BuildingEnergy 16 Schedule: Sessions

Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Session Title Time Session Speakers Areas of Focus
Opening Plenary: Key Challenges and Opportunities of Our Times, Part I

As NESEA and BuildingEnergy lead the charge to create low-energy buildings and transition to renewables, we must also grapple with the broader implications of the ways we build and power our... Full Description

8:30 am to 10:00 am

Reimagining Human Waste as an Opportunity: Water Savings and Urine Reclamation

Leaders of one of the world’s largest toilet manufacturers and a visionary nonprofit will share stories from the leading edge of current water conservation technologies, and a future of entirely... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Beyond Energy*

The Elephant in the Room: How to Affordably Increase the Energy Efficiency of Our Existing Housing Stock

The biggest hurdle for energy efficiency in the built environment today is how to improve the energy efficiency of our existing housing stock in an affordable manner. These three practitioners... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Single family

Building envelope

Multifamily

Widening the Circle in High Performance Residential Design

Every project is a learning experience. On some projects, we set out deliberately to learn new tricks. Mark Doughty, a luxury home builder near Boston, sought out Zero Energy Design to help him... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Single family

Building envelope

Design & Construction process

Passive House Deep Energy Retrofits: Revitalizing Masonry Multifamily and Single Family Wood Frame Buildings

Michael Hindle and Matt Fine led a Passive House retrofit of three abandoned masonry apartment buildings on the Southeast side of Washington DC for low-income families. Designed to PHIUS+... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Single family

Multifamily

Aiming at Zero: The Struggle to Get There

Everyone is talking about getting to zero energy by 2030. It’s easy to say, but very hard to do. What is the process and how do we ratchet down our EUI on each project? How can goal setting and... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Design & Construction process

Material Selections: A Life Cycle Perspective Viewed Through One Home

Sometimes the things we think are a poor environmental choice turn out to be not so bad. Sometimes they are worse. Ben Morelli, along with Bensonwood energy & sustainability experts – Rheanon... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Design & Construction process

Beyond Energy*

Break It or Lose It: Thermal Bridging in Building Envelopes

While thermal bridging is widely acknowledged to exist in modern commercial building envelopes, little is known on the significance of its impact. Utilizing infrared images taken from targeted... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Building envelope

One City's Energy and Sustainability Vision and Action: Stamford, CT's Energy Improvement District, 2030 District and Pioneering Microgrid and Resilience Project

Stamford is the fastest growing city in Connecticut and has been steadily expanding a series of innovative initiatives at the intersection of economic development, sustainability and resilience.... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Cities, Communities, Place

Does Electric Grid 2.0 Mean Energy Democracy?

The U.S. energy system is undergoing a remarkable transformation to decentralized and renewable power. Transportation and heating are becoming electrified.

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Cities, Communities, Place

Beyond Energy*

Moving Beyond Faith Based Ventilation

We all know that increasingly tight buildings require reliable and effective ventilation systems, not only for occupant comfort and safety but also for building durability. As with any mechanical... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Mechanical systems & lighting

On Eggshells: Residential Retrofits in Tricky Situations

Seasoned practitioners tackle the difficulties of residential Deep Energy Retrofits. When an architect experienced with Net Zero and Deep Energy Retrofits (DERs) spends his own money on his house... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Single family

Building envelope

Design & Construction process

Airtightness Testing in Large Buildings

Airtightness testing has long—since the 1980’s—been used to test high-performance housing. The 2012 version of the International Residential Code requires testing of every new home. Recently there... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Building envelope

Is Net Zero Energy Net Zero Benefit?

Net Zero Energy (NZE), is generally thought of as the deployment of distributed renewable energy generation at the building/load location. It is offered as a key strategy in the effort to... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Cities, Communities, Place

Design & Construction process

How We Sleep at Night - Energy Metrics and Decision Making in Residential Design

PHI stands by 4.75kbtu/sq ft/yr for AHD. PHIUS has recently reworked its performance standard. Energy Star now has Version III. Living Building Challenge requires net zero. Green building... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Single family

Building envelope

Mechanical systems & lighting

Has the LED Revolution Caught the Fluorescent Tube?

For decades, the straight-tube fluorescent lamp has been top in efficiency and ubiquitous in indoor lighting. Justifiably, the "four-footer" is one of the last lighting types to be displaced in... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Mechanical systems & lighting

Huddle Together for Warmth: Multiple Solutions for Multifamily Passive House

We will show two mid-rise multi-family projects in the northeast that meet either the Passive House or PHIUS+ building energy standard. The Distillery’s 28-unit Phase 1 building in South Boston,... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Design & Construction process

Multifamily

Lightning in a Bottle I: Energy Storage Technologies and Markets

Energy storage technologies such as batteries, flywheels and thermal storage are poised to reshape our energy systems at the scales of the grid, communities, buildings and vehicles, and the... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Renewables

