Ottawa Home Renovation Show

Ottawa Home Renovations Show 2012, 20-22nd January 2012

The Home Renovations Show is being held at Capital Exhibition Centre, Ottawa between 20th - 22nd January 2012. Exhibitors will be showcasing the very latest energy efficient home renovation products and KinLar Insulation is no exception.

Why not drop by booth #520 to learn more about how you can save up to 40% off your hydro bill by using eco friendly, SOYA based spray foam insulation or how to take advantage of the ecoEnergy retrofit grants before they expire on 31st March or sooner if the money is fully allocated before then.

More details of the Ottawa Home Renovations Show

Ottawa Home and Design Show

The Ottawa Home and Design show is on at Lansdowne Park this weekend.

Sept 30th - Oct 2nd 2011

As usual the show will feature the latest renovation and design idea's, this year will see a presentation entitled "champagne dreams on a beer budget" presented by the co hosts of the W network show "The Property Brothers".

While you are there why not chat to one of our experts about the latest insulation trends, ask about the ecoENERGY retrofit program and the grants available to significantly reduce the cost of insulating your house to the latest standards. Reduce your energy bills forever and get money from the government to pay for the upgrades now! Details of the show and a 2 for 1 admission coupon are available here:

Ottawa Home and design Show 2011

We look forward to seeing you there!

Insulation Grants Available Now

The ecoENERGY retrofit program is now officially back up and running and grants of up to $4065 per household are available towards your insulation costs. The program runs from 6th June 2011 to 31st March 2012 or until the money runs out. The government has allocated $400million in the budget and once NRCAN has received applications sufficient to cover the budget the program will be closed without notice. So our advice is get your application in early, this progran is likely to close unexpectedly just like the last time the ecoENERGY program was made available.

Don't miss out, act quickly to avoid disappointment. Program expires March 31st (only 7 months from now) or when the money runs out.

Here are the important details:

1. The start date for the program extension is June 6th 2011, so it is already up and running.

2. Before you start your energy upgrades you must register

3. Hire a local service organization licensed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and they will send a certified energy advisor to perform a pre retrofit audit. You will receive a personalized report, including a checklist of recommended retrofits to improve the energy efficiency of your home or MURB (multi unit residential building).

3. Contact a reputable insulation contractor such as KinLar Insulation to complete the work to the required standard and keep the receipts to present to the energy advisor.

4. Arrange for an energy advisor to perform a post retrofit audit no later than March 31st 2012

5. You must show all your receipts to your energy advisor during the final evaluation to verify that you purchased and installed eligible upgrades after June 6, 2011, and after a pre-retrofit evaluation.

6. NRCan typically issues a cheque to the homeowner within 90 days of the post retrofit audit

For more FAQ’s on the program.

An additional $150 is also available from the Ontario government towards the cost of the pre audit. Details are available here Ontario energy audit grants

For details of insulating specific areas of your home and the grants available here are some links to pages that explain exactly what insulation grants are available and what is required to secure the grants.

Basement insulation grants
Wall insulation grants
Attic insulation grants

Ontario homeowners not only have the opportunity to reduce their energy costs by upgrading the insulation in their homes but also can receive up to $4065 in insulation grants from the Federal governments eco ENERGY retrofit program towards the cost of your renovation.

Insulation Grants – Latest News

The 2011 Insulation grants are coming soon! The Canadian Federal government has included $400million in new funds to re-introduce the popular and successful ecoENERGY retrofit program. The start date has yet to be announced but you can check here ecoENERGY retrofit program for the latest news. At the time of writing the government site states that the details will be announced “in the coming weeks”. Bookmark or RSS this blog and we will update you when any announcements are made.

What insulation grants are likely to be available?

It is expected that the ecoENERGY retrofit program will be an extension of the previous program, in which case homeowners can claim up to $4190 in insulation grants per home. The scheme rewards homeowners for insulating their homes. This is a win / win situation. Not only do you see lower energy bills for the lifetime of the property (or until you leave), but also the federal government will help you pay for the work to be completed, and of course a better insulated home has a higher resale value. The grants are split into specific groups covering attic insulation, crawl space, wall insulation and basement insulation. The value of the grant depends on the improvement in R value achieved. For details of the insulation grant tables…

Attic insulation grants

Basement insulation grants

The poorer your property is insulated now, the larger the grant that is available to you. For example according to natural resources Canada NRCAN, basements can be responsible for up to 30% of heatloss and are most often overlooked in favour of insulating the attic. Now is an excellent time to consider insulating your basement, whether you plan to finish the basement or not.

Which insulation material should I be considering?

Which insulation material is most suitable is largely dependent on your specific home, current insulation material and where you want to insulate. We recommend you talk to an insulation expert who is familiar with the requirements of ecoENERGY retrofit program.

How does the ecoENERGY program work?

If the government rolls out the program as an extension of the previous program as expected, then homeowners are required to have an energy audit conducted prior to and after the work is completed. The 5 steps are as follows:

1. Before you start your energy upgrades, hire a local service organization licensed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and they will send a certified energy advisor to perform a detailed, on-site evaluation of your home's energy use from the attic down to the foundation. Also known as a pre retrofit audit. You will receive a personalized report, including a checklist of recommended retrofits to improve the energy efficiency of your home or MURB (multi unit residential building).

2. Contact a reputable insulation contractor such as KinLar Insulation to complete the work to the required standard.

3. Arrange for an energy advisor to perform a post retrofit audit

4. The energy advisors is required to submit the report to NRCan within 30 days

5. NRCan typically issues a cheque to the homeowner within 90 days of the post retrofit audit

More details on the ecoENERGY retrofit program

Bookmark this blog and check back regularly for updates on the ecoENERGY program and other insulation grants.

