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4 Ops Talk • Fall 2010

Published by:DEL Communications Inc.Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3L 0G5TF: 1.866.831.4744TFF: 1.866.711.5282

PresidentDavid Langstaff

PublisherJason Stefanik

Managing EditorKatrina Senyk

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Production Services Provided by:S.G. Bennett Marketing Services

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©Copyright 2010. School Plant Officials of B.C.All rights reserved. The contents of this publica-tion may not be reproduced by any means, inwhole or in part, without the prior written consentof the publisher.

While every effort has been made to ensure theaccuracy of the information contained herein andthe reliability of the source, the publisher in noway guarantees nor warrants the information andis not responsible for errors, omissions or state-ments made by advertisers. Opinions and recom-mendations made by contributors or advertisersare not necessarily those of the publisher, itsdirectors, officers or employees.

Publications mail agreement #40934510Return undeliverable

Canadian addresses to:DEL Communications Inc.Suite 300, 6 Roslyn RoadWinnipeg, MB R3L 0G5

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PRINTED IN CANADA 11|2010

S.P.O.A.S.P.O.A.

British Colum

bia

In this issue

DELCommunications Inc.

President’s Message – Bruce MacLean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Profile on Ron Mason. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Eco-overhaul:New school construction in B.C.’s Southern Interior heats up . . . . . . . . 10

Unanticipated consequencesof conventional school renewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Transportation Section:A greener way of getting to school. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Legal guide to special needs transportation

supports defensible decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Creating green legacies at yourneighbourhood school with Evergreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Longer life lamps are the new ‘basic’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Tools of the tradeFirestone introduces roof modeling tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Thoughts on Ops Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Today’s workers still at risk from yesterday’s asbestos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Moisture: A natural disaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

The RGC Guarantee Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Get out of ‘hot water’ –Design temperatures only happen a few times a year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

White reflective roof coatings:Improving the sustainability of existing roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Work smarter, not harderUse the new generation of sustainablygreen microbial cleaning products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Terasen Gas helping schools take big stepstowards reducing their carbon footprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Studentawards.com:Grants programs are on the rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Choosing the right air filter and filter media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Index to advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

OpsTalkCovering all aspects of educational facilities and operations.


Here we are – autumn is fast becoming a dis-

tant memory as the brilliant array of orange and

yellow on the surrounding mountains gracefully

gives way to snow-topped trees and slopes.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank

the 2010 SPOA conference committee, as well

as those of the supporting cast who are working

behind the scenes, for pulling together yet

another terrific conference in June. Well done!

Planning for the June 2011 conference started

June 4th and is proceeding smoothly.

The Executive’s work this year will be to con-

tinue on with the development and implemen-

tation of several initiatives – the Certification

Program, Director’s Workshop, Mentorship Pro -gram, long-range plan, and the ExecutiveDirector’s position. As well, one of our majorgoals will be the planning and hosting of theannual conference.

I look forward to working with the Executiveto represent the membership, and continuingto work with our partners in education to pro-vide a stimulating learning environment foryoung minds.

Remember – it’s not the destination but thejourney that counts; take the time to enjoy theride.

Bruce MacLean

SPOA B.C. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Bruce MacLean

S.P.O.A.S.P.O.A.

British Colum

bia

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Profile onRon Mason

BY HEATHER McGOWAN

School Plant Officials Association of B.C.(SPOA B.C.) member and past presidentRon Mason retired from School DistrictNo. 67 (Okanagan-Skaha) in Penticton in1999; a district that Mason describes as“relatively small.” Almost seven thousandstudents at tend the 19 schools in the 550-square-kilometre district.

Before Mason joined SPOA and beganhis career with the school district in 1973,he worked for Cominco, a mining com-pany whose headquarters is based inVancouver. It was there that he devel-oped his management skills. He gives thecompany credit for his beginnings saying,“Whenever anyone asks me where I wentto university, I tell them I went to the‘University of Cominco’.”

Mason described the transition fromconstruction work to the school divisionas easy, and noted that the job was still

about working with people. “The only

dif ference was cleaner clothes,” jokes

Mason. “And cleaner language.”

Mason has lived in Penticton since his

start with the school district. “I remember

visiting [Penticton] before we moved

here, and thinking what a great opportu-

nity it would be to land a job and live in

the community.” As luck would have it,

that’s exactly what happened.

Mason started his 26-year career with

the school district as the superintendent

of maintenance. In the beginning, Mason

says that the district “didn’t have quali-

fied trades people – so I built a team with

the best people I could ‘steal’.” He devel-

oped quite the reputation for “stealing”

workers and bringing them to work in the

school district because Mason wanted

the best.

“The best people were already work-

ing,” he chuckles, “so I took them.”

Having a team comprised of those

people he considered the “ultimate”

allowed Mason to develop and maintain

a system for the school district that, as

superintendent of maintenance, he con-

siders gratifying.

“We never forgot why we were there,”

Mason says. “The goal was to create a

good, clean, effective learning environ-

ment and provide facilities for [school dis-

trict employees] to do their work.”

Mason notes that while all of the dis-

tricts are different, during his time with

School District No. 67, they “tried to be a

leader and, boastfully, were.”

In the fall of 1974, Mason became the

zone representative. Nine years later, he

was elected president of SPOA B.C. He

says that the highlight of his term was

preparing for the annual conference.

Mason still attends the annual SPOA

conference, and has gone every year

since 1973 – with the exception of one

year he missed out during a 50-day and

50-night road trip to Alaska.

Now that Mason is retired, he jokes

that he is “too busy to work.” He keeps

busy with fishing, skiing and his grand-

children, adding that retirement is “the

best job I’ve ever had.” �

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For the students of the new millennium,every day is Earth Day. Yet the veryschools they inhabit, though built ongood intentions, do not make the gradewhen it comes to environmental aware-ness.

That is, until now. Behind the fenced-inconstruction zones across B.C.’s South ernInterior, the hard work and labour of thepast is about to get an eco-overhaul.School District No. 19 will soon upgradetwo elementary facilities in their roster byconsolidating two older schools, and willbe replacing Revelstoke SecondarySchool; both projects will occupy thesame site.

Anne Cooper, superintendent ofschools, brims with pride over theRevelstoke project, which she labels anexemplar for 21st-century school build-ing.

“All around, it’s just a phenomenalproject,” Cooper enthuses. “I think it’sthe most exciting project in education inthis province; namely because by consol-idating two very old, inefficient elemen-tary schools into one, new state-of-the-artfacility, we’ll be able to operate more effi-ciently annually and reduce our impacton the environment.”

Construction on both projects com-menced March 2010. The secondary

school, a replacement project in planningsince 2000, is scheduled for completionNovember 2011. And the elementaryschool consolidation project – of twoolder schools, Mountain View and Mt.Begbie Elementary – will wrap up Sep -tember 2012.

In addition, the contract will includetwo on-site Neighbourhood LearningCentres (NLCs). Open 365-days-a-year,the NLCs will offer communal access toits many engaging facilities – a 275-seatcommunity theatre, acrobatics centre,the province’s first early learning hub, andthe on-site counseling and social serviceswhich better equip the 750-plus studentsand staff.

“The community shares our excite-ment about these facilities,” Coopersays. “We’ve really been able to work col-laboratively with a number of organiza-tions in the community to design facilitiesthat both work for the community andenhance the school.”

In a recent press release, the provinceannounced 14 Neighbourhood LearningCentres in 10 school districts across B.C.All districts are being encouraged tomove toward this inclusive approach.

The Revelstoke schools are designedto achieve LEED® Gold certification – astandard aiming to reduce a building’scarbon footprint through the introduc-tion of many innovative and eco-friendlyproducts, tools and systems. One suchsystem comes from the Revelstoke Com -munity Energy Corporation ThermalEner gy Plant, which will provide theschools’ heating requirements.

Graham Contractors Ltd. is the con-firmed proponent on the build. The

ECO-OVERHAUL:New school construction inB.C.’s Southern Interior heats up

BY JILL SCHETTLER

Above:Final rendering ofRevelstokeSecondary School.

Left: Revelstoke SchoolBoard Chairman AlanChell speaks about theproject.

School Plant Officials Association of B.C. www.spoabc.org 11

Graham team consists of Ramsay Brun -

ton, senior project manager, and associ-

ates, as well as HBBH Architects, RJC

Struc tural Engineers and Cohos Evamy

for mechanical and electrical.

“The Revelstoke school projects have

developed into more of a team ap -

proach, solving problems as a team, face-

to-face with the owner, rather than

through the normal third-party approach

taken during the traditional design-bid-

build process,” Brunton says.

The project is a design-build pilot for

the Ministry of Education, which Brunton

asserts is an efficient time-saver.

“The benefits to the community will be

available at least a year ahead of a tradi-

tional design-bid-build method of deliv-

ery,” furthers Brunton. “This method of

delivery has also given the school board

a much more hands-on approach to the

design, and the design team should be

able to deliver what School District 19

wants, responding quickly to the owner’s

design changes.”

A combination of structural steel, rein-

forced concrete and structural wood will

provide the framework for the schools’

structure and finishing components – the

final design to maximize the use of B.C.

woods. A large glulam (layered laminated

timber) component will be introduced

into the build, as a result.

Adopting a “past meets present

needs” approach, the final product will

be a combination of the past’s strong

architectural vernacular merged with

today’s efficiency and functionality.

“The building itself fits into the sur-

rounding landscape and takes advantage

of the magnificent views of the surround-

ing mountains,” Brunton says. “It would

be fair to say that the architect looked fur-

ther than just the functionality of the

building and related the three-dimen-

sional space into the landscape.”

Enderby’s M.V. Beattie elementary

school is also taking steps toward a

greener future. Vicki Topping, MAIBC of

MQN Architects, the site’s project archi-

tect, adds that the project began while

school was still in session.

“The site-preparation contract en tailed

Aerial view of Revelstoke building site, August 2010.


