Slab heating and cooling system key to first Canadian win
May 27, 2015 | By HPAC Magazine
Radiant shines as REHAU and Uponor tie for first in PPI awards.
REHAU and Uponor have tied for first, winning the Project of the Year by the Building and Construction Division of the Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI) award. PPI announced the recipients of its annual awards at its annual meeting in May in Coeur d’Alene, ID. Three individual members and six member-company projects were acknowledged for exceptional service and significant accomplishments involving the use of various types of plastics in pipe infrastructure.
REHAU received the award for École Secondaire Jeunes sans Frontiers (Secondary School for Youth Without Frontiers), in Brampton, ON. The school, which has earned the Canada Green Building Council’s LEED Silver certification, was the first secondary school building in Ontario to have achieved this status. This project is also the first project in Canada to receive a PPI project award.
Designed by Robertson Simmons Architects, the 91,000 ft2 high school includes indoor spaces integrated with outdoor landscapes, a green roof, expansive daylighting, water-conserving plumbing fixtures, lighting with occupancy sensors and displacement ventilation. The design features a REHAU radiant slab heating and cooling system, which enables the school to meet indoor environmental criteria related to air quality, noise reduction and occupant comfort, while also maximizing space efficiency by eliminating bulky convectors and ductwork.
“To help the school recognize the benefits of a combined radiant heating and cooling system, we supplied a finite element analysis to model the floor heating and cooling output,” explained Mark Euteneier, president of Klimatrol Environmental Systems, the project’s designer and supplier.
“The results predicted a significant energy savings due to reduced heating and cooling loads and increased efficiencies of the heated and chilled water sources,” he said. “Coupled with the comfortable, even method of heating and cooling, this analysis made the REHAU radiant system a must-have for the project.”
The system consists of 104,700 ft. of RAUPEX 5/8-in. O2 barrier pipe and 42 PRO-BALANCE manifolds pre-piped with three-way valves into recessed manifold distribution cabinets. The PEX pipe was installed at ground level in a concrete slab-on- grade design using a counter-flow spiral pattern to promote even surface temperatures. To accommodate precast concrete floors on the second level, the pipe was affixed using plastic rails of recycled PVC and covered with a two- to three-in. concrete layer.
Uponor was recognized for its role in the design and construction of the LEED-Platinum San Diego State University Aztec Center, a 202,200 sq.-ft., sustainable, three-storey building designed to house student offices, a recreation center and an intercultural relations center; including a 1,200-seat lecture hall and a 300-seat theatre. An in-slab radiant heating and cooling system was designed for the building, coupled with a dedicated outside air system (DOAS) to reduce energy and improve indoor air quality.
The Plastics Pipe Institute Inc. (PPI) is a trade association representing all segments of the plastic pipe industry that is dedicated to promoting plastics as the material of choice for pipe applications. PPI is a technical, engineering and