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Have you been present when an energy audit is being conducted on a home?

Even if you have a pretty good idea of where air leaks are occurring, there can be surprises and some simple cost-effective solutions.

While you hear messages to unplug the chargers responsible for ‘phantom loads’, it is even wiser to consider that there might be literally gaping holes in your home from which hard-earned money could be escaping!

I recently had our home inspected for an energy audit and discovered the air is changing nearly 4 times in an hour (air leakage at 50 Pa). That almost feels like someone is leaving a door open in the winter! The horror subsided when the inspector gave me some practical inexpensive solutions, as well as a range of mid and high priced remedies.

I called several local independent contractors and selected Green_Tech_Services

I was looking for a company with an auditor that would use a thermal imaging camera, since I wanted to “see” the air leaks! (That"s my interior design training!)

Thermal imaging is a visual display of the amount of heat radiated, reflected or transmitted from a surface or an object.  The camera allowed me to ‘see’ the temperature on a surface by converting the infrared spectrum to the visible spectrum.

Green Window Architecture How design professionals can select windows and enhance their value-added with clients

Inline Fiberglass Ltd. presents

Dayle Laing, B.A.Sc., Dip. Interior Design, LEED®AP

at their showroom & manufacturing plant at

30 Constellation Court, Etobicoke

 

on your choice of two dates:

Wednesday, February 15 or Tuesday, March 20, 2012

11:00am-12:00pm

“Windows are the weak link in terms of energy efficiency and cold-weather comfort.  Windows can account for up to 30 percent of the heat loss from a conventional home, adding significantly to heating costs.” (Natural Resources Canada)

Learn about window energy performance rating factors like R-value, U-value, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, Air Leakage and Condensation Resistance, and how proper window choices can make a significant difference for your clients. Whether you are ‘up on physics’ or just want the straight goods you can explain to your clients, this seminar is for you.

Many of your clients are having energy audits performed, are renovating or are looking for the best value when they put on additions. Invest an hour of your time to update your expertise.

Dayle combines her passion for green design, her decades of interior design teaching and her practical experience to entertain and educate you with this valuable seminar.

Inline Fiberglass Ltd.’s window and door showroom and manufacturing plant will be available for touring following the presentation. They are located centrally near the airport, with free parking. There will be a draw for professional text books.

Registration:

Select your preferred date, and register conveniently for this complimentary seminar.  There is limited seating, so register early.

Downloadable pdf flyer:

green_window_architecture_seminar_feb_15_mar_20_2012.pdf

Published in the Journal of Green Building, Fall 2011, Volume 6, Issue 4, this paper was written by Dayle Laing and Walter F. Kean (MD (Glas), FRCP (Edin, Glas, & C), Clinical Professor in Medicine (Rheumatology), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The_Greening_of_Healthcare_Fabrics_Abstract_Link

“There is no separation between environmental issues and health issues” (Smith and Lourie, 2010 a). Researchers from Environment Canada (Muir and Zegarac, 2001) estimate that North American healthcare costs and lost productivity linked to environmental factors total between $568 billion and $793 billion per year ($46 billion and $52 billion for Canada alone). These are staggering numbers and could be easily overlooked when various government budgets are examined as “silos” and the interconnectivity of the environment and health care costs are not considered. They are costs borne both financially and in terms of quality of life.

The greening of healthcare textiles is a topic of great importance for the overall greening of healthcare spaces due to the large number of chemicals used in the production of fabrics. Both patients and healthcare workers are exposed to these chemicals through dermal contact, inhalation, and ingestion. Hospital “green” teams and purchasing agents need to be aware of how to best select textiles for their facilities.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a comprehensive internationally recognized standard for certification and construction of green buildings (Canada Green Building Council, 2004a). The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) started this program in 1993, and there are currently non-profit green building councils in 77 countries around the world (World Green Building Council, 2010). LEED standards are set for energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources, and sustainable locations. Innovation and education are also rewarded in the certification process. Verifiable third-party standards are set for practical and measurable design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings. Programs are available for commercial and residential buildings and neighbourhoods. The USGBC is currently developing a program specifically for healthcare (US Green Building Council, 2010).