Left: Aerial rendering of Enderby M.V. BeattieElementary School, September 2009.

Below: Exterior rendering of Enderby school.

that the civil engineer’s portion wasworked out prior to the building tender,”Topping explains. “The school needed torelocate a few classrooms so that the par-tial demolition of the existing annexbuilding could occur, and then the sitewas excavated and prepared with theproper structural soils. The relocation ofthe existing playground equipment anderection of security fencing allowed thismultiple occupancy to occur on-site atthe same time.”

The Enderby school, which will alsoincorporate a Neighborhood of Learningprogram space, will follow the LEED Goldguidelines.

“The design team for the MV BeattieElementary school was very conscious

about what was needed for the school,”

Topping says. “The idea of having a bet-

ter interior air quality was crucial.

Therefore, low VOC and mould-resistant

products and mechanical systems that

make the interior air better for the occu-

pants were utilized in the project.”

Adhering to LEED standards and the

Ministry of Education’s request, the pri-

mary resource used in the build is wood

as well – wood floors and panels, and glu-

lam beams in the corridor space. The

school will launch a geothermal system

for its heating and cooling – the first one

in the school district. And natural lighting

will allow for “free lighting” most of the

day.

The 100-year-old school will follow a

similar “past meets present” philosophy,

preserving dominant architectural fea-

tures of the original building. The city’s

First Nations culture will be incorporated

into the building – the front atrium to

resemble a medicine wheel.

Dan Horochuk, the capital projects

coordinator with School Division no. 83, is

the liaison for the Enderby build.

Horochuk has dedicated 26 years to the

school division, specifically all of the

Capital works, and now finds himself in

transition toward retirement.

The Enderby school, a project that

Horochuk will oversee until completion,

will present the 80 kindergarteners and

275 Grade 1 to Grade 7 students with a

magnitude of learning opportunities. The

Enderby school is the first to incorporate

interactive electronic Smart Boards in

every classroom, as well as a HMI (Human

Machine Interface) pad, complete with a

menu to adjust lights, roll shutters, and

thermostat, that will replace the light

switch at the door. The HMI pad will also

integrate with the audio/visual controls,

presenting energy consumption data per

classroom that will act as a valuable

teach ing tool. The pad utilizes a comput-

erized graphic – a green-leafed tree,

which turns brown during excessive ener-

gy consumption – to display the school’s

energy use.

“Energy reduction is huge right now,”

Horochuk says. “Having the kids able to

quantify something and see the results


Right: Perspective rendering of Southern OkanaganSecondary School in Oliver.

Below: Interior rendering of multi-purposeroom at Southern Okanagan school.

will effect change. Anyone can look at [the

tree graphic] and understand it immedi-

ately. They don’t have to look at a graph or

chart. So we’re very confident this will be a

huge step in the right direction.”

On the path to a greener future, con-

struction in the Oliver community has also

helped reduce B.C.’s carbon footprint.

“We are striving to be one of the few

high schools in B.C. to achieve LEED Gold

certification,” Mitch Van Aller, director of

facilities for School District no. 53, says.

“We’ve introduced geothermal heating,

solar water and electricity, and a wind tur-

bine on site.”

Production commenced on Oliver’s

Southern Okanagan Secondary School

June 2010 and is set for completion

September 2012. The $31.8 million, eco-

friendly build is also the largest project to

use the Electronic Bidding System – a sys-

tem that allows users to view all informa-

tion related to a bid online.

In an effort to perpetuate change, the

new science wing acts as a perspective

learning tool for staff and students, with a

complete, computerized panel that allows

access to each of the school’s systems.

Add to an already growing list of eco-

friendly schools in the B.C. Interior, Vernon

has also begun construction on a $43 mil-

lion dollar LEED-certified school renova-

tion, thus confirming the idea that ‘green’

building is no longer a small segment of

the industry, but rather a commonplace

practice. �

ROOFING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA


Facility Management Evolution

For decades, school facility manage-

ment has been guided by an engineer-

ing-based, property management model.

Within this model, school facility manage-

ment has evolved. Traditional concerns

with the health and safety of participants,

as well as operational functionality of

buildings, have been supplemented with

more recent attention to energy and

operational efficiency, as well as asset life-

cycle sustainability and carbon footprint

reductions.

Most recently, progressive schools are

moving beyond the property manage-

ment model of school facility renewal.

The latest models employ a “mission-

relevant ” perspective. The mission-rele-

vant model centres on making school

renewal investments responsible for

answering the question, “How will this

investment improve the quality of the

teaching and learning environment?”

Measuring Mission-Relevant

School Renewal

Conventional property-management

school renewal is based on measures like

the facility conditional index. These meas-

ures are useful since school buildings and

components are subject to deterioration

and, as such, need to be maintained. The

limitation of these measures, and the

property-management approach that jus-

tifies them, is that schools are not just

buildings – they are buildings with a very

important public purpose.

Mission-relevant school renewal adds

value by taking the educational purposes

of schools into account. Like all best-

practices, mission-relevant school renewal

requires valid and reliable means of meas-

uring school conditions. For Canadian

schools, I have developed two measure-

ment tools that provide this information.

The Principals’ Assessment of Schools

Survey© identifies which schools in a divi-

sion’s inventory are most in need of mis-

sion-relevant school renewal. The Learn -

ing Environment Roster© then identifies

what specific hindrances within each

classroom require remediation. Evidence

from almost a thousand schools in four

provinces demonstrates the utility and

validity of this mission-relevant approach.

What a Mission-RelevantPerspective Reveals

It should come as no surprise that when

educators provide informed assessments

of the adequacy of school facilities, their

evaluations differ from judgements made

by engineers. Different kinds of profes-

sional judgements provide different kinds

of insights.

The Learning Environment Roster© pro-

vides valid and reliable information to

facility managers about what components

are hindering effective teaching and

learning. Recent evidence from hundreds

of classrooms suggests that the following

mission-relevant hindrances are typical:

Unanticipated consequencesof conventional school renewal

BY LANCE W. ROBERTS, PhD, UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA


Belimo Americas219-6279 Eagles Drive

Vancouver, BC V6T 2K7Tel: 604-221-6105

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[email protected]

Sammy TongWestern Region Sales Manager

Mississauga Offi ceTel: 866-805-7089Fax: 905-712-3124

Sparks, NV 800-987-9042

• Half of school classrooms have ventila-

tion issues that hinder effective teach-

ing and learning, mostly related to

stuffiness, dustiness, and allergens.

• Sixty per cent of classrooms have aes-

thetic issues related to painting, as well

as floor and ceiling finishes that hinder

optimal learning.

• Occupant safety and building security

issues are found in about thirty per cent

of classrooms, including such issues as

hazardous materials, mould, and unau-

thorized entrance.

• Natural lighting hindrances constrain

effective learning in about a third of

classrooms, including instances of both

too little and too much natural light.

• Interior lighting hinders optimal learn-

ing in a third of classrooms, with inade-

quate control and glare issues predom-

inating.

• Heating hindrances are reported in half

of classrooms, focusing on both inade-

quate control and low temperature.

• Learning hindrances connected to

cooling appear in about 40 per cent of

classrooms and, like heating, concen-

trate on inadequate control and high

temperature.

• The quality of teaching and learning

environments is compromised by

acoustic hindrances in a third of class-

rooms, with noise transfer between

rooms and mechanical, lighting, and

echoing noises leading the list.

Unanticipated Consequences

Without following a validated, scientific

protocol that investigates how school

facilities are affecting teaching and learn-

ing, facility managers have no way of

knowing how facilities are compromising

the academic mission. These findings

about the educational hindrances of

school facilities are unrelated to conven-

tional property-management assess-

ments like the facility condition index.

Worse, still, is the fact that many existing

educational hindrances are connected to

previous facility renewal projects, mod-

ernization initiatives, or energy efficiency

projects conducted in the schools.

In short, without the benefit of mission-

relevant assessments of building condi-

tions, conventional facility management

strategies will either neglect educational-

ly consequential hindrances or uninten-

tionally exacerbate or create poorer learn-

ing environments. The tools and proto-

cols for avoiding these undesirable results

are available for facility managers who are

connected to the educational mission.

About the Author: Dr. Lance W. Roberts

directs the Quality Schools Network at

the University of Manitoba. Those peo-

ple who are interested in learning more

about mission-relevant facility

management can reach him at:

[email protected]. �


A school bus is one of the safest methods

of transportation for students to get to

school. And now, because of a new,

plug-in hybrid bus, it’s making the envi -

ron ment safer, too.

Western Canada IC Bus, the only bus

manufacturer in North America that

makes plug-in hybrid school buses,

recently ran a nationwide contest looking

for “Canada’s Greenest School.” The big

prize, among other things, was a hybrid

school bus for the contest winner’s

school.

“The contest drew attention to plug-in

school buses as a green alternative for

environmentally-minded schools. There

are advantages that school buses have

over other transportation modes to get

to school,” says Keith Kladder, marketing

manager for IC Bus.

To enter the contest, which ended in

May 2010, students had to submit an

essay explaining why and how their

school could become the most environ-

mentally friendly school in Canada. Ten

finalists were chosen, and then the gen-

eral public voted online for their favourite

essays.

Jennifer Hao, from Burnaby North

Secondary in School District no. 41, beat

out around 250 other submissions and

won the grand prize – a plug-in hybrid

bus for her school – as well as a $3,000

scholarship toward her education and

$500 towards eco-friendly school sup-

plies for her classroom.

Her submission, titled Burnaby North:

Youth in Action, talked about a “Green

Rides Campaign” and other ways that

the school could reduce their green-

house gas emissions.

“Very few students walk or bike to

school, due to the number of cars block-

ing the main road to our buildings,” Hao

states in her winning submission. “Daily

traffic jams from 8:35-8:50 a.m. and 3:00-

3:15 p.m. make it difficult for vehicles to

enter and exit our school’s traffic zone.

