Better Builder Magazine, Winter Issue 2014

1

BETTER

Builder MAGAZINE

the builder’s source

ISSUE 12 | WINTER 2014WWW.BETTERBUILDER.CA

The Water Issue

Less Water Equals More LotsMaking Sense of CSA P.9-11Rainwater for Use in LaundryField Testing Sustainability in New HomesWater Pipe Sizing in OBC: A Solution

Looking for a Problem

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42408014

IN THIS ISSUE

2 WWW.BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 12 | WINTER 2015

A b r e a t h o f f r e s h a i r .

MAX SERVICE

All mechanical and electrical components are accessible from the front of the unit.

Heating coil and fan/motor slide out for easy service.

One of the most extensive warranties in the business: 1-year parts & labour, 2-years on parts only, where applicable.

MAX COMFORT

With the increased effi ciency of this optional Electronically Commuted Motor (ECM), homeowners will be free to cycle air continuously with a minimal increase in electricity cost. Continuous fan operation helps improve fi ltration, reduce temperature variations, and helps keep the air clear of dust and allergens – making your customers’ homes more comfortable.

M ini Duc ted H i -Ve loc i t y A i r Handl ing System Optional Pr ior i t iz ing of Comfor t Levels with Energy Savings

MAX SPACE SAVER

The MAXAIR fan coil is so compact that it fi ts anywhere: laundry room, attic, crawl space, you can even place it in a closet.

It can be installed in new or existing homes.

It takes less than 1/3 of the space of a conventional heating and air conditioning unit.

MAX ENERGY SAVINGS

Energy savings, temperature control and comfort levels are achieved in individual levels of the home by prioritizing the requirements. This is achieved by installing optional space thermostats. If any area calls for heating or cooling, the individual thermostat allows the space it serves to achieve optimum comfort and still maintain continuous air circulation throughout the home.

This method of prioritizing is a great energy savings measure while offering an increased comfort level to the home owner.

FLEXAIRTM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

MAX FLEXIBILITY

The supply outlets can be placed in the wall, ceiling or fl oor.

Each unit has four choices of locations for the return air connections.

The FLEXAIR™ insulated 2½" supply duct will fi t in a standard 2"x 4" wall cavity.

Can be mounted for vertical or horizontal airfl ow.

Can be combined with humidifi ers, high effi ciency air cleaners or ERVs / HRVs.

Snap-together branch duct and diffuser connections.

MAX ELECTRICAL SAVINGS

ECMs are ultra-high-effi cient programmable brushless DC motors that are more effi cient than the permanently split capacitor (PSC) motors used in most residential furnaces. This is especially true at lower speeds used for continuous circulation in many new homes.

1-800-453-6669 905-951-0022519-578-5560613-966-5643 416-213-1555 877-254-4729905-264-1414

For distribution of Air Max Technologies products call

www.airmaxtechnologies.com209 Citation Drive, Units 5&6, Concord, ON L4K 2Y8, Canada

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Airmax ad with Prioritizing AMT 12430 AD FPG 09_HR.pdf 1 2013-04-18 8:46 AM

FEATURE STORY16 Water Conservation, a Grey Issue BY ALEX NEWMAN

20 Getting Ahead of the Curve Through Decentralized Water Systems BY BILL GAULEY AND TRACY PATTERSON

INSIDE THIS ISSUE02 Publisher’s Note: Water – The Cup Is Half Empty BY JOHN GODDEN

03 The Bada Test: Less Water Equals More Lots BY LOU BADA

04 Industry News: There Is Power in Water BY LENARD HART

06 Industry Expert: Combination Space Heating and Domestic Hot Water Systems BY GORD COOKE

08 Builder News: Trying to Make Sense of CSA P.9-11 BY ALEX NEWMAN

13 Industry News: Rainwater for Use in Laundry BY MICHAEL LIO

22 :P[L�:WLJPÄJ! 61 Talwood Drive BY BARBINI DEVELOPMENTS INC.

24 Builder News: PRIORITY GREEN Clarington: Field Testing Sustainability in New Homes BY GLEN PLEASANCE

27 From the Ground Up: New Water Pipe Sizing in the Ontario Building Code: A Solution Looking for a Problem! BY DOUG TARRY

31 :P[L�:WLJPÄJ�;VV! Winner – My Design Studio and Castleform Developments Inc. BY MY DESIGN STUDIO AND BETTER BUILDER STAFF

32 The Plane View: Need to Know Facts About Water BY BETTER BUILDER STAFF

BETTER

Builder MAGAZINE

the builder’s source

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ISSUE 12 | WINTER 2014

WWW.BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 12 | WINTER 2014

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Publisher Better Builder Magazine 12 Rowley Avenue Toronto, ON M4P 2S8 416-481-4218 fax 416-481-4695 [email protected]

Better Builder Magazine is a sponsor of

Publishing editor John B. Godden

managing editor Wendy Shami [email protected]

To advertise, contribute a story, or join our distribution list, please contact [email protected]

Feature Writers Tracy Hanes, Alex Newman

ProoFreading Janet Dimond

creative Robert Robotham Graphicswww.RobertRobotham.ca

This magazine brings together premium product manufacturers and leading builders to create better, differentiated homes and buildings that use less energy, save water and reduce our impact on the environment.

Publication number 42408014

Copyright by Better Builder Magazine. Contents may not be reprinted or reproduced without written permission. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the authors and assumed to be original work. Better Builder Magazine cannot be held liable for any damage as a result of publishing such works.

trademark disclaimerAll company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.

undeliverable mail Better Builder Magazine 12 Rowley Avenue, Toronto, ON M4P 2S8. Better Builder Magazine is published four times a year.

Life on this planet cannot survive without

water. Fortunately the city of Toronto is

situated on Lake Ontario supplying an

abundance of water. Other localities rely on

groundwater and wells for their water supply.

In both cases the treatment process of pol-

luted water and the movement of water for

various uses is expensive.

In fact, moving water in Toronto consumes

35 per cent of the city’s electricity bill. This

consumption number for the central dis-

tribution of water

is higher than the

cost to the Toronto

Transit Commission

to run the subways.

The city of Guelph

relies on pumped groundwater. The electricity

consumption for their water supply accounts

for 50 per cent of the city’s bill.

Water can be wasted in a number of ways –

by leaving a tap running or leakage in the cen-

tral distribution system. This leakage accounts

for 10 to 30 per cent of the total volume of

water moved through the system. Increasing

development and more people require more

pipes, more pumps, more sewage treatment

facilities and more infrastructure. Although

average individual daily consumption of water

is down, there are more people using it and

they live farther and farther from the source.

The average annual household water bill in

Toronto went from $814 in 2013 to $887 in

2014 (the Toronto Star, Dec. 18, 2013). This

rate will continue to increase by 8 per cent

yearly for the next three years.

Given that water is expensive to treat and

move around, it is imperative we conserve.

Currently certain localities are experiencing

water shortages and experts warn that the

water table is being depleted permanently. The

cup is half empty.

The current Ontario Building Code (OBC)

has mandated low flow shower heads, fau-

cets and toilets to ensure water conservation.

Additional water conservation measures are

needed to protect the fragile supply of water.

A good example of leadership in water

conservation is the Sustainable Home Incen-

tive Program (SHIP). Introduced in 2009 by

York Region, SHIP allocates up to 20 per cent

greater water and sewer capacity to projects

that meet water reduction targets. This means

builders who construct homes that use less

water will be granted allocations to build

higher densities (more

houses).

