1. Energy-Efficient Retrofits for Houses
11 Oakwood
Presentation to CHBA Canadian Renovator’s Council
Banff, Alberta Feb 24, 2011

2. Study Goals
Create Fact Sheets to show owners and builders energy retrofits that:
reduce heating energy by 10% and 25%
are durable
are affordable
are good practice
don’t damage the environment
comply with Code

3. Outline of presentation
What does the study do?
looks at 4 ‘typical’ Canadian houses
looks at 6 cities in different climatic regions
uses Hot2000 to model two scales of retrofit:
10% less heating energy
25% less heating energy
shows detailed drawings of each retrofit
estimates extra cost of energy features
fact sheet for each house type
‘Now House’ (before)

4. 4 Typical House Types Similar construction
Quality improves as time progresses
House forms present a variety of construction challenges

5. 4 Typical House Types Different construction periods: Victory House
98 m2 (1050 ft2) with 60 m2 (650 ft2) bsm’t
built 1949 – 1960
Raised Bungalow
170 m2 (1830 ft2) built 1960 – 1967
Two-storey
165 m2 (1775 ft2) with 83 m2 (895 ft2) bsm’t
built 1977 – 1983
Semi-detached or Row
160 m2 (1750 ft2) built after1945

6. 6 Cities Different construction for each base case house type:
Air changes per hour
RSI values
Windows
Proposed Base-case construction for the Victory House (1949 – 1960)*
ACPH50
Wall RSI
Ceiling RSI
Basement RSI
Windows
Yellowknife
8.0
2.04
3.28
0.93
DG wood
Vancouver
11.4
1.65
3.60
0.96
SG wood
Winnipeg
4.7
1.66
4.50
1.22
Toronto
7.9
1.72
3.83
0.85
Montreal
8.8
1.86
3.94
1.15
Halifax
7.5
1.85
3.51
*NRCan survey data

7. 6 Cities Different performance for each period of construction:
Air changes per hour decrease
RSI values increase
Window RSI values increase
Proposed Base-case construction for Semi-detached (post construction)
ACPH50
Wall RSI
Ceiling RSI
Basement RSI
Windows
Yellowknife
7.4
2.04
7.69
1.4
DG wood
Vancouver
6.7
2.20
5.61
1.29
SG wood
Winnipeg
4.2
1.69
3.90
1.06
Toronto
7.6
1.76
3.77
1.23
Montreal
9.1
1.96
3.95
Halifax
5.8
2.55
5.22
1.26
*NRCan survey data

8. Hot2000 Energy Modeling
How does each retrofit option affect the amount of energy needed to heat the house?
Which retrofits are most energy effective?
What are optimal R-values? (diminishing returns)

9. Hot2000 Energy Modeling
Results of individual retrofit measures (as a percentage of reduction from base case)
Airtight only
Airtight + R10 ceiling
Airtight + R20 ceiling
Airtight + R10 walls
Airtight + R15 walls
Airtight + R10 b/g
Airtight +R15 b/g
Airtight + R10/15 walls/clg
Airtight + R18/20
walls/clg
Airtight + windows
Victory House
Halifax
8.1
10.1
11.1 17
18.9 16
17.3
26.9
31.1
27.1
Montreal
9.4 11
11.9
17.8
19.5
16.2
17.4
26.2 30
28.6
Toronto
9.8
10.7
19.7
16.1
27.5
31.6
27.2
Winnipeg
3.7
5.4
6.3
16.4
18.8
11.4
12.7
25.8
30.4
Vancouver
8.4
18.2
20.1
15.7
31.3
23.9
Yellowknife
12.9
15.6
21.4
23.3 21
22.3
32.2
36.8
20.5
Raised Bungalow 7
9.1
10.2
16.7
10.3
10.8
22.1
8.9
11.6
19.3
12.2
12.6
22.5
25.7
30.7
8.6
9.6
17.1
19.2 10
10.5
21.7
25.3 3
4.8
5.9
6.7
7.2
22.8
11.5
13.4
14.7
20.9
23.2
13.8
29.7
20.8
Two-storey
9.7
10.4
16.6
18.5
20.6
33.6
11.7
16.9
13.3
34.1
8.7
18.1
20.3
11.2
11.8
21.6
24.9
33.5
4.1
5.2
15.4
17.9
7.4
8.2
19.8
23.8
13.6
11.3
19.6
21.5
13.7
14.4 27
31.5
16.8
17.5
25.5
Duplex
7.1
8.8
17.7
10.9
12.4
20.2
22.4
23.7
27.8
29.3
7.3
19.9
23.1
26.5
30.3
3.1
5.8
22.7
5.7
6.1
28.4
5.5
6.8
17.6
7.7 8
18.4
27.4
12.3
24.6
27.3
30.8
Shading legend
<10% reduction
10-25% reduction
> 25% reduction

