U.S. patent application number 14/217263 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-18 for sustainable building system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Robert Benson, John McDonald, Patrick McDonald, Timothy McDonald, Howard Steinberg. Invention is credited to Robert Benson, John McDonald, Patrick McDonald, Timothy McDonald, Howard Steinberg.
Application Number | 20140259977 14/217263 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51520882 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140259977 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McDonald; Timothy ; et
al. |
September 18, 2014 |
Sustainable Building System
Abstract
The disclosure relates to a sustainable building system (SBS)
that is affordable, capable of being replicated at a small and
large scale, significantly reduces both the heating and cooling
loads of the building as well as the total energy that the building
consumes. Energy consumption can be reduced sufficiently that the
building is capable of net-zero-energy status. That is, a building
made using the system, method and components described herein can,
with the inclusion of appropriate renewable energy technologies,
generate on site all the energy that the building needs. Specific
to this SBS is the design of a super-insulated and nearly air-tight
building thermal envelop, that is, to the greatest extent possible,
thermal-bridge-free and that has incorporated into that envelope
high performance windows and doors.
Inventors: |
McDonald; Timothy;
(Philadelphia, PA) ; Steinberg; Howard;
(Philadelphia, PA) ; McDonald; Patrick;
(Philadelphia, PA) ; McDonald; John;
(Philadelphia, PA) ; Benson; Robert;
(Philadelphia, PA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
McDonald; Timothy
Steinberg; Howard
McDonald; Patrick
McDonald; John
Benson; Robert |
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia |
PA
PA
PA
PA
PA |
US
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51520882 |
Appl. No.: |
14/217263 |
Filed: |
March 17, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61793797 |
Mar 15, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/79.5 ;
52/741.4; 52/79.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B 1/34815 20130101;
E04H 1/005 20130101; F24F 2011/0006 20130101; F24F 11/0001
20130101; E04B 1/34838 20130101; E04B 1/74 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/79.5 ;
52/79.1; 52/741.4 |
International
Class: |
E04B 1/343 20060101
E04B001/343; E04B 1/66 20060101 E04B001/66; E04H 1/00 20060101
E04H001/00 |
Claims
1. A system for modular assembly of a building, the system
comprising a plurality of building modules including a plurality of
outer building modules and an envelope patch, each of the outer
building modules including at least one exterior face having a
portion of an envelope as a component of the exterior face, the
building modules being assemblable to form a building having the
envelope on the exterior faces thereof, and including sufficient
envelope patch to bridge the inter-module gaps in the envelope.
2. The system of claim 1, further including an energy-conserving
air exchanger and ventilator that can be assembled with the
building modules to form the building.
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising an energy monitoring
system that can be operably assembled with the building modules to
permit monitoring of energy use within the assembled building.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein each building module has shipping
dimensions wherein its height is not greater than 12 feet, its
length is not greater than 70 feet, and its width is not greater
than 16 feet.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the shipping dimensions does not
include the vehicle used for shipping the module.
6. A method of assembling an energy-efficient modular building, the
method comprising assembling a plurality of building modules
including a plurality of outer building modules each of the outer
building modules including at least one exterior face having a
portion of an envelope as a component of the exterior face, the
building modules, when assembled forming a structure having the
envelope on the exterior faces thereof and having inter-module gaps
in the envelope, patching the inter-module gaps with an envelope
patch, and sealing all remaining perforations in the envelope with
an energy-conserving air exchanger and ventilator to yield the
energy-efficient modular building.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least some heat-conserving
apparatus are selected from the group consisting of a window, a
door, and an energy-conserving air exchanger and ventilator.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one heat-conserving
apparatus is an energy conserving air exchanger and ventilator.
9. The method of claim 6, further comprising installing within the
building an energy monitoring system for monitoring of energy use
within the assembled building.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein at least some of the building
modules are assembled at a site more than 100 yards distant from
the site of the building.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein each distantly-assembled
building module has shipping dimensions wherein its height is not
greater than 12 feet, its length is not greater than 70 feet, and
its width is not greater than 16 feet.
12. A building made by the method of claim 6.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is entitled to priority to U.S. provisional
patent application 61793,797, filed 15 Mar. 2013, which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Others have described a Passive House Standard, which is a
building standard developed by the International Passive liotise in
Darmstadt, Germany, founded by Dr. Wolfgang Fiest, and Passive
House Institute US, developed by founder Katrin Klingenberg, Ohio.