In this issue of

Better Builder all our

contributors discuss

important issues

regarding water. Gord Cooke looks at combi-

nation heating systems that use hot water to

meet lower heating requirements for residen-

tial applications. Alex Newman interviews a

number of builders addressing the subject of

greywater recycling. It turns out that greywater

recycling is a practical way to reduce household

demand of water by up to 30 per cent. Michael

Lio examines the building code requirements

when using rainwater for laundry uses.

In approaching water efficiency we must

determine what measures are cost effective.

We include an article in this issue describing

how initiatives like PRIORITY GREEN Claring-

ton are essential for determining cost-effective

measures through testing and monitoring

water consumption. Doug Tarry reports on

recent changes to the Ontario plumbing codes.

Water is precious and in greater demand

every day. A simple reminder – less water

supplied to a house means less water leaving

the house. The resulting reduction of water

demand means less infrastructure, smaller

pipes, fewer pumping stations, less electricity

consumed and less treated water. A commit-

ment to reduced consumption may – over time

– fill our cups. BB

Water – The Cup Is Half Empty

publisher’snoteB y J o h n G o d d e n


It turns out that greywater recycling is a practical way

to reduce household demand of water by up to 30 per cent.

5WWW.BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 12 | WINTER 2014

Force of Nature.” So too it seems

that water can also be the driving

force in land development. Pro-

vincial legislation, plans and policies

speak to the importance of sustain-

ability in land development. Upper-

and lower-tier municipalities, to be in

alignment with provincial legislation,

are responding to the growing priority

of sustainable development. Municipal

staff have developed sustainability

metrics for new developments in vary-

ing forms. Measurement is obviously

important in setting and achieving

goals, however it has become a tool for

assessing the merits of new develop-

ment proposals as well – a ranking sys-

tem of sorts. Although measurement,

verification and prioritization are

important, alone these do not result in

reaching our desired goals.

Water – potable use, waste dis-

charge and stormwater retention have

rightly been included in the calculus of

determining the desirability of a new

project. Interestingly, potable water

(and its inevitable waste discharge)

and stormwater are yin and yang when

viewing sustainability. Pumping and

treating potable and wastewater and

the infrastructure needed consume

significant amounts of energy contrib-

uting to climate change (depending on

the source of electricity). Stormwater

management is to a larger degree

being considered part of climate

change mitigation practices.

The Ontario Building Code (OBC)

has recognized this, and industry

has stepped up its efforts in reduc-

ing potable water use. Waterclosets

have gone from 13L per flush to 3.86L

per flush (a 70 per cent reduction) in

relatively short order. Similarly faucets

and shower fixtures have greatly

reduced their flow rates without too

much effect on the consumer experi-

ence. Exciting new technologies on the

near horizon such as greywater recy-

cling are reducing both water intake

and outflows at the same time. This

technology is likely the next best step

to get us even more efficient in our

water use. Most important here is that

manufacturers have innovated before

government has mandated.

Stormwater management goals

largely revolve around keeping as

much water on a property as possible

via harvesting, reuse and greater infil-

tration into the ground. This is done

to keep runoff to a minimum. Some

reasonable targets have been achieved

given that compact development and

density are often at odds with infil-

tration and harvesting. That is to say

that more hard surfaces (buildings

and roads, etc.) on smaller properties

test the physical limits as do native

soil types. Some latitude must be

given here since we are leaving much

more land undeveloped today.

The good news is that builders

and developers who undertake more

stringent potable/waste and storm-

water management practices are

being rewarded with more water and

sewer allocation for their projects.

York Region is a good example with

its 2009 Sustainable Home Incentive

Program (SHIP), which allocates up to

20 per cent greater water and sewer

allocation for projects that meet their

reduction targets. Incentive is the

operative word in this program. This

incentive program yields tangible

results for all stakeholders – con-

sumers, industry, government and

the environment. It would be great

if more conservation programs were

conceived of in this way. Direct gov-

ernment handouts should be avoided.

It is rather simple. When we use less,

we should get more – and/or pay less.

Although measuring the sustainabil-

ity performance of a new development

may have its uses, checklists and point

systems can be problematic. It can be

viewed this way: Fill out these forms

and promise to do these things (among

a great many others), and you can

compete for the privilege of taking an

enormous amount of risk, and investing

great amounts of time and energy in

the hope of generating some all-around

economic benefit in providing a basic

societal need. What has happened

is that we’ve raised the basic cost of

admission. Incentives work better than

checklists. I guess you can lead a horse

to water, but you can’t make it drink. BB

Lou Bada is construction & contracts manager for Starlane Homes.

Water – The Cup Is Half Empty

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Less Water Equals More Lots


Everyone knows that water is

powerful. We see the effects of

waves and floods, but it takes

a lot of power to get us our drinking

water and treat our sewage. In fact,

water is actually fairly power inten-

sive, and this may be good news for

water conservation in general.

In some ways water is the forgot-

ten resource. Being situated beside

the world’s largest freshwater

reserves has not helped make water

conservation a priority in the same

way conserving natural gas, electric-

ity and even gasoline has become

in Ontario. Water efficiency has

been written into the Ontario Build-

ing Code (OBC), which means that

extreme waste (like 20-litre flush

toilets) has been relegated out of

the new home market. Yet, there

has been comparatively little in the

way of programming or funding to

significantly address water conserva-

tion in the last five years. Canada has

the lowest cost per cubic metre for

water of any Western country, and is

second only to the U.S. in terms of

water consumption per capita, at 353

litres per person per day.

Water management, both fresh

and sewage, is typically the purview

of local governments and there is

no such thing as the Ontario Water

Authority to serve as an equivalent

to the Ontario Power Authority (OPA)

to co-ordinate conservation efforts

(although there are regional conserva-

tion authorities that focus primarily

on watershed preservation). Aside

from the building code, there are

some local initiatives for toilet retro-

fits, downspout disconnections and

rain barrel installations, and some

widespread reductions have come

from efforts to reduce hot water use

by gas or electric utilities with low

flow shower heads and faucet aera-

tors to save energy used in heating.

With little municipal funding to

address water conservation, looking at

the energy used to produce and then

treat cold water is perhaps a short-

term way forward to making water

conservation a priority. More than one

Ontario utility or local distribution

company (LDC) has already looked

into the amount of energy used to fil-

ter, pump and treat water, and to date

they have not yet seen it as a cost-

effective area to address, but things

may be changing.

With the new Conservation First

Framework, Ontario LDCs are tasked

with very aggressive reduction tar-

gets. Medium-sized LDCs often have

the local water and sewage plants as

their biggest use customers. Early

adopters will likely be those LDCs

who are closely tied to their munici-

pal government, and who might even

be active in delivery or billing for

industrynewsB y L e n a rd H a r t

PHOTO: WWW.DESIGNPICS.COM

POWERThere Is

in Water


water, like Utilities Kingston

or Public Utilities Commis-

sion (PUC – Sault Ste. Marie),

for example. Additionally,

there could be early activ-

ity in places where a greater

energy is used to draw water

from wells.

The Conservation First

Framework is a six-year

funding envelope that has a

total conservation target of

7 TWh. Each

LDC is allotted

a percentage

of that total

target based on

its size, demo-

graphics and

regional needs. The OPA, a

quasi-governmental agency

that manages conservation in

Ontario, is phasing out of its

active leadership role and is

set to merge with the Inde-

pendent Electricity Service

Operator (IESO) at the end of

this year. This enables LDCs

to take the lead on conserva-

tion, and encourages them to

be more innovative and more

regionally distinct to meet

the needs of their particular

customer base. Most of the

saveONenergy programs in

the market for the last four

years will continue into 2015

and beyond. This includes the

New Home Construction Pro-

gram, now registering homes

for completion in 2015 (con-

tact [email protected]

to register or find out more).