“We have reached a conclusion that

using hybrid school buses is the most

effective solution for reducing pollu-

tion… Gradually we would have hybrid

school buses replace our regular school

buses and taxis for activities and field-

trips. The money our school would save

from the eco-transportation system

would be dedicated towards green proj-

ects or expanding our bus program,” she

said.

Burnaby North has not yet received the

bus, which is currently being built, as the

school and the district are still trying to

figure out a way to properly utilize the

bus.

“Technically, it was awarded to Bur -

naby North, but individual high schools

do not own anything in the district so we

haven’t found out how we will utilize it

together,” says David Mushens, vice-prin-

cipal at Burnaby North Second ary

School. “Things come up, like mainte-

nance and insurance, and if we spread

these expenses across the school district,

it makes it less expensive to deal with.”

The bus, and the contest, has brought

the topic of being greener into the

school’s agenda, for students and school

officials alike.

“It’s kind of refocused our energies on

environmental issues, which have be -

come a broader topic of conversation.

We have always had paper issues, but it’s

become a topic between student and

staff, and brought forward a much

greater awareness,” Mushens says. “The

district has also taken a significant inter-

est, looking at our schools and what we

can do differently. And it’s now on our

radar for student involvement in planning

events, and what the environmental

impact will be, whereas matters like this

weren’t there before.”

The contest helped Hao and her

school to become more environmentally

friendly, and also familiarized people

about these relatively new, plug-in hybrid

school buses. The first model, delivered

to the market in February 2007, looks

exactly like your classic school bus. The

real difference is realized in the fuel econ-

omy; an average school bus typically uses

over 6,400 litres of fuel annually, whereas

the hybrid version uses around 2,200

litres. The hybrid can also improve fuel

economy by up to 65 per cent and

reduce emissions by about 40 per cent.

So how does it work? Well, like the

name, you simply plug it in to a 220-volt

A greener way ofgetting to schoolBurnaby North Secondary studenthelps school win Canada’sfirst plug-in hybrid bus

BY SHAYNA WIWIERSKITR

AN

SP

OR

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ION

SE

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WESTERN CANADA

BUS1-800-661-9316

Chilliwack Edmonton Red Deer Calgary Regina

www.westerncanadaicbus.com


outlet for a six- to eight-hour charge time.

The bus itself is designed for a 12-year life

span – the same as a regular school bus –

however, the batteries will have to be

replaced likely once in that time.

Another big difference between the

hybrid and standard bus version is the

price tag. According to the contest web-

site, the hybrid plug-in bus costs

$200,000 CDN, approximately double

the amount of a standard school bus.

And, ultimately, it’s the price tag that

makes some school divisions reluctant to

purchase them.

“You have to

look at the big pic-

ture, which is the

economics. The up-

front cost and battery

replacement is costly;

you really have to look

measurably at the real

economy and dollars and cents.

Environmentally it’s great, but it takes a

long time to get that $100,000 back,”

says Doug Hulse, account manager for

Wes tern Canada IC Bus.

According to Hulse, there are about

half a dozen of them in Western Canada,

with the majority of them in British

Columbia and one in Saskatchewan.

“The hybrid conversion has been very

costly in terms of an up-front capital

cost. In B.C., there has been some

provincial participation in the cost of the

hybrid bus.”

Even though the cost of the hybrid

plug-in is quite high, Kladder has been

hearing good things as well as growing

interest for them from students. And

because of this interest, he believes that

this is just the beginning for hybrid buses.

“We believe hybrid school buses are

not just a short-term fix for the school bus

industry. We see hybrids as a long-term

strategic growth in the industry. As more

automotive companies ramp up their

hybrid production, especially with cars

like the Toyota Prius, and introduce plug-

in technology to the consumer market,

we can take advantage of the cost pro-

duction of ion lithium batteries, and ulti-

mately it will drive the cost down for our

industry,” says Kladder.

For more information, please visitwww.icbus.com andwww.CanadasGreenestSchool.ca. �

ENPOINTE ENTERPRISES supplied the producers

of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the

2010 Winter Olympics with barres, flooring and

glassless mirrors. EnPointe is the manufacturer of

dance barres, brackets and sprung dance flooring

and is the distributor for Marley Flooring and the

Canadian distributor for Glassless Mirrors. Glassless

Mirrors are made of a high optical grade, very tough

film that does not shatter or break into dangerous

shards when impacted. The reflected image is super

clear and amazingly bright when compared to glass

or plastic mirrors. Universities and school districts

throughout North America purchase the high quality

dancing products from this Canadian company.

TF 866-491-9019

F 250-764-6220

E [email protected]

www.en-pointe.com

Quality Productsdesigned by dancers for dancers

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Legal guide toSpecial needs transportation

supports defensible decisions

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August 2010 – Education Compliance Group, Inc. announced

the release of a new book by Peggy A. Burns, Esq. and Lisa J.

Hudson, Defensible Decisions about Transporting Students withSpecial Needs: Lessons Learned from Legal Disputes.

With more than 300 pages, 16 chapters, and sections includ-

ing “In Practice”, “Overview”, “Case Summaries”, and “Case

Details”, Defensible Decisions will be of value to school district

transportation professionals, bus contractors, special educators,

and school and district administrators.

“This ‘look back’ at the important cases that will define ‘the

road ahead’ for transporting students with special needs sup-

ports excellent decision-making, implementation of successful

practices, and effective training programs,” states Peggy Burns.

“Readers will understand the ways in which safety, compliance

and customer service come together to provide access to edu-

cation for our special riders.”

With access to educational programs a critical legal mandate

for students with disabilities, educators and school transporta-

tion professionals must recognize the need for individualized

decision-making about effective and appropriate transportation.

The book’s goals include preventing legal disputes and minimiz-

ing risks. It will further readers’ understanding of the ways in

which safety, compliance and customer service can be reconciled

in planning and implementing special needs transportation.

Contents include:• Tips, strategies, and methods to put “In Practice.”

• An overview of each topic to provide a snapshot of the issues,

a basic understanding of the legal framework, and a fast look

at the importance of the topic.

• Case summaries and rulings to give readers quick insights into

the cases and choose key issues for focus and further detail.

• Case details to serve as comparisons to readers’ own dilem-

mas, motivation of creative strategies for achieving compli-

ance, and true stories to base scenarios for training and in-serv-

ices.

From “Appropriate Method,” “Dis cip line and Behavior” and

“Length of Ride,” to “Student Information” and “Transition

Services” – and each topic in between – Defensible Decisionsfocuses on the subjects that reach court dockets and state and

federal agency agendas.

In addition, you’ll find a Glossary, Table of Cases, Index, and a

newly revised edition of Peggy’s useful Q & A document, “Where

Does It Say That?”

The price per copy is $75.00 (USD), plus $9.95 for shipping

and handling. Order by calling toll-free at (888) 604-6141, or

visit the Education Compliance Group, Inc. website at:

www.educationcompliancegroup.com, or send an email to

[email protected]. �

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Evergreen is the leading national environmental organizationthat makes our cities more liveable. Through our urban sustain-ability programs – “Evergreen Common Grounds” and “ToyotaEvergreen Learning Grounds” – we are the leading national fun-der and facilitator of local sustainable greening projects inschoolyards, parks and communities across Canada.

Since its inception in 1995, the British Columbia division ofEvergreen has engaged, educated and inspired over 10,000 stu-dents at 250 schools by deepening their individual connectionswith nature. Students and schools engaged in Evergreen’sLearning Grounds program learn practical, on-the-ground solu-tions for the restoration and care of their school and local com-munity’s green spaces.

The School Plant Officials Association of B.C. (SPOA) is recog-nized by Evergreen as a key stakeholder when it comes to plant-ing and greening our school districts. Strong relationshipsbetween Evergreen, like-minded associations such as SPOA, andleaders in the B.C education system are seen as integral to ourvalues of bringing students and nature together.

How Does Learning Grounds Work?Learning Grounds experts work closely with school principals,

district officials, teachers and students to create outdoor class-rooms that provide students with a healthy place to learn, playand develop a genuine respect for nature. Our expert LearningGrounds consultants are based across the country, including theVancouver region.

We provide up to $3,500 in start-up funding for individualschools and up to $2,000 for daycares, subject to a grant appli-

cation process beginning September of each year. Funding isdistributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. The LearningGrounds program also encourages a spirit of fundraisingthrough the local school district and broader community.

One entrepreneurial school in the Vancouver area successfullyraised over $300,000, in both cash and in-kind donations, to cre-ate a vibrant natural space in a high-density inner-city neigh-bourhood. This greening project also interwove culture andplace through the creation of a wild bird habitat and ethno-botanical garden featuring plants traditionally used by FirstNations for food, materials and medicinal purposes. A variety ofdetailed case studies and success stories are available on theEvergreen website.

Evergreen also maintains a comprehensive database of nativeplants, providing detailed information on a variety of plants suit-able to your school’s ecozone. We provide a range of designservices and resources that will help get your school greeningproject off the ground – and native plants into the ground.

Summarizing the success Evergreen has had with schools inBritish Columbia, Learning Grounds coordinator Dolores Altinsays, “Schools appreciate the support they get from their schooldistrict and ground maintenance staff. It is about workingtogether to develop guidelines and processes for approvals andlong-term stewardship that don’t just build projects, but leavegreen legacies.”

Along with Learning Grounds, Evergreen continues to be anational leader in all matters of urban sustainability. In B.C.,alone, we are actively engaging municipal and provincial gov-ernment, the business community, a broad network of volun-teers, the non-profit sector and our key stakeholders to developan environmental legacy within the province. As a result, we con-tinue to deliver an exciting and diverse range of projects includ-ing community gardens, farmers’ markets, urban orchards, park-land and riparian zone restoration, as well as a range of educa-tional workshops for members of the community.

