3rd Residential Building Design and Construction Conference (2016)
Whole Conference Proceedings
Whole Conference Proceedings (2016)
Authors: Various Authors
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
The 3rd Residential Building Design and Construction Conference was held on March 2-3, 2016 in State College, PA in conjunction with the 24th Annual Pennsylvania Housing & Land Development Conference. As a relatively new PHRC program, the Residential Building Design and Construction Conference is intended to provide a forum for researchers and design professionals to discuss their latest findings, innovations and projects related to residential buildings. The Residential Building Design and Construction Conference invites papers and presentations on various issues related to residential buildings, which encompass single- and multi-family dwellings, mid-rise and high-rise structures, factory-built housing, dormitories, and hotels/motels. The presentations at the 3rd Residential Building Design and Construction Conference have covered many topics, including: building envelope sustainability and retrofit, cross-laminated timber, energy audits, energy efficiency and high performance buildings, fire safety, hygrothermal modeling, indoor air quality and natural ventilation, modular construction, passive house design, phase-change materials, post-disaster housing, resilient design and retrofit, senior living, and wind loading effects on roofs. Two Keynote Speakers were invited for the conference: Tedd Benson, President of Bensonwood, and Dr. John Straube, Principal at RDH Building Science and RDH Building Science Labs and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Tedd Benson focused on the next generation of homebuilding in his presentation “The 21st Century Craft of Sustainable Homebuilding: Culture, Technology, and Methods Toward a Better Way to Design & Build.” Dr. John Straube focused on the importance of building science in his presentation “Building Science: The Foundation of Future Residential Building Design and Practice.” The conference included presentations by university professors, researchers, graduate students, architects, consulting engineers, product manufacturers, and product related associations/councils. For this conference we also organized a special session on Innovations in Senior Living by three leading senior living housing developers.
Conference Program
Conference Program (2016)
Authors: Ali Memari & Sarah Klinetob Lowe
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Conference program for the 2016 RBDCC
Papers
Papers are listed in alphabetical order of the first author.
An Assessment of Utilizing Phase Change Materials (PCM) Towards Energy Performance in Building Enclosures
Authors: Abdullah I. Abuzaid & Georg Reichard
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
This paper assesses the opportunities of utilizing Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in building enclosure systems to improve energy performance and thermal comfort in buildings. The building sector continues to grow along with population growth, which will further increase energy consumption that is needed for space heating and cooling to provide thermal comfort for occupants. With many practical applications, PCMs are capable of storing and releasing significant amounts of energy by melting and solidifying at a given temperature and can play an important role as a thermal energy storage device by utilizing its high storage density and latent heat capacity. PCMs not only have the potential to reduce air conditioning energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings, but also have the potential to improve occupancy comfort by better maintaining desired surface temperatures. PCMs can be utilized to decrease the overall required energy of buildings by shifting part of the heating and cooling loads to off-peak hours when there is less energy demand within our utility grids. One of the potential applications for PCMs in buildings is to incorporate them within the building enclosure for energy storage. Our research investigates PCMs in an experimental study, from which we will extrapolate results to apply for residential application in different U.S. climate zones. The research extrapolation will be supported by simulation tools, which are capable of simulating PCMs in the building context. The study will also explore different factors contributing to other thermal performance criteria, such as the thermal conductivity and applicable temperature ranges of different PCMs. The results will be presented for better understanding of PCMs’ thermal behavior as well as demonstrating the applicability of using PCMs towards improving building performance and overall energy consumption in different climate contexts.
Building Code Impacts on Residential Electricity Usage
Authors: Ben F. Bigelow & Matthew Lopez
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Homes account for roughly 21% of energy consumption in the United States. However, most homeowners will not invest in energy efficiency, if there are not recognizable short term benefits. In an effort to reduce electrical consumption, municipalities have adopted increasingly stringent building codes, as it relates to home energy use. This study sought to explore the actual impact(s) of building code adoption on the consumption of electricity in homes, in Central Texas. Using smart meter data, collected over the last 20 years from the city of Georgetown, the following questions were addressed: 1) What is the a relationship between more stringent building codes and electrical consumption in homes? 2) Since the adoption of more stringent building codes, has electricity use been reduced? 3) Which building code caused the largest decrease in electrical consumption? The results of the study indicate that building code changes are related to significant electricity savings, with homes built under more recent codes using 35% less electricity than homes built in the early 1990s and 25% less than homes built in the 2000s.