Water conservation measures

could easily be added to these

programs to increase poten-

tial electrical savings.

LDCs are developing their

conservation planning for

2015 and beyond, and there

is an opportunity for water

conservation to be part of

those plans. For builders, this

may allow for some incen-

tives to use rain or greywater

systems, real-time water

monitoring, ozone washing

machines and more.

We all know that CO2 emis-

sions are changing the climate,

CFCs deplete

the ozone

and pollution

affects our air

quality, and

this is why we

are aggres-

sively legislating and funding

programs to reduce the causes

of all three of these problems.

Likewise, we know water is a

limited and precious resource

that sustains all life, but we

are not pricing its consump-

tion accordingly and not

funding its conservation suf-

ficiently. It’s hard to know why

there is such a collective blind

spot on this one issue.

Perhaps we just need to

look at water differently

through an energy savings

filter. Then we can find a way

to prioritize significant water

conservation efforts. Then

the future of water conserva-

tion may not be driven by

local governments trying

to conserve an important

resource, but by LDCs trying

to meet massive energy con-

servation targets. BB

Lenard Hart is vice-president of sales and marketing at Summerhill Group.

Canada is second only to the U.S. in terms

of water consumption per capita, at 353 litres

per person per day.

industrynewsB y L e n a rd H a r t

mailto:[email protected]


Last winter I wrote about the

opportunities in multifamily

buildings (low rise and high

rise), for downsizing heating equip-

ment because of the inherent effi-

ciency of attached dwelling units due

to fewer outside walls and ceilings,

and because of the improved energy

efficiency of houses overall. Now,

while it is true space

heating loads are

on their way down,

I am finding that

the expectations

of homeowners for

increased hot water

for domestic use is

on its way up, in a pretty extraordi-

nary way. To put this into perspective,

consider the typical 1,000 to 1,200 sq

ft starter home of the 1960s, like the

one pictured here. From my memories

of growing up in a family with six

kids, we had one 40-gal water heater,

perhaps with a capacity of 40,000

BTUs/hr serving the one bathroom.

But there was also a big old natural

draft boiler that was around 120,000

to 140,000 BTUs/hr capacity. Compare

that to the 1,000 to 1,200 sq ft, 3.5-sto-

rey townhome common today, where

the capacities are typically reversed.

The new space heating capacity needed

is under 40,000 BTUs/hr, but the expec-

tations of the 2.5 bathrooms is perhaps

a tankless water heater or wall hung

boiler with a 120,000 to 140,000 BTUs/

hr capacity. Even the new condensing

tank water heaters often have a capac-

ity of 90,000+ BTUs/hr. These great

new efficient water heating options

are sitting around most of the day

waiting for someone to take a shower.

But many builders and HVAC contrac-

tors have figured out that an efficient

domestic hot water heater can also be a

useful appliance for space heating. One

gas appliance instead of two means

one less vent added to the crowded end

walls, and hot water offers flexibility

in heating distribution. A hot water

air handler, radiant

panel heaters and

even in-floor heat can

all be served off that

one appliance.

There is at least

one important

technical issue to

be resolved – the efficiency of this

one appliance but dual roles scenario.

Even in my R-2000 home built in 1992,

it was pointed out to me, and the

industry, that the high efficiency water

heater I used condensed nicely during

a call for domestic hot water, but not

when the air handler was pulling hot

water for heating my home. This was

due to the difference in return water

temperature to the water heater and

noticeable just by standing outside at

the vent – steamy in hot water mode,

no condensate in heating mode.

Now, after much research and

industry consultation and development,

there is a new standard called CAN/

CSA P.9-11 – Test method for determin-

ing the performance of combined space

and water heating systems (combos)

standard. This standard ensures that

the total or overall efficiency of combi-

nation systems is reported accurately

and consistently. This is clearly a great

goal for a technology that has a lot to

offer in both new and existing homes.

The standard is now referenced in the

2010 National Building Code and is also

a requirement for combination systems

used in ENERGY STAR-labelled homes

as of September 2014.

The essence of a truly energy-

efficient combination system is that

the heat exchange process must get to

condensing mode not only in domes-

tic hot water heating mode, but also in

space heating mode. That is, when the

return water temperature from the

space heating coils will generally be

much warmer than the city water inlet

temperature that the system heats

when providing potable hot water.

This is particularly difficult in part

load conditions or mild days, when

the space heating needs are very low.

Forward-thinking manufacturers

have realized that good overall results,

measured by a new energy performance

metric called thermal performance

factor (TPF), can only be achieved when

efficient water heaters and air handlers

are well matched and the operating

system intelligently controls both the

water heater and air handler together.

Successful control strategies are able

to vary the water temperature and flow

to the air handler to ensure the water

heater condenses all or at least most

of the time. The TPF metric combines

ratings for space heating and water

heating performance, and takes a load-

weighted average of the two to generate

a performance rating.

In many ways, the P.9 standard is

more comprehensive than the stan-

dards used to rate performance of

water heaters and furnaces individu-

Combination Space Heating and Domestic Hot Water Systems

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ally, since it recognizes that heating

systems will operate under part load

conditions most of the time. Thus

combination systems are tested under

loads that equate to 100%, 40% and

15% of their space heating capacities.

For comparison purposes, a combi-

nation system with a TPF of 0.90 can

be assumed to have an overall energy

performance roughly equal to the

combined performance of a 95% AFUE

(annual fuel utilization efficiency) gas

furnace and a water heater with an

energy factor of 0.67. However, as

we have been applying TPF perfor-

mance-rated equipment specifically

to efficient townhomes, where space

heating loads are very small, we are

finding combo systems with TPFs

even under 0.80 outperform the more

traditional high efficiency furnace

and power-vented water heaters.

There is a helpful list of manufac-

turers who have either developed their

own total package of air handler and

water heaters, or have worked with

other component manufacturers to get

systems performance tested. The most

current list can be found at:

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/pml-lmp/index.

cfm?action=app.welcome-bienvenue

I urge you to support these tested

products as they represent the best

combination of features that include:

��high combustion efficiency to ensure

condensing mode as often as possible

��modulation of water temperatures

��variable flow water pumps with low

electrical consumption

��variable air flow fans with low elec-

trical consumption electronically

commutated (ECM) fan motors

��optimized hot water coils for proper

air temperature control

��great controls that adapt to space

and water heating loads easily.

The best combinations are able to

achieve TPFs over 0.90 and offer a

great match of efficiency while meet-

ing the expectations of your homebuy-

ers for more hot water. BB

Gord Cooke is president of Building Knowledge Canada.

120 MBH 1960s starter home 40 MBH

30 MBH 2014 starter home 140 MBH

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http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/pml-lmp/index.cfm?action=app.welcome-bienvenue

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/pml-lmp/index.cfm?action=app.welcome-bienvenue


Until recently, builders were

given the freedom to match up

HVAC components as they saw

fit to make for as efficient a system

as possible. For example, a contractor

or engineer could select a hot water

source – instantaneous water heater,

boiler, combo unit and tank – and

pick any type from any manufacturer.

But as Brian Jackson, P.Eng.,

mechanical engineer with Airmax Tech-

nologies, explains that didn’t neces-

sarily mean you were getting the most

efficient system even if you combined

two high efficiency components.

“For example, a 25,000 BTU/hr

fan coil paired with a 120,000 BTU/

hr high efficiency instantaneous

hot water heating device together

might not be as efficient at one set of

operating points, but very efficient at

another,” Jackson explains.

