Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
03/17/2011 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
March 17, 2011
8:07 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Cathy Engstrom Munoz, Chair
Representative Alan Austerman
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Berta Gardner
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Neal Foster, Vice Chair
Representative Alan Dick
Representative Sharon Cissna
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: COLD CLIMATE HOUSING RESEARCH CENTER
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JOHN DAVIES, Senior Researcher - Energy Policy
Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a presentation regarding the Cold
Climate Housing Research Center.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:07:08 AM
CHAIR CATHY ENGSTROM MUNOZ called the House Community and
Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:07
a.m. Representatives Munoz, Austerman, Gardner, and Saddler
were present at the call to order.
^Presentation: Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Presentation: Cold Climate Housing Research Center
8:07:30 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ announced that the only order of business would be a
presentation from the Cold Climate Housing Research Center.
8:08:08 AM
JOHN DAVIES, Senior Researcher - Energy Policy, Cold Climate
Housing Research Center (CCHRC), began by encouraging members
who find themselves in the Fairbanks area to tour the CCHRC
building, which he said is the best way to obtain a sense of
what CCHRC is about. He then moved on to slide 2 and
highlighted that Alaska is facing a diverse number of
challenges. Alaska faces many global issues that have local
impacts, and therefore one must determine what to do locally to
solve the issues for the generations to come. The CCHRC is
trying to work on one of the issues facing the state, which is
the issue of housing/shelter. He informed the committee that
CCHRC is a private nonprofit that was founded in 1999 primarily
by members of the Alaska State Home Builders Association and
others involved in the building industry in Alaska. At the time
CCHRC formed, there was concern that there was very little
research being done in Alaska for Alaska. In fact, CCHRC relied
on work from the Lower 48 or Canada, although it didn't apply in
Alaska due to the state's extreme settings. Jack Hebert,
President/CEO of CCHRC, was and is the chief visionary of CCHRC.
The mission of CCHRC is: "Promote and advance the development
of healthy, durable, and sustainable shelter for Alaskans and
other circumpolar people." The CCHRC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
with an 11 member board of directors with various building
industry representatives from throughout Alaska. The
organization has about 40 active projects. Although CCHRC has
diverse funding sources including state federal, local, and
private sources, the state is the primary funding source.
8:12:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN inquired as to the breakdown of CCHRC's
finances.
MR. DAVIES directed attention to a pie chart included in the
handouts provided to the committee. He estimated the following
breakdown: 40 percent state funding, 35 percent federal
funding.
8:13:36 AM
MR. DAVIES, returning to his presentation, told the committee
that although CCHRC is based in Fairbanks, it considers itself a
statewide organization. The organization has done research
throughout the state, including Southeast Alaska. No matter the
location, the basic approach is the same: ideas are sought;
partnerships are sought; projects are formed; results are
produced; those results are communicated to the appropriate
entities; and the hope through the aforementioned is to
effectuate change. In 2006, CCHRC moved into the Research and
Testing Facility shown on slide 8. The facility is 15,000
square feet and is an example of how CCHRC tries to do things.
The CCHRC Research and Testing Facility is an example of the
type of building that should be constructed, although it's
modest in its goals. The facility uses less than 50 percent
energy than the average building of the same size. Furthermore,
it was constructed for less per square foot than comparable
buildings in the Fairbanks market. The facility was built to
the highest Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design
(LEED) standard. In fact, the facility received LEED Platinum
certification. He characterized the facility as a research
project itself as it's monitored via 1,200 sensors throughout
the building and the ground that measure temperature, humidity,
carbon dioxide, soil temperature, moisture in the walls, the
amount of fuel used, and more. The facility has a green roof
and the water flow of the roof is monitored. Mr. Davies
mentioned that tours of the building are given, which he opined
is important so that the public can understand how this facility
works. He reiterated that the facility embodies how CCHRC
works, and that is: to produce specific examples of ways in
which people can use less energy and be more efficient.
Referring to slide 9, he pointed out that CCHRC has the
following five main program areas: applied research and product
testing, policy and information, sustainable Northern
communities, hybrid micro-energy, and education and outreach.
