OCAD's Existing HVAC System

Greenwall Proposal
1. Preliminary Research
by Ashley, Veronica, Amy and David

How does our existing HVAC system circulate indoor air?

Air enters and exits the 5th and 6th floors through vents. In the common area the vents are hanging overhead. The vents in the foreground are drawing in stale air, the vents in the background are supplying fresh air. They go through separate pipes connected to the.....

RTU

The workhorses of the HVAC system are the rooftop units which circulate the air.

The manufacturer of the Sharp Centre's HVAC system is Trane. This computerized equipment maintains precise control of the variables of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ):

• temperature
  
• humidity
  
• particulate count
  
• fresh air volume and circulation

The system is timed to shut down at 1am daily when the building is closed.
This is RTU 6-8 (Rooftop Unit, 6th floor, unit 8). Each floor requires 8 units to circulate the air, each RTU services about 3 rooms.

The RTU's exhaust, where the stale air exits.
And the RTU's supply, where fresh air is drawn in.
This particular RTU has a special job. It only handles the air along the perimeter of the building's interior.

Natural gas line. Used by the RTU's for heating the air.

RTU. Panel open. Yellow gas line. Air filter.

AIR FILTER

Air filter made by American Air Filter. These are changed every 1-4 months by an outside company that inspects and maintains the HVAC system.

I did not see the filter part #...however, air filters are rated according to MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value), from MERV 1 to MERV 16. Hospitals will have MERV 14 and up. However, as stated above, IAQ is not just about filters. There is a multiply of variables.

According to the EPA poor IAQ can affect mental functioning and "sick building syndrome" is a major cause of illnesses leading to absenteeism.

Noise Pollution

This cylindrical housing is a baffle that soundproofs the unit because its operating noise levels can sometimes exceed city limits and such noise pollution would be unbearable for people who live in the building directly across the street.

Indoor enviornments- sustainable furniture, paints/finishes, indoor plants, and efficient lighting

FURNITURE

What makes furniture environmentally responsible?
• single material
• abundant materials
• recyclable
• renewable materials
• native materials
• design for easy maintenance
• low-engergy production
• avoidance of toxic substances
• reduced engergy during transport
• designed for disassembly
• multifunctional
• universal design

Here are some examples of works done today:


Garden bench by Jurgen Bay for Droog, Netherlands. Taking waste from the garden indoors to create furniture. This is more of a conceptual piece, one offs are made.
Designed by architect Shirgeru Ban, Japan. All his structures are made of cardboard, simple, recyclable and beautiful.
Stokke Tripp Trapp by Peter Opsvik, Norway. Adjustable to suit baby to youth.


PAINTS AND FINISHES

What makes paints/ finishes eco friendly?
• non toxic ingredients (solvents, VOCs, biocides, preservatives)
• clean production
• use of natural materials (such as beeswax, orange peel, pine tree resin, seed oil, earth pigments)
• renewable materials
• reduce pollution manufacturing
• recyclable packaging
• reduction in embodied energy
• recycled paint



INDOOR PLANTS

What are the benefits of indoor plants?
• reduce indoor air pollution
• natural air purfier
• absorbs carbon dioxide, releases oxygen
• creates a relaxing indoor space

Here are two examples of indoor green space in Toronto

Bio-wall, Robertson Building- 215 Spadina Avenue. Installed 250 square foot bio wall in March 2004


Cellular and Biomolecular building at , University of Toronto



LIGHTING

What defines energy efficient lighting?
• reduce wattage
• proper disposal available to consumer
• ease of recycling materials
• longer lasting bulbs
• suitable luminance for type of activity

2 Most popular and up coming choices of today are :
CFL-operate on 9 to 25 watts of energy while emitting the same amount of light as an incandescent bulb . Its life span is more than 10 times longer that the traditional bulb. CFLs produce ultraviolet light, made visible through phosphor coating on the glass.
LEDs- convert electric energy directly into light of a single color. Because they employ “cold” light generation technology, in which most of the energy is delivered in the visible spectrum, LEDs don't waste energy in the form of non-light producing heat.