Capability Based Approach in Measuring Affordable Housing Policy in Urban India
Authors: Arindam Biswas
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Policy scientists often criticize policy analysts for narrowly focused means and rationality of policy analysis. The criticism largely focused on the recurring effort of analyzing policy based on utility, which is one-dimensional approach from the service provider perspective. But utility based approach never divulges beneficiary perspective, which is often neglected in the discussion. Be it developed or emerging economies, beneficiaries are often looked down upon devoid of any participation or voice in the quality or extent of the benefit. Considering the criticism, this paper tries to come up with an analysis strategy which would gratify the spirit of policy analysis, and help policy makers to understand the exact shortcomings of the policies.
Prime Minister Affordable Housing (PMAY 2015) policy is recently launched by the union government in India. Along with this newly introduced policy, this paper would consider ‘National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy 2007’ (NUHHP 2007) to understand the context of affordable housing in India. The program envisages a slum free India with inclusive and equitable cities where every citizen has access to basic civic and social services and decent shelter. It aimed to encourage states/union territories to tackle the problem of slums in a definitive manner. The objectives are to bring all existing slums, notified or non-notified within the formal system and enable them to avail of the same level of basic amenities as the rest of the town, redress the failures of the formal system that lie behind the creation of slums, and tackle the shortages of urban land and housing that keep shelter out of reach of the urban poor and force them to resort to extra-legal solutions in a bid to retain their sources of livelihood and employment.
The research opts for human capability as the measurement scale to identify policy well-being and considers state housing policies in identifying housing affordability for urban poor in India. In its methodology, the research introduces an advanced adaptation from Rawls’ idea of justice, which considers ‘temporal’ duration in its impartiality based on his constructive idea of ‘original position’. The duration signifies an individual or group is deprived of any utility or opportunity to enjoy utility. The concept of original position is the central to his idea of justice as fairness. In the recent times, Sen has discussed extensively on the issues of equality, justice and fairness. This research establishes an advanced adaptation of Sen’s ‘utilitarianism’ and ‘capability approach’ to analyze RAY and identify housing affordability for urban poor in India.
A haptic, high-performance house: The GRoW Home
Authors: Martha Bohm
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
This paper discusses the design, construction, and operation of a high-performance passive / active solar residential project which fundamentally engages ecology through daily and annual thermo-climatic patterns of sun and climate. Designed for the 2015 Solar Decathlon competition, the GRoW home endeavors to give solar energy tactile and haptic form, expanding upon the intangible electrical energy generated on the rooftop with photovoltaic panels. This house aims to bring residential occupants into an experiential and ritualized engagement with the biotic and abiotic elements of the solar-based ecology in which they participate. The house’s architecture gives the user agency in the stewardship of these energetic flows to simultaneously create a dynamic and captivating set of spaces and a less fossil fuel-intense means of living. This paper reviews the core design concepts which influenced decisions of passive heating and natural ventilation, envelope construction, HVAC system selection and configuration, interior layout and detailing, and performative furniture design. It provides an overview of the analysis processes of lighting and energy simulation throughout design to provide quantitative feedback to the design in the development of performance. Last, it reviews the measured performance of the house during its competition period in Irvine, CA.
Condition Survey of Assembled Concrete Blocks (Dox Plank)
Authors: Anthony M. Dolhon
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Condition surveys can be challenging for existing floor and roof slabs constructed of assembled concrete blocks, also known as Doc’s Blocks and Dox Plank, used in existing construction. Assembled concrete blocks that were manufactured in the 1940’s, 1950’s, and the 1960’s, remain widely in use today throughout the Midwest and the East Coast in schools, motels, apartments, nursing homes, offices, churches, and single family homes. Historical data, design theory, and basis information on the manufacturing process of assembled concrete blocks are not readily available, but these are an important part of the condition survey. Assembled concrete blocks are machine-made, prefabricated, modular units of pre-cast concrete, with light weight aggregate, made of low strength, hollow core block, bonded together using deformed steel bars grouted into preformed voids (i.e., hollow cores). Some blocks have tongue and groove edges and also grooves along the top corners to aid in composition action. Unfortunately, applying the current state of practice in pre-stressed concrete planks will give misleading results. This paper aids designers, building officials, and the forensic architect/engineer in conducting a condition survey of assembled concrete blocks in service. It provides a resource on the early developments in precast concrete construction, period design guides, reference standards, patents, technical manuals, product catalogs, and design theory, with tips on conducting a condition survey.