The general principles from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) (Canada Green Building Council, 2004a) provide the analytical framework for the five criteria for selecting textiles for healthcare use presented in Table 1.

Are electricity costs going through the roof? (David_Laing) wondered, so he analyzed 5 years of his home utility invoices.

If your electricity bill is anything like ours you’ll understand why this was a non-trivial task. Multiple lines of confusing and inconsistent charges make it difficult to compare and imply there might be something hidden or manipulated.

David said, "I duly entered each line item into an Excel spreadsheet, comparing the annualized numbers ending in September 2011 to the same period ending September 2006". Pleasant surprise – our average monthly bill actually dropped 26% from $152 in 2006 to $112 in 2011! Was this due to lower prices or reduced consumption? 

In an earlier article, Big_Impact_Energy_Decision Dayle described how the replacement of our aging chest freezer with a newer, smaller one plus a second fridge was projected to save us over $200/year. In addition, 4 years ago, we upgraded to a high efficiency furnace with a direct drive fan, and 2 years ago, we installed Energy Star efficient appliances when we remodelled the kitchen. Of course there was also the systematic replacement of incandescent light bulbs with LEDs and compact fluorescents. What was the impact of these changes to our electricity consumption?

Healthcare textiles may pose a serious risk to health and safety when patients and healthcare workers are unknowingly exposed to chemicals of concern.

A scientific Poster and Abstract citation “Greening of Healthcare – Fabrics used in Healthcare Facilities" by Dayle Laing and Walter F. Kean (Clinical Professor in Medicine, McMaster University) was presented July 4-6, 2011 at the International Conference on 20 years of Inflammopharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. Scientific_Poster

Many studies have been done on acute or chronic exposure of large doses of these chemicals and toxicity profiles have been identified. However it is difficult to assess the risk of exposure of these chemicals at low doses, over a long period of time, or consider the risk on patients who are already immuno-compromised.

This research focuses on an analysis of textile toxicity as designated by agency, and which healthcare choices minimize the toxicity.

Dayle is available to present the findings of this research in a seminar for your group. Please contact the office at info@daylelaing.com or 905-846-3221.

Designers love positive clients. Clients love positive designers. Experts tell us to focus on our goals. How to be sustainable. Select sustainable design. Reduce our carbon footprint.

These goals require some thought before they become second nature to us. At vacation time, our goals become simpler. Have fun and see some whales!

During my annual sea kayaking trip with my sisters, fun was a very easily attainable goal. However, killer whales had shown up only briefly one day the previous week and no one could predict when the giant mammals would return to their salmon feeding grounds in the ecological reserve Robson Bight in Johnstone Strait. There are only 80 Resident Orcas in the northern Vancouver Island population.

Christine Heyman, Benjamin Moore & Dayle Laing at CaGBC SymposiumAs a LEED Accredited Professional, I am often asked the trends in beautiful sustainable interior design. I recently attended the Canada Green Building Council Symposium in Toronto to find out the latest, and discovered that old is new!

At the CaGBC conference last year in Vancouver (see links at bottom of this article to previous posts), I was once again struck by the genuine positive “can do” attitude that prevailed at this symposium. The professionals attending were all helpful, cooperative and the mood was uplifting.

The trend for reusing existing materials is one that would have gladdened the hearts of people like my father, who lived through the great depression of the early 20th century. He believed “you never know when you might need something”. We have attained a level of sophistication where valuable resources are preserved, bought, and sold, or donated. They are not stored to gather dust in the basement.

Mark Gorgolowski, Ryerson University professor presented some inspiring examples of “resource salvation”. For example, Mountain Equipment Coop tore down an old building in Ottawa, catalogued the materials, and then incorporated the components into the new design. He noted that the “Building reuse” credit is one that has not been well used in LEED certification, and added we need to overcome the perceived risk that “used is 2nd best”. Older components may be in fact of superior quality! Design fees may be higher and contractors may take extra time to become familiar with the materials, but materials are typically less expensive or may be free if already on site.

Canadian Living online article by author Kristy Wright featured an interview with Dayle Laing for her eco-chic tips on sustainable interior design.

Dayle Laing, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional and Principal Designer of Dayle Laing Interior Designs in Brampton, Ont.