To learn more about Evergreen, Learning Grounds, funding andgrant opportunities for your school, and the leading urban sus-tainability charity in Canada, please visit our website atwww.evergreen.ca. �

Creating green legacies atyour neighbourhoodschool with EvergreenBY ADRIEN BYRNE, ADVISOR, STRATEGIC RELATIONS

A group of school children learning about plants via Evergreen’sLearning Grounds program.


It’s no secret that LED technology is going to be the lighting

solution of the future. With approximately 75 per cent of light-

ing systems today using outdated, inefficient technology, LED’s

superior energy efficiency and up to 25-year life expectancy has

created an excitement in the market to adopt the technology.

The next few years are going to see rapid change in the indus-

try with the introduction of LEDs, and already early adopters in

commercial settings are starting to install the technology.

Philips is excited about the future of lighting, and has dedi-

cated substantial resources to ensure that they are at the fore-

front of LED product development. Nevertheless, until the

lumens per watt and the colour consistency of indoor LED light-

ing has been developed to op timum standards, and until the

longevity far outreaches traditional linear fluorescent lamps,

replacing an entire operation with LEDs is still a few years away.

Even factoring in the energy savings with LEDs, the technology

is still so new that replacing T8 tubes with the latest LED linear

fluorescent replacement products could have a unit cost nearly

50 times that of a standard T8 lamp, and would likely deter the

average individual from a substantial investment that’s yet to be

“tried, tested and true.” In other words, linear fluorescent lamps

still offer many advantages today in terms of light quality and

total cost of ownership that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Sustainability Stepping StoneAs LED technology in the indoor arena improves, and its use

becomes more widespread, Philips Lighting Canada is bridging

the gap between linear and LED with an industry exclusive – the

company’s 32W T8 and 34W T12 lamps manufactured to have 20

per cent longer life are now being offered at the base model

price.

“The vision for tomorrow’s lighting is LED technology, but we

need to be capitalizing on what’s valuable today for an efficient

and sustainable approach,” says Philips Lighting Canada’s

Sharon MacArthur.

Essentially, the basic versions of both the T8 and T12 product

categories have been eliminated and, as a complimentary

upgrade to end users, the longer life versions are the new entry-

level lamp. They’re launching this initiative with a campaign enti-

tled “There’s a New Spec In Town.” What’s more, Philips’s indus-

try-leading three-year, out-of-the-box warranty applies to the

new base models, and performance characteristics such as

lumens, lumen maintenance, colour temperatures, mercury con-

tent and CRI are equivalent in the longer-life lamps.

“Four-foot T8 linear fluorescent lamps are still a very viable

product category, and we see it as a stepping stone as moving

to the future of lighting,” says MacArthur.

Less Waste, Less Money WastedLighting alone accounts for around 50 per cent of the energy

bill in most commercial buildings, so for the end user, extended

lamp life reduces significant costs for labour and lamp replace-

ment, as well as disposal costs associated with recycling. Philips

offers the longest-life four-foot fluorescent lamps in the industry,

with no lamp now rated at less than 30,000 hours*. This is a mon-

umental shift when you consider that Philips has historically sold

Longer life lampsare the new ‘basic’

BY KATE CALDER

Lighting alone accounts for

around 50 per cent of the

energy bill in most

commercial buildings,

so for the end user, extended

lamp life reduces significant

costs for labour and lamp

replacement, as well as

disposal costs associated

with recycling.

www.GreenCapSpec.com

Demand it. Meet it. Wear it.

There’s a new spec in town

Get more for your money. The Philips 32W T8 PLUS lamp is the

longest-life base-model lamp in the industry. At 36,000 hours rated life*,

you get an extra year of lamp life - guaranteed.

And we do this with the lowest mercury content in

the industry. All at a base-model price.

www.GreenCapSpec.com*12 hours per start, instant start.

Contact 1-877 WESCO CA (937-2622) or visit www.wesco.ca

T

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All at a yy.the industr

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.icebase model pr

instant stat,s per star12 hour*

Contact 1-877 WESCO CA

t.ar

esw.ww.A (937-2622) or visit ww

.caoc


millions of the basic 24,000 hour 32W T8 lamps into theCanadian market over the past few years. (*Refers to T12 longlife, 12 hours per start, instant start ballast. T8 PLUS model has alonger life.)

“We’ve just added a year to the life to all of those lamps,”says MacArthur. “That means we’re producing less lamps, dis-posing less and introducing less mercury into the whole process– the ripple effect is pretty tremendous.”

T8 Green TechnologyBesides energy efficiency and long lamp life, the third factor

in Philips’s position as a sustainability leader is the low toxicity ofits products. Philips’s longer life four-foot T8 PLUS and T12 LongLife lamps use the company’s patented ALTO technology, whichboasts the industry’s lowest mercury content. And this technolo-gy extends to the remainder of Philips extensive fluorescent

portfolio of value-add products, including their EnergyAdvantage 25W T8 Extra Long Life lamp, rated at 46,000 hours,with a 48-month warranty. In fact, if you couple the Philips 25WT8 with the Philips Advance Optanium ballast, Philips will furtherwarranty the system for a staggering seven years to educationalinstitutions!

In 2007, Philips reduced the mercury content in its T8 lampsdown to only 1.7mg of 100-per-cent recycled mercury – half thecontent from its leading competitors. Since its launch in 1995,more than 1.5 billion fluorescent lamps with ALTO low-mercurytechnology have been produced, with 24 tons less mercury thanprevious non-ALTO lamps.

Philips’s philosophy, “prevention is better than cure”, drivesthe company to lead by example with solid strategies that willlight a greener future. Strategies that reduce energy demands,reduce toxins, and reduce operating costs and waste with supe-rior long-life products. Strategies that make it simple to switchto green. In the end, we all want to save money. And save theearth. It just makes sense.

About the Author: Kate Calder is a trade journalist in Toronto.She has written articles for various industries including electri-cal contracting, manufacturing , commercial printingand television production. �

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We think long-term. You want a floorcovering that lasts. Erv Parent Group represents world-class flooring products from Tarkett, Johnsonite, Mondo, Altro and others to offer you the best balance between performance, maintenance, sustainability, durability and value. Whether it’s vinyl, linoleum or rubber, in areas from classrooms to corridors, gyms or labs, we have a solution for your floorcovering needs.We cover walls too - ask us about Altro Whiterock hygienic wall systems, an alternative to traditional wallcovering systems.Visit ervparent.com for more information.

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The role of technology in the building design process has comea long way since the early days of using CAD systems to auto-mate the drafting process. In the last twenty years, buildinginformation modeling (BIM) has transformed the way consult-ants, architects and contractors work together to bring ideasfrom concept to reality.

Firestone Building Products recognized the need to giveroofing professionals an easy-to-use roof modeling tool thatseamlessly integrates with popular BIM programs likeAutodesk® Revit® Architecture building design software.RoofGenuity™, the first-of-its-kind roof modeling tool for thecommercial roofing industry, was introduced this summer at theAmerican Institute of Architecture’s 2010 National Conventionand Design Exposition in Miami.

RoofGenuity enables architects, consultants, roofing contrac-tors and building owners to populate the roof area on theirbuilding designs with various configurations of Firestone roof-ing system BIM objects to create the optimal model for theircommercial building needs. It can used for a wide range of

building types, including educational facilities; commercial,

industrial and office buildings; entertainment venues; health-

care facilities; and government buildings.

To use RoofGenuity, roofing professionals can visit www.roof-

genuity.com and register for a free account. After entering

optional project location information, the tool determines the

appropriate product recommendations and begins the roof

assembly process.

Available in pre-configured or fully customizable systems, the

modeling tool prompts users to select their preferred assembly

features, including system type, attachment method, R-value,

deck type and desired warranty. They also can choose options

such as a cool roof, coverboard or vapour retarder. Based on

the responses, a list of potential roof assemblies is generated,

complete with product details and 3-D models.

RoofGenuity also features links to product (http://firestonebp-

co.com/roofing/) and technical (http://firestonebpco. com/tech-

nicalinformation/) information on the Firestone Build ing Prod -

ucts’s website. After final customizations are made, a 2-D CAD

drawing or 3-D model of the finished assembly can be down-

loaded to a computer or exported to another BIM program.

Professionals involved in roofing decisions are invited to visit

the RoofGenuity website (www.roofgenuity.com) to view a tuto-

rial of the tool’s capabilities and begin creating exceptional roof

assemblies to top off their next building project. �

Tools of the tradeFirestone introduces roof modeling tool

INSIDE: SOLARWALL SYSTEMS MAKING SCHOOLS’ FUTURES BRIGHT


Thoughts onOpsTalk BY CHUCK MORRIS

Publ

icat

ions

mai

l agr

eem

ent #

4093

4510

It has been quite a few years now since Ernie Lambert and I, as

well as a few others, met with David Langstaff from DEL

Communications Inc. It was a cool and rainy fall day in a hotel

in Richmond that David flew out to meet with us. We were look-

ing for something to present our association to the province

with, something that would be our ‘flagship’, so the province

knew who we were.

Discussions about what it could and would look like took

place, as well as brainstorming for a name. We were familiar

with DEL Communications as we had seen a number of their

publications for other associations. It looked like a good venue

to expose more of our association to our members and more

importantly, to others in the education facilities management

sector.

An idea was conceived, a platform devised, a name was cho-

sen, and that was the start of a beautiful relationship. From the

first issue we, as the executive of the association, saw what DEL

could provide to us. We began working with them on each and

every issue to enhance the magazine, to broaden our audience,

to address our supporters, and to strengthen what we saw as an

association of educational facility managers – a body of profes-

sional people working together ensuring safe and healthy facil-

ities for education.

Over the course of its life, Ops Talk has evolved as an associ-

ation trade magazine to something that provides more than the

usual. That evolution is because of the great work DEL

Communications has devoted to the magazine and the energy

our association continues to pursue. It is because of its rele-

vance, its current topics, and how Katrina Senyk, our editor,

helps us keep it pointed in the right direction! Katrina, who is

based out of Winnipeg, exemplifies and confirms what our

desires were a number of years ago when we first met with

David. It is because of her and her team that the magazine has

truly grown to reflect who we are and what we are here for. It is

a true collaboration between SPOA and DEL that we have a

magazine that truly is our flagship!