Evaluation of Air Quality in Buildings Located Above TCE and Chloroform Contaminated Plume – A Field Study
Authors: Haydar Erdogan & Hsin-Neng Hsieh
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Vapor intrusion (VI) has been recognized since the 1990s as a potential pathway of concern at contaminated sites. VI is the migration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the subsurface soils into overlying buildings. The major sources of organic vapors are waste disposal sites (landfills), contaminated old industrial sites, contaminated subsurface soils, and contaminated groundwater. The volatile organic compounds of concern in vapor intrusion are usually divided into two categories: chlorinated VOCs and petroleum hydrocarbons.
Several residential and commercial buildings were built on a closed old industrial site in the 1990s. Due to the presence of TCE and chloroform in a groundwater plume located under the site, VI investigation was conducted at the commercial and residential buildings located on and around the site. Sub-slab soil gas and indoor air samples were collected to determine the indoor air quality in these buildings using Summa canisters equipped with flow controls. All samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds using the USEPA Method TO-15. The analytical data were compared with background ambient air data and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) soil gas and indoor air screening levels.
The results indicated that chlorinated volatile organic compound including TCE and chloroform were present above the NJDEP screening levels in the sub-slab soil gas and indoor air samples collected from several buildings. To remediate the existing condition, a sub-slab depressurization system (SDS) was installed under the slab of each building with elevated levels of TCE and chloroform. After installation of the SDS, indoor air sampling was performed to determine the indoor air quality in these buildings. It was recommended that yearly inspection of the SDS and indoor air sampling be conducted.
Effects of Exterior Insulation on Moisture Performance of Wood-Frame Walls in the Pacific Northwest: Measurements and Hygrothermal Modeling
Authors: Samuel V. Glass, Borjen Yeh, & Benjamin J. Herzog
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Continuous exterior insulation on above-grade walls is becoming more common in many parts of North America. It is generally accepted that exterior insulation provides advantages for energy performance, by reducing thermal bridging, and for moisture performance, by warming the wood structural members, thereby reducing the potential for wintertime moisture accumulation. However, the effects of vapor-tight rigid foam insulation on the drying capability of the wall systems are not fully understood. In this study, temperature and moisture conditions in north-facing and south-facing wall assemblies with vapor-open and vapor-tight exterior insulation were monitored in a natural exposure test facility in the Marine 4 Climate Zone over a two-year period. The wall assemblies included interior gypsum board with latex primer and paint, 2×4 framing with nominal R-13 batt insulation, 11 mm (7/16 in.) oriented strand board, nominal R-5 exterior insulation, and white-color vinyl siding. Exterior insulation was either extruded polystyrene or mineral wool. Measurements and hygrothermal simulations indicated that walls with extruded polystyrene and mineral wool exterior insulation in north and south orientations perform similarly. Moisture content in wood framing and oriented strand board were within safe levels.
Building Enclosure Design for Modular Construction
Authors: Tammy J. Harrell, Joseph P. Piñon, & Colin D. Shane
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Many of the purported advantages associated with modular wood-frame construction compared to traditional stick-built framing are generally well accepted in the industry: increased quality control, indoor construction, shorter project schedules, ability to service remote locations, and in some cases favorable labor and material pricing. Despite all of these advantages, special attention needs to be given to the integration and assembly of the building enclosure components, both within and between building modules, to ensure that the performance of these modular buildings meet the expectations of all parties involved.
This paper will focus on the building enclosure functions of heat, air, and moisture control in wood-framed residential buildings, and will apply these concepts to the realities of modular construction. Specifically, this paper will detail lessons learned through design and construction of two recently completed modular construction projects. The first project is a multi-unit dormitory located in an isolated northern climate and incorporates super-insulated assemblies and Passive House certification requiring a high performance building enclosure. The second project is a multi-unit transit-oriented and affordable housing development in the San Francisco Bay Area. This paper will inform designers and builders about building enclosure design considerations and challenges specific to modular construction.
The Performance of a Net Zero Home in the Solar Decathlon 2011 and Beyond
Authors: Dr. Eric A. Holt, Dr. Nathan Barry, & Sarah Causey
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
The Solar Decathlon is a biennial Department of Energy (DOE) collegiate contest wherein twenty universities are selected to design, build, and showcase residential structures that would ultimately be relocated to a competition campus to be viewed by the general public and judged by representatives of the DOE. The project structures are homes that are designed and built to conform to the parameters set forth by the DOE in an effort to showcase the use of solar power as a practical means of residential line voltage power supply. The projects are then judged according to how well they performed within those parameters.