"Choose simple, local and high-quality products that bring you joy and make you smile every time you see and use them. Cherish your family heirlooms. Avoid any products that have odours and lists of ingredients difficult to pronounce. Finally, select products that draw the least amount of power and have logos such as Energy Star, EnerGuide, Green Seal, Greenguard, Green Label, EcoLogo, Cradle to Cradle and Forest Stewardship Council – these show they've been independently tested and certified."

Dayle's eco-tips

"When planning a kitchen don't forget about kitchen waste. Use containers that make it simple and convenient to sort recycling and compostable items, such as this kitchen's stainless-steel compost pail that was built into the counter. Select high-quality LED systems for kitchen lighting (the under-cabinet lighting in this kitchen is LED) and use dimmer controls for task and mood lighting. When I began this kitchen, LED pendant lights weren't available so I used dimmable halogens that have an infrared coating – this provides the same light at 35 watts as a regular bulb of 50 watts. The good news is that now LED pendant lights are available."

Canadian_Living_Magazine_interviews_Dayle_Laing_for_Eco-chic_interior_design_tips 

How would you feel if ¼ of your household electricity consumption walked out the door in the form of one appliance?

Hooray! That’s what I felt. Men from the “Great Refrigerator Roundup” program in my municipality picked up my old still-operating chest freezer and took it away for recycling.

It is time for us to identify the major energy culprits. A colleague of mine takes issue with our focus on tiny culprits like cell phone charger phantom loads, while we ignore the big energy-draw items!

I bake my own bread and purchase organic flour in bulk, which I stored in this 30 year old freezer. Lately, I noticed that the freezer compressor was running all the time!

Dayle Laing, LEED AP, provided practical advice for selecting sustainable residential and commercial interior fabrics that will meet clients’ needs for health and the environment.

Fabrics 101, an IDCEC accredited seminar, encompasses the most current research on textile certification and scientific research on toxicity.

Interior Designers and Interior Decorators were hosted in the showroom of Sun Glow Window Covering Products of Canada Ltd. in Toronto on February 17, 2011. Vivian Kanargelidis, owner of Sun Glow, showed the designers who stayed on for lunch, the Trevira CS fabric she recently sourced in Germany at Heimtextil, the international textile trade show. Vivian remarked that commercial architects and interior designers are demanding a flame retardant fabric without PVC vinyl for their sun screen window shade requirements.

Sun screens are used extensively in projects with large windows requiring the comfort of light control and preventing solar heat gain.

Attendees made the following comments:

Dayle, I gained an immense amount of knowledge during your presentation Fabrics 101. Thank you for the references to so many worthwhile websites to assist us as designers / decorators. I feel I can offer my clients & family better information going forward.”

Jane Campbell, Woodbridge, ON

Excellent! I learned a great deal.”

Helen Moffett, Toronto, ON

One flush - 3 litres - waste gone! There is scepticism about how such a low volume toilet can possibly work with one flush. Personal experience shows it does work! When I realized that the flapper in my 5 year old constantly leaking toilet was disintegrating at the edges, likely from municipally chlorinated water, I knew I needed to make a change. I needed a toilet without a flapper and I remembered that I wrote an article mentioning the Proficiency toilet last year.

Proficiency toilets were installed in the Chapelview LEED Platinum affordable housing project in Brampton, Canada. At the Construct Canada trade show, I met Tom Lazarou of Water_Matrix distributor for Canadian designed Hennessy & Hinchcliffe’s Proficiency.

Handling kitchen waste is easy when it is set up right to achieve sustainable interior design.

Making it work and making it into a habit is all about having a convenient efficient system.

For many years, I deposited vegetable peelings into a hand-thrown pottery jar obtained on a trip to Crathes Castle in Scotland.  That worked until one winter day when I slipped on ice on the way to the backyard composter, and down crashed the jar. The glue gun repaired it somewhat.

Shortly after, the city created a municipal composting program and supplied a plastic lidded pail for use on the counter or stowed under the sink.  Under the sink was inconveniently low and on the counter was not particularly elegant. One of my clients keeps their plastic pail in a drawer beside the sink.

The renovation of my kitchen last year was the chance to make a truly wonderful waste system that is one of my favourite features in the kitchen!