Ops Talk not only features articles about important issues for

readers, but also allows for input from our members on topics

with which we deal on a daily basis. That provides a great

opportunity for sharing of knowledge and experience amongst

all of us.

Ops Talk goes to every public school district in British

Columbia, to many private schools, colleges and universities,

the Ministry of Education, and a number of other relevant

addresses outside of B.C. It is a source of current information

and offers direct solutions for members, all the while acting as

a marketing messenger for our association. What could be

better?

When you read your next issue of Ops Talk, give some

thought to what goes into making this magazine. Think about

the articles and the other contributions you see between the

covers. Give thanks to the vendors we all deal with, as without

their support, we would be very hard-pressed to continue with

such a flagship for the association!

As one of those who sat in on the inaugural meeting to

develop this magazine, and as someone who reads it cover to

cover each issue, I am proud of it. I encourage all of you to think

about what you are reading, what it means to your daily life, and

what it means to SPOA. Thank you for continuing to support

Ops Talk, thank you for contributing articles, and thank you to

David and Katrina and their team at DEL Communications for

showing us off! Well done! �


If your workers are on the job at an older

building, help make sure they're being

properly protected against the deadly

mineral known as asbestos. When its

invisible fibres are released into the air,

asbestos can be inhaled by unsuspecting

workers and cause serious health prob-

lems – or death – years after exposure.

Workers, many of them in the construc-

tion industry but also those in related

industries, have died from asbestos-

related diseases like mesothelioma and

asbestosis.

For decades, asbestos was used

everywhere in construction because of

its strength, heat-resistance, and sound-

proofing properties. Asbestos was so

integral to the building process that it

was added to many common materials,

including: flooring, cement, ceilings,

plaster, vermiculite, caulking, roofing felt

and sheets as well as pipe and electrical

insulation.

Though it is no longer used in con-

struction, asbestos continues to cast its

deadly shadow well into the present. In

the last decade, asbestos has killed more

workers in B.C. than any other type ofworkplace injury or disease. Becauseasbestos attacks slowly, many who havedied were older or retired workers. It'sexpected that asbestos will remain a topkiller for the next several years as moreworkers get sick and die from decades-old exposures.

Asbestos only becomes dangerouswhen disturbed, like when handled,drilled, or sanded during renovations.Once released, asbestos’ microscopicfibres can stay suspended in the air forhours, ready to be breathed in by theunaware and unprotected. Onceinhaled, the fibres then lodge them-selves into the respiratory system, caus-ing irreversible damage to lung tissuewith symptoms of asbestos-related dis-eases not appearing until years later.

Today's workers are still at risk of beingexposed to asbestos during demolition,salvage or renovation projects. As part ofthe construction industry, sheet metaland HVAC workers are at a higher risk ofexposure as they are more likely to comeinto contact with asbestos while on thejob.

Because structures built before 1990are likely to contain asbestos, knowbeforehand if the jobsite has undergonea site survey specifically for hazardousmaterials like asbestos. Make sure thatthe hazard assessment is done by a qual-ified professional, as only proper labora-tory results will determine if workers areat risk of exposure.

If asbestos is present, it must be prop-erly removed before any other work canbegin. Because asbestos removal is acomplex and hazardous process, leave it

to the professionals who have the prop-er training, experience, and equipmentto do the job well and safely.

Respirators and secured work zonesare not the only elements required to dothe job right; without proper work proce-dures and tools like special protectivegarments or a decontamination room,asbestos removal could hurt more thanjust those who are doing the work. Notonly can asbestos fibres move intoanother work area if not properly con-tained, but they can also be transportedto other locations by attaching onto peo-ple’s clothing. Later, the fibres detachand re-circulate in the air of the new envi-ronment – like the office or at home.

Before any work starts, written confir-mation that the asbestos has been prop-erly removed and disposed of should bereceived and available on the jobsite.

If any asbestos is found while a job istaking place – even after the removalprocess – stop work immediately toavoid risking further exposure.

Helping to ensure workers don't sufferfrom the devastating effects of anasbestos-related occupational disease isworth the extra time required for properassessment or asbestos removal. Unlikemost on-the-job accidents, asbestos isan invisible danger whose effects don'tbecome apparent until much later –sometimes long after workers haveretired from their careers.

For more information, additionalresources, or asbestos-specific require-ments found in the Occupational Healthand Safety Regulation, please visitwww.WorkSafeBC.com. �

Today’s workersstill at risk fromyesterday’s asbestos

BY MIKE MCKENNA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, B.C. CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ALLIANCE


Moisture: A natural disasterBY DARRYL WILSON, MAPEI TECHNICAL SERVICES

View of moisture issue with wood flooring.

View of moisture underneath carpet moisture.

Moisture issue underneath tile.

Vinyl sheet glue re-emulsification through seam.

There are many types of beautiful and stylish floors in schools

– marble foyers in school entrances, ceramic tile in laborato-

ries, coloured and crafted sheet vinyl in hallways and class

rooms, hardwood floors in gymnasiums, carpet in adminis-

trative offices, and rubber flooring in areas surrounding

aquatic centres. The average cost for installed flooring runs

around $4 to $15/square foot for carpeting; $10 to

$14/square foot for hardwood; $19 to 60/square foot for

marble; $7 to $14/square foot for tile and $3 to $7/square

foot for vinyl (according to www.costhelper.com). When work

is complete, the flooring represents a significant investment

by school facilities’ management. In certain circumstances,

the concrete subfloor can compromise this investment, caus-

ing costly defects in the floor covering.

If the water-to-cement ratio in the concrete mix is too high,

or if the concrete slab does not cure properly, it can become

overly porous. As a result, the tiny channels within the con-

crete may remain permanently connected, increasing the

permeability of the concrete slab and the likelihood of mois-

ture movement up through the slab to the flooring. In the

absence of a vapour barrier/retarder, natural moisture such

as ground water can become a problem. Artificial sources of

moisture like irrigation problems, incorrect exterior grading

or broken plumbing can also lead to problems with moisture

control. The result can be serious failures in the flooring.

In wood floors, moisture could lead to wood crowning or

cupping, making that smooth gym floor more like an obsta-

cle course. Carpet could start to buckle and smell due to

excess moisture, mould and mildew. Moisture could cause

efflorescence of cement-based grout in tile joints, leaving

unattractive salt deposits in the grout lines separating the

tiles. Stone is known for being sensitive to moisture and

could sometimes change colours and/or curl in the presence

of too much moisture. When sheet vinyl and other resilients

are installed in conditions of excess moisture, adhesives will

emulsify, turning gooey and losing their bonding strength.

These conditions occur because moisture vapour is gov-

erned by the laws of physics.

Water vapour travels from one area to another whenever a

vapour pressure difference exists. In a controlled climate

(HVAC), the temperature in a room is usually 70 to 80

degrees Fahrenheit, and the relative humidity is 30 to 50 per

cent. Under these conditions, the air above the water-laden

slab wants to hold more moisture and satisfies itself by

pulling moisture from the slab. The warmer the room is, the

more water is absorbed. Calcium chloride testing, which is


used to measure moisture vapour emission rates, indicates thatacceptable MVER should be in the range of three pounds (1.36kg) of moisture vapour per 1,000 square feet (92.9 m2 ) of spacewithin a 24-hour period. Moisture issues beneath the concreteslab can cause significant increases in the MVER – sometimesas high as 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet, per 24 hours.

Surface preparation can be critically important to the MVEReffect on the floor covering, whether it is tile, stone, carpet,wood or resilient. One of the essential components of surfacepreparation is the specification of the right moisture barrierbetween the concrete sub-floor and the floor covering. MAPEIsupplies two types of moisture remediation, depending on aproject’s needs:

Planiseal™ Easy incorporates an acrylic polymer, which canbe used on fresh, green concrete that is undergoing standardmoisture dissipation. It has been specifically designed to treatinterior concrete slabs from 14 days to one year old that exhib-it MVER up to eight pounds or 90 per cent relative humidity andreduce transmission rates to three pounds or less. This productcan be specified to significantly reduce the time from installa-tion of the concrete sub-floor to installation of the floor cover-ing under ordinary circumstances.

Planiseal™ EMB is a single-coat 100-per-cent-solids epoxymoisture barrier system for concrete slabs that exhibit MVER up

to 20 pounds and reduces transmission rates to less than threepounds. Planiseal™ EMB's high-performance formulation pen-etrates into the concrete substrate while creating a solid filmlayer on the surface for the ultimate in moisture transmissionreduction. Because of its reduced-odour formula, specifiers canchoose this solution when a project involves a concrete sub-floor with a serious moisture problem in an occupied building.

Safeguarding installations with the proper moisture barrierswill result in sustainable, beautiful flooring that will see studentsthrough all their years of schooling. �

EMB application at Frank Hurt Secondary School in Surrey, B.C.

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What is the RGC Guarantee Programand Why Specify It?

The RGC Guarantee Program is a quality assurance

program that promotes sustainability by using materials

that meet or exceed national standards. The program

does this by following industry-leading application stan-

dards published in the RGC Roofing Practices Manual,

and by delivering a nationally recognized roofing appren-

ticeship program that requires a strict ratio of journeyper-

sons to apprentices while the roof is being in stalled.

Professional roofing consultants and inspectors provide

independent third-party oversight on every roofing job

that specifies the RGC Guarantee.

How Much Does theRGC Guarantee ProgramAdd to the Cost of the Project?