The challenges involved in the design, construction, and operation of a “net-zero” house, that is a house that produces at least as much electricity as it consumes, were formidable. Equally formidable were the technical/logistical issues inherent in designing and constructing a building that could be disassembled and transported. Multidiscipline work groups analyzed the architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, building controls, and photovoltaic performance requirements. These systems not only had to be integrated within each other, but they also had to work within a tight construction budget and build schedule. Those requirements are challenging enough on a normal construction project. Added to the complexity is that the home was be built on the university campus and then shipped to the competition site, and then shipped back to its permanent location.
This paper highlights the process and strategies that a team utilized to design, build, operate, move, and successfully compete in the Solar Decathlon with a net zero home. It also presents the energy usage data that has been collected since it was rebuilt on a permanent location for January 2014 to July 2015.
Review of Test Methods for Selected Building Enclosure Component Types
Authors: Wanxin Huang & Ali M. Memari
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Building enclosure physically separates the interior from the exterior of a building. It consists of walls, windows, doors, roofing and foundations, insulation, barriers, membranes and other components aimed at controlling heat, air and moisture that can flow through the building enclosure. Today’s global environmental crisis has significantly drawn attention to green building design and construction. Since building enclosure and its performance seriously impacts the energy consumption of a building, and because there are great variety of material and system types that can be used in the enclosure, validation testing of building enclosure components is vital to ensure the energy-efficiency and durability of a building. There is a need for more widespread awareness of the test methods for different components of building enclosure as such understanding helps design appreciate the basis upon which they will be prescribing or specifying various product types. This paper provides a review of most relevant test methods for several residential building enclosure components types. The test methods discussed provide a means to evaluate performance of these components when subjected to various physical and environmental conditions. The review is introductory and can be useful to those without prior knowledge of such test methods.
The paper presents summary results of a review of several building enclosure component types including vapor barriers/ retarders, waterproofing membranes, air barriers/retarders and insulations along with relevant test methods. The paper includes a brief introduction of each building enclosure component type made by a selected number of manufacturers, including their uses, features and application approach. The main focus of the paper, however, is on the ASTM test methods for evaluating their important mechanical properties. For each particular ASTM test method, the paper summarizes test objective, apparatus, procedure and analysis of the results. The paper offers a quick overview of the tests each product goes through as per manufacturer website and introduces appropriate references for each test for follow-up reading.
Analytic Solutions for Bio-Based Renewable Construction Panels Manufactured with Non-Rigid Bonding
Authors: Rafaat Hussein
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Under the immense pressure of environmental, energy, economic, and other modern problems, many new materials have been scientifically developed. There is a wide range of renewable materials developed from natural and manmade resources as polymers and composites. Yet, the state of scientific advancements apparently lags behind their applications in the buildings sector. One may argue that there is a gap between the discovery of those materials and the state of residential construction. The needed knowledge about these materials for the engineering designs may shed light on that gap. To elaborate, structural insulated panels have been successfully used nationwide but why renewable components such as green adhesives and biodegradable foams have not been applied as load bearing elements in modular and panelized buildings?
This paper is the result of an in-progress effort to close the gap between the scientific development of materials and their applications. It will present accurate analytic models developed for panels manufactured with non-rigid bonding and subjected to various loads. The models are useful to ascertain the effects of the finite values of bonding stiffness on the performance and responses of the panels. Numerical and experimental results indicated that the customary assumption of perfect bonding should not be used beyond a certain level of stiffness. This discovery also provided an answer to what constitutes perfect bonding.
Vibration Based Approach for Structural Health in Retrofitting or Rehabilitation of Construction Buildings
Authors: Rafaat Hussein
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Reports after reports have documented the fragility state of many buildings and called for the urgent attention because of their critical disrepair state due to aging and degradation. Delaying prompt actions implies a high risk of catastrophic failures and probable human loss. Retrofitting and rehabilitation provide remedies to reduce the vulnerability of those systems. Almost always, data about the structural health of the components in a building being considered for retrofitting or rehabilitation is required for any engineering calculations. Nonetheless, the true structural condition is challenging to the practitioners in many projects because of the complexity of geometry, framing systems, detailing of connections, workmanship, etc. This paper is an attempt to deal with these complexities in an easy to apply procedure yet leading to reliable and fast outcomes. It will present a novel approach to assess the stiffness of joints of aged members based on the rigorous vibration fundamentals that have been proven reliable. The procedure requires a widely available and affordable signal conditioner, and an algorithm that can be easily developed in a spreadsheet. The method has been successfully evaluated via numeric results obtained.