To ensure equipment is paired for

the greatest efficiency, CSA has writ-

ten a standard to assess whether two

components from the same or two

different manufacturers are working

together to derive maximum system

efficiency.

The premise behind the CSA P.9-11

standard is a good one, Jackson adds.

“It’s something that makes sense

and can give you a system efficiency

rating on two pieces of equipment

combined.” This has potential rami-

fications for ENERGY STAR for New

Homes (ESNH) builders. As Jackson

explains, when a building designer

specifies the building construction

details to ensure compliance to ESNH,

they can approach it in one of two

ways – prescriptive or performance.

“Most builders prefer the easier, less

complicated and less expensive choice

of the prescriptive method. What that

essentially means is choosing from a

list a set of prescribed building details

that when combined ensure compli-

ance with the building code.”

The other way to approach the

design is using the performance

method. “That’s used when you do

not or cannot comply with the stan-

dard set of details in the prescriptive

method. In this application, a builder

employs an energy evaluating firm

like Clearsphere to model the build-

buildernewsB y A l e x N e w m a n

Trying to Make Sense of CSA P.9-11

With changing urban densities, stacked townhouses are becoming a common housing form. These units need an integrated space and hot water heating system offered by combo systems. The efficiency of these combo systems is in question along with a reasonable standard for testing them.

PHOTO: BAKER STREET RESIDENCES


ing to determine and opti-

mize the energy efficiency of

the building. They will define

the building construction

techniques and all construc-

tion details like insulation,

architectural materials and

mechanical equipment. A

builder must pay for this

service, then pay for a blower

door test after it’s built, and

those things cost money.

Most builders doing subdivi-

sion homes prefer to use the

prescriptive method.”

The new CSA P.9-11

standard, which applies only

ESNH, will permit use of the

prescriptive method if the

selected combo

systems’

thermal perfor-

mance factor

(TPF) is 0.89

or more. Since

the CSA P.9-11 standard only

applies to ESNH, builders

must use combo systems

with a certified CSA P.9-11

result if they want to build to

ESNH standards and be certi-

fied. If the TPF falls below

0.89, the builder must go

with a performance method.

In theory this is all well

and good, but when manu-

facturers of HVAC equipment

went to conduct the P.9 tests

on their equipment, there

weren’t many labs that could

complete the work – only one

in Canada. “With several dif-

ferent manufacturers trying

to get quotes, book lab time,

and the duration of a single

test of about a week and a

half, well, you can do the

math. In process test condi-

tion adjustments are only

making that turnaround time

longer,” Jackson says.

And since Natural

Resources Canada (NRCan

– the federal body that

publishes the test results

and determined that 0.89

threshold number) only gave

manufacturers six months to

comply after releasing the TPF

threshold, there was consider-

able opposition to the stan-

dard.

Manufacturers and build-

ers alike were complaining

they didn’t have enough time

to meet the April 1 deadline

(which has since

been extended

to October 1).

For the man-

ufacturers, the

tests are expen-

sive – upwards of $10,000 per

system, Jackson says – and

there is no value added sales

benefit. Also not all builders

do ENERGY STAR homes and

the standard only applies to

ENERGY STAR builders.

It’s an even bigger chal-

lenge for small manufactur-

ers, who can’t afford either

the time or money to spend

on testing their equipment.

Jackson’s company Air-

max Technologies is capable

of absorbing the $100,000-

plus they’ve spent on tests,

but it doesn’t allow for the

company to charge any more

for their systems, so that is

money straight out of their

R&D budget.

With the trend to build-

The other way to approach the design

is using the performance method.




ing smaller homes – especially with

the new stacked townhomes – which

have a significantly smaller heating

load, there’s a mis-

match between the

appliance capacity

required for domes-

tic water supply (at

120-200K BTUs/

hr), and the smaller

space heat loads of

around 25K. “These

two pieces of equip-

ment work better when they’re more

closely matched in capacity,” Jackson

explains. “When you take a 25K BTU/

hr fan coil and match it with a 125K

BTU/hr instantaneous water heater,

they might not work optimally

together and may

give you a TPF lower

than 0.89, so now the

builder has to have

the home modelled to

comply with the per-

formance method.”

Coming up with

newer designs of

equipment that work

together more efficiently takes time,

Jackson says. “A lot of manufactur-

ers are working on the next genera-

tion of instantaneous water heaters

that can modulate lower and also

maintain thermal efficiency at that

lower modulation level to properly

align with the smaller load required

at the fan coil.”

Bottom line, Jackson says, is

the standard NRCan “wants you to

achieve is currently difficult with

equipment that’s commercially avail-

able right now. Getting these things

working in tandem properly is a

multiyear project.” BB

Alex Newman is a writer, editor and researcher at www.integritycommunications.ca.

Bottom line, Jackson says, is the standard NRCan “wants you to achieve is currently

KPMÄJ\S[�^P[O�LX\PWTLU[�that’s commercially available right now.”




For the last 20 or 30 years,

changes in housing have largely

focused on energy efficiency.

Ways to dramatically reduce water

consumption are part of a new con-

versation. There are many benefits

associated with water conservation.

For instance, using less water reduces

the load on the urban infrastruc-

ture (sewers and treatment plants),

reduces energy consumption (less

water to pump to households) and

saves the homeowner money.

While installing low flow faucets

and showerheads are commonplace,

new practices are being adopted

that can dramatically reduce water

consumption. Environment Canada

reports that over the 20-year period

from 1991 to 2011, Canadians reduced

their overall water consumption by 27

per cent (from 342L/person/day to

251L/person/day). Only by adopting

new, more aggressive measures can

the savings continue to grow.

Making better use of rainwater for

household uses holds much promise.

Rainwater capture and storage in rain

barrels for use on lawns and gardens

is not new – neither is using rainwater

for toilets. What is new is using rain-

water for household laundry.

Washing clothes uses approxi-

mately 20 per cent of household

water consumption, and while

harvesting rainwater does not offer

year-round benefits, it can lower peak

summer water demand. Rainwater

harvesting also reduces wet weather

sewage overflows by providing tem-

porary storage for rainwater.

The 2012 Ontario Building Code

(OBC) allows, for the first time, the

use of rainwater harvesting systems PHO

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Rainwater for Use in Laundry

industrynewsB y M i c h a e l L i o

A rainwater harvesting system.


(RWH) for laundry purposes. The

background of this code change lies

in a 2010 Building Code Commission

Hearing where we represented the

applicant Rodeo Fine Homes. The

house in question was a two-storey

house in the town of Newmarket,

which was completed and occupied.

The builder applied for a permit to

install a RWH system for laundry

purposes, and was declined.

The proposed RWH system used

a prefilter system to catch debris,

leaves and dirt prior to rainwater

entering a storage tank. This filter-

ing system had previously been

demonstrated in a Guelph home by

Reid’s Heritage Homes. The stor-

age tank was designed to be buried

underground and had a connection

to municipal water should there be

a short supply of rainwater. The

rainwater was supplied to the washer

through its cold water inlet, but the

system did contain an on-demand

water heater should hot water be

required. The proposed system was

connected to a front-loading wash-

ing machine, as opposed to a top-

loading machine, which prevented

the opening of the appliance until

after the water had fully drained.

An air gap and backflow preventer

were included to prevent rainwater

from flowing back into the municipal

water supply. The system conformed

to CSA-B128.1-06 Design and instal-

lation of non-potable water systems

and CSA-B128.2-06 Maintenance and

field testing of non-potable water

systems.

