I am not sure just what they are thinking here but then what of it.What we really need is internal thin wall insulation along with baseboard heating or its equivalent. I would also think out heatexchangers able to vacate an empty room and drop the temperature tofive degrees.
Other wise the precocious human monkey will fill up every spaceavailable to it with its acquisitions. Which of course why this lineof research is a waste.
No one wishes to step out into the barn.
RYERSON UNIVERSITYRESEARCH EXPLORES FEASIBILITY OF “HOUSE WITHIN A HOUSE” DESIGN
New findings suggestthat changes to home construction design could result in 80% energysavings
December 03, 2012
http://www.ryerson.ca/news/media/General_Public/20121203_rn_richman.html
Ryerson professorRussell Richman (left) with his research partners Ekaterina Tzekovaand Kim Pressnail, in front of the Toronto home that will beretrofitted with their nested thermal envelope design this winter.
As temperatures fallthis winter, heating costs will inevitably rise. In response,Canadians will pull out their slippers, light the hearth andvigilantly monitor their thermostats, but what more can be done?According to collaborative research led by Ryerson University, asimple change in the way we live in our homes, and the introductionof a heat pump, could save up to 80% on energy consumption.
Russell Richman, aprofessor in the Department of Architectural Science atRyerson University, is the co-principal investigator of an on-goingresearch project that explores the practicality of Nested ThermalEnvelope Design, a home construction design that employs zonalheating. Space heating is the largest single contributor toresidential energy use in Canada at 60% of the total. Minimizingenvelope heat losses is one approach to reducing this percentage.Thanks to a construction research grant including $200,000 and$100,000 cash contributions from the Ontario Power Authority'sTechnology and Development Fund and the University of Toronto, thenested thermal envelope design will soon be implemented in a home indowntown Toronto.
“In the winter, youcould get savings by living in a smaller space, period,” saysRichman. “But you can’t just heat one room, because there is noinsulation between one room and the outside or other rooms. To do itreally well, you need to insulate the room and then insulate thewhole house. As we explain it, zonal heating is just a house within ahouse, or a box within a box.”
The nested thermalenvelope design has two key components. First, the home must bedivided into two different zones; the perimeter and the core. Thecore is the home’s main living area, for example, the kitchen, theliving room and bedrooms. The perimeter is those less often usedrooms, such as a formal dining room, sunrooms and secondarybathrooms. Secondly, the home must have a small heating unit thatcycles heat from the perimeter into the core during the winterseason. The heat pump funnels heat lost to the perimeter back intothe core of the home, before it escapes the perimeter and is lost tothe exterior of the home.
To take full advantageof the design, the home’s core must be set at a reasonabletemperature, for example 21 degrees, while the perimeter stays at 5degrees. It is important to note that living in the core of the homeis only necessary during the colder months, when the desire to savemoney on heating costs is at its height and when the disparitybetween indoor and outdoor temperatures is greatest.
This nested thermalenvelope design was originally conceived by Richman and hiscolleague, University of Toronto professor Kim Pressnail, following adiscussion between the pair on the heat loss they were experiencingin their own homes. After considering the practicality of simplyliving in fewer rooms, the researchers experimented with the practiceof living in a smaller space while also recycling heat from withintheir homes. Along with Ph.D. candidate Ekaterina Tzekova, also fromthe University of Toronto, the team has been evaluating variations onnested thermal envelope designs since 2007.
After drafting theoriginal design, the research team tested it using a building energysimulation program, called EnergyPlus. Calculations revealed upto 80% in energy savings.
This winter, theresearchers are moving into the next stage of the project. The nestedthermal envelope design will be implemented into a home in downtownToronto. The team will elect test subjects to live in the home,beginning with a student and, later on, the home will become aresidence for visiting professors. The research team will trackbehaviour patterns and get feedback from the occupants themselves.
“The question is, isit worth the additional effort of installing a heat pump? The pumpneeds to be servicing a lot of energy in order to validate thisdesign,” says Richman. “There are so many researchquestions to be answered with the house. It’s always exciting totake theoretical research and turn it into practice.”
Richman and hiscolleagues hope to collect data from the home and its inhabitantsover the next five years, after which time they will continue theirresearch with a custom built home.
The group’spreliminary findings were published in the November 2012 issueofEnergy and Buildings.
Ryerson University isCanada's leader in innovative, career-oriented education and auniversity clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societalneed, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community,Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs.Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university ishome to more than 28,000 students, including 2,300 master's and PhDstudents, nearly 2,700 faculty and staff, and 140,000 alumniworldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success andgrowth: externally funded research has doubled in the past fiveyears. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education isCanada's leading provider of university-based adult education. Formore information, visitwww.ryerson.ca.
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