Co-Design of a Sustainable Affordable Housing Demonstration Project
Authors: Lisa D. Iulo, Chauntel Duriez, & Kyle Macht
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Housing affordability is a rising concern for many Americans, especially those of modest needs. The design and construction of energy and resource-conscious environmentally sustainable homes that are affordable in the short- and long-term are a paramount challenge. A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a private, non-profit organization whose goal is to acquire and hold land for the benefit of the community and to provide secure affordable access to land and housing for community residents. The mission of the State College Community Land Trust (SCCLT) is to “support vibrant neighborhoods by creating and maintaining sustainable housing opportunities for families and individuals who value living in the Borough of State College” (http://www.scclandtrust.org/clt/), a neighborhood with scarce opportunity for affordable, owner-occupied housing. Through a partnership with the Energy Efficient Housing Research group (EEHR), an outreach arm of the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture Hamer Center for Community Design, SCCLT is embarking on their first new building project – a zero energy ready residential duplex on a highly visible site in the property-constrained Borough. The duplex, once completed, will provide homes for two families of modest incomes and will be a demonstration for sustainable, affordable housing in the region. Fueled by challenges posed by the Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home program and Race to Zero student design competition, the “co-design” for the SCCLT GreenBuild demonstration project engages a diverse cross-disciplinary student and multiple-faculty team with community housing and construction leaders in an educational exchange centered on ideals for improving housing performance and community.
Validation of Integrated Performance Model for Sustainable Envelope Performance Assessment and Design
Authors: Joseph Iwaro & Abrahams Mwasha
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Many building performance assessment methods have been developed across the world while their designed goal of achieving building sustainability is yet to be achieved. The important shortcomings of these methods include lack of life cycle performance assessment framework for life cycle cost, life cycle energy efficiency, life cycle embodied energy, life cycle carbon emission, thermal energy, inability to connect performance value with weight, inadequate coverage of sustainability issues associating with buildings, lack of multi criteria analysis framework and lack of consideration for social issues. An Integrated Performance Model for sustainable envelope performance assessment and design (IPM-SEPAD) has been developed for the building envelope to address these shortcomings. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to validate the IPM-SEPAD outcomes from the envelope design alternative application with experimental investigation outcomes involving three physical envelope models.
An Approach to Analytically Modeling Modular Vertical Expansions
Authors: Anthony Jellen & Ali M. Memari
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Multi-story modular construction methods may offer advantages over site-intensive construction methods for some vertical expansion projects. Vertical expansions can be design-intensive depending on the condition of the existing building and the availability of design documentation. Feasibility of a modular vertical expansion is highly dependent on a variety of factors such as local ordinance and code, the building construction type and use, as well as the site and existing building conditions.
Identifying those factors that can adversely affect feasibility on complex projects, such as vertical expansion, can often be difficult in the preliminary design stages. Front-end planning tools can be used to help identify those factors early on in the preliminary design stages to help eliminate costly design errors. In modular projects, design errors could have an amplified effect due to the inability to make design changes after module production has begun.
In this paper, some of the factors that can affect the feasibility of a modular vertical expansion are explored, and the benefits of using a coarse finite-element modeling approach to help identify those factors are discussed. A case study is used to demonstrate this approach and provide project-specific factors, some of which can be generalized to other modular applications. The results of the case study show the important planning information that can be obtained by studying generalized structure behavior in the front-end portion of the design.
Different Methods in Building Envelope Energy Retrofit
Authors: Ehsan Kamel & Ali M. Memari
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
With about 40% of energy consumption in U.S.A in 2011 consumed by Residential and Commercial sectors, different energy retrofit measures that lead to reduction in energy consumption for these sectors can result in a significant change in total energy consumption nationwide. Therefore, it is important to study the existing energy retrofit methods and investigate how effective these methods can be. These measures can be categorized into three main groups, including energy retrofit and improvement of the building envelope, mechanical, and electrical systems. This paper focuses mainly on different methods of building envelope energy retrofit. Examples of such methods include installation of exterior insulation such as rigid foam to wall or roof, installation of cool/warm roof, reducing air infiltration, changing window properties such as SHGC, application of PCM and Aerogel in different envelope components, and adding overhangs. The required data for this study are obtained from experimental and numerical studies available in the literature. Moreover, a computer model is developed using BEopt to study and compare the effectiveness of single and multiple retrofit methods in a residential building.
Sustainability: What’s That, and So What?