That standard has three requirements: (i) a maximum projected
Heating and Cooling load of 4.75 thousand British Thermal Units per
square foot per year (kBTU/sf/year); (ii) a maximum Total Energy
demand of 38 kBTU/sf/year; and a maximum measured air-tightness of
0.6 air changes per hour (ACH) at 50 Pascals of pressure.
[0003] The context for the subject matter described herein involves
what the Passive House Standard refers to as a "Fabric First"
approach to building science and the design of high-performance and
net-zero-energy buildings. This means that if one focuses on the
"fabric" of the building first, i.e., the thermal envelop, rather
than the technological machines within that thermal envelope that
produce heating, cooling, lighting, hot water and ventilation more
or less efficiently, and if one focuses on designing that
thermal.sub.-- envelop as a super-insulated and air-tight "fabric"
or "coat" for the building, then one can reduce the heating and
cooling requirements or loads by up to 90% of what a typical "code
compliant" building requires. Second, if one designs that "fabric"
as a super-insulated and air-tight thermal envelop, the heating,
ventilation and air conditioning systems get significantly smaller
(as their `loads` can be roughly one ninth of a typical code
compliant building), more efficient and therefore significantly
higher performing. Similarly domestic hot water, lighting, and
appliance systems can also designed as extremely efficient and
integral instruments of a building system. If one reduces a
building's energy requirement by up to 90%, then the remaining 10%
of energy needed for that building can be readily met with a
relatively small amount of on-site renewable energy generation in
several forms (photovoltaic power, solar thermal heat, geothermal
hydronic heating and cooling, or the like), allowing buildings to
achieve net-zero-energy or net-positive-energy status.
[0004] The subject matter disclosed herein provides buildings,
building components, and methods of making buildings that yield
structures having significantly reduced energy requirements.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0005] This disclosure relates to a system for modular assembly of
a building. The system includes a plurality of building modules
including a plurality of outer building modules (i.e., modules
which include a surface which ultimately becomes a portion of the
exterior surface of the assembled building). The system also
includes an envelope patch for sealing gaps between the modules to
exclude airflow from passing between the modules. Each of the outer
building modules has an envelope material on the portion of the
building's exterior face that occurs on the module. After the
modules are assembled to form the building, gaps between the
envelope materials on the various modules are sealed using the
envelope patch, thereby creating a substantially non-perforated
envelope that blankets the building exclusive of doors, windows,
and utility openings. In those openings, precautions are taken
(e.g., high efficiency doors and windows and careful insulation of
unused portions of utility openings) to minimize energy loss. These
characteristics, together with selection of appropriate insulating
materials in the structural elements of the modules, result in an
energy-efficient building that can satisfy the Passive House
standards and that can, with the installation of energy-generating
elements such as solar panels, result in a net-zero- or
net-positive-energy building.
[0006] An important component of the building and modules described
herein is an energy-conserving air exchanger and ventilator
combination that can be assembled with the building modules to form
the building. This system transfers heat energy between interior
air being exhausted from the building and exterior air being drawn
into the building for ventilation. This system can significantly
reduce the energy required to heat or cool the interior of the
building,
[0007] Another important component of the building and modules
described herein is an energy monitoring system that can be
operably assembled with the building modules to permit monitoring
of energy use within the assembled building. The energy monitoring
system permits a person (or an automated system directed by a
person) to identify sources of energy use within the building and
to adjust the building or As characteristics to modulate energy
use.
[0008] An important characteristic of the building system is its
modularity and corresponding transportability. Each building module
can be designed to be shippable by any desired means, such as by
truck on local roads or interstate highways. Thus, the building
modules can be designed to have specified or not-to-exceed
dimensions, such as a height not greater than 12 feet, a length not
greater than 70 feet, and a width not greater than 16 feet.
[0009] The building modules can be manufactured at a location
distant from the desired site of building construction, shipped to
the site, and there assembled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] The disclosure relates to a sustainable building system
(SBS) that is affordable, capable of being replicated at a small
and large scale, significantly reduces both the heating and cooling
loads of the building as well as the total energy that the building
consumes. Energy consumption can be reduced sufficiently that the
building is capable of net-zero-energy status. That is, a building
made using the system, method and components described herein can,
with the inclusion of appropriate renewable energy technologies,
generate on site all the energy that the building needs. Specific
to this SBS is the design of a super-insulated and nearly air-tight
building thermal envelop, that is, to the greatest extent possible,
thermal-bridge-free and that has incorporated into that envelope
high performance windows and doors.
