Achieving the Passive House criteria on a high-rise, concrete-framed building located in Vancouver, BC. Presented at the 2017 NAPHN Conference and Expo by Eric Catania, M.Eng., BEMP, CPHD, LEED AP BD+C, PHI Accredited Passive House Certifier.

1. 1
High-Rise Passive House Feasibility
Study
ACHIEVING THE PASSIVE HOUSE CRITERIA ON A HIGH-RISE, CONCRETE
FRAMED BUILDING, LOCATED IN VANCOUVER
ERIC CATANIA, M.ENG., BEMP, CPHD, LEED AP BD+C,
PHI ACCREDITED PASSIVE HOUSE CERTIFIER
OCTOBER 7TH, 2016 – NAPHN CONFERENCE & EXPO 2017
SESSION: PASSIVE STANDS TALL: HIGH RISES IN NORTH AMERICA & EUROPE

2. 2
RDH Building Science
 Façade Engineering
 Enclosure Consulting
 Energy Services
 Research & Forensics
 RDH Labs in Waterloo, Ontario
 Passive House Consulting
 Multi-unit developments
 Tall wood buildings
 PHI Building Certifiers
 Large-building expertise
 Offices in U.S. & Canada
 200+ staff in nine cities
 Boston, Oakland, Seattle

3. 3
 High-rise Passive Houses
 Building description
 Key concerns
 Enclosure
 Components
 PER
 Results
Outline

4. 4
High Rise Passive Houses
 Surface Area Ratio
 Enclosure performance targets
 Internal heat gain
 Overheating potential
 PER and PE are key challenges
 Maximize natural ventilation
 High efficiency heating/cooling
 Plug loads and Lighting

5. 5
The Building
 10 Storeys
 4,060 m² (43,668 ft²)
Gross Floor Area (GFA)
 3,400 m² (36,606 ft²)
Treated Floor Area (TFA)
 Residential occupancy
 90 small suites
 250 ft² to 370 ft²
 Infill lot
 Non-Combustible
 Is Passive House feasible?
dys architecture

6. 6
Key Concerns
 Narrow, infill lot
 Compact design
 Limited wall thickness
› ~14” (356 mm)
 Non-Combustible
Construction
 Steel and Concrete
› Large thermal bridges
 Window Materials
Google Maps

7. 7
Floor Plans
Basement 1st 2nd-10th
36.5m(120ft.)
15.2 m (50 ft.)
dys architecture

8. 8
Enclosure Options
 Structural design guides enclosure choices
Core & Column
Exterior insulated
steel framed walls
Precast sandwich
panel walls
Perimeter Walls
Exterior insulated
mass walls
Interior insulated
mass walls w/slab
thermal breaks

9. 9
Foundation Wall
Ground
 Drainage Mat (w/ filter fabric)
 102mm (4”) XPS
 Waterproofing/Damp Proofing
 203mm (8”) Concrete
 25mm (1”) 18ga Steel Hat Track
Uninsulated Cavity
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
(8”) EPS under slab)
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.336 (0.194)
R-16.8 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-2.97 m²•K/W)

10. 10
Above Grade Wall – Core and Column
R-26.3 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.63 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 8mm Fiber Cement Board Cladding c/w
low conductivity cladding attachment
supports
 13mm (½”) Air space
 203mm (8”) Semi-rigid insulation
(mineral wool)
 Self-adhered vapour permeable air &
moisture barrier
 13mm (½”) Exterior gypsum
 90mm (3 5/8”) 18ga Steel Stud (RIP3/in
Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum (w/ vapour
retarding paint)
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
6” → 0.0218 (0.0126)
8” → 0.0122 (0.0071)

11. 11
Above Grade Wall – Core and Column
R-27.3 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.80 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 Pre-Cast Insulated Concrete Panel
51mm (2”) Concrete, 152mm (6”) EPS,
102mm (4”) Concrete
 64mm (2.5”) 18ga Steel Stud
(R-3/in Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
4” → 0.0299 (0.0173)
6” → 0.0110 (0.0064)
8” → 0.0041 (0.0024)

12. 12
Above Grade Wall – Perimeter Walls
R-24.8 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.37 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 8mm Fiber Cement Board Cladding c/w
Cascadia Clips® @ 16” x 16”
(galvanized)
 203mm (8”) Semi-rigid insulation
(mineral wool)
 Fluid applied elastomeric coating or
self-adhered membrane
 203mm (8”) Concrete
 64mm (2.5”) 18ga Steel Stud (RIP3/in
Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
6” → 0.0360 (0.0208)
8” → 0.0108 (0.0063)