Dayle Laing presented “Greening Healthcare Fabrics” to an enthusiastic group of green team members and physicians at the EcoCare 2010 conference on October 19, 2010 in London, Ontario.

EcoCare 2010 - Understanding Our Impact...Creating Positive Change, is “the only conference in Canada to speak directly to the link between healthcare and the environment, and presents both practical and innovative ways to encourage and inspire ecological stewardship within the Canadian healthcare sector”.

 

Her main point was avoid chemical finishes where possible, to minimize toxic exposure to chemicals for immunocompromised patients and staff. She described her selection criteria based on the principles of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and explained the relevant third party certifications for textiles. Fabrics to avoid and more importantly, suggestions for what fabrics to use instead were made.

Dayle had the opportunity to travel to London the prior evening to join the conference and hear the keynote speech from the leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, who affirmed the importance of this conference and this direction for healthcare professionals.

Do you use fabric softener or dryer sheets and want to avoid 'greenwashing'?

If so, have you considered what value they are providing to the textiles or to you? Laundering our personal and interior fabrics is a repetitive task that most of us perform without thinking what products we are using and why we are using them.

I recently presented a seminar at a healthcare medical conference, EcoCare 2010 in London, Ontario. In my topic “Greening of Healthcare Fabrics”, we discussed the toxicity of fabric softener use for hospital fabrics for patients, staff and hospital visitors, and what alternatives to consider instead.

Fabrics should not always require fabric softeners, and should be especially avoided for polyester or ‘microfibre’ fabrics because they interfere with the natural wicking abilities of the fibre which draws moisture away from the body and makes us comfortable.[1] Fabric softeners work as surfactants by reducing the surface tension and allow the spreading of their antibacterial and antifungal properties by leaving a residue on fabrics that does not easily wash off. [2] Fabric softeners are added either to the final rinse cycle of machine washing or in the form of softener-impregnated dryer sheets.

When does green building and designing stop being about merely saving energy, reducing our carbon footprint and start being about how comfortable we are and how few colds we catch?

The keynote speaker at the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) annual conference in Vancouver addressed these issues in her presentation, “Green Design for a Sustainable & Shared Quality of Life”. Vivian Loftness, FAIA, LEED AP, USGBC Board of Directors, Carnegie Mellon University Center for Building Performance & Diagnostics, is an internationally renowned researcher, author and educator with over 30 years experience in environmental design and sustainability.

As a LEED AP and member of the CaGBC, I had the pleasure of hearing Vivian speak about her research and have prepared this, my 4th article on the 2010 Vancouver conference. (If you missed the earlier articles, all are posted on my blog.) I found her research most valuable as I prepare and deliver interior design sustainability seminars.

We are not using energy for its highest and best purpose,

After explaining precisely what is toxic about our home and commercial textiles,

Dayle Laing proceeded to suggest positive alternatives for making safe and more environmentally friendly fabric choices to a group of Interior Designers. Her Fabrics 101 seminar was hosted in the showroom of Suzanne Brown & Associates, in the heart of Toronto's Designers Walk. Dayle based her textiles selection criteria on her extensive studying of the latest research in this area, her LEED AP, and her 2 decades of teaching and practice in this field.

Here are some comments from the designers who attended the event:

Very informative for a topic that has very little reliable information available.”

Jeffrey Douglas, Toronto, ON

This should be required information for anyone working in this industry. Great seminar.”

Brenda Lukacsy, Toronto, ON

Dayle's obvious passion for her research on environmentally improved products and how we as designers/decorators can help educate our own clients to make wise "Green" choices, shone through again.  The session was jam packed with extremely current and useful information about the industry that I previously was not aware of, despite my recent formal education in the field of interiors and my university degree in textile science. I think everyone in the field of design would really benefit from attending one or all of Dayle's seminars!" 

Janelle Withers, Toronto, ON

Your knowledge is fantastic and I really learnt so much. I can’t thank you enough for sharing your wisdom with us.”

Tamara Topornicki-Holdip, Toronto, ON

How to build or renovate homes to be green, save energy and money and reduce our carbon footprint. This is my 3rd article on information presented at the annual conference of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) in Vancouver, in June, 2010.

(Check this blog, if you missed the 1st two articles and want to catch up.)