The sections of the code in

question were from Part 7, which

addressed storm drainage systems,

water distribution systems and

nonpotable connections. The intent

of these code provisions is to limit

the probability that an inappropriate

location for outlets from nonpotable

water systems would lead to the

inadvertent use of nonpotable water

for functions which require potable

water. This could lead to the con-

sumption of harmful substances.

It was argued at the hearing that

rainwater should be permitted in

residential laundry facili-

ties for four main reasons,

which were supported by

credible research:

1. It does not pose a

health and safety risk:

��pathogens are more likely

introduced by dirty laun-

dry than rainwater

��contaminated rainwater fails to

increase bacterial count in washed

laundry

��rainwater is generally of good quality

for laundry purposes

��rainwater contamination can be pre-

vented through proper installation,

storage and system maintenance

��contamination of the potable water

system is prevented

��the system includes a number of fail-

safes to minimize risk of contamina-

tion from equipment failure.

2. It does not result in premature

failure of appropriately designed

laundry facilities:

��system maintenance is straightfor-

ward for optimal performance.

3. Past performance proves it is a reli-

able means of washing clothing:

��the building code already permitted

the indoor use of nonpotable water

(storm sewage/stormwater)

��RWH systems for laundry have been

successfully demonstrated in Canada

and elsewhere (past performance

was cited from Guelph, British

Columbia, Saskatchewan, Germany,

Texas, Australia and New Zealand).

4. It provides a significant benefit

including a reduction in household

water use:

��there is reduced water and energy

demand and pollution when RWH is

used for laundry

��homeowners benefit when RWH is

used for laundry.

We had argued that the proposed

RWH system did not expose occu-

pants to significant additional health

and safety risk, that past performance

indicated RWH has been used reliably

for laundry in many jurisdictions, and

the system conformed

to two CSA standards. In

the end, the commission

ruled that the system

demonstrated sufficiency

of compliance. It should

be noted that the ruling

applied to the specific

house in question only. However, the

ruling provided the foundation for a

code change.

In the 2012 Ontario Building Code,

treated rainwater free of solids is

permitted to be used as a water sup-

ply for clothes washers (see Article

7.1.5.3. and 7.7.4.1.). For clothes

washers supplied by rainwater and

a potable water system, the potable

water system needs to be protected

by dual-check valve backflow preven-

ters that conform to CAN/CSA-B64.6

for both area isolation and premise

isolation (see Article 7.7.1.1). Nonpo-

table water systems are required to

be designed and constructed to good

engineering practices appropriate

to the circumstances, as described

in the ASHRAE handbooks, ASPE

Data Books, or CAN/CSA-B128.1 (see

Article 7.7.4.1.).

These code changes are an exam-

ple of the next wave of aggressive

water conservation that will continue

the efforts of past years. The wide

adoption of RWH systems in homes

across Ontario, in addition to saving

homeowners money, will dramati-

cally reduce water consumption and

provide reduced loads for sewers and

treatment plants that may become

strained with increased density.

Together, water efficiency and conser-

vation will help protect our valuable

water resource. BB

Michael Lio is president and Ceara Allen is manager, technical services, at buildABILITY Corporation. [email protected].

industrynewsB y M i c h a e l L i o

Rainwater is generally of good quality for laundry purposes.


Features


featurestoryB y A l e x N e w m a n

Water Conservation, A Grey Issue

Reducing water consumption not only saves money

and is simple to do, but also keeps municipalities

happy. And when local municipalities – and their

sustainability checklists – are satisfied, builders

can do their job better.

Bob Finnigan, COO of Heathwood Homes, explains,

“Water allocation is a serious issue for municipalities, who

are trying to reduce water consumption now for the future.

For builders, it’s not just a slam dunk – buy the land and

automatically get approvals – because water isn’t always so

readily available.”

Chris Thompson, cofounder and CTO of Greyter Water

Systems, whose technology creates water-efficient build-

ings and homes adds, “It’s not just inaccessibility of water,

but challenges in delivering water from the source to the

customer. York Region, for example, doesn’t have direct

access to Lake Ontario, forcing them to purchase from

other municipalities. Water is transported to the region

through pump stations, which adds greatly to the cost and

creates a bottleneck.”

In Richmond Hill, where Heathwood is now building

113 homes at its Forest Hill on the Green site, greywater

recycling rough-ins are part of the whole package. Finni-

gan says, “One component the municipality looks at in

allocating development permits is what you are doing

with respect to water conservation. That factors into the

municipality’s ability to grant permits – the less con-

sumption, the more homes they can give allocation to. It’s

a simple equation.”

This is particularly true in York Region, he adds, where

new sources of water had to be found and created because

until now most water had come out of wells. So anything


that can slow down the consumption of such a hard-to-get

resource isn’t only good for future generations, but also

for future development.

In suburban areas where development has covered up

much of the ground, water hasn’t had a chance to reach

below the surface into the water table. Instead, it’s been

running off into storm ponds – not so bad in itself except

when heavy rains threaten to cause floods and overrun

storm sewers and ponds. As well, especially around the

Oak Ridges Moraine, municipal governments are making

efforts to keep the water table up.

For Boaz Feiner, housing division president of Gera-

nium Corporation, greywater recycling just makes “good

sense.” Geranium has just finished greywater rough-ins in

18 homes at its Ballantrae site, because as Feiner points

out, “There is no logical reason or purpose to be flushing

perfectly good drinking water down the toilet.”

He is well aware of the sustainability checklist of

municipalities in which his company builds, and with the

recent innovations in greywater recycling he says it’s so

much easier to build homes that are future proofed. “This

ensures a user-friendly and energy-efficient tomorrow –

and adds a lot of life to your housing stock,” Feiner says.

Greywater recycling has proven to be one of the highest

water reducers in a home. In 2011 when Heathwood built

both a green home and an ENERGY STAR home in Richmond

Hill, they monitored the results, with Ryerson students ana-

lyzing the raw data. Finnigan says of all the green compo-

nents in the green home – some more successful than others

– the one that consistently achieved very high sustainability

results was greywater recycling.

The recycling system works by taking wastewater from

Water Conservation, A Grey IssuePHOTO: BRENT PERRY PHOTOGRAPHY


showers and tubs, which consumes

the most domestic water in a home.

Those isolated drains are plumbed to

the mechanical room and tied into the

sanitary drain. When the greywater

system is installed, the shower and

bath water are redirected into a sys-

tem that filters, stores and disinfects

the greywater, which is then pumped

to the toilets to use for flushing.

This year, Heathwood expects to

build about 300 homes with greywater

system rough-ins, Finnigan says.

The rising cost

of water is another

potential concern,

say both builders. At

the moment, most

homeowners don’t

think about their

water bill, Feiner says, because it’s still

so cheap. But as water costs continue

to escalate, it will become top of mind.

“We have abundant water now,”

Feiner says. “But we can’t rest on our

laurels. In many areas of the world,

including some parts of North Amer-

ica, there’s a shortage of water. Water

is the next major item that needs to

be dealt with. We’re in the same place

with water consumption now that

we were with energy consumption

10 or 15 years ago. I’m not saying

we’ve maxed our energy savings, but

we in the industry have done well to

track it, and have come a long way

in terms of energy efficiency. But we

need to start dealing with the water

issue now.”

Thompson says the amount of

water saved is significant. When he

first installed a system at home, he

was “tracking between 28 and 40m3

of water every month for five people.

Partly that was so high because of

a swimming pool, and also making

a skating rink in the backyard. But

normally it was around 24m3. When I

did greywater recycling, it went down

to 9m3 and when the municipality saw

my bill, they thought the household

size had dropped to one or two.”