“Super-Insulation” key to LEED compliant sustainable residential buildings – One Planet Reno

Hats off to Scott Demark and the team at Build Green Solutions for the One Planet Reno project. Renowned for their work on pioneering North American LEED and LEED platinum projects they are now applying their knowledge to the renovation of an average, mature, family house. In this case a 1920’s property in The Glebe, Ottawa, Ontario.
For full details I highly recommend you follow their progress in their entertainingly written and informative One Planet Reno blog. Following 10 principals of sustainability starting with Zero Carbon and Zero Waste, One Planet Reno is a truly remarkable venture with ideas such as:

Rainwater flushing toilets – not potable water
Evacuated tube solar thermal system
Heat recovery
Eliminate space cooling
FSC and local salvaged materials

The aspect of the project that excited us was the challenge of attempting to “super insulate” to R60 such an old property with a variety of building materials and structure by any means not ideal for such a task. With the combination of old walls, new walls and a skinny floorplate and using either existing insulation materials or new materials without embodied carbon. One Planet Reno chose to use a wide variety of insulation materials to maximize the benefits of each material system and their principal of re-use where possible.

Closed Cell Foam insulation for the most demanding areas, such as the basement
Open Cell Foam insulation for existing empty wall cavities
Roxul
Batts
Polyiso

Fortunately we at Kinlar thrive on these types of challenges and have the necessary capabilities to handle all of the projects insulation needs including the vapour barrier without resorting to additional subcontractors. The use of a single Ottawa insulation contractor trained in LEED compliance ensures quality assurance that multiple contractors would struggle to achieve.

As the One Planet Reno blog states, maybe we are just “nuts for insulation”.

Architects guide to Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation (SPF) and the perfect wall BSI-001

With rising energy prices energy efficient buildings and construction techniques are increasingly in demand giving rise to standards such as LEED, R2000 and ZNET (Zeronet Energy). But what are the best energy efficient building materials out there to achieve this?

Without doubt the best insulation material for energy efficient building design is 2lb (medium density) closed cell spray foam insulation. We thought it would be useful to provide architects and builders with important facts on how AND why this material contributes to a more energy efficient building.

We recently came across this excellent article in the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers) journal, which explains in some detail not only the important theoretical information to aid architects in commercial building design but the practical implementation details that enable contractors, builders and architects to work together achieve the required results.

In the article Joseph W. Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng., Fellow ASHRAE explains how to achieve the “Perfect wall” as defined by BSI-001. http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect- wall/view

Having achieved the “perfect wall” Dr Lstiburek goes on to explain the real world practicalities of energy efficient building design and construction such as :

· How to construct window and wall transitions so that not only are the insulation requirements met but the maintenance requirements, such as actually being able to replace a door or window without ripping half the wall out with it are met as well.

· How to mitigate thermal bridging by avoiding the use of Z bars.

· Why SPF helps with “creep” or “frame shortening” (concrete framed building shrink over time), while the brick layer expands over time.

· How Spray foam insulation aids structural integrity.

If you are in the process of designing or constructing a multi dwelling unit or commercial building such as offices or strip mall I strongly recommend you read this article which is both well written and informative.

Of course it never hurts to talk to a CUFCA qualified insulation contractor such as KinLar insulation for specific advice on how best to insulate your commercial or residential buildings.

DIY Spray Foam Insulation Kits, are they worth the risk?

We get asked all the time about DIY spray foam insulation kits and we would like to share our experience with you. At KinLar, we have the privilege of working with many DIY enthusiasts. We see many fine examples of homeowners completing task of varying complexities up to and including advanced skills such as framing and dry-walling. DIY spray foam insulation is however, a different kettle of fish entirely.

It is highly-recommended that you allow licensed professionals to apply spray foam insulation because there are so many variables that need to be considered, such as moisture and temperature of the environment and the spraying surface.

Those who consider a D-I-Y approach to spray foam insulation, should be aware of the risk; the following is an excerpt from the Return Policy section of the website of a well-known supplier of DIY foam kits.

“But you really do need to follow the 5 RULES for OPERATING these foam kits so you get the most out of them.

Simply put, user error is not refundable. These errors happen when you do not follow the instructions and be sure that the tank temperature is within stated operating range (75-85 degrees F); that both valves are completely turned on, that nozzle tips are changed when needed, the tanks are agitated before use to improve dispersal of the propellant and the surface you are spraying is not oily. Nor can we guarantee suitability for applications or code specification compliance. People do get creative with this foam, and we encourage it, but we can't necessarily guarantee that if you make a 40 foot bird out of this foam that it will fly with a 5 horsepower motor attached. We hope you understand our position. “

DIY foam kits “may” cost less than having a professional installer for your project, and in many cases, it may not. Using D-I-Y foam kits, it is more than likely that you have no experience working with pressurized spray foam and you may end up with a big mess. These kits usually result in an uneven and bubbly application.

What’s worse, you will have no warranty coverage if your results are less than desirable. Why should you assume tremendous risk?

KinLar Insulation Inc has highly-trained, licensed professionals who have specialized equipment to control the temperature and the pressure of the spray foam. It is delivered through a temperature-controlled, heated hose. This allows us to ensure that the foam is applied smoothly and evenly with the correct mixtures. We back our expertise with an unparalleled 2 year warranty covering product & workmanship.

Our work is risk-free and 100% guaranteed. We also do a complete and thorough walk through with our clients upon completion of every project.

Considering DIY spray foam insulation, contact the professionals at Kinlar insulation for a risk free alternative.