8:18:26 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ asked if Mr. Davies is tracking any legislation this
session.
MR. DAVIES said that this session CCHRC isn't heavily involved
in any legislation going through. Currently, CCHRC is focusing
on an update of the policy report CCHRC wrote in 2008. The hope
is to present that report in an interim forum prior to the end
of this session. However, over the summer the intent is to
expand that work to transportation energy efficiency and present
a final report to the legislature in December. The
aforementioned will result in more work to identify the best
practices in energy efficiency. There will also be a fairly
major focus on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) issues,
in terms of electricity. Therefore, the hope is to provide the
legislature with information to use in the next session. The
CCHRC also has a fairly large effort in the area of sustainable
Northern Communities such that CCHRC works with a community to
help design and, in some cases, build a prototype. The
aforementioned is monitored and hopefully lessons are learned.
Mr. Davies clarified that CCHRC mainly works on the demand side
in terms of energy efficiency rather than the energy supply
side. However, CCHRC does spend time on projects that relate to
a residential scale energy supply. Therefore, CCHRC would work
with solar panels, solar thermal, photo electric, ground source
heat pumps, and small grade windmills. Lastly, CCHRC has a
fairly significant education and outreach effort. The
organization has a newsletter, website, courses, and
conferences.
8:20:58 AM
MR. DAVIES then reviewed the program areas. Slide 10 relates
the various projects CCHRC has done in the area of applied
research. For example, exterior insulation was a project that
was started in Juneau. The idea is to put most of the
insulation on the outside of the wall such that about two-thirds
of the insulation value is placed outside the wall. The
aforementioned has a number of advantages, including reduction
of the potential for condensation in the wall because the wall
is now warm. Such insulation construction allows one to build a
very tight building. Although it's good in terms of energy,
ventilation is necessary otherwise there will be condensation
inside the building. A number of buildings in Southeast were
constructed in the aforementioned fashion. In fact, CCHRC had a
mobile testing laboratory at the University of Alaska Southeast
that tested a number of wall types and compared them. The
testing illustrated that the wall construction with exterior
insulation performed much better than all the other conventional
wall construction methods being used.
8:23:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER inquired as to the significance of the
two different photographs of the building [on slide 11].
MR. DAVIES explained that the photographs are of a project that
was done independent of CCHRC, except that CCHRC helped design
and monitor it. The photographs are of the Northern
Environmental Center in Fairbanks. He pointed out that the
photograph shows stucco on top of foam. The building was
retrofit such that three inches of foam was added on the outside
of an existing building, which is an area of research CCHRC is
performing now. Although the aforementioned works well when
done correctly, merely adding foam to the outside of a building
can create a double vapor barrier and may trap water in the
wall. However, CCHRC has discovered that in many circumstances
water isn't trapped in the wall and thus CCHRC is trying to
quantify what those circumstances are. For example, CCHRC knows
that with a poorly built building to which one inch of
insulation is added outside, lots of condensation will run
inside of the foam because there isn't enough insulation.
Therefore, there is an optimum amount of insulation necessary to
keep the condensation surface warm and so it doesn't form ice in
the winter. The CCHRC is trying to quantify the amount of
insulation necessary.
8:25:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN asked if research is finding a
different amount of foam is needed in the Fairbanks area versus
the Juneau area where it is wetter.
MR. DAVIES explained that for the model energy codes, the state
was divided into four zones, which are primarily delineated
based on the heating degree days. The four zones are as
follows: Southeast, Southcentral - Fairbanks, the Interior, and
Western Alaska, Aleutians and Kodiak, and the North Slope.
There are different insulation standards for each zone and the
amount of insulation is also dependent upon a location's
microclimate. For instance, those living on a mountain top may
want more insulation while those near the beach may not. He
indicated that in general, one can't use enough insulation. In
further response to Representative Austerman, Mr. Davies said
that interested individuals can seek information from CCHRC's
website. The Building Energy Efficiency Standards (BEES) are
what the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) uses for its
construction practices. However, he pointed out that a code is
a minimum standard.