[0011] The design of this super insulated and nearly air-tight
thermal envelop and building technology system also incorporates
low energy heating, cooling and energy recovery ventilation
systems, as well as low energy lighting systems, appliances,
domestic hot water systems and energy monitoring systems. This
building technology is designed such that it can be built in a
modular building factory, built via "panelized" pre-fabricated
method, as well as site or "stick-built".
[0012] The present invention is related to the design and
construction of buildings that are affordable, considered
"high-performance" and have the ability to reach Net-Zero-Energy
status. What is unique about this invention is that our Sustainable
Building System (SBS) is designed to work with conventional
building materials, technologies and practices, and designed to be
built with a conventional workforce with limited training The
significant invention of our SES involves HOW we put these
conventional materials together, how the details are designed such
that there is limited thermal-bridging between inside and outside
within the thermal envelop and limited "punctures" or openings
between the inside and the outside of a building.
[0013] The sustainable building system (SBS) described herein is
made up of the following components. At a macro scale, the building
modules are conceptualized as cells of built space rather than
individual, self-contained objects, allowing the modules, or boxes,
to be assembled in infinite configurations to accommodate various
architectural designs. This necessitates the need to air seal each
module to the next, on site, to maintain a continuous air seal and
thermal envelope across all exterior walls of the building
enclosure.
[0014] Energy Envelope Design
[0015] The design of the total assembly of modules, panels, or site
built materials which make up the building is initially designed
utilizing energy modeling software developed by the Passive House
Institute to determine the minimal amount of insulation required,
both in the walls and on the exterior, based on the building's
geographical location, specific orientation to the sun to eliminate
thermal transfer through the building envelope necessary to achieve
the Passive House certification metrics noted above. The energy
envelope in conjunction with the building's mechanical system
design, energy efficient appliance and lighting forms the holistic
details of the Sustainable Building System.
[0016] The Individual Module Envelope
[0017] At a micro level, the individual module has been detailed to
utilize standard 2.times.4/2.times.6 wood frame construction (or
other equivalent construction, such as metal stud frame
construction) to allow a reasonably skilled carpenter or other
builder to build the framework for the building envelope described
herein. The walls, ground floor and roof structures are filled with
and insulating material such as dense packed cellulose insulation,
or a "spray and batt" insulation system which utilizes a layer of
closed cell spray foam insulation on the interior of the wall
against the backside of the sheathing, with the balance of the
framed cavity filled with, for example, standard fiberglass batt
insulation.
[0018] Exterior Sheathing with an integral water resistant barrier
is utilized, which serves as both the moisture barrier as well as
the air barrier to the This membrane is placed on the exterior of
the framed walls and below the lowest floor module to maintain a
continuous air barrier. All joints, junctures in the walls of the
modules and limited penetrations in the exterior walls are
air-sealed with a bituminous tape or another airflow-occluding
material. Similarly, the roof sheathing joints are fully taped.
Incorporation of airtight, triple glazed windows and doors are
placed so that the exterior surface of these units are placed flush
with the sheathing allowing easy air tape sealing of the windows,
doors, door thresholds to the sheathing air barrier. All gaps
between the windows and door units and the rough framed opening are
filled completely with spray foam insulation (or other insulation)
and a compressible seal (or other gap-occluding apparatus s used
under the door threshold. The interior walls are finished in
typical gypsum board construction (or other interior finishing
material), and a supplemental chase wall or "utility base board"
chase can be added to allow for the running of pipes and wires, and
the placement of junction boxes without penetrating the exterior
thermal wall enveloped.
[0019] The exterior of the sheathing is covered in rigid expanded
styrene insulation (XPS) following the taping of all seams. This
insulation is run continuously up the walls and under the roof
system prior to the parapet walls being anchored through the
insulation in order to maintain the thermal bridge free
construction. Similarly, the underside of the lowest modules are
skinned in air seal taped, air-tight sheathing and XPS insulation,
whether the design calls for a basement, crawl space or on grade
application to prevent thermal and air penetration from below. ALL
joints in the XPS is then tape and sealed with a foil faced tape to
provide an additional layer of air sealing to the envelope. All
joints of XPS and sheathing are installed on a "staggered" pattern.
