Winnipeg - "On January
10, 2001 the Climate Change in Manitoba Conference - 'The Beginning
Dialogue' was held at the Winnipeg Convention Center, sponsored
by the Manitoba Clean Air Commission and the International Institute
for Sustainable Development" said Brian Baker, President of Custom
Vac Limited. This conference was a serious look into future
climate changes from a Manitoba perspective.
Speakers outlined how the Public, Industry and Business must and
can work to a common end to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
During the presentations and for about day or two after, it became
clear that there are many ways for the Heating, Ventilation, Air
Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVACR) Industry to participate.
The biggest role is by educating the Public about energy audit
programs and offering new and advanced systems that will have
the least environmental impact.
The Impact of Climate Change
What do high-energy prices have to do with climate change? Emissions
from fossil fuel energy sources add to the total GHG emissions
and wasteful use of electricity adds to a greater demand (load).
The net result will likely mean more dams and generating facilities
will be built in the future, unless we make wiser choices in the
selection of HVACR equipment and reducing or eliminating our wasteful
practices thus decreasing our dependency.
Building more dams will further decrease sinks ("sinks"
is the term used to describe land). While natural gas emissions
are lower than the other forms of fossil fuels and less costly
per unit of energy than electricity, there are many things that
can be done to reduce demand and emissions. Sinks play a vital
role in absorbing heat, we all know that it's cooler in the country
than in concrete cities. A major shift or change that is underway
in large cities throughout the world and in a few North American
cities is the development of rooftop gardens. This is designed
to dramatically reduce the buildings requirements for air conditioning
and energy use.
Making Informed Decisions
"There has been a lot
of press recently regarding the higher costs of natural gas and
projections are for even higher prices yet. Many consumers have
had thoughts of replacing their natural gas furnaces with electric
ones. Not so fast, while in some cases it makes sense there has
to be a balance", said Baker. What are we saving if we replace
a natural gas furnace with an electric one in a retrofit application?
Not very much as a rule, why? In order to truly cut energy usage
and reduce GHG emissions, air leakage must be addressed. Recent
statistics released from Natural Resources Canada reports that
up to 40% of the heating bill can be charged to air leakage. Combine
this with the fact that people can reduce GHG emissions by 30%
by making changes in lifestyle and better choices.
New homes are different than older homes as the proper electrical
service is typically in place, building envelopes are sealed tightly
and some form of mechanical ventilation is installed. The other
issues that weigh on the decision are maintenance, availability
of service technicians if a problem arises and life expectancy.
The Right Program and the Right Contractor
Baker's company has been working with independent energy evaluators
since 1998, under the EnerGuide for Houses Program operated by
the Federal Governments, Office of Energy Efficiency. The program
identified many areas where consumers could reduce their energy
costs, air leakage was just one of those. The audit takes approximately
three hours ending with a detailed report, as well as handbooks
on how the recommendations can be completed are left. Not all
the corrective measures can be done by oneself and will have to
be done by a professional but there are a number of things that
can be done at little cost with substantial paybacks.
Companies such as Bakers, have been in business for a considerable
amount of time and identified the need to not only provide the
consumer with better more accurate information regarding their
home but also, to allow them to make the choices that make sense
based on not just the cost, but also comfort, maintenance, life
expectancy, and environmental impact.
It's important for consumers
to have the facts. One item that continues to frustrate Baker
is that whenever energy costs get attention in the media, consumers
call to get a price over the phone to have a furnace installed.
It is impossible for anyone to quote a price on the phone. What
size of furnace would you need? What efficiency? Is Combustion
air required? Baker recommends that if you get a price hang up
and call another company.
Getting the Right Information
The results from the EnerGuide testing have shown that one 1100
sq. ft. house can have an air leakage of 100 sq. in. and -10pascals
depressurization while the same house two blocks over has only
41 sq. in. and -2pascals of depressurization. If these two consumers
were to call a contractor, they may both be told that they need
a 75,000 Btu furnace when in fact one may require a 60,000 and
the other a 40,000 Btu. Now, it is true the cost of the equipment
is not really that much different, but the lack of true comfort
and fact that the efficiency will be lower means that the monies
spent to get lower energy costs will never be fully realized.
With all the furnaces, options, home construction types, and higher
energy costs on the way, why, would anyone want to guess is unclear
to me.
The facts are that most homes that Baker has had tested have a
heating appliance that is anywhere from 75% to 180% oversized
for the home. Some of these homes had appliances installed within
the last 5 years by someone. These same homes have shown to have
serious depressurization problems ranging from -2pascals to -23
pascals and greater. Many consumers have real opportunities to
have air sealing measures, windows and added insulation retrofits
done. One customer that Baker can think of is having these items
done first and the last item will be the new sealed combustion
high-efficient furnace that will likely be 2 sizes smaller due
to the increased efficiency of the building envelope.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not professing that consumers all run
out and purchase insulation, windows and doors either. What I
am saying, is that the EnerGuide for Houses Program details items
that allow the Consumer and Contractor factual information as
a base for decisions and/or recommendations.
Natural Gas and Electric Furnace Options
Since there has been so much talk about natural gas prices, what
is available in natural gas equipment to reduce the energy? Two-stage
high efficient sealed combustion natural gas furnaces. It's like
having two furnaces in one. The first stage or low fire operates
approximately 70% of the season at the lower energy use. When
the temperature gets colder and the furnace has to run more frequently
the thermostat senses this and brings on the second stage or high
fire which will maintain the indoor comfort. This automatic switching
ensures that the furnace maintains the minimum use of the energy
while maximizing the comfort and energy savings.
What about electric furnaces? Electric furnaces have always had
staging of the elements that have allowed a managed approach to
energy use. Electrical in the past had been substantially higher;
this is not the case today. Outdoor thermostats can be wired into
the electric furnace circuitry that will allow for automatic staging.
Take a 25 KW electric furnace as an example, 10 KW is wired to
operate at any outdoor temperature at anytime. At approx. 0°F
another 5kw is energized, at -10°F another 5 KW and finally at
-20°F the final 5 KW is energized.
The reason for these staged appliances is that the home does not
require the full output of heat until the homes heat loss = the
homes requirement for that heat. In Manitoba the heating design
temperature is -28°F) so for all days when the weather is warmer
than the design the furnace is oversized. Just think about that
for a moment, earlier I said that some home were as much as 180%
oversized, this is at design so what amount are they oversized
at 0°F?
Options for Rural Manitobans
What do you do when
you live beyond a natural gas line? Well electric is an option,
ground source heat pumps, fuel oil, wood, wood electric, wood
oil, all of which have environmental impacts and special installation
configurations. Increased air pollution, harmful chemical emissions,
higher risk of fire, insects and increased decorating costs in
the home and being tied to a wood stove, when everyone is time
poor, does not make sense. In addition, the homeowners insurance
will increase with the introduction of a wood-burning appliance.
Who will service the equipment, how long will it last, what maintenance
is required, does the company provide the maintenance, can you
buy 10 years parts and labour extended warranty, etc. These are
some of the factors that need to be taken into consideration and
should be apart of the decision-making.
There are many reasons to choose one energy source over another
if you are building a new home, underway with a major home renovation,
you need to sit down with a knowledgeable contractor and utilize
the programs and information that is available. The decisions
that you make with regards to HVACR equipment and systems will
impact your energy costs and GHG emissions for the next 20 years.
Working with a good reputable contractor will assist your decision-making
and hopefully result in the least negative impact to the environment.