13. 13
Above Grade Wall – Perimeter Walls
R-23.8 hr•ft²•°F/Btu
(RSI-4.19 m²•K/W)
Exterior
 Fluid applied elastomeric coating
 203mm (8”) Concrete
 R(IP)-5 Slab edge thermal break
 140mm (5.5”) XPS (taped)
 64mm (2.5”) 18ga Steel Stud (RIP3/in
Batt)
 13mm (½”) Interior Gypsum
Interior Conditioned Space
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
4” → 0.1603 (0.0926)
5.5” → 0.1156 (0.0668)

14. 14
Thermal Bridging - Slab Edges
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.0122 (0.0071)
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.9740 (0.5628)
W/mK (Btu/hrft·oF)
0.1156 (0.0668)

15. 15
Thermal Bridging - Slab Edges
+2
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑚2 𝑎
+20
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑚2 𝑎
1 km (0.625 mi) of slab edge

16. 16
Window Materials
 BC Building Code 2012 – Division B – Part 3 — Fire Protection,
Occupant Safety and Accessibility - 3.1.5.4. (5)
 each window in an exterior wall face is an individual unit
separated by non-combustible wall construction from every other
opening in the wall,
 windows in exterior walls in contiguous storeys are separated by
not less than 1 m of non-combustible construction, and
 the aggregate area of openings in an exterior wall face of a fire
compartment is not more than 40% of the area of the wall face.

17. 17
Window Materials
> 1m
> 1m
WWR < 40%

18. 18
Window Materials
EuroLine Windows Inc.

19. 19
Window Installs
 Improvements include:
 Alignment of window with insulating layers
 Use of low conductivity materials
 Over insulation of window frames
0.106
(0.061)
W/mK
(Btu/fthF)
0.036
(0.020)
0.259
(0.150)
Ψ-ValueΨ-Value Ψ-Value
+10
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑚2 𝑎

20. 20
Window Simplification

21. 21
Enclosure Optimization - Overall
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
HeatingDemand(kWh/m2a)
Overall Area Weighted R-Value (hr ft² F/ Btu)
Targeted Range for
Overall area
weighted R-Value
Target

22. 22
Enclosure Optimization – Above grade walls
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
HeatingDemand(kWh/m2a)
Above Grade Wall Assembly R-Value (hr ft² F/ Btu)

23. 23
Enclosure Optimization – Slab edges
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
HeatingDemand(kWh/m2a)
Slab Edge Linear Transmittance (Btu/ hr ft F)

24. 24
Components
 Heat Recovery Ventilator
 One HRV unit/floor
 Designed to
› ASHRAE 62.1-2001
› Passive house outdoor air
flowrates
 Boost mode
 Multiple suites
Ventacity Systems

25. 25
Heat Recovery Ventilator
dys architecture

26. 26
Components
 DHW
 Sanden CO2 Heat Pumps
 High efficiency
 Use hot water as a source of
supply air pre-heat
Sanden USA

27. 27
Primary Energy Renewable (PER)
 Energy Use Intensity
0.0
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
300.0
350.0
400.0
Typical Vancouver (RDH
MURB Study)
ASHRAE 90.1-2010 - MURB
(BC Code 2012)
Passive House Highrise
MURB
EUI(kWh/m²GFA)
Heating
Cooling
Lighting
Equipment, Appliances, and
Plug Loads
Fans and Pumps
DHW

28. 28
Primary Energy Renewable (PER)
 Accounting for Primary Energy Renewable factors
0.0
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
300.0
350.0
400.0
Typical Vancouver (RDH
MURB Study)
ASHRAE 90.1-2010 - MURB
(BC Code 2012)
Passive House Highrise
MURB
PER(kWh/m²TFA)
Heating
Cooling
Lighting
Equipment, Appliances, and
Plug Loads
Fans and Pumps
DHW

29. 29
Distribution of Energy Use
ASHRAE 90.1-2010
MURB (BC Code 2012)
Passive House MURB
>50%

30. 30
Distribution of Energy Use
Passive House MURB
60% reduction in
Lighting and
Plug loads vs.
ASHRAE 90.1-2010

31. 31
Overheating in small suites
Peak heat load: 10 W/m² x (Area m²) ~ 235 W
Internal Gains: 5 W/m² (Plug Loads) +
5 W/m² (Lighting) + Occupants + Other?
dys architecture

32. 32
14.2
11.4
4
131
60
15
10
10
120
60
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150
Heating Demand
Heating Load
Frequency of Overheating
Primary Energy
Primary Energy Renewable
kWh/ m2
Proposed Building Threshold
Preliminary Results

33. 33
Conclusions
 Heating demand criteria can be achieved
 Heating load is exceeded
 Although overheating frequency is 4%, small suites on the
south side may be a concern
 Maximize natural ventilation
 Cooling may be required in some cases
 PER is achievable (adding PV would help to achieve targets)
 Lighting and plug load must be reduced where feasible
› Internal gains
› Energy consumption

34. 34
Discussion + Questions
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT
 www.rdh.com
 www.buildingsciencelabs.com
OR CONTACT ME AT
 ecatania@rdh.com