2020 Open Lecture Schedule

All lectures will begin at noon.

July 29th - Covid19 Buildings Health and Energy:

COVID19 has immediately impacted building design and operation and the results will transform architecture, commissioning, and building operation practices for decades to come. It is also shifting the conversations and priorities around human health, energy efficiency, and non-energy benefits. Dr. Van Den Wymelenberg is an expert in indoor air quality and directs the University of Oregon Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center that has been studying the indoor microbiome with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He will contextualize the current pandemic with regard to historic changes to architectural design following previous pandemics, summarize a decade of discovery about the indoor microbiome (including information about fungi, bacteria, and viruses), present results from testing buildings for the novel coronavirus over the last four months. He will provide insights into how to reopen and operate buildings to support human health as we move forward through and beyond COVID19, and facilitate a discussion about the balance (conflicts and synergies) between health and energy in buildings.

Registration: Click Here.

August 11th - VRFs & Heat Pumps:

Designing features of decoupled buildings. Sizing VRF (variable refrigerant flow) and heat pump systems for Idaho’s climates. Including ERVs (energy recovery ventilators) with DOAS (dedicated outside air systems).

Registration: Click Here.

August 25th - The Architects' Business Case for Energy Performance Modeling:

Most of us think of energy modeling as an engineering exercise. The truth is that models and simulations are performed to better result, if the architect understands when and how to support the process and how to utilize the output. A building energy model can provide the architect an iterative process to increase the real-world effectiveness of energy and other systems within a building. This session will explore the value-add of energy modeling from the architect’s perspective, providing a business case for more active involvement in advocation for energy performance modeling.

Registration: Click Here.

September 8th - Daylighting Multipliers:

This session will explore the role that daylighting multipliers are used when trying to increase the efficiency of daylighting or daylight harvesting in a building, such as, light shelves, manufactured glazing, and material specification. We will also explore the rate of return, the ranges of efficiency, and appropriate uses between daylighting strategies and multipliers.

Registration: Click Here.

September 22nd - Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency in Buildings:

In an effort to operate buildings in the most energy efficient manner, we are designing building envelopes to be as airtight as possible with as little outside air as allowable. In this presentation the following issues are addressed: significance of IAQ to human health and productivity, the link between IAQ and building energy demands, and efficient technologies for optimizing IAQ.

Registration: Click Here.

October 6th - OpenStudio's Parametric Analysis Tool:

This session will cover the parametric analysis tool (PAT) within OpenStudio. PAT removes the need to hand edit each model to try out different architectural design, energy efficiency measures, or mechanical systems. Participants will learn the fundamental concepts of measure writing for OpenStudio, simulation parameters, running a simulation with PAT, and how firms can utilize this feature to inform early design decisions in regards to building performance.

Registration: Click Here.

October 20th - High Performance Classrooms:

Student enrollment in Ada County is projected to grow by 1,000 students per year for the next ten years and at least six capital projects are planned in the West Ada District alone to meet this demand. This session will cover a variety of issues facing the design of an efficient, healthy, and productive classroom environment. A quick look at the state of the last 50 years of school design will give an introduction to the problems faced by designers. This session will highlight several case studies of high performance schools in the Northwest to address daylighting, natural ventilation, and integration of mechanical systems. Each passive strategy will be addressed in detail with regional examples and performance research.

Registration: Click Here.

November 3rd - Luminaire Level Lighting Controls:

LLLCs have sensors and controls within individual fixtures that enable them to be controlled remotely or on a case by case basis. Remote control allows users to adjust the programming criteria or illumination levels without replacing the fixtures. In conventional lighting systems, lighting zones are defined as a collective unit and centrally controlled. LLLCs incorporate sensors such as occupancy, daylight and temperature or, receive/broadcast signals into each fixture. Therefore, each fixture has the potential to become a semi-autonomous zone that is capable of responding to small changes in the area the fixture serves. And, individual fixtures can communicate with other fixtures using wireless or infrared signals to share data for an even greater potential to increase energy savings and user satisfaction.

Registration: Click Here.

November 17th - DOAS Integration:

In an effort to operate buildings in the most energy efficient manner, we are designing building envelopes to be as airtight as possible with as little outside air as allowable. In this presentation the following issues are addressed: significance of IAQ to human health and productivity, the link between IAQ and building energy demands, and efficient technologies for optimizing IAQ.

Registration: Click Here.

December 1st - High Efficiency Heat Recovery

This session will cover the role that high efficiency HRV’s play in designing and specifying high-performing Dedicated Outdoor Air systems. Several recent northwest case studies have shown whole-building savings of 40 to 60% on existing building retrofits using DOAS with high efficiency heat recovery. The current code requirements of HRVs will be contrasted with the performance of new and emerging products. High efficiency HRV’s can have a high capital cost but can generate large energy savings with increased control of cooling and ventilation. Several economic models will be presented showing financial impacts of using high efficiency HRVs in a project.

Registration: Click Here.