Building Science Experts' Session - December 5-6, 2012

Seminar Description

Building Science Experts’ Session is an annual two-day seminar that focuses on advanced building science topics. This session is intended to provide thought provoking professional development for experienced building industry professionals who are interested in healthy, durable and energy efficient new and old buildings.

Day 1 - "Spray Foam Day" with Joseph Lstiburek
Dr. Lstiburek will present a full day session on spray foam issues and solutions using information based on field experience and our laboratory research. Throughout the day, Joe will call in other industry experts for special cameo appearances and invite other BSC researchers to report on recent work. This event will also be available as a one-day, for-pay broadcast live on the internet, with registration starting on November 1.

Evening of Day 1: We will host our traditional beer and pizza evening. This is always a good time to share stories and problems, but we will also hold a buildingscience.com "Industry Expert Discussion" for the group to observe. The evening event will be an informal event open to all in-person participants.

Day 2 - "HVAC for Low-Load Buildings" with John Straube
Dr. Straube will define low and ultra-low load buildings and discuss the enclosures that are needed to get there. Next, the implications of these low load enclosures on heating, ventilation, hot water, and other building systems will be explored. Fossil-fueled, electric, solar and biomass will all be addressed. This session is intended for designers and builders of ultra efficient residential (i.e., Passive House, DOE Challenge Home, and similar) and smaller commercial buildings.

Please note the seminar is being held at the Westford Regency Inn and Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts.

REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED.

Dates and Locations

December 5-6 Westford, MA

Cost

The registration fee for this seminar is $795 USD.
The fee includes lunch but does not include travel or accommodations.

Agenda

Day 1
Schedule	Session	Speaker
8:00 - 8:30	-- Registration --
8:30 - 9:30	1. Spray Foam: The Big Picture	Joseph Lstiburek
9:30 - 10:15	Cameo presentation: Dr. Mark Bomberg on "Understanding the history in order to see the future"
10:15 - 10:30	-- morning break --
10:30 - 11:30	2. Roofs: Problems and Solutions	Joseph Lstiburek
11:30 - 12:00	Cameo presentation - Rick Duncan (SPFA) on "Code and Standards Challenges"
12:00 - 1:00	-- break for lunch --
1:00 - 2:00	3. Walls: Problems and Solutions	Joseph Lstiburek
2:00 - 2:45	Cameo presentation - Paul Duffy (Icynene) on "Low-density Foam Technical Challenges"
2:45 - 3:00	-- afternoon break --
3:00 - 3:30	4. Looking into the Future with Spray Foam	Joseph Lstiburek
3:30 - 4:00	Cameo presentation: Xuaco Pascal / Mary Bogdan (Honeywell) on "Blowing Agents"
4:00 - 4:30	Closing Remarks	Joseph Lstiburek
Day 2
Schedule	Session	Speaker
8:00 - 8:30	1. What is a low-load building? Dr. Straube will review enclosure specifications including insulation levels, airtightness, windows, and internal gains, and then discuss the approach to determining heating and cooling power densities.	John Straube
8:30 - 10:00	2. Existing solutions John will then examine how a typical furnace and air conditioning system should be expected to perform in a low-load enclosure. The relationship between enclosure improvements and mechanical system performance will also be explored for multi-unit residential buildings, including "stacked town houses" (better enclosure, smaller spaces) and large single family homes (better enclosure but may not be low load).	John Straube
10:00 - 10:15	-- morning break --
10:15 - 12:00	3. Mechanical equipment design choices for heating, ventilation, and hot water Turning to the mechanical systems, John will review the choices that are available. Systems to be considered will include ground-source heat pumps, air-source heat pumps, ductless mini-splits, ducted mini-splits, air-to-water heat pumps, combo (or combi) systems, and solar hot water systems. The pros and cons of each will be considered. The important of looking at domestic hot water will be emphasized.	John Straube
12:00 - 1:00	-- break for lunch
1:00 - 2:30	4. Systems design: equipment, distribution, installation concerns The review of mechanical system options will continue in the afternoon session.	John Straube
2:30 - 2:45	-- afternoon break --
2:45 - 3:30	5. Some commercial building applications Some commercial and industrial buildings can be approached in the same way. John will conclude the seminar by discussing the applicability of the previous discussion to these building types.	John Straube
3:30 - 4:00	Closing Remarks	John Straube

Continuing Education

Continuing education credits for this course are pending.

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