Authors: Andy Lau
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
In this paper I try to do two things. One is to describe what is really important to understand about sustainability. Two is to relate that understanding to homes. I’ve been working on understanding and applying sustainability to engineering education and buildings for over 25 years. In my book in progress on sustainability, three key ideas are identified: growth, happiness, and nature. An overarching concept is that of connectedness – to each other, to our communities, and to nature. The paper will explore these ideas, including how our current beliefs and expectations changed with time. You could say that sustainability is a projection of those changing beliefs into the future.
We already see sustainability beginning to be expressed in housing. New home size is leveling off. I expect a gradual decline in size, reflecting both a decline in materialism, and a rise in being more connected outside the home. Along with that, homogeneous suburbs will give way to diverse neighborhoods with more multifamily, multigenerational households. Walking and being outdoors will lead to more parks and greenways. There will be lots more home gardens, community gardens and neighborhood workshops.
On the technology side, buildings will be better insulated and more air-tight, with integrated energy recovery systems, and high-efficiency heat pumps, for space heating and water heating. The house systems will include the family’s electric cars and bicycles. Houses will be built to utilize sunlight for light, heat, and electricity, and outside air for ventilation and cooling. Overall we’ll live in homes and neighborhoods that better fit our changing norms and visions of happiness and sustainability.
A Study on Residential Fires due to Electrical Faults in Hong Kong
Authors: H.M. Lee, W.K. Chow, & H.Y. Hung
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Accidental home fires lead to life and property losses. Electrical fault is one of the causes of residential fires, and its potential hazard is increasing as more electrical appliances are found in each household unit nowadays. Wiring has a higher possibility to be ignited. There were even cases reported that the television set caught fire. Possible reasons for electrical fires in residential buildings will be studied in this paper. Ignition of a television set by itself was taken as an example for experimental investigation. Television set can be a source of fire, insulation and wiring may be weakened and cause fire due to ageing problem. Although the possibility of ignition of a television by itself is low, it is recommended to plug off the socket from the power supply for isolation when the television is not in use.
A Brief Discussion on Fire Safety Issues of Subdivided Housing Units in Hong Kong
Authors: K.K. Leung & C.L. Chow
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Subdivided unit (SDU) is a new type of residential housing affordable to the fundamental class citizens of Hong Kong. A flat is subdivided into smaller units in both domestic buildings and industrial buildings without government approval. Fire hazard of SDUs is a public concern, which should be assessed properly.
In this paper, fire hazards of SDU will be discussed. Fire regulations for SDUs by the local government will be summarized. Fire accidents happened in SDUs will be briefly reported. A survey was carried out on the potential fire hazards of SDUs located in eight residential buildings and two industrial buildings. Based on the surveyed results, recommendations were made along four areas on fire safety auditing; upgrading the design, installation and maintenance of appropriate fire safety provisions; raising the awareness of occupants on fire safety and providing suitable training; and the establishment of a Building Fire Warden System.
Flashover Fires in Small Residential Units with an Open Kitchen
Authors: J. Liu & W.K. Chow
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
The open kitchen design in small residential units where fire load density and occupant load are very high introduces additional fire risk. One big concern is that whether flash-over can occur which may trigger a big post flashover fire, resulting in severe casualties and big property damage. It is important to understand and predict the critical conditions for flashover in this kind of units. Based on a two-layer zone model, the probability of flashover is investigated by a nonlinear dynamical model. The temperature of the smoke layer is taken as the only state variable and the evolution equation is developed in the form of a simplified energy balance equation for the hot smoke layer. Flashover is considered to occur at bifurcation points. Then the influence of the floor dimensions and the radiation feedback coefficient on flashover conditions is examined. When the dimensions of the floor vary, the resulting changes in internal surface area or size of floor area both have effect on the flashover conditions. When the radiation feedback coefficient is of small value, there is no possibility of flashover. With the increase of the radiation feedback coefficient, at first it significantly affects the conditions for flashover and then moderately when it reaches a larger value. It is proved that the flashover phenomenon can be demonstrated well by nonlinear dynamical system and it helps to understand the effect of various control parameters.