The cost of an RGC Guarantee is straightforward and

depends on whether it is a five- or 10-year term. The cost

of a five-year guarantee is five and a half per cent of the

contract value (three and a half per cent for independent

inspection and two per cent for guarantee coverage). The

cost of a 10-year guarantee is eight per cent of the con-

tract value (four and a half per cent for independent

inspection and three and a half per cent for guarantee

coverage). Using the example above ($100,000 contract),

the cost of the five year RGC Guarantee is $5,500 (for the

five years or about $1,100 per year). For 10 years, the cost

would be $8,000 or $800 a year, which is an even greater

saving and certainly worth the peace-of-mind. The cost

includes all inspections as the work progresses, as well as

all re-inspections at two years (on a five-year term), and

two, five and eight on the 10-year guarantee.

The RGC Guarantee Includes:• All the administrative oversight required as the job

progresses (receiving, data entry, and filing).

• Notifying the roofing contractor of any deficiencies

(recording completion). RCABC holds $50,000 perform-

ance bonds on probationary members for two years

and $25,000 bonds on all RCABC active members.

• Notifying the material manufacturer of any material

deficiencies and ensuring that defective material is

removed and/or replaced. RCABC requires a $100,000

material bond for all new roofing products accepted in

the RGC Guarantee Program.

• All the administrative oversight required to track the

job to completion and to inform the inspection firm

when future re-inspections are due.

Why is the RGCGuarantee Program unique?• Five- and 10-year coverage for workmanship and

materials.

• Qualified “Red Seal” roofers working for professional

roofing contractors.

• Independent “accepted” inspectors, where neither

they, nor their firms, are RCABC members and do not

pay dues to the association. They are preferably

selected by the owner.

• Two-year re-inspection on five-year, and two-, five-,

and eight-year re-inspections on a 10-year.

• RGC staff, using a proprietary data base, notifies

inspection firms when re-inspections are due. Reports

are filed with RGC and provided to the owner. Techni -

cal advice is available directly and/or online at

www.rcabc.org.

• RGC Guarantee Standards are the industry standards

for British Columbia.

• Accepted materials are rigorously reviewed to ensure

they meet or exceed industry standards.

• A third-party guarantee is in force for the entire term

backed up by RCABC and not prorated.

The RGC Guarantee Certificate is only issued once the

work is complete and all work or material deficiencies are

addressed and an “approved” final report is issued by an

independent inspection firm and filed with RCABC.

Unlike other warranties, the RGC Guarantee Certificate

can only be issued by roofing contractors that are mem-

bers of the Roofing Contractors Association of British

Columbia. �

The RGC Guarantee ProgramAn inexpensive quality assurance option forschool officials in every region of the province


Modern condensing boiler equipment

is becoming more efficient at getting all

of the heat out of fossil fuels, and

becoming more reliable and affordable

every year. Even better, we are at the

edge of innovations in control and sys-

tem design that, combined with the

more efficient boilers, will be soon able

to guarantee reductions of over 50 per

cent of energy input versus convention-

al heating systems – new or retrofit.

Here are some well-proven concepts,

backed up by new research, that prove

how easy it can be.

Much of this has been said before

(see Art McDonald’s excellent article in

the Spring 2009 Ops Talk), but there are

still some skeptics who doubt the effica-

cy of these strategies. Doubt no more!

Research done in the last decade has

proven some pretty basic concepts that

we have been promoting for many

years. Much of the information I have

studied on this topic has been vetted by

the intrepid researchers at the Natural

Resources Canada - CANMET Energy

Technology Centre in Ottawa. They

generated the following chart in order

to be able to more easily test appliances

for part-load efficiency (refer to the CSA

Standard P.10-07) – have a look.

This chart is a thing of beauty, a

game-changer – it backs up what we

have been saying for years, and I think it

will usher in a whole new era of efficien-

cy innovation. It distills down a whole

bunch of information into an easily

understood graphic depiction of how

our heating systems in Canada work.

Based on climate data from many major

cities in Canada, the dotted red line is

an average load profile for these cities

and they all fit the profile very closely. To

simplify appliance and system testing,

the red line was broken down to three

discrete load capacities, illustrating how

– on average – our heating systems run

at 15 per cent or less capacity for 30 per

cent of the heating season; 40 per cent

or less capacity for 60 per cent of the

season; and at full capacity for only 10

per cent of the time. This elegant little

chart directs us toward the fundamental

concepts we will be using in the coming

years to refine both equipment and sys-

tem designs for greater efficiency. How

can we take advantage of this informa-

tion to make our heating systems ener-

gy misers?

Number one in importance is to stop

over-sizing boilers – short-cycling boil-

ers are big energy hogs. From the P.10

chart we can see that even a “properly”

Get out of ‘hot water’ –Design temperaturesonly happen a few times a year

BY ROY COLLVER


sized on/off boiler will short cycle for

over 90 per cent of the heating season.

If we are over sizing above the maxi-

mum input needed, we are making the

problem even worse.

Number two: match the heat output

to the actual load by staging or modu-

lating the input to the boiler plant. A 5:1

turn-down ratio will reduce short cycling

to only 14 per cent of the heating sea-

son. There are more and more boilers

on the market today that can reach

down to a 20 per cent (5:1) firing rate,

and even lower, and in larger schools,

the staging of multiple boilers has the

same effect as modulating a single boil-

er. See how powerful the P.10 chart is in

illustrating some of these principles.

The variation illustrated below is a per-

fect example of how we can utilize this

tool.

Number three – Use outdoor reset to

lower water temperatures as low as pos-

sible, whenever possible. This is a “no-

brainer” and should be required of any

boiler. Some movement in this country

is afoot to legislate mandatory outdoor

reset control for all boilers; however,

there is significant push-back from some

stakeholders who have yet to embrace

the concept of low temperature hydron-

ic boilers, and therefore who do not

have products that can easily comply.

Reducing water temperature based on

warmer outdoor temperatures works for

just about any heating application you

can imagine. Many doubters deny this

strategy can work with baseboard radia-

tors or fan coils, but they are just plain

wrong. The chart below is from one of

the biggest baseboard manufacturers in

North America, and every manufacturer

has similar specifications.

Based on these types of charts, a gen-

eral rule for estimating is that a 10 degree

Fahrenheit reduction in water tempera-

ture reduces heat output by 11 per cent,

which just about perfectly tracks the

reduction in heat loss from a space as the

outdoor temperature warms up from

design conditions. So you doubters out

there have a hard look at the information

presented here – this is not blue sky and

wishful thinking, it is based on science

and sound engineering principles, as

well as many years of experience.

Outdoor reset is a proven strategy

that saves energy big time for a very

minor outlay – many boilers today, espe-

cially low temperature and condensing

boilers, simply throw it in to their on-

board control for free.

And lastly, number four: use condens-

ing boilers to maximize the benefit from

outdoor reset and to squeeze the last

bit of energy from the flue gasses. We

used to throw hot flue gasses up the

chimney (500°F at the flue collar of an

atmospheric boiler is not uncommon),

along with a whole bunch of dilution air

and water vapour. Now we can cool flue

gasses down to as low as the boiler’s

return water temperature and condense

the water vapour right in the boiler,

recovering the latent heat from the con-

densate – there’s nothing left to recover

– we can get it all.

For further information,

please visit the

IBC Technologies website at

http://www.ibcboiler.com/

or call (604) 877-0277. �


For more than a decade, buzzwords such as “cool roof” and“sustainable roofing” have dominated nearly every publicationdealing with industrial roofing. However, it is sometimes mis-takenly assumed that cool or sustainable roofing applies exclu-sively to new construction. What does it mean to have a sus-tainable roof? A sustainable roof is one that is “designed, con-structed, maintained, and rehabilitated with an emphasisthroughout its life cycle on using natural resources efficientlyand preserving the global environment.”1

There are several ways to convert an existing commercial roofinto a sustainable one. They include: the application of a reflec-tive white (cool roof) coating; the addition of photovoltaic pan-els; and the application of metal or vegetative roofs. This articlewill focus on the rehabilitation aspect of sustainability; specifi-cally, on the effects and benefits of the applying reflective coat-ings on the performance and life-cycle costing of the roof.

Extending the Expected Useful LifeThe average expected useful life (EUL) of various roof sys-

tems is shown in the chart below.

As a roof comes to the end of its theoretical useful life, a roof-ing professional can determine if a roof is a candidate for en -hanced sustainability through the use of a reflective coating.The typical approach for this determination would include aninfrared scan to search for leaks or wet insulation. All identifiedwet areas must be cut out and replaced. In all cases, flashingssurrounding scuppers, drains, penetrations and HVAC unitsneed to be sealed, re-flashed, and replaced if damaged. Allridging, blisters, splits and fishmouths must be repaired. Anyponding areas must have either new drains or crickets installed(crickets are tapered triangles that help direct the flow of waterto a drain). Once these issues are addressed, the roof can becoated.

The application of a reflective coating is one of the simplestways a roof can become sustainable. Many of the roof coatingson the market can be applied with a regular paint roller.Multiple component reflective coatings (e.g., two-componentpolyurethanes and polyureas) require a metered dispenser sys-tem and a higher degree of operational sophistication. Reflec -tive coatings come in a variety of chemistries, including acrylic,polyurethane, urea, silicone and polyurethane-urea hybrids. Inaddition, new advances in soy-based technology have allowedformulators to incorporate “greener” bio-based raw materialsinto their sustainable coatings.

Applying a reflective coating to a roof will add between fiveand ten years to the life of a properly designed roof. By imple-menting routine preventive maintenance (e.g., regular evalua-tions, cleaning drains, thermal scans to check for leaks, etc.), theworking life of the roof can be extended even further. Byextending the working life of the roof, the owner also realizes asignificant cost saving. For example, a modified bitumen roofconsisting of two-plies and a mineral cap sheet, with an esti-

ROOFING SYSTEM SURFACE TYPE EUL (min. ¼ in/ft)

Built Up (three- or four-ply) Gravel 25-30 years

Modified Bitumen (two-ply) Granules 20-25 years

Single Ply (TPO, Heat Weld PVC) Unsurfaced/Eposed Membrane 15-20 years

Single Ply (EPDM, adhered) Unsurfaced/Eposed Membrane 10-15 years

Metal (standing seam) Fluoropolymer Paint 40 years

Source: “Roof Management Program for Multiple Roof Systems”, Interface, Nov. 2008.