10. 10% less heating energy
Small renovations with big effects on energy use:
Air sealing
Adding minor insulation to:
roof/attic
above-grade walls
basement
Roof Insulation
Basement Insulation

11. 25% less heating energy
Large renovations with big effects on energy use:
Air sealing
Adding major insulation to:
attic
above-grade walls
basement walls
basement slab
Replacing windows with high performance windows
Wall Insulation

12. Details 10% less heating energy: Alternatives: Air seal
Add insulation to roof/attic
Add insulation to basement wall
Add insulation to above-grade wall
Alternatives:
Insulate inside
Insulate outside
Above-grade Wall
Basement Wall

13. Details 25% less heating energy: Alternatives: Air seal
Add insulation in attic
Add insulation in basement
Add insulation to above-grade wall
Add insulation to slab
Replace windows with high-performance windows
Alternatives:
Insulate inside
Insulate outside
Exposed Floor
Above-grade wall

14. $ Costs Cost-effective retrofits: Air seal
Add insulation to attic/roof
Add insulation in basement
Add insulation to above-grade wall
Add insulation to slab
Replace windows with high-performance windows $
Remove roof framing
Extend dormer to wall $
Increasing cost
Sealed polyethylene A/B
Finished room

15. $ Costs Cost-effective retrofits: $ Retrofit Approx. Cost
Improve airtightness of Victory house or half-duplex
$1,500
Improve airtightness of 2-storey or raised bungalow
$2,000
Install new polyolefin sheathing membrane
$2.15/m2 ($0.20/ft2)
Install 50mm (2”) new extruded polystyrene
$12.90/m2 ($1.20/ft2)
Remove and replace drywall (incl. mud, sanding, paint)
$16.15/m2 ($1.50/ft2)
Install 75mm (3”) new extruded polystyrene
$19.40/m2 ($1.80/ft2)
75mm (3”) blown-in cellulose or spray-applied polyurethane foam
$32.30/m2 ($3.00/ft2)
150mm (6”) blown-in cellulose or spray-applied polyurethane foam
$53.80/m2 ($5.00/ft2) $ $
Increasing cost

16. Costs Simple Payback method is difficult to sell to a client
Retrofit
Approx. Cost
Simple Payback* (years)
Interior retrofit for10% less heating energy
$3,000 (Victory) - $6,000 (2-storey)
10 (Yellowknife) - 40 (Vancouver)
Exterior retrofit for 10% less heating energy
$3,600 (Victory) - $7,200 (2-storey)
12 -50
Interior retrofit for25% less heating energy
$10,000 (Victory) - $30,000 (2-storey)
20 (Yellowknife) (Vancouver)
Exterior retrofit for25% less heating energy
$11,000 (Victory) - $33,000 (2-storey)
Replace windows with Energy Star windows
$3,000 (Victory), $4,500 (semi), $5,000 (2-storey)
20 (Victory-Montreal) - 80 (semi- Winnipeg)
Incremental cost of retrofit divided by savings in energy = Simple payback (years)
Retrofit costs look better when they’re added to a mortgage

17. Fact Sheets
2 fact sheets per house type (10%, 25% less energy) include:
Building envelope issues likely to be encountered
Cost-effective renovations to save energy
Construction details
Sustainable building practices
Check list of construction tasks
Approximate costs for each city
Other energy-saving improvements
Useful references
‘Victory House’
‘Now House’ (after)

18. Questions?
Thank you!