Evaluation of Shading the Solid Parts of Building Envelopes under Climate Chang Scenarios in Egypt
Authors: Mohamed M. Mahdy & Marialena Nikolopoulou
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
As a vital method for mitigating the solar radiation effect on buildings, shading is considered of paramount importance, especially in Egypt as a hot arid climate country, with very high solar radiation intensity most of the year. Hence, the importance of studying shading strategies against future climate change emerged. Therefore, current practice of construction industry in Egypt needs to consider passive architectural design for residential buildings, which consume about 20% of the energy consumed in the built environment, and emit about 4% of CO2. Wherefore, this paper focuses on the determination of the optimum ratios for shading the solid parts of the building envelope in three main climatic zones in Egypt, under different climate change scenarios, to support both policy and decision makers taking steps forward towards energy efficiency obligations in Egypt. To achieve this objective, multiple dynamic thermal simulations have been conducted in order to evaluate the effect of the solid parts shading while maintaining the optimum thermal comfort conditions, reducing energy consumption and gaining long-term financial benefits. All the possible combinations (for a certain set of assumptions) of shading the solid parts of the envelope were tested for the different orientations (South, East, and West). The findings confirm the secondary role of shading the solid part of the building envelope once appropriate thermal insulation and fenestration have been selected to achieve thermal comfort and long term cost effectiveness, while minimising the energy consumption.
Changing paradigms of Affordable Housing in Independent India
Authors: M. Mukherjee, U. K. Roy, A. Biswas, K. Arora, B. De, & A. Srivastava
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Housing policies in India evolved with country’s transformation since Independence. These policies shaped the vision of quality living and devised tools to resolve the housing need. Recently launched housing policy Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY-2015) attempts to accommodate development dynamics and aspiration of the country at present. The article would outline following objectives:
a) Paradigm shifts in housing policies
b) Land and Finance mechanisms in Affordable Housing (AH)
c) Opportune moments to integrate sustainability: Sustainable Total Living Environment for Affordable Housing (SUSTLE-AH) model
Scope for discussion in the paper is evolution of housing and AH policy, the PMAY and the SUSTLE-AH model. Review of Indian housing policy brings out broad attitudinal changes in Government’s role from direct provider with social welfare approach, to facilitator. Land and finance mechanisms, earlier failed to help lower income groups to access housing due to flawed policy and its implementation. The PMAY’s target to provide housing for all in 500 class I cities by 2022, is a colossal task; this requires careful treading to ensure the mission enables millions of targeted beneficiaries to possess housing. Land and finance are two biggest constraints in AH. To acquire larger parcel of land, government has devised models like Joint venture (JV), Land reform, Indirect intervention. This paper explores emerging means to access housing finance for affordable housing through PMAY.
AH through PMAY presents an opportune moment for the country to provide quality living to large number of population. The SUSTLE-AH model experiments with such alternatives which duly recognize extreme variety in socio-cultural and climatic contexts in different parts of the country. The paper concludes with an overview on land, finance and sustainable concept integration in housing through PMAY.
Out of Site: A Pedagogical Perspective of Emerging Transitions in Architectural Practice
Authors: Shivaram Punathambekar, Lisa Iulo, & Nathaniel Belcher
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Energy Efficiency is one of the five strategic themes of the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE), which has supported a Sustainable Housing Initiative (SHI) that intends to leverage faculty and student expertise on residential building planning, design, and construction. The goal of this initiative is ambitious - to initiate a process that will radically transform the residential building sector, with partners that will scale-up innovation to a regional and eventually national or international scale. There is significant interest and expertise related to these ideals at the Pennsylvania State University notably within the Stuckeman School.
As a short-term agenda for the collaborative team of the Sustainable Housing Initiative, two classes worked in coordination with Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant (OPP) and Housing, Food Services and Residence Life to improve the environmental performance of buildings on campus, particularly the new residence halls. The intended outcome of this challenge can be achieved as outlined below by approaching it through two different methods - curriculum and research; two strengths of Penn State.
As a curricular idea, a ‘real’ project was used to make suggestions from the sustainability standpoint to enhance a Request For Proposal (RFP) document for Trippe Hall, a proposed design-build residence hall project on the Behrend campus of Penn state. This project was chosen as a case study for projects assigned to Architecture and Architectural Engineering (AE) students in the fall semester of 2014. While the Architectural Engineering students in the ARCH 441 studio produced design proposals for Trippe Hall with a focus on environmental design using their expertise in building systems; the Architecture students in the ARCH 412 seminar class worked in a series of integrative design charrettes to develop presentations of sustainable strategies relevant to Trippe Hall. The two student groups worked in a collaborative manner – the ARCH 412 class acted as consultants on sustainable practices to help enrich the design projects of the ARCH 441 students. Both groups engaged with ‘client’ representatives from Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant and Housing and Food Services on a regular basis.