White reflective roof coatings:Improving the sustainabilityof existing roofs

BY JASON SMITH


mated useful life of about 20 years, when painted with a reflec-tive coating around year 20, can reduce the overall life-cyclecost of the roof by about 15 per cent.

Energy SavingsA good quality, reflective roof coating system will also save

energy costs for the building owner. More than a third of thetotal energy in Canada is used to cool, heat and operate build-ings. When compared to dark roofs, roofs with restorative whitereflective coatings require up to 40 per cent less energy to coolthe interior, reducing peak cooling demands by up to 15 percent.

Online calculators, such as www.roofcalc.com, provide user-friendly calculating tools to determine approximate energy sav-ings. The decrease in cost is directly related to the reflectivityand emissivity of the coating chosen, as shown in the chartbelow.

The temperature differential (the difference between the rooftemperature and the air temperature) is indirectly proportionalto the solar reflectance. Therefore, the more a coating reflectssunlight, the lower the temperature observed on the roof sur-face. The chart shows that coatings using titanium dioxide(white) come closest to optical whiteness (100 percentreflectance); titanium dioxide is therefore the best solar reflec-tor available to formulators. Reflectivity is the primary criteria forobtaining roof coating Energy Star® qualification2, which usesthe following reflectance guidelines:

Coatings that continue to show high reflectance beyond the

three-year mark translate to continued energy savings for the

building owner. Emissivity, a measure of the ability of the coat-

ing to release absorbed heat, is not a requirement for Energy

Star; however, emissivity values have been listed with re flec -

tance values of coatings since 2007.

Currently, 220 manufacturers have joined the Energy Star pro-

gram.3 It should be noted that the simple addition of a reflec-

tive white coating can also add to the value of a roof by con-

tributing valuable LEED® points4.

LEED PointsIn 2003, building industry leaders formed the Canada

Green Building Council (CaGBC). The council adopted LEED

Canada, which is similar to the U.S. version of LEED, which

was started in 1996. The mission of LEED is to reduce the heat

island effect, the phenomena whereby heat is absorbed and

reradiated by clusters of buildings in densely built areas.

LEED provides a point rating system establishing mainte-

nance standards not only for new construction, but also for

building rehabilitation.

In roof rehabilitation, coatings that are used to improve

reflectance and provide an additional water barrier can also

help a facility earn valuable LEED points. Points (or credits)

are earned based on a set of prerequisites in these six major

categories:

For roofs with slopes of 2:12 or less:

Initial Solar Reflectance ≥0.65

Reflectance After Three Years ≥0.50

For roofs with slopes greater than 2:12.

Initial Solar Reflectance ≥0.25

Reflectance After Three Years ≥0.15


• Sustainable sites – 14 possible points• Energy and atmosphere – 5 possible

points• Water efficiency – 17 possible points• Materials and resources – 13 possible

points• Indoor environmental quality – 15 pos-

sible points• Innovation and design process – 5 pos-

sible pointsThe points required to obtain different

LEED certifications range from 26 to 32

points (for the most basic certification) to52 to 69 points (for the highest Platinumcertification). Regardless of whether aroof coating is used as part of a restora-tion or new construction plan, LEEDpoints are typically applied in the materi-als and resources category. Your localarchitect, roofing consultant, or manu-facturer’s representative can typicallyhelp you analyze and compare the LEEDcontribution potential of various roofingsolutions.

ConclusionWith all of the buzz in the roofing in -

dustry regarding sustainability, using areflective coating may be the simplestway for a building owner to reduce ener-gy consumption while extending theworking life of their roof. When used inconjunction with a responsible, eco-friendly restoration or rehabilitation plan,the use of a reflective coating can con-tribute to LEED certification, transform-ing an existing roof into a sustainableone.

About the Author: Jason Smith is aresearch and development chemist forThe Garland Company, Inc., a manufac-turer of high-performance solutions forthe commercial building envelope . Priorto joining Garland, Smith was a seniordevelopment chemist for an interna-tional manufacturer and distributor spe-cializing in adhesives for the industrialand consumer markets. He has an M.S.in polymer chemistry and coatings tech-nology from DePaul University, Chicago.

Footnotes:1 From Proceedings of the Sustainable

Low-Slope Roofing Workshop, OakRidge National Laboratory, October1996.

2 ENERGY STAR® is a registered trade-mark of the U.S. government. TheENERGY STAR Program represents avoluntary partnership between business-es and organizations and the federalgovernment to promote energy efficien-cy and environmental activities.

3 From USGBC website:www.usgbc.org/leed/.

4 LEED® Buildings performance refers tothe Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design® (LEED) GreenBuilding Rating System®, which is a vol-untary, consensus-building national stan-dard that was initiated by the U.S. GreenBuilding Council (USGBC) for develop-ing high-performance sustainable build-ings. LEED®, Leadership in Energy andEnviron mental Design®, and GreenBuilding Rating System® are registeredtrademarks of The U.S. Green BuildingCouncil. �

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If you are tired of the endless cleaning, scrubbing, rinsing andpolishing re quired to keep your high-traffic floors bright andclean, it may be time to try the new generation of sustainablygreen microbial cleaning products in your facility; you'll saveboth time and money, and you'll be surprised how clean yourfloors will become.

When you use the new generation of sustainable microbialcleaning products, you will only need to wet the floor area withthe product for the cleaning action to start working; simplydamp-mop a floor area from edge to edge, and once the prod-uct is in place, it starts working! Billions of tiny scrubbers keepon working for up to 80 hours, deep cleaning and removing alltraces of soils, foods, and other deposits, leaving a brighter,cleaner surface for your clients and guests. Plus, you won’t needto use much of the product; usually two to four ounces in a gal-lon of warm water is all that is required.

The billions of tiny scrubbers in the product do the work foryou, deep cleaning into floor surface pores to remove depositsand build-ups that have developed over time, so you won’t needto scrub any corners. For faster results on heavy build-up, youcould soak the floor using the product in diluted form, let it sitfor an hour, then come back and brush or squeegee the entirearea and let dry.

After you’ve applied the product, you won’t need to rinse asthe floor will dry bright and clean. As well, you won’t need toclean as often; most clients report that they can reduce their fre-quency of cleaning by 30 to 50 per cent as a result of using theseproducts. For properties with multiple cleanings scheduled perday, you'll find that your floors are cleaner and require less actu-al cleanings per day, thus saving you time and money.

Furthermore, you won’t need to disinfect as often. Thoseclients who need to disinfect regularly due to health concerns(such as hospitals, retirement facilities and other types of institu-tions) find that the regular use of these products, in conjunctionwith sanitizing cleaners, can actually provide the best of bothworlds – eliminating harmful micro-organisms and deep clean-ing to remove organic matter and odours The regular use of thenew generation of sustainable green cleaning products effec-tively displaces harmful microbe populations from floor surfacesover time.

These sustainable, microbial green cleaning products for floorcleaning include general-purpose products for deep cleaningand deodorizing, deep-cleaning products for deodorizing

smelly areas like bathrooms, kitchens, and gar bage bins, andproducts for degreasing busy kitchen floor areas.

Ideally, you should be looking for third-party certified(Ecologo™ or Green Seal™ are good examples) microbialclean ing products that are considered “one-pass” cleaningproducts and are part of a sustainable product line (all theingredients are made from renewable resources and theproducts decompose quickly and easily, recycling back to theearth with minimal impact on our world).

For more information, visit www.eatoils.com.

About the Author: Charles Robinson is the national salesmanager at World Ware Enterprises Ltd., Manufacturers ofEatOils™ Microbial Green Cleaning Products. Based inCambridge, Ontario, WorldWare has distributors acrossCanada and throughout the world. �

Work smarter, not harderUse the new generation of sustainablygreen microbial cleaning products

BY CHARLES ROBINSON

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It’s no secret: heating and cooling the vasthallways and spaces of a school can leave afairly hefty carbon footprint. That’s whyTerasen Gas is working hard to help schooldistricts find more energy-efficient ways toprovide heating and cooling. For SchoolDistrict No. 23, the wheels are already inmotion at Helen Gorman Elementary inWest Kelowna. An agreement with TerasenGas will result in the school’s traditionalheating, ventilating, and air conditioning

(HVAC) system being upgraded to an ener-gy-efficient geoexchange system.

Geoexchange systems provide many benefits for developers,building owners and end-users, ranging from indoor comfort, tobenefitting the environment, to stable rates which provide financialcertainty regarding the price of energy.

“We’ve been tasked with reducing our emissions, and Terasen Gashas provided an innovative and cost-effective way to help us achievethis goal,” says Larry Paul, secretary treasurer at School District 23 incentral Kelowna. “This system will substantially reduce our naturalgas consumption and support the province’s climate action goals.”

Terasen Gas’s geoexchange systems are an extremely effectiveway to reduce energy use in a building. By using ground-source heattechnology, the system captures heat from the earth and circulates itthroughout the building. In warmer months, it generates space cool-ing. The end result is reduced energy consumption, resulting in a sig-nificant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and a small-er carbon footprint.

“As one of the first utility companies in Canada to include alterna-tive energy solutions as part of its regulated energy service offerings,our agreement with School District 23 will help them use energy effi-ciently and thereby benefit the environment,” says Doug Stout, vice

Terasen Gas helpingschools take big steps towardsreducing their carbon footprints

Brent Hunt, energy solutions manager –Terasen Gas (left), stands with Harold Schock,energy and sustainability manager – SchoolDistrict No. 23, at Helen Gorman ElementarySchool as the geoexchange system retrofittakes place.

