BUILDINGS USE ENERGY FOR HEATING & COOLING

Buildings all over the world use energy differently because of their regional climatic. Some parts of the world only use air conditioning for cooling where other countries require heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. Heating or cooling a building require burning fossil fuels and generating emissions.

HEAT WAVES & AIR CONDITIONING

USING FOSSIL FUELS TO HEAT BUILDINGS

Building design temperatures determine the insulation value, HVAC size, energy consumption, GHG emissions, fossil fuel use, Kyoto compliant, dew point, mold, fire integrity and overall compliance with building codes. The amount of heat loss from the building is calculated with amazing accuracy.

The reality is that buildings are designed in a calculator, signed off as compliant and insured because function couldn't be verified. Although laws are in place, the entire national to municipal building process is signed off as compliant and insured.

This page is going to take you out of the calculator and let you see the energy use heating buildings. In order to provide an accurate visual of how energy is used, we employed the most advanced thermography applications in conjunction with building design professionals, construction trades and energy provision backgrounds.

Building Envelope is the exterior walls, roof and floor that separate the indoor environment from the outdoor environment.

Zone Control is the thermostat in your home or office. The number of thermostats you have is dependent on the type of HVAC installed. Better zone control means better energy efficiency, less GHG emissions, electricity savings and less toxins environmentally.

HVAC Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning. Air conditioning has a nice name except air conditioning is in fact refrigeration. Why would we need heating and refrigeration in a building? There is a design problem if you have both.

Emissions is something discharged into the air. When you burn fossil fuels to create electricity or heat, there are emissions from everything that is burned. Everything made in the world is taken from the earth and electricity, gas, etc is used to make cars, boats, buildings, materials and literally everything. The more emissions as a result of producing energy, the bigger the compromise to the environment that sustains your families health.

Sustainable is a word you always hear “sustainable development”, “sustainable economy”, in this case it means to maintain our global ecosystems without impacting future generations. You will hear politics and industry speak about sustainable economy, all has the intent of not impacting future generations. Building Codes are specifically there to maintain a minimum standard and be sustainable.

Certified If you are building, buying, renovating or considering it, ask any professionals involved in the project about their certification and ask to see it, any helpers on the job, ask them about certification or qualifications..i.e. I have been trained to industry standards at a national level. That means I can go work in other regions and be qualified. I have national certification and identification supporting that certification with a number specific to me. If you have a thermography company approach you, ask them how many hours experience they have in the building application and what is their building background? Ask them who recognizes their work and who they have worked for?

HEAT LOSS & THERMAL BRIDGING

The picture shows the finished construction product. The appraiser for the banks, realtors, architects, builders, building inspector, insurer and even the United Nations is expecting this building to be compliant, energy efficient, etc so there are less emissions.

Codes call for the insulation to be uniform, put your mouse over the image to see if the walls look fairly uniform.



You can see in the image there are areas all over the ceiling and walls where there is weak or missing insulation values. This is what contributes to mold and condensation in a building and the heating system will work overtime meaning more emissions, wasted fossil fuels, increased oil dependency, toxic babies, etc.

MISSING CEILING INSULATION

The insulating properties of the building are very important for overall function of the building. We have inspected new buildings with mold because of poor insulation values or installation. Insulation and the installation are the most important part of building function yet requires little experience if any.

The picture shows where the wall and ceiling meet. The home owner had an insulating company come in to blow insulation into the attic space to make the home more energy efficient and comfortable.



The dark areas are where the insulation is missing in the ceiling and it means more energy use, wasted electrical, GHG emissions, wasted fossil fuels, toxic newborns, mold and this is the exact opposite of what is expected at the UN Meeting in Bali. This is the results of the Canadian effort in reducing GHG emissions.

8 FOOT BASEMENT NOT INSULATED

The next picture is typical of a lot of homes where the basements aren't finished. Parts of the walls are insulated and others are left uninsulated for years. The building in the next picture has been functioning like this for 50 years.

The picture was taken of the outside of the building. You can see the stucco on the top of the exterior wall, the lower part is the basement and you can see snow. Ideally the building should be uniformally insulated, put your mouse over the picture and see what energy looks like beyond our visible spectrum.



The brighter area on the right is the uninsulated part of the wall. For 50 years, this building has been functioning like this. Burning more fossil fuels, wasting electrical, toxin newborns, more GHG emissions, lowers air pressure changing weather.

HEAT LOSS AROUND EXTERIOR DOOR

The next picture is typical door construction. Put your mouse over the picture and see if the door is sealed properly so less energy is consumed.



This is a constant heat loss area burning more fossil fuels, wasting electrical generation, more GHG emissions, toxic newborns, etc.

COMMERCIAL BUILDING HEAT LOSS

The next building is called tilt up construction. The heaters are on the roof and the thermostat is 5 feet off the floor. The dark area is the only part of the building that is insulated because it is the showroom.



This building is not code compliant and as a result is burning more fossil fuels, increases oil dependency, more emissions, wasted electrical generation, contributing to lower air pressure and contributing to toxic newborns. In the summer, there will be more complications with this type of design.

This piece of junk is a contradiction of global warming objectives yet this is the type of construction being passed. The Liberal Government through BILL 44 — 2007 GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION TARGETS ACT will only reduce emissions in theory.

DIFFERENT BUILDINGS ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

The next picture references the previous image. A new building has been constructed beside it. Place your mouse over the picture to see the energy use of the buildings.



There is a big difference in building performance. The buildings were inspected by the same municipal building inspection department. The building on the right isn't what the owner is expecting for their investment.

HOME DEPOT HEAT LOSS

Home Depot expects their own buildings to be energy efficient. The building passed inspection and was signed off as compliant. Put your mouse over the image and see the energy used by the building.

The white spots along the top of the wall is where the ceiling trusses are located. They are hot because on the heater location on the roof. It wastes lots of energy trying to heat a building from the top down. The vertical hot lines are the weaker insulated areas in this type of tilt up construction. This is the result of a process without the ability to see building performance.

SCHOOL HEAT LOSS

This is a picture of a public school in the winter. Put your mouse over the picture to see how the school is using energy.



The top of the wall has air leakage that is a cost for the school and the environment. The energy audit completed on the building missed this information in their visual inspection.

SCHOOL HEAT LOSS

The next picture is of the walls in the gymnasium. They are cinder block walls with a framed insulated wall on top of the cinder block wall. Put your mouse over the picture to see the thermal image of the walls energy use.



The block wall is cold and a big heat loss area. The thermostat is 5 feet off the floor and will constantly call for heat with these energy losses. The framed wall is performing better but the heat is wasted up there. Poor design & performance and this wouldn't have been allowed if they could see it.

HEAT LOSS

These are exterior doors in a commercial building. Put your mouse over the picture to see the differences in performance.



The door on the right is using more energy.

Heat loss is one function of a building, link to HEAT GAIN IMAGES to see one of the other functions.

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