8:28:52 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ asked whether the energy necessary for the
ventilation required with outside insulation still makes the
overall project more efficient.
MR. DAVIES confirmed that's the case. He then noted that
recently there have been advances in electric motors, such that
they use about one-third of the energy of a conventional
electric motor. He opined that it's important to have healthy
air to breath. Still, overall, if the wall construction is more
efficient, the net energy result is a savings, even with
ventilation costs.
8:30:30 AM
MR. DAVIES, returning to his presentation, moved on to product
testing. One such product testing was performed after questions
regarding the performance of reflective insulation arose and it
was determined that in most circumstances it doesn't add much.
However, there are places where reflective insulation does work,
and thus it must be used appropriately. The CCHRC is evaluating
various types of windows and window treatments. Slide 14 has a
photograph of a motor-driven shutter on the outside of a
building. He noted that one of the problems with shutters and
insulation is that placing it on the inside incorrectly will
likely make the window cold enough that condensation forms on
the window. Therefore, generally shuttering on the outside of a
window works best.
8:32:10 AM
MR. DAVIES, moving on to slide 15, related that his current area
of focus is regarding policy and information. In 2008, CCHRC
developed an Alaska Energy Efficiency Policy Report. The
legislature has implemented about two thirds of the
recommendations in the aforementioned report. He then directed
attention to AkWarm, which is software that has been developed
in Alaska and AHFC has delegated the maintenance and upgrade of
AkWarm to CCHRC. The AkWarm software is used by the energy
raters to rate homes. This rating allows a rater to review the
insulation, heating system, windows, and construction of the
building to calculate the energy being used and where energy is
being lost. Therefore, the AkWarm software is very important.
Recently, it was upgraded such that it produces more useful
reports and it's being expanded for use on small to mid-size
commercial buildings. He informed the committee that the Star
rating system is being expanded as CCHRC is developing ratings
for a 6-star home and beyond. For instance, a 9-star home might
be a zero energy home with no added exterior energy other than
what it collects on site. Two buildings in Fairbanks illustrate
the aforementioned is achievable, although it isn't cheap. Mr.
Davies also informed the committee that CCHRC has a fairly major
contract with AHFC to monitor the weatherization and energy
rebate programs. The weatherization and energy rebate programs
are doing well with about 30 percent energy efficiency savings.
The aforementioned is good, but it could be better. The
databases for these programs also illustrate that people are
investing their own money. However, there are middle income
individuals who are just above qualifying for weatherization and
aren't continuing with the program because they don't have
enough money to make the necessary changes to their home.
Typically, these are homes that need more work. Therefore, the
program needs to address this sector.
8:37:36 AM
MR. DAVIES moved on to slide 18 entitled "Sustainable Northern
Communities," and opined that the crisis areas in Alaska are
located in rural Alaska. He explained that CCHRC attends
meetings and makes its abilities known, and then waits for an
invitation to help. He then provided photographs of Anaktuvuk,
which is the prototype for this effort. Anaktuvuk, he
explained, is off the road system and river system, and thus
everything of substance has to be brought in via airplane or
snow machine. Furthermore, it's located in the Brooks Range
above the tree line and thus it's cold. The location is very
challenging. The first thing CCHRC held was a three-day
brainstorming session in the village, which uncovered that a
building rooted in the ground, not on stilts, was desired by
residents. Anaktuvuk used to have sod homes. The
aforementioned information as well as indigenous knowledge of
the area, such as the direction of the wind, and modern
technology was used to create a package for consideration of the
local residents. Ultimately, CCHRC built a prototype home as an
experiment. The challenge was to construct a building for the
climate in an area where everything has to be flown to the area.
A typical building requires 5 (indisc.) loads of materials,
whereas all the materials for the prototype were flown in on a
DC-6. The prototype is burmed into the earth with R-60 walls,
ceiling, and floor. The building is constructed as a skeleton
and then foamed in place. Due to a training regime, college
students helped build the prototype. He pointed out that the
prototype has solar panels on the front of the building and a
wind generator. Furthermore, the building is oriented to the
South in order to collect as much energy in the spring and
summer as it can while protecting it from the cold winds from
the north. This prototype is using one-tenth of the energy a
typical building uses in that community. In response to
Representative Austerman, Mr. Davies explained that the
prototype building is covered in a heavy liner that is sprayed
onto the building and it can be painted. He likened the liner
to "stucco on steroids."