All utility penetrations and ductwork from below are fully air
seated at the penetration point of the thermal envelope, and all
ductwork outside the envelope is insulated and treated as an
exterior wall thermal envelope to prevent condensation and thermal
transfer into the structure. The rigid exterior insulation
thickness is detailed in order to insure that the dew point of the
wall falls outside the exterior sheathing to avoid moisture within
the framed
[0020] Rain Screen Construction
[0021] Outboard of the XPS insulation, the walls are furred out
with 3/4'' material (preferably, other thicknesses can be used, of
course), anchored to the individual wall frame studs, to create a
ventilated cavity which allows any moisture which enters through
the building skin to have a path back out. This keeps the majority
of all water away from the moisture resistant sheathing.
[0022] Green Roof System Option
[0023] The top floor module is structurally engineered to support
the saturated weight of an extensive or intensive green roof
system. The green roof can be physically assembled, including
vegetation, in the modular factory so that the system is complete
when the top module is placed on site, or done on site. Modular
Factory installation takes advantage of the fact that a crane is
already on site hoisting the modules, and therefore eliminates the
added crane cost and staging requirements to field build the green
roof after the building has been assembled; thus further reducing
overall building costs. This option is critical to allow for
additional green space for the structure, but also to provide a
system that meets stormwater management regulations in various
municipalities.
[0024] The air tight, well-insulated, thermal bridge free
construction reduces the energy consumption of the building by up
to 90% because thermal transfer is effectively eliminated keeping
the heat in in the winter and the cooling in in the summer months,
paired with energy efficient mechanical systems, lighting and
appliances. As a result, the building's primary energy source is
completely electric, eliminating natural gas from the building.
This dramatically reduces construction costs by eliminating the
introduction of another utility into the building and all
associated ventilation requirements for combustible gas systems,
and the needed penetrations in the exterior envelope for these
exhaust components "although natural gas applications are also
acceptable.
[0025] Mechanical Systems
[0026] A unique portion of our sustainable building system is the
design of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system
(HVAC). Given the requirements of our SBS air-tightness levels,
mechanical fresh air ventilation is required for any SBS structure.
That mechanical ventilation must bring in fresh air to the
building, exhaust stale air from the building and minimize energy
tosses in the process. This is achieved by using either an Energy
Recovery Ventilator (ERV) or a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) and
must have efficiencies of at least 75%. These devices include a
heat-energy-exchanger and a ventilator to conserve interior heating
or cooling by exchanging energy between interior air being
exhausted and exterior air being drawn in.
[0027] Given the very low heating and cooling demands of these
buildings built with our SBS, a single device that delivers a very
low amount of heating and cooling combined with an
[0028] ERV or HRV is not commercially available in the United
States. We have achieved a HVAC system designed for our SBS that
meets this need by combining an off-the-shelf General Electric
Zoneline brand (or equivalent) PTAC (Packaged Terminal Air
Conditioner) air-sourced heat pump, with an off-the-shelf Ultimate
Aire brand ERV (or an equivalent) to create an efficient HVAC
system that meets the needs of the tow energy heating and cooling
demands of our SBS and the ventilation requirements.
[0029] The PTAC unit is designed to be a "through-wall" heat pump
(typically used in hotels, student dorms, office buildings) whereby
one of the coils of the heat pump is directly exposed to the
exterior and the other coil of the heat pump is exposed to the
interior of the building (i.e., it is within the thermal envelope).
Our design for this PTAC involves moving the entire packaged heat
pump unit within the thermal envelope, carefully and significantly
insulating the duct work on both the fresh air intake and exhaust
side of the heat pump within the thermal envelop, thereby being
able to significantly reduce the heat losses inherent to the
typical "through-wall" design of the heat pump. This is an
important improvement in the design and performance of this
off-the-shelf heat pump. A second improvement occurs when the duct
work of the ERV is connected to the ductwork of the heat pump.
[0030] The exhaust side of the ERV connects directly to the fresh
air intake side of the outside coil of the heat pump, but only
after a damper. Exhaust from the ERV passes over the outside coil
of the heat pump before it is exhausted to the exterior. In so
doing, the exhaust elevates the temperature of the incoming air, in
the winter, lowers it in the summer, and in the process increases
the coefficient of performance (COP) of the heat pump, as the COP
is entirely dependent on the ambient temperature of the exterior
going across the outside coil This "marrying" of the ERV and the
PTAC heat pump increases the performance of the heat pump, helping
it run at a higher COP regardless of the exterior temperature. This
would not be possible for the PTAC heat pump in its originally
designed state.