Policy & Codes

High-Performance Buildings are Not Enough: An Introduction to High-Performance Cities and the Next Step

In the United States we have historically thought in terms of high-performance buildings: we set our boundary conditions at the lot line. But buildings only work in a context of networks and grids... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Cities, Communities, Place

Combating Climate Change with Timber Construction

With its smaller carbon footprint, timber construction should be considered alongside steel and concrete to build both low and mid-rise projects. This session will introduce innovations in timber... Full Description

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Cities, Communities, Place

Design & Construction process

Beyond Energy*

Cradle to Grave: The Concealed Energy, Carbon and Water Impact of Buildings

Buildings presently account for a third of the world's energy use, and the operational energy of buildings is projected to double between now and 2050. As the building sector grapples with its... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Beyond Energy*

Getting to Zero: User Engagement in Achieving Net Zero Energy Buildings

As the A&E industry continues to focus on improving the energy performance of buildings, it’s clear that some energy saving measures are outside the designer’s control. Occupants play a... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Biomass Design and Potential

 This course touches on some of the considerations one should make when designing and planing an automated biomass heating system.​ It will cover fuel choice and logistical advantages, equipment... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Single family

Renewables

Multifamily

Integrated Design for High Performance Schools

Schools provide complex puzzles for the architects and engineers who engage them. In this panel discussion, two high performance firms and their construction and engineering partners will discuss... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Design & Construction process

When You Come to a Fork, Take It. Residential Choices and Performance

Decisons, decisions. Residential design is always part education, part therapy, and part architecture. This panel will showcase the work of two designers and a builder who have climbed high on the... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Single family

Building envelope

Design & Construction process

Retrofit Like You Give a Sh*t: Inspiring Homeowners to Care about Efficiency

You care about the environment, climate change and sustainability. You want to do your part to make existing homes more energy efficient. But all your customers want are new kitchens, better... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Single family

Building envelope

Passiv for the Masses

Climate change has made mainstream adoption of high-performance buildings a priority, and the Passivhaus standard provides a means to assess and drive the performance of these buildings. With 16... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Single family

Commercial & Institutional

Design & Construction process

Multifamily

Lightning in a Bottle II: Energy Storage Applications, Business Models and Case Studies

Energy storage technologies are receiving a great deal of attention and investment. This second of two sessions will take a closer look at energy storage applications, business models, case... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Renewables

Policy & Codes

The Challenges of Net Zero Energy When It's Bigger than a Breadbox

Municipalities and other owners of large buildings are increasingly setting their sites on net-zero. This session will feature a case study of the 190,000sf Martin Luther King, Jr. School, the... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Design & Construction process

The True Performance of Your Hidden HVAC Equipment

How well does central ventilation equipment actually perform? VEIC and CLEAResult have respectively conducted field monitoring of Roof Top Units in commercial/institutional buildings and central... Full Description

3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Multifamily

Mechanical systems & lighting

NESEA Emerging Professionals Career Forum

It's back by popular demand!

4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Cities, Communities, Place

Beyond Energy*

Thursday, March 10, 2016
Session Title Time Session Speakers Areas of Focus
Opening Plenary: Key Challenges and Opportunities of Our Times, Part II

As NESEA and BuildingEnergy lead the charge to create low-energy buildings and transition to renewables, we must also grapple with the broader implications of the ways we build and power our... Full Description

8:30 am to 10:00 am

Highways, Health, and Energy: From City Planning to Air Filtration

This session will be a workshop focused on design and refinement of strategies to reduce the exposure to traffic-related pollution for people who live and attend school in buildings that are near... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Cities, Communities, Place

Developing the World's Biggest Passive House at Cornell Tech

Cornell University is developing a satellite campus in New York City called Cornell Tech, whose academic curriculum will focus on the disciplines of science including engineering and new... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

When Does Smaller Scale Cogeneration Make Sense?

Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) can provide cost-effective power, heating, and cooling, reduced emissions, lower costs, and energy surety—under the right conditions. But how do we... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Renewables

Air Leakage: What You See is Not What You Get

Air leakage is an important consideration in all construction. Tighter buildings are more energy efficient and comfortable. Although large buildings are rarely blower door tested, architects,... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Building envelope

What Contractors Need to Know About Spray Foam

Spray foam is an essential tool in the high performance building toolbox, yet many builders have concerns about using the material including subpar installations; how to protect workers, occupants... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Building envelope

Roofs: Research and Reality

To vent or not to vent? To insulate outboard or inboard? To provide details or just let contractors wing it? These are some of the questions two pros, who spend a good portion of their work days... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Single family

Building envelope

Multifamily

Offsite Construction: the Future?