8:43:25 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER inquired as to who was allowed to live in
the prototype.
MR. DAVIES said he didn't know as that was left to the village.
8:43:48 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ asked if the village is moving forward with
additional buildings like the prototype.
MR. DAVIES replied no, but informed the committee that
Tagiugmiullu Nunamiullu Housing Authority (TNHA) is now doing
the same process in six other villages. Although CCHRC is
helping to some degree, it's mainly being left to [TNHA] since
they know the process.
8:44:32 AM
MR. DAVIES informed the committee that the prototype has an
experimental sewage treatment plant, which is an area that's
struggling in terms of energy [use] due to the continual use of
a fan. Therefore, because the fan is running all the time to
bring in air, it's also functioning as the ventilation system
for the building as well. Mr. Davies opined that this type of
sewage treatment plant should be considered for use in other
places in Western Alaska. Perhaps, such a plant could be used
for clusters of six to eight homes. The process is approved by
the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). He told the
committee that when the effluent is discharged it can be placed
right onto the ground.
8:46:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN asked if the system is small enough to
be used in individual homes.
MR. DAVIES replied yes, adding that it was developed for
individual homes in Fairbanks that are constructed on permafrost
and where a conventional septic system won't work. He mentioned
that there are about 300-400 such systems in use in Fairbanks.
There is also a different company in Anchorage that manufactures
these systems to address small lot sizes on hills. This
information is on CCHRC's website. The hope, he said, is that
with new motors and a slight variation on the scheme, the energy
costs would be driven down to an acceptable level.
8:47:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER mentioned the City of Unalaska, which has
a huge problem with the cost of sewage treatment that the
federal government is requiring the city to install. She asked
if the aforementioned type of system would make sense for the
City of Unalaska, although it's a larger community.
MR. DAVIES answered that he didn't know, but it should be
reviewed. He reiterated that the thought had been to run the
system for clusters of homes, although such a system could be
used for individual homes. Although the system is costly, it's
comparable to existing solutions.
8:48:43 AM
MR. DAVIES, returning to his presentation, directed attention to
slide 19, which reviews the multi-step process involved in
developing sustainable northern shelter as follows: community
invitation, team building, concept, charrette, concept testing,
prototype, and documentation. Further information regarding the
aforementioned process can be found on CCHRC's website. He
related that CCHRC tries to obtain as much knowledge as possible
from people and animals in the area as well as taking into
consideration the land, soil type, and the past problems of the
area. One of the main lessons learned from animals in the north
is that retaining heat is important. He reminded the committee
that many indigenous people had ingenious ways of surviving in
harsh climates. The hope is to combine that indigenous wisdom
with 21st century technology to develop a better solution for
all in the future.
8:51:54 AM
MR. DAVIES returned the committee's attention to slide 18, which
lists the various communities where sustainable northern
projects are located. He then moved on to slide 27 entitled
"Hybrid Micro-Energy." He explained that micro-energy systems
are energy systems that are residential scale and hybrid means
that it's a collection of different systems. For example, at
the CCHRC Research & Testing Facility in Fairbanks, there is
solar PV, solar thermal, and wood energy. The hope is to
develop a combined heat and power. The notion was to take wood
chips and gasify them to make gas to run a diesel generator that
generates electricity. Therefore, in the winter solar energy
stored in wood would be used to produce electricity and heat for
the building. Thus far, the aforementioned project hasn't been
successful because a small scale, residential or village size
scale system hasn't been identified. The goal, he opined, is to
have a building that generates all of its own energy. As
indicated earlier, it's possible to construct a building that's
thermally independent, but the question now is whether buildings
can generate electricity in a variety of ways. Although wind or
solar works for individual buildings, they don't work in the
winter or when the wind isn't blowing. Therefore, the
difficulty is to put together a package that works and is
reliable and economic.