Derek Hikson from Minto_Homes and Allan Dobie from Canada Mortgage and Housing, presented “Incorporating LEED for Homes in Sustainable Communities”.  CMHC is currently assisting 13 housing projects across Canada with their EQuilbrium™ Housing Initiative, which “offers builders and developers across the country a unique opportunity to stand out as market leaders by building healthier homes and sustainable communities”.

Derek said that Minto believes it has a corporate responsibility, that there is a market for green building and that they can make a profit. They offer homes at different levels of certification with different price points. Most interesting is their calculation that shows mortgage + utility costs per month with expected pay back time for each option. (This is one area consumers and designers often overlook, in my opinion: the total lifecycle operating cost for a purchase decision.)

In the Minto projects, they claim the largest effect is achieved with a tight building envelope. They are orienting the homes and using overhanging roofs for solar gain, constructing double-studded walls with cellulose blown insulation totaling R-60, and using triple paned windows with low-E and argon fill. They focus on

Several people have asked what I learned about LEED for Homes at the annual conference of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) in Vancouver, in June, 2010. What are the latest green building standards in residential housing?

There were several excellent presentations made on this program that has just celebrated its first anniversary in Canada and boasts of more than 500 homes registered. Commercial projects have had a head-start in building green. Since homes use relatively less power, we might conclude that our little efforts do not matter much. According to Stats Canada, we have a population of 34 million, so the volume of homes is significant, as it is in every developed country in the world. As the cost of fossil fuels mount in the future, those positioned with these new home building technologies will be the ones smiling.

In Canada, there have been several green building programs available over the last 20 years: EnerGuide, Energy Star, R2000, Built Green, and LEED® for Homes.

 

Have you ever wondered what you would have to give up to live off the grid?

Are you willing to live without some of your daily pleasures? Does this have to be ‘all’ or ‘nothing’, and can technology solve it all, so we don’t have to choose?

Freshly returned from my 7th annual sea kayaking adventure with my two sisters, I am pondering our experience of staying at an off-grid lodge on Read Island near the coast of British Columbia.

Nestled at the top of Evans Bay, surrounded by rugged coastline and rich sea life, and located several kilometers from the nearest post office at Surge Narrows, Coast_Mountain_Expeditions consists of a main lodge, several guest cabins and a family home. We were hosted graciously by Ralph and Lannie Keller and their grown son Albert, celebrating 24 years of sharing their wilderness adventure lifestyle.

Albert and Ralph provided expert guiding and instruction for our daily kayak trips. Emphasizing safety skills, they refined our techniques to make the paddling experience more efficient and enjoyable. We were blessed with perfect weather (nearby Campbell River on Vancouver Island logs almost 5 feet of precipitation per year). Ralph commented “you don’t appreciate sunshine until you’ve gone camping in the rain”.

Almost immediately, the wildlife sightings began.

What is the latest in green buildings for the future?

What was the focus of the presentations made at the annual conference of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) in Vancouver, June 2010?

I had the pleasure of attending the 2010 National Conference as a member of CaGBC and as a LEED AP (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Applied Professional). From my 30 pages of notes taken over 2½ days, here is a summary of the most interesting points made about the future for building green.

It was impressive to be in the company of 1300 motivated, passionate delegates. These people are not moaning that the sky is falling; they are making it their business to do something about it and make a difference with their actions. They are generously sharing what they have learned, making it easier for the next interior designer, architect, engineer, developer and contractor. There is a spirit of cooperation and mentorship that is gratifying and encourages me that each of us can make an important contribution as the momentum for green building and design increases.

To kick off the theme, Performance Matters: the next generation of buildings and communities, the Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, said that by 2020, 176 municipal BC governments will participate in the ‘Climate Action Charter’ resulting in new buildings being carbon neutral. 20% of all existing buildings will be retrofitted to be green. All rezoning must be done to LEED® certification standards. There will be 20,000 new green jobs created in Vancouver. The 2010 Winter Olympics showcased green building in the city, including the new LEED Platinum conference centre, which has a living roof the size of 15 hockey rinks. He cited the New York example where all buildings greater than 50,000 square feet must not only be renovated green but also show a payback within 5 years (including the LEED Platinum Bank of America building). The city of Vancouver