Thompson figures he has saved

about 130,000 litres a year, which

amounts to about four swimming

pools. “We flush on average seven

times a day, and if you have 6-litre

toilets, that’s 42 litres per person per

day, the equivalent of two of those

big jugs of water at the store. If you

recycle the water from tubs and

showers, that’s how much you’re sav-

ing. For the end user it’s a huge cost

savings. And what you save on your

monthly water bill is much greater

than the cost of

installation.”

Greywater ready-

ing is incredibly

easy to install dur-

ing the construction

phase – a couple of

extra pipes is all that’s needed. And

the cost is minimal – between $400

and $600. Compare that to installing

after the fact, says Feiner, when it is

likely to cost thousands in ripping

out walls and retrofitting the right

drains and pipes.

So why don’t we see more resi-

dential greywater recycling systems?

“There are no affordable, practical and

efficient products on the market that

achieve a high quality of water back to

the toilets and are simple to main-

tain,” says Chris Thompson. “Until

now.” While Greyter has been actively

selling its commercial building grey-

water systems around the world, they

have spent the greater part of the last

three years designing and testing the

Greyter HOME. According to Thomp-

son, it has been designed to efficiently

deliver a high quality of water for

reuse with minimal maintenance.

Furthermore, it will be priced around

$2,000 and take up a small footprint

within the home. The highly antici-

pated Greyter HOME is expected to be

available on the market as early as the

end of 2015. BB

Alex Newman is a writer, editor and researcher at www.integritycommunications.ca.

In many areas of the world, including some parts of North America, there’s a shortage of water.



There is no question it requires less energy, effort,

and cost to operate a system efficiently than it does

to operate a system inefficiently. Any system. In

fact, that is essentially the definition of efficiency. As such,

an efficient system will require less revenue to operate in a

full cost recovery manner and, therefore, future increases

in customer water rates will be minimized. In short, oper-

ating an efficient system is a win-win scenario.

Nearly everyone is aware that indoor residential per

capita water demands are declining in North America at an

unprecedented rate due to programs like WaterSense and

the recent marketplace shift to water-using fixtures and

appliances that are more efficient – specifically high effi-

ciency toilets and clothes washers. But what about outdoor

water demands? After all, it is the increase in outdoor

demands after extended periods of hot and dry weather

that lead to high peak day ratios, and the need to expand

our water supply infrastructure (at a huge cost!) to meet

demands that may only occur for a few days each year.

Landscapes generally get the water

they require either naturally through

precipitation or somewhat unnaturally

through manual or automatic irrigation

systems. Since landscapes do not require

potable water, it makes little sense in

a philosophical way to spend money

and effort to convey nonpotable water

from a site (rainwater) and, at the same

time, spend money and effort to convey

potable water to the same site to be used for nonpotable

purposes. In some municipalities like Kitchener, the munic-

ipality charges each customer a fee (stormwater utility fee)

based on building size for residences and the amount of

impervious cover for nonresidential properties. A credit

is available to those customers who capture rainwater for

reuse or increase the permeable areas on their properties

by using rain gardens or soak-away chambers. Such storm-

water fee structures are getting municipal attention and are

the approach of choice to address costly infrastructure and

encourage at-source stormwater management.

Why do more large industrial or

institutional customers not collect and

use the rainwater that falls on their

properties to irrigate their landscapes?

Well, the answer is partly related to costs

and partly to convenience. The water bill

is still one of the least inexpensive bills

many industrial or institutional custom-

ers receive. Spending a lot of money to

build a rainwater harvesting system to save a little bit of

money on the water bill does not make great financial sense.

Two things are likely to change this situation in the future:

1. Not only are water rates increasing at a far greater

rate than inflation to make up for charging too little for

water historically, more and more municipalities are begin-

ning to look at incorporating a seasonal water use rate into

their rate structure – a rate that would charge customers a

much higher rate for each cubic metre used as irrigation.

2. The opportunity to install larger communal rain-

water harvesting systems (vs. a single

smaller system for each customer) takes

advantage of economies of scale, allows

a single operator to service the needs of

multiple sites, allows sites with little or

no irrigation needs, but large roof areas,

to provide their water for a fee to other

sites that do have irrigation or other non-

potable needs such as processing water,

and it allows sites to keep the rainwater

on site, thus not incurring any stormwater utility fees.

This type of system is called a district water system and is

defined by The Water Strategy as:

A decentralized publicly-operated, privately-operated

or jointly-operated (public-private venture) water

management system that captures rainwater or

greywater and treats the collected water to suitable

standards for its intended use. Currently, district

water refers to treatment for nonpotable purposes

with water provided to customers for irrigation,

boiler and cooling tower make-up water, toilet and

featurestoryB y B i l l G a u l e y a n d Tr a c y P a t t e r s o n

Getting Ahead of the Curve Through Decentralized Water Systems

Bill Gauley

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RELIABLE, CONSISTENT, MARTINOHeating • Air Conditioning • Indoor Air Quality • HVAC Design

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urinal flushing, car washing, back-up fire flow, etc.,

on a multibuilding scale or for aquifer recharge.

District water systems are likely to become more popu-

lar as more municipalities start

developing stronger require-

ments for stormwater manage-

ment, flood mitigation, reduc-

tion of contaminant loadings

to water bodies, watershed

protection and water conserva-

tion (particularly for peak time, seasonal water use).

In fact, the trend among leading jurisdictions is to

require builders to use low impact development (LID)

practices and technology to control and manage rainwa-

ter at its source, such as rainwater/stormwater capture

and reuse, bioretention, porous paving, etc., as well as

conveyance controls, such as bioswales, perforated pipe,

grassed swales, etc. Eliminating the need for stormwater

retention ponds in new subdivisions not only improves

the aesthetics of the subdi-

vision, it also allows more

building sites to be developed,

which is a financial benefit to

the developer and the town.

Thinking outside the box

takes a little more effort but,

with forward thinking and a little ingenuity, we can begin

to work in closer harmony with nature – improving not

only the environment, but the bottom line as well. BB

Bill Gauley, P. Eng., is principal of Gauley Associates Ltd. Tracy Pat-terson is a managing consultant and principal of Freeman Associates.

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featurestoryB y B i l l G a u l e y a n d Tr a c y P a t t e r s o n


sitespecificB y B a r b i n i D e v e l o p m e n t s I n c .

This is BARBINI’s latest offering

– a luxury contemporary home

that sits on a generous corner

lot in a quiet Toronto neighbourhood

and is easily accessible by two major

highways.

This contemporary home was

renovated with sustainability in

mind. It provides a complete array

of elegant contemporary design

details, meticulously selected fin-

ishes, together with the advantages

of a superior building envelope and

efficient heating, ventilating and air

conditioning (HVAC) system deliver-

ing pure air quality and energy-effi-

cient operation. The design approach

to the home was a holistic one, and

so the experience of the benefits is

also holistic. The home performs as a

total environment and all the compo-

nents are experienced together.

61 Talwood was designed for the

future. The home is future proofed

so it can evolve and adapt to the

requirements and technological

changes of the future including a

100 amp panel for an electric car

charger in the garage and prepara-

tion for solar panelling to be inte-

grated with the HVAC system. With

sustainability in mind, the home

was redesigned so that not only did

it comply with the Ontario Build-

ing Code (OBC), it ranked way above

code requirements, therefore pro-

viding a better living environment,

air quality, mechanical systems and

significant energy savings, which in

turn lower the carbon footprint of

that residence and family

while providing a superior

comfort level for living.