The information gathered and analysis developed during this curricular effort are informing a larger agenda of the Sustainable Housing Initiative – the process of leveraging the University’s strong research base to distill the lessons learnt from this collaborative project and understand the potential implications for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.
Ferrocast Structural Elements For Mass Housing For Low Income Group In India
Authors: Arun N. Purandare & Mrudula Kulkarni
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
The present work aims at providing structural design and methods of manufacturing of structural components designed using light weight ferrocast cement. The Ferrocast technology uses reinforced cement mortar to cast structural components of low cost housing scheme. The method of manufacturing these structural components is suggested. This method of manufacturing when employed for mass manufacturing of components, will control cost of housing at minimum level. The method of construction suggested promotes fast construction, making it advantageous, economical in many situations. The technology proposed for low cost housing using ferrocast cement uses light weight elements, low technology manufacturing and quick responses to constructional need, hence this proposes a solution that is unmatched with normal reinforced concrete construction. This poses a very good alternative for construction industry to face ever increasing demand of low cost, mass housing in India.
Opportunities and Constraints for Townhouse Developments Meeting DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Home Standard
Authors: Dr. Georg Reichard & Oluwateniola Ladipo
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
This paper discusses opportunities and various constraints that arise when attempting to meet the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) Standard for townhouse developments. Besides a broader analysis of economical limits of performance for different consumption categories, the paper discusses the specific constraints that arise for production homebuilders when trying to meet this design goal. This study builds on findings that emerged from a submission to DOE’s Race to Zero Student Competition and expands the application to constraints and opportunities for other climate zones. The submitted design proposal and analysis yielded interesting findings that can be of high relevance for other production builders looking into ZERH, as it identified focus areas of performance that are different to single family detached homes. The paper also discusses the modeling challenges and limitations of the software tools that are currently utilized to demonstrate that ZERH requirements are met.
Shear wall Design in Residential Construction: A Comparison of Methods
Authors: Ryan Solnosky & M. Kevin Parfitt
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Current building codes and standards for residential construction are complex and easily misunderstood when it comes to the requirements pertaining to wood shear walls that act as the lateral load resisting system. These walls fall under two categories: engineered or prescriptive in regards to design. This paper will discuss a comparison of provisions and guidelines between the IBC, IRC, NDS, and WFCM. Details will focus on the differences, limitations, and general processes necessary to conduct wood shear wall designs. The results will give designers and builders a better understanding of the complexity of shear wall code provisions and how to go about designing and constructing shear walls through clarifying code intent. Other propriety systems or uncommon engineering-critical solutions will also be discussed and how to approach those projects.
Innovating Continuous Exterior Insulation
Authors: Theresa A. Weston
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
As the need to reduce energy usage and carbon consumption has increased, the need for energy efficient building envelopes has increased. The application of continuous exterior insulation in frame construction is a key technology to achieving an energy efficient building envelope. Continuous exterior insulation includes a variety of products, including insulating sheathing and insulated claddings and while these products have long been available, recent advances in the energy codes have spurred innovation in products and application techniques. This paper reviews the benefits of exterior continuous insulation, including the increase in wall effective R- value, reduction of thermal bridging, and reduction of potential for vapor condensation. The challenges of integrating exterior insulation into a wall system, including the complications of interfaces with other building components and the reduction in wall drying potential and water management will also be reviewed. Finally, this paper will describe recently introduced continuous insulation products and explore how they meet these challenges.
Concepts for High Temperature Furnace Testing of Scaled Building Members and Connections under Axial Load
Authors: Farshad Zahmatkesh, Ali Memari, Aly Said, Bryan Griffin, & Paul Kremer
Publication Date: 3/2/2016
Description:
Fire can have one of the most damaging and harmful exposure conditions on building components throughout their life-cycle. Recent developments in building materials and designs, such as new architectural trends in sustainable, green, and energy-efficient focused materials and components, have introduced new fire scenarios. Lack of adequate understanding of the behavior of new and emerging materials under fire and high temperature conditions can lead to unpredicted property damage or injury of building occupants. One objective of this paper is to review documented full-scale fire tests on building components and identify potential constraints and conditions that will yield suitable alternative testing options at the small scale. Reduced cost and time and safety considerations make fire testing of small-scale specimens a desired alternative to full-scale fire testing. In the current study, the use of a scaled-down model and full-scale, but small-size connections are considered for small-scale electric lab furnace as alternatives to conventional, full-scale fire testing. This elevated temperature testing approach allows developing a better understanding of the behavior of certain materials and connections when exposed to high temperature under structural load by more convenient and affordable means.