A panel of Architects and Manufacturers steeped in the offsite construction industry will discuss the future of offsite construction. Topics include the stigma of the industry itself in the US... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Design & Construction process

Beyond Energy*

Northeast Solar Policy: What's Coming

Solar policies continue to evolve at breakneck pace, making it challenging to keep on top of all of the latest. Which types of proposals are likely to catch on and drive the industry as it... Full Description

10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Renewables

Policy & Codes

Sticky Business: The Truth About Tapes and What It Means for Your Enclosure

Pressure sensitive tapes (PSAa) can make or break the continuity of your air and weather barrier—ensuring a durable, high performing enclosure, or putting it at risk. Yet we have little way of... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Building envelope

Achieving Zero Net Energy Affordably Today: Mobile Home Replacement

A modular home factory in Wilder, VT has opened to build zero-net energy mobile home replacement units. While there have been other efforts to replace mobile homes outside Vermont, they have done... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Single family

Design & Construction process

Beyond Energy*

The Future of Net Zero Energy

Net Zero Energy Buildings have reaching a tipping point. The economic limitations that restricted their success in the past have changed drastically and the technologies needed to achieve Net Zero... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Cities, Communities, Place

Policy & Codes

Beyond Energy*

Drivers, Trends, and Tools for Healthier Materials Selection

This session will educate participants on drivers, tools, and trends for healthier materials selection. As LEED v4 and the Living Building Challenge's Materials Petal become mainstream, designers... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Policy & Codes

Beyond Energy*

O&M Stories in MF Housing: Challenges, Solutions & Results

In the world of multi-family housing every operational dollar is earmarked, budgeted, and designated. For both Selfhelp Community Services, owning/operating 960 units, and POAH, owning/operating... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Multifamily

The Lighting Consumer's Conundrum

The LED revolution has come a long way, and options for the retail consumer are hugely improved in just the past two years. Now many models of screw-in LEDs exceed the efficiency of CFLs. And... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Mechanical systems & lighting

Whole Property Retrofit: Redesigning Suburbia for an Uncertain Energy & Food Future

How do we turn the "problem" of suburbia into an enormous opportunity to create a set of resilient systems that can adapt to a changing world? Learn how a holistic design process and a whole-... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Single family

Cities, Communities, Place

Beyond Energy*

Core Principles: Sustainability in Your Practice

The terms “sustainability” and “resilience” drive us to address a bigger, long term picture while managing the details at hand. The skills needed to accomplish this feat of ever-changing... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Beyond Energy*

Instructions NOT Included: Lessons Learned Operating Zero Net Energy

In May of 2011, TD Bank opened the first zero net energy bank in the United States. The LEED Platinum certified store, which is located in Ft Lauderdale, FL, achieved net zero operations in 2012... Full Description

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Room-side Low-e Coating: As Good as It Sounds?

The selection of a glazing type for a project is based on factors like thermal performance, impact on occupant thermal comfort and cost. Double pane glazing units with a room-side low-e coating... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Building envelope

Home Performance Insights from Big Data at NEST

Connected devices like the Nest Learning Thermostat provide an unprecedented amount of data about home energy usage patterns. This data can be used to further our understanding of how homes really... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Single family

Multifamily

Pricing Sustainability: What Electricity Rate Design Means for the Future of Solar and Efficiency

In recent years, increasing levels of distributed generation have led to challenging questions about how utilities charge customers for the electricity they use. To date, this has largely been a... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Renewables

Policy & Codes

A Prototype Visualization Tool for Hygrothermal Analysis

Recent developments in the field of building simulation and computing power are allowing architects to effectively move performance analysis of designs into the early stages of the design process... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Building envelope

Design & Construction process

The Value of R-Value and NPV of PV: Selling High Performance Homes in an Indifferent Market

The ideal client hires you to build a net zero energy home, or to complete a deep energy retrofit of their existing home. Two questions arise: How will the energy efficiency improvements impact... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Single family

Owners

Mainstreaming Resilience: Making Resilient Design Standard Practice

While few argue about the importance of resilience in an age of climate change (with more intense storms, rising sea levels, more frequent drought, and worsening heat waves), there remains little... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Policy & Codes

Design & Construction process

Living Building Challenge: Historic Building, Modern Lessons

The Living Building Challenge (LBC) can be applied to any building project, including historic renovation and new construction.

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Single family

Cities, Communities, Place

Design & Construction process

Multifamily

Foam-Free - Fabulous, Feasible, and Fun!

Three experienced practitioners will demonstrate that we needn’t (shouldn’t?) be captive to foam in the high performance building industry by showing practical solutions that eliminate foam in new... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Commercial & Institutional

Design & Construction process

Multifamily

Success through Quality Management: Building a Stronger Company

Quality experts estimate that 25-40% of dollars spent by typical businesses is waste. Companies focused on quality spend less, reduce waste, cut operating costs, and invest in processes that... Full Description

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Design & Construction process

Beyond Energy*

Closing Forum: A Community for the Ages

As much as it is about expert, experienced practitioners exchanging ideas, Building Energy is also about fostering the next generation of sustainable energy leaders. And, it’s a two-way street.... Full Description

4:00 pm to 5:30 pm