electrical design and M2M/IoT communications technologies, Mike has spent over 23 years in commercial lighting and building automation, with a heavy emphasis in lighting controls product design, usability, and system solutions, specifically networked lighting control systems and building management systems. Through his career he has had roles in system design, commissioning, product development, programming, strategic marketing, and sales. He has led the design and development of several network, dimming, power management, and power control products available in North America, Europe, and Asia. Currently Mike is the VP of sales for Acuity Brands Lighting, focusing on multisite corporate facility design, and the design strategies behind smart building renovation and construction.
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Making the Invisible Visible: Seeking Value for Efficiency in the Real Estate Market
Innovative Design, Both Residential & Commercial- Jeffrey Gephart, Vermontwise Energy Services, Inc.
Things are looking good—your new residential client wants you to build a net-zero energy home. Your client whose renovation goals are aligned with Vermont’s Zero Energy Now program is totally on board. And there’s that high-performance commercial project you ought to sign up. The catch? All three clients need loans, and with the high-performance innovations to be incorporated, these buildings will be very different from others in the real estate market. Good appraisals showing sufficient contributory value for the performance you plan to deliver are critical in obtaining financing. In this session, we explain what you should do to help your clients secure sufficient financing and make these projects a reality.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: AmphitheatreAbout the Speaker(s)-
Jeffrey Gephart
Jeffrey Gephart is president of Vermontwise Energy Services, Inc., an energy services company in Rochester, Vermont, founded in 1997. He has over 20 years of experience providing residential new construction energy efficiency program design, marketing, and implementation for utilities and, since 2000, for Efficiency Vermont. Jeff works with architects and builders designing and building ENERGY STAR Homes, using LEED for Homes, building to the National Green Building Standard, and undertaking Passive House projects. Since 2008, as chief cat herder of the Vermont Green Home Alliance, Jeff has led this volunteer group of construction and real estate trade associations working to dramatically increase building performance education and information sharing with real estate professionals.
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Teach Your Children Well: New Projects Foster a Culture of Sustainability at Amherst College
Commercial, Both Residential & Commercial- Tom Davies, Amherst College
The Greenway Initiative at Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts) is transformative physically, environmentally, and culturally, helping graduate environmentally aware citizens. The project includes 350,000 square feet of new science, residential, and academic space in five buildings as well as the rebuilding of a third of the core campus’s acreage. Energy efficiency, resource protection, and user environmental awareness are central to the project. This presentation will discuss the process used to develop buy-in for the added up-front costs, the design’s notable aspects (including features that were not included and why), challenges encountered along the way, and results to date. Specific siting considerations and efficiency technologies will be discussed; these include technical mechanical design features such as indirect–direct evaporative cooling, “soft” features incorporating biophilia, and design aimed at encouraging environmentally conscious behavior.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Diamond 1About the Speaker(s)-
Tom Davies
Tom Davies, AIA, has overseen about a million square feet of capital projects at Amherst College (Amherst, Massachusetts) since joining in 2000. Although project types have ranged from 18th-century historic restoration to cutting-edge science laboratory to central plant reengineering, the common denominator has been energy efficiency. His projects at the college have garnered over a dozen awards, including a Sustainability Champion award. Tom’s most recent projects make up the Greenway Initiative, a $300 million transformation of a third of the core campus. His background includes capital renewal consulting, construction management, architectural design, and engineering. Tom holds undergraduate degrees in architecture and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in civil engineering from MIT.
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Why Build to the Passive House Standard? The Lowest-energy Demand Code in the World
Innovative Design, Residential- Christopher Miksic, Montpelier Construction LLC
- Bruce Landry, 5 Star Energy Tech, LLC
- Tolya Syril Stonorov, Stonorov Workshop
This presentation will cover the Passive House assemblies and energy design for a residential house commissioned by the Central Vermont chapter of Habitat for Humanity. It will detail the superinsulated slab, wall, and ceiling assemblies; air-sealing strategies; and ventilation equipment. Presenters will include an introduction to the PHIUS (Passive House Institute U.S.) certification process using the PHIUS+ 2015 climate-specific standards and WUFI passive energy modeling software. The emphasis will be on building assembly health, resiliency, and low-carbon benefits. Presenters will perform a brief analysis comparing market costs and the Habitat for Humanity budget for this project. Presenters will describe the design process; working with the homeowner family, volunteers, and the community at large; and what worked well and what was more challenging.