8:55:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN inquired as to the amount of energy
solar panels produce on a cloudy day. He also inquired as to
the meaning of the term passive solar.
MR. DAVIES answered that solar panels don't produce energy on a
cloudy day. He then explained that passive solar is the premise
that a building is oriented so that there is heat in. [Solar]
PV is considered more of an active system, but the problem is
the capacity factor - the percentage of power that a device
produces versus its theoretical maximum. The passive factor for
[solar] panels in Alaska is around 10 percent, depending upon
whether there's a tracker. Mr. Davies said that the panels cost
more and they produce about as much more as they cost more.
Still, they work. For example, for a tourism business that had
to do laundry May through September, it would be a great fit.
8:57:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked where the wood for the wood stove
in Anaktuvuk Pass prototype house would come.
MR. DAVIES answered that there is willow in the area, and the
stove is designed for use of small sticks and functions as a
backup. Most of the time, a small Toyo-type stove is used for
heating, he clarified. In response to Representative Austerman,
Mr. Davies related that the foundation is a foam pad on the
ground.
8:58:16 AM
MR. DAVIES moved on to slide 29, and related that almost weekly
CCHRC receives calls asking about ground source heat pumps
(GSHP). Although GSHP is a proven technology that has been
utilized in Alaska, it hasn't been monitored long enough to
determine if they work. Therefore, CCHRC is working with the
Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) to perform a massive
literature search to identify all the projects that have been
put in Alaska. He estimated that there have been over 100
installations of [GSHP] throughout the state, although there
isn't much data. One concern is what happens when heat is
continually taken from the ground. Questions regarding whether
permafrost, a frost heave, or changes in soil conductivity occur
over time. The issue driving those concerns is that the ground
is being made colder. A potential solution is to heat the
ground in the summer and take it out in the winter, which is
being done at Weller School in Fairbanks. He characterized this
system as a reverse refrigerator.
9:00:44 AM
MR. DAVIES, in response to Representative Gardner, confirmed
that the Juneau International Airport uses [GSHP], but it's
relatively new and hasn't produced much data. He mentioned that
these are systems that are bored straight down 200 feet like a
well. The data from these systems are of interest because they
are what most could use as a retrofit for a house. However,
Juneau is located close to tide water, which wouldn't be the
situation for many places in the state. For the Weller School
project a small [GSHP] system that won't be enough to heat the
entire school will be used in conjunction with solar thermal
collectors on the roof. Therefore, the summer heat will be
collected to pump heat back into the ground. A good heat pump
system will have a coefficient of performance of at least three,
and therefore it will move three times as much energy out of the
ground as it takes electricity to run the pumps.
9:02:35 AM
MR. DAVIES then related that CCHRC has a large education and
outreach effort. In fact, CCHRC has a portal to help with the
energy rebate program and produced various publications as well
as a website and a library at the facility. Since a recent
upgrade to the website, there have been over 6,000 independent
accesses of it. Typically, over 1,200 people access the website
annually. Also, CCHRC provides tours of the building every
week. All of the aforementioned is an effort to demonstrate to
folks what CCHRC does and the systems used at the facility. He
informed the committee that CCHRC has received funding from the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to
construct an addition to the facility to accommodate the staff
and the increased need for classrooms.
9:04:56 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ thanked Mr. Davies for the presentation and his
work. She remarked that she had been particularly intrigued by
the unique design of the building in Quinhagak. She then
requested that Mr. Davies contact her when the updated policy
report is ready to be shared.
MR. DAVIES said he is working with Representative Foster and the
House Special Committee on Energy to determine a time to present
the updated policy report. In response to Chair Munoz, Mr.
Davies indicated he was amenable to a joint meeting between the
two committees.
CHAIR MUNOZ mentioned that committee members have been
discussing a trip in the summer to Galena, which could be a good
time to possibly visit CCHRC.
MR. DAVIES stated that a visit to the facility is the easiest
way to understand the work being done by CCHRC.
9:07:25 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 9:07 a.m.
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