The ground level of this

home features an open

concept kitchen, dining

room, interior/exterior liv-

ing room design for today’s

living style. The side

entrance features a dog/

boot shower and is acces-

sible from a two-car garage

with easy assess to a large

kitchen designed for family

use and entertaining. The

home is flooded with natu-

ral light through oversized

windows and doors, and is

very much part of the lush

exterior.

The Award: Barbini Developments Inc.

winner of the 2014 Ontario

Home Builders’ Association Awards

of Distinction for the “Most Out-

standing Home Renovation” (Actual

Retail Value Over $500,001). BB

61 Talwood Drive

Credits: We wish to thank our in-house team – interior designer Vanja Stepanek, site supervisor Raul Alberto and project manager Amedeo Barbini for their vision, hard work and determination. Talwood would not be what it is today if it weren’t for our team’s co-ordination and collaboration with our friends and colleagues at Integral Design Associ-ates, M.G. Pascoe & Associates Ltd., Clearsphere, Alpha Comfort Control Ltd., Inline Fiberglass Ltd., Amberwood Doors Inc., Vanity Island Custom Cabinets, Alli-ance Stucco & Moulding Ltd., R&A Stairs Ltd., Adanac Glass, Rockport Painting Inc., and many other companies that assisted us in making our concept and vision a reality.

Amedeo Barbini

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ContextThe population of Clarington will

double within 20 years. Recognizing

these pressures on its infrastructure,

the municipality has launched PRIOR-

ITY GREEN Clarington (PGC). By field

testing numerous beyond code water

and energy efficiency technologies

and techniques, Clarington will gain

clarity on which technologies make

economic and environmental sense.

These results will provide direction

on how to reduce the water and sewer

footprint of new homes, lessening the

growth pressures on water and sewer

infrastructures and pointing the way

to more sustainable growth.

Three Projects in OneBeyond the field test there are two

other facets to PGC:

1. Clarington will be refining develop-

ment approvals to favour green

development by reviewing cur-

rent practices and changing them

to expedite approvals for green

homes and neighbourhoods.

2. The Province’s Places to Grow Act

(2005) dictates higher densities

through intensification. In Claring-

ton, public opposition to town-

homes and apartments is impeding

intensified development. Various

innovative community engage-

ment techniques such as visioning

walkabouts will involve a variety

of community members (including

those opposed to intensification).

Broader public outreach will be

tested in late 2014 to inform the

larger community of the benefits of

higher densities.

Field Testing GreenIn 2013, Clarington requested pro-

posals from area homebuilders. The

municipality secured the participation

of three innovative companies – Brook-

field Residential, Halminen Homes

and Jeffery Homes. Each one agreed to

enhancing two homes each with over

20 water- and energy-efficient beyond

code improvements. Each builder

chose its own enhancements from a

schedule provided by Clarington and

each covered related costs.

In addition to a great response

from the homebuilding community,

a number of leading-edge technology

suppliers have donated products to

the project. Examples include Profi-

ciency 3-litre flush toilets from Water

Matrix, ecobee smart thermostats,

Panasonic Whisper bathroom fans

and three Recover greywater units

from Canplas. The Recover units take

shower and bath water, cleanse it and

return it to flush toilets. They have

the potential to reduce indoor water

use by 25 per cent. The greywater

systems are being monitored for

inflow, outflow, potable water top-up

and water quality. This project com-

buildernewsB y G l e n P l e a s a n c e

Water meter used to measure water use reductions.

PRIORITY GREEN Clarington:

Field Testing Sustainability in New Homes

An ecobee smart thermostat.

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OTO


ponent holds great promise.

The beyond code improvements

or best management practices (BMPs)

will be measured by an average of ten

water and eight electricity submeters.

These submeters will record data for

at least four months, transmitting

it daily via Wi-Fi to a dedicated web-

site. Water submeters are measuring

clothes washers (hot and cold), drain-

water heat recovery units, showers,

kitchen faucets, greywater recovery

units, etc. Note there is sufficient data

from other studies on high efficiency

toilet (HET) water use. Electricity

submetering includes furnaces, air

conditioners, heat recovery ventilators

(HRV), clothes washers and dryers,

etc. The combined water and energy

metering will enable measurement of

the water/energy synergies within the

homes. (Note: whole home natural gas

consumption is also being recorded.)

By understanding these water-energy

synergies, water, electricity and natu-

ral gas consumption can be reduced.

This holistic approach to home

energy and water use will enable

return on investment (ROI) calcula-

tions to be determined for many of

the BMPs. The ROIs will identify the

BMPs that make the most sense for

homebuilders and homebuyers. It will

also allow the measurement of carbon

dioxide equivalent (CO2e) reductions

for each home. The field study report

will be completed in March 2015.

What we know so far is that the

energy performance ratings of the six

homes averaged 21 per cent better

than code (the Ontario Building Code).

Jeffery Homes has already released its

next phase of 20 townhomes, built and

marketed to PRIORITY GREEN Claring-

ton specifications.

Many PartnersA project of this complexity requires

broad partnerships to be success-

ful. Partners include both levels of

municipal government (Clarington

and Region of Durham), Ministry of

the Environment’s Environmental

Innovations Branch (Showcasing Water

Innovation Program), Federation of

Canadian Municipalities’ Green Munici-

pal Fund, our three homebuilders,

the Sustainable Housing Foundation,

Durham College and the University of

Ontario Institute of Technology. BB

Glen Pleasance, from the Municipality of Durham, has 20 years as Durham's water LɉJPLUJ`�JV�VYKPUH[VY�


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I was just recently on holiday at one

of my favourite resorts down in

Jamaica, looking at that beautiful

blue Caribbean water. As my article

on plumbing and water conservation

was due, a sign in the bathroom got

me thinking about hotels and water

conservation. Some of us will remem-

ber that years ago we used our hotel

towels and the next day fresh ones

magically appeared. Then suddenly

little signs appeared in the hotel

bathrooms asking us to hang up our

towels for reuse unless we required

fresh ones. In one stroke it made

hotels look like environmental leaders

while at the same time reducing their

operational costs. They looked like

they were leading the way to a greener

planet and their bottom lines were

improved. A win-win by all.

Fast-forward 20-odd years and look

at the incredible work by the Ontario

Home Builders’ Association (OHBA),

and our many locals and members, at

transforming our industry in reducing

both energy and water usage through

mostly voluntary programs. We are

proud to say we are the only Cana-

dian industry that has both met and

exceeded our Kyoto Accord targets,

and before the deadline! As this article

is focusing on water, I am proud to

be one of the many members who

advocated for low flow toilets and

showers for the most recent building

code change, as both are environmen-

tally responsible at the same time

as understanding the connection to

rising electrical and water treatment

costs for our customers. Like the hotel

industry we saw this as a win-win.

Then the 2012 code came into full

effect on January 1, 2014 and we

began to realize that some things had

entered our Ontario Building Code

(OBC) that we will call unintended

and/or unforeseen consequences

such as water service sizing. Our

members understood the reduction

in measured water flow, and using

fixtures that met the new building

code requirements should have been

fairly straightforward. Selecting fix-

tures that met the EPA WaterSense or

equivalent requirements would meet

the code requirements, were readily

available, would have limited impact

on installation costs to the builders,

provide long-term savings to our

customers, and the flow rates were

clearly defined in the OBC.

Now here comes the blindside.

At the same time as we advocated

for and got the inclusion of smaller

fixtures, for some reason both the

National Building Code, followed by

the OBC, changed the requirements

for pipe sizing to be increased. What?