[0031] Another important feature of this HVAC design for our SBS
system involves a bypass damper, mechanically controlled and linked
to temperature sensors inside and outside the thermal envelop. For
instance, if the interior temperature is significantly higher than
the exterior temperature, the ERV will turn off, as well as the
compressors on the heat pump, and the damper will open, fans in the
ERV will turn on and fresh air will be brought in directly to the
supply side of the duct work inside the thermal envelope, lowering
the temperature of the interior solely without the need for
mechanical cooling.
[0032] In general, the design of our HVAC system within our SBS is
unique, specific to the very particular heating, cooling and
ventilation requirements of a nearly air-tight envelope of a
[0033] Passive House structure and uses off-the-shelf components in
a manner which has not been done before.
[0034] Energy Monitoring
[0035] The buildings made as described herein can be equipped with
energy monitoring devices tied to each of the electrical circuit
breakers, and any renewable energy source, to track and collect
data on the consumption and production side of the systems.
Additionally, room sensors are placed through the building to
measure, temperature, air quality (CO2 levels), and humidity to
inform the mechanical systems and measure these critical values.
Remote and on-site monitoring provides the occupant real time data
to alter their usage of the building to increase their energy
performance, while also enabling the engineers, legislators and
maintenance personnel critical data about the performance of the
SBS. Those access to the system, can also alter temperature
settings remotely.
[0036] Placement of the Modules--Maintaining Air Tight Construction
Between Components:
[0037] Air Sealing
[0038] Each module is placed on top of the next in vertical stacks.
The first stack, which is accessible from both sides is
mechanically secured to one another utilizing mechanical strap
fasteners which are in turn air sealed with bituminous tape, and
the horizontal joints between each module are also air sealed with
bituminous tape. In placing the second adjacent module stack, the
first base module is placed and the top plate of the newly placed
box is tape sealed to the adjacent (first stack) box as an inside
corner detail in order to seal the two boxes together horizontally.
Prior to setting the subsequent module in the second stack, two
side by side layers of expanding foam tape or gasketing material
(or any equivalent expanding or expandable material) is placed on
the same top plate to form a horizontal airtight seal between the
two vertically placed boxes. Thus, inter-module gaps are both
filled with the expanding material and sealed with a metal-faced or
bituminous tape, reducing or eliminating air infiltration from the
exterior of the resulting building and the spaces between the
modules. The other three sides of the newly placed module stack
remain exposed and accessible to install the standard horizontal
bituminous taped seam.
[0039] The above stated sequence is repeated for each new vertical
and horizontal placement of modules as the building expands.
[0040] Hoisting
[0041] In order to avoid penetrations in the exterior envelope of
the modules, a key restriction in air-tight construction, a
modified hoisting method has been designed. Centered on the
thickness of the exterior walls of each module, within the floor
framing cavity, a steel bracket with a connector nut is lag bolted
into the floor structure at the quarter points of the module's long
walls. A continuous piece of Electrical Metal Tubing (EMT) is
placed vertically in the exterior module walls in tine with the
connector nut and run up through the top plates of the box
construction. Removable threaded steel rods with eye bolts on the
end to connect to the Crane spreader bar. The EMT is placed to
maintain alignment to the base nut and a conduit for the steel rods
to penetrate the wall insulation. After hoisting the modules, the
rods are removed and re-used on the next lift. The remaining hole
is filled with spray foam insulation and taped with air seal tape.
This solution modifies the more typical approach in which holes are
placed in the lower side wall of the module, within the floor
framing, and a removable steel hoist cable is run through the box.
After the module is in placed with the traditional method, there is
no way to seal these holes after the fact.
[0042] It is a goal of the subject matter described herein to
provide to builders, developers, politicians, institutions,
building manufacturers, modular building manufacturers, panelized
building component manufacturers, homeowners and the general public
an affordable and high-performance, net-zero-energy-capable and
sustainable building system that would significantly increase the
design and energy codes and standards by which new buildings are to
be conceived and built; significantly reducing the energy that
buildings consume and significantly reducing the carbon dioxide
emissions that come from the making and operating of buildings.
[0043] The disclosure of every patent, patent application, and
publication cited herein is hereby incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
[0044] While this subject matter has been disclosed with reference
to specific embodiments, it is apparent that other embodiments and
variations can be devised by others skilled in the art without
departing from the true spirit and scope of the subject matter
described herein. The appended claims include all such embodiments
and equivalent variations.
* * * * *