Presentation(s):
Level: Introductory
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 1About the Speaker(s)-
Christopher Miksic
Christopher Clarke Miksic of Montpelier Construction is a PHIUS CPHB/CPHC and BPI-certified Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractor. Chris has a diverse background as a designer and energy-efficient builder. As an energy auditor, he has done many weatherization upgrades with Efficiency Vermont for homeowners in central Vermont. Having completed two Passive House homes to date, he is dedicated to growing awareness and implementation of the Passive House standard in Vermont. He strives to build low-energy buildings with robust, resilient, green, and sustainable assemblies. Chris regularly attends building science study groups, workshops, and training sessions. He is a founding member of the newly formed nonprofit Vermont Passive House (phausvt.org).
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Bruce Landry
Bruce Landry is a BPI-certified Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractor. He sits on the board of directors of the Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity chapter and is a member of the Building Performance Professionals of Vermont. Bruce has been a proponent and supporter of the Passive House standard since he first learned of it, when the 2008 Charlotte Habitat for Humanity Passive House, one of the first Passive Houses in Vermont, was built.
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Tolya Syril Stonorov
Tolya Stonorov grew up in on the East Coast. Inspired by childhood travel with her mother through europe, she moved to paris at 19 and spent time doing research and studying art. In 1998, she received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College. From 1998-2000 she traveled through Southeast Asia and lived in London, working as a freelance artist and sushi caterer. In 2003 she received a masters of architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was awarded several grants, the Chester Miller traveling fellowship and the Howard Friedman Thesis prize. From 2003-2006 she worked with an award winning firm as a project designer/manager. In 2006 she started Stonorov Workshop with Otto Stonorov.
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The Thermal Barrier: Where to Place It? Does It Really Matter?
Envelope, Both Residential & Commercial- Lazarus Scangas, Arnold and Scangas Architects
On which side of the exterior wall should the thermal barrier be located? Does it depend on the building? This presentation will look at two existing masonry exterior wall buildings. One building was a former historic neighborhood school that has been converted into apartments, with the thermal envelope located at the interior side of the existing exterior wall. The other building was a former administration building for the Brandon Training School that has also been converted into apartments, with the thermal envelope located at the exterior side of the existing exterior wall. The presentation will review building components as a whole (thermal envelope, air sealing, windows and doors, mechanical systems, ventilation, electrical systems, and solar) and consider the costs for the installation of each system as well as the current fuel and electrical usage for each building.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, Passive House
Room: Emerald 2About the Speaker(s)-
Lazarus Scangas
Lazarus Scangas, AIA, is a principal at Arnold and Scangas Architects, located in downtown Saint Albans, Vermont. Laz believes in providing clients with efficient, comfortable, and healthy living environments that are easy to use, easy to maintain, energy-efficient, and beautiful. He is committed to balancing innovative green building technologies with long-standing good design practice and understands that sustainability begins with an integrated team process. His project management experience has included programming, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, bidding and negotiations, and construction administration. The firm specializes in working with local nonprofits in restoring and renovating historic buildings.
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Residential Ventilation: The North American Experience and Its Future
Building Systems, Residential- Alex De Gagne, Minotair Ventilation Inc.
- Karl Audet, Minotair Ventilation Inc.
This presentation will show the audience what has been done so far in terms of residential ventilation in the United States and Canada. Among other things, we will cover historical milestones in the last 30 years and the current status of residential ventilation in the different markets in North America. We will also discuss relevant products on the market today, as well as describe residential ventilation technologies possible in the near future.
Presentation(s):
Level: Intermediate
Accreditation: AEE, AIA HSW, ASHRAE, BPI, CSI, LEED, NATE, Passive House
Room: Emerald 3About the Speaker(s)-
Alex De Gagne
Alex De Gagné, MQPH, is a building technologist who has completed two technical college A.E.C. degrees (building construction plus building inspection). Born in the ski mountain village of Mont Sutton, Quebec (near the Vermont border) into a family of construction contractors, Alex has worked in technical sales for the last 10 years solely for manufacturers in the HVAC industry. Among them was Fantech-Systemair, one of the largest North American manufacturers of ventilation products. For two years he was a director on the board of the Quebec chapter of the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating. He sits on the board of directors of Passive House Quebec and is an active member of its Training Committee, in which capacity he has given talks to introduce Passive House principles to the general public.
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Karl Audet
Karl Audet is the founder and CEO of Minotair Ventilation Inc. He earned his engineering bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications from the Royal Military College of Canada. For over 23 years, Karl served in the Canadian Armed Forces as an electronics and systems engineer and as a military and communications security officer, retiring as a major. After his military career he worked as a consultant for many years for the Canadian Army and civilian customers. And at one point during a peacekeeping mission in the Egyptian desert, he saw the opportunity to start his own manufacturing firm to really create an indoor climate with greater air quality in terms of freshness, controlled humidity, and indoor pollutant reduction.