Geoexchange systems are one of Terasen Gas’s principal alternative energysolutions, and can be implemented in both new construction and in retro-fits such as Helen Gorman Elementary.


president, energy solutions and external relations at TerasenGas and FortisBC. “School District 23 has shown great leader-ship and vision in finding an innovative way to help HelenGorman Elementary School move towards becoming carbonneutral, which also supports our efforts to encourage B.C.toward a sustainable energy future.”

The Helen Gorman Elementary School’s geoexchange sys-tem is certainly an enviable model for other schools to see howa geoexchange system can be used to help reduce their ener-gy usage and GHGs.

In addition, Delta School District 37 is also making greatstrides. In collaboration with Terasen Gas, they are in theprocess of evaluating the implementation of alternative thermalenergy solutions for schools within the Delta district. Throughthis collaboration, the school district is aiming to cut their car-bon footprint and ultimately become carbon neutral.

As an integrated energy provider with an ongoing focus andstrategy on energy efficiency and conservation, Terasen Gas is

committed to developing innovative alternative energy solu-tions like geoexchange systems for schools.

To learn more about geoexchange and other alternative ener-gy solutions for your school, please visit terasengas.com. �

The geoexchange system being installed at Helen Gorman Elementary will be a cost-effective way to increase energy efficiency and cut the facility’s carbon footprint.

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For over 13 years, the StudentawardsInc. mission has been to help studentsfind sources of funding to help thempay for their higher education – thefree money that comes from scholar-ships, grants and bursaries.

Studentawards has a researchteam that digs up hundreds of schol-arships, worth millions of dollars, andlists them within our database. Whenstudents register at www.stu-dentawards.com or www.bourse-tudes.com, they will be matchedwith the awards that most closely fittheir personal profiles.

One of the biggest aspects ofmy job is to expand the pool of

money sources for students. Every week,I’m out with our relationship develop-ment team meeting with Canadian cor-porations to discuss the ways they cansupport students (and their parents!) bycreating scholarships and other financialawards. It has been proven many timesthat supporting education provides a pos-itive return on investment for corporations– from good will to more customers andhappier employees. The conversations wehave are usually well-received, althoughthe economy has recently put a crunch onthe availability of funds for these pro-grams.

A new trend we’ve noticed is compa-nies’ interest in exploring school grants

Since

1 9 8 3

Studentawards.com: Grants programs are on the rise

BY SUZANNE TYSON, PRESIDENT, STUDENTAWARDS INC.


One brand-new program is the recent WWF-Canada Green CommUnity School

Grants Program: “Through the generous support of Loblaw Companies Ltd.,

WWF-Canada will grant $600,000 over three years, up to $200,000 a year, to

Canadian elementary and secondary schools. The grants will help reduce a

community’s impact on the environment, increase understanding of environmental

issues and solutions, stimulate environmental leadership, and inspire students and

communities to take action.”

Toll Free: 1-877-763-1540website: www.stutters.com

Kelowna .............................................. 250-763-1555

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programs. Scholarships are a great way

to reward and recognize individual stu-

dents, but the financial requirements to

create a national program are some-

times too great. A grants program, how-

ever, is an innovative solution because

the financial awards can benefit one

classroom, a school, or even an entire

community.

If time permits, a little web-surfing

could turn up local grants programs that

could benefit your school or community.

Most of these programs are run annually,

so if you miss the deadline this year,

check the site for their next cycle. Here

are a few others to investigate:

• Green Apple School Program:

http://www.fonds-eco-

ecole.ca/home.en.html

• Earth Day Canada Community

Environment Fund:

http://www.earthday.ca/

envirofund/default.aspx

• Sunlight Green Kids: http://

www.sunlightgreencleankids.

ca/en/index.html

• bp A+ for Energy:

http://www.bp.com/

modularhome.do?categoryId=1060&

The Studentawards team will be out

there working to create more of these

programs. You can help by asking your

local business to create something for

your community, or to get their head

offices involved in creating more grants

programs – it’s literally a win-win! �


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Air Filtration Specialists

Choosing the rightair filter and filter media

BY BOB JACKSON, CAFS NORSPEC FILTRATION LTD. SARNIA, ON

Poor indoor-air quality (IAQ) is more than

just a nuisance; it’s costly, too. Poor IAQ

significantly influences the occurrence of

communicable respiratory illnesses and

allergies, asthma, and sick-building

symptoms. Some of the airborne trig-

gers for these illnesses include micro-

organisms, respirable particles such as

dust and smoke, volatile organic com-

pounds, and allergens.

In Canada, 5.7 million school children

and close to one million teachers,

administrators, and others walk into

15,000 school buildings every day – and

at least 50 per cent of these schools have

been diagnosed with indoor air quality

problems.

Fortunately, many of these triggers

can be eliminated or significantly

reduced by the proper selection of air

filters in a building's HVAC system.

Advances in air filtration have led to the

development of systems that provide

superior IAQ while reducing energy

costs and helping commercial and

institutional buildings achieve green-

building milestones.

Air Filtration and IAQ

The average human breathes in

about 16,000 quarts of air, which con-

tain about 70,000 visible and invisible

particles, each day. According to

researchers, indoor air often is two to

five times more polluted than outdoor

air. Most of the respirable dust and

other particles people breathe into

their lungs is smaller than 10 microns in

size.

Therefore, the first step in determin-

ing the best type of HVAC filter needed

– and an important step in any IAQ-

related building strategy – is to identify

the types and sizes of particular pollu-

tants in the building. Once problemat-

ic pollutants are identified, it is time to

look at filter efficiency. Filtration effi-

ciency is defined by how well a filter

cleans indoor air by removing airborne

particles. Low-efficiency filters – those

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NU-TECH SYSTEMS LTD.12200 - 1st Avenue | Richmond, British Columbia | V7E 3M2

Phone: 604.271.9222 | Fax: 604.271.2156

WWW.NU-TECHSYSTEMS.COM

NU-T

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Index to advertisersAllmar International .....................................................................11

Barclay Restorations.....................................................................24

Basement Systems Vancouver ....................................................39

Belimo Americas ...........................................................................15

Blue Imp Recreational Products of Canada Ltd. .......................38

Canstar Restorations ......................................................................3

Centaur Products Inc....................................................................14

Don's Power Vac........................................................................OBC

E.B. Horsman & Son .....................................................................26

Energy Wise Distributors Ltd......................................................20

EnPointe Enterprises....................................................................18

Erv Parent Group ..........................................................................25

Firestone Building Products ........................................................27

Garaventa (Canada) Ltd.................................................................8

Garland Canada, Inc.....................................................................37

IBC Energy Saving Technologies................................................35

IRC Building Sciences Group Inc. ...............................................42

JM Bean & Co. Ltd........................................................................15

KMBR Architects Planners Inc. ...................................................12

MAPEI Inc........................................................................................9

Norspec Filtration Ltd. .................................................................44

Nu-Tech Systems Ltd. ..................................................................45

Philips Lighting Canada / WESCO .............................................23

Preferred Consulting & Roof Management ...............................24

Reliable Controls Corporation...................................................IBC

Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia..............13

Shanahan’s.....................................................................................26

Sharps Audio Visual .......................................................................7

Shutters & Shade ..........................................................................20

SimplexGrinnell.............................................................................31

Smith Energy Inc.............................................................................6

Spears Sales & Services Ltd. .......................................................31

Stutters Disaster Kleenup ............................................................43

Talius............................................................................................IFC

Terasen Gas...................................................................................41

Tero Consultants Ltd......................................................................5

Western Bus Parts & Service Ltd................................................19

Western Canada IC Bus Inc.........................................................17

that are 25 per cent efficient in remov-ing particles three to 10 micrometres insize are typically are used to keep lintand dust from clogging the heatingand cooling coils of HVAC systems.Medium efficiency filters – those thatare up to 80 per cent efficient in remov-ing particles three to 10 micro metres insize typically are used to removemould, pollen, soot, and other smallparticles. High efficiency filters – thosethat are up to 99 per cent efficient inremoving three to 10 micrometres insize typically are capable of airbornenuclei generated from coughs andcolds, smoke, and extremely fine parti-cles such as toner dust.

But just what is effective air filtration?ASHRAE (the American Society ofHeating, Refrigerating and Air-Con di -tioning Engineers) has a test standardthat quantifies the performance ofHVAC filters. ASHRAE Test Standard52.2-2007 measures a filter's ability to

remove airborne particles between 0.3and 10 micrometres in size. A mini-mum-efficiency reporting value (MERV)is assigned to a filter based on its effi-ciency in three different particle-sizeranges (0.3 to one micrometres, one tothree micrometres, and three to 10micrometres). The higher the MERV,the greater the ability to remove highquantities of small particles from air.

For most schools, air filters with aMERV eight rating or better are theminimum. However, recent develop-ments in filter media technology havenow produced economical filters withratings of MERV 11 and MERV 13.

Cleaner Air is Greener AirIn addition to providing superior IAQ

and reducing energy consumption,HVAC filter selection has a direct effecton a number of green-building issues,including:• Greenhouse-gas emissions: A 0.05-

in.-wg. reduction in a filter's initial air-

flow resistance can reduce carbon-

dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to four

per cent, or 120 lbs. per filter. A 0.20-

in.-wg. reduction in a filter's initial air-

flow resistance can reduce CO2 emis-

sions by up to nine per cent, or 480 lbs.

per filter.

• Raw-material use: Some filter media

can be made with recycled polymer

from manufacturing waste streams

and provide better performance

using less media than other filters.

• Waste output: High-capacity pleated

filters can extend filter life and

reduce changeouts. Extended filter

life can reduce waste streams while

minimizing resistance to airflow.

In conclusion, careful selection of

HVAC filters and filter media can

improve IAQ, save money, and reduce

waste. �

forward thinking

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Looking to improve the energy efficiency in your school district? Let the Internet-connected products from Reliable Controls® help you do the math. We deliver high performing energy management and control systems for school districts all across Canada.

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