What does this mean? I’m not really

sure anyone has completely figured

it out, but it appears that unless you

have a detailed plumbing design,

you will need to run 3/4” pipe to all

fixtures rather than the previous 1/2”

pipe (in the majority of cases).

So let’s be clear. What worked yes-

terday with larger fixtures, volumes

and 1/2” plumbing lines today does

not work with smaller fixture lines,

and we now have to replace 1/2”

plumbing lines with 3/4”? How did

this happen? Why was this change

needed and how in the world of con-

servation is it justified? Where is the PHO

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New Water Pipe Sizing in the Ontario Building Code: A Solution Looking for a Problem!

fromthegroundupB y D o u g Ta r r y


evidence of failure to suggest larger

piping is needed en masse? These

are the questions our association and

other industry stakeholders are ask-

ing the three levels of government.

I get it if you put a car wash into a

home, you might need to have larger

supplies. But every home regardless?

This goes against our conservation

efforts and here’s why.

Under the previous code you

installed a 1/2” supply for a typical

shower head. Now under the new

code you will have a 3/4” pipe with a

restricted flow shower head. You have

all that additional hot water to heat

that will sit in a pipe waiting for use.

More correctly, you will have all that

cool water in the larger pipe that has

to be used through a low flow fixture

before you can even get to the hot

water. The customer that would have

complained about waiting for hot

water with a larger flow shower head

is now going to be waiting even longer

before they have hot water. Get ready

for the complaint calls!

But wait! There’s more! We are also

dealing with municipalities insisting

on having a 1” service to the house

regardless of what housing type has

been planned for. The builder/devel-

oper will comply with the municipal

requirement for oversized service, so

that a building permit will be issued

and the added cost ultimately passed

on to the new homebuyer. I’m not

talking about McMansions, just a

common two-storey home design with

two baths on the second floor, a main

floor powder room, typical kitchen

and laundry room along with a base-

ment bath rough-in.

So what’s the problem? There’s

plenty of water, because the water

meter is a 5/8” service. So the most

common size of water meter service

municipalities have in abundance is

also the first and greatest restric-

tor of water flow. That makes this

an exercise in just plain bad plan-

ning – added costs with no benefit

to the customer or the municipality.

When you add it all up, you have

a lot of wasted water, water treat-

ment and extra heating costs – for

what? It goes against everything we

have been advocating for and is not

responsibly considering the cost to

the new homebuyer.

The OHBA is working with other

industry stakeholders to request a

code change to resolve this issue:

� We are surveying our members to

see if there have been any reported

issues of water flow that would

require this change.

� We are discussing this issue with

Tarion to see if there has been a

significant increase in warranty

complaints concerning water pres-

sure related to water service sizing.

� We continue to work with the

Ontario Building Officials Associa-

tion to ensure the change we are

requesting makes sense and greatly

appreciate their partnership efforts

with us on this and other issues.

� We are asking upper levels of gov-

ernment for the evidence that this

change was based on, and if the

change to low flow fixtures was con-

sidered part of the decision-making

process.

Admittedly, I am not an expert on

plumbing design. However, I have

consulted with industry stakeholders

who are. We need to share with you

some of the concerns we are working

on, both for our members and for the

consumer. BB

Doug Tarry Jr. is director of marketing at Doug Tarry Homes in St. Thomas, Ont.

fromthegroundupB y D o u g Ta r r y




OTTAWA, ONTARIO (September 22, 2014) – My Design Studio was among the winners announced at the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) Awards of Distinction held in Ottawa this year for taking home the award for Most Outstanding New Home Kitchen (New Home 2001 sq ft and Over) for 29 Yorkview, Castleform Developments Inc. ;OL�OVTL�[Y\S`�M\SÄSSZ�[OL�WOPSVZVWO`�behind Peter Voong’s Castleform Devel-

opments – quality craftsmanship paired ^P[O�S\_\Y`�ÄUPZOLZ�^P[OV\[�[OL�ZHJYPÄJL�of our environment.

Presented by the Ontario Home Build-ers’ Association, the Awards of Distinction applauds the talent of builders, renovators, designers and marketers in the new home and construction industry in Ontario.

“It’s an incredible honour to be rec-ognized among the best from all the en-tries throughout Ontario,” says Yasmine

Goodwin, principal, My Design Studio. Yasmine Goodwin and My Design Stu-

dio were also nominated in 2014 for Most Outstanding New Home Kitchen (New Home up to 2000 sq ft) and had previously won in 2010 for Best Interior Decorating – Model Home/Suite (Under 2000 sq ft).

The Ontario Home Builders’ Associa-tion represents 4,000 member companies organized into 31 local associations across the province. BB

sitespecifictooB y M y D e s i g n S t u d i oa n d B e t t e r B u i l d e r s t a f f

Annual OHBA Awards of DistinctionMost Outstanding New Home Kitchen (New Home 2001 sq ft and Over) in the Annual OHBA Awards of Distinction 2014

Top left and top right: The “Most Outstanding New Home Kitchen" (New Home 2001 sq ft and Over). Lower right: Castleform Developments LEED Gold-certified home. Inset: Peter Voong (Castleform Developments Inc.) with Yasmine Goodwin (My Design Studio) and Joëlle Goodwin.


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theplaneviewB y B e t t e r B u i l d e r S t a f f

� Canada has more lake area than any other coun-

try in the world – approximately 8 per cent of its

territory is covered by lakes.

� Canadians, it seems, have no trouble consuming

lots of it. Canada ranks second highest in terms

of per capita water consumption at 353 litres

per day, and is 65 per cent above the OECD

(Organization of Economic Co-operation and

Development) average.

� It’s not just Canadians who are consuming more

water – water use increased six-fold during the

20th century, more than twice the rate of popu-

lation growth.

� The Conference Board of Canada ranked Canada

15th out of 16 peer countries in terms of water

withdrawals. This ranking is second only to the

United States. Eight of the peer countries consume

less than half that of Canadians per capita.

� There is still little known nationwide about

the quantity and quality of fresh groundwater.

What is known is that approximately one-third

of Canadians depend on groundwater as their

freshwater source.

This fact coupled with the following should be

enough to rouse some alarm.

� Twenty five percent of Canadian municipalities

have experienced water shortages in the past

several years.

� Add the fact that warmer climates and altered

precipitation patterns are causing increased

evaporation of surface water, which in turn may

result in summer droughts in the interior of

Southern Canada, and a bit of panic may set in.

In Western Canada, these shortages may be worsened

by the slow but steady disappearance of alpine glaciers

that currently provide much of the freshwater input in

regional rivers and streams.

� David Crane for Water Canada (http://watercanada.net)

says the first step toward an action-positive move for

Canadians will be “to raise the level of understanding,

not only among policymakers, but also among the wider

public; that there is an enormous challenge facing the

world and that there is also a significant opportunity

for Canada, by strengthening our research base and the

strength of our companies….[we need to] identify our

water champions who will provide leadership to make

Canada a water-solutions country.” BB

Sources:“The World and Water Fact Sheet.” RBC. Accessed Novem-ber 18, 2014. http://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/_assets-custom/pdf/Fact-Sheet-The-World-and-Water-EN.pdf

“High and Dry: What Canadians Don’t Know About Water Could Usher in Global Crisis.” Accessed November 20, 2014. http://www.desmog.ca/2013/05/28/high-and-dry-what-canadians-don-t-know-about-water-could-lead-global-crisis

Need to Know Facts About Water

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http://watercanada.net

http://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/_assets-custom/pdf/Fact-Sheet-The-World-and-Water-EN.pdf

http://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/_assets-custom/pdf/Fact-Sheet-The-World-and-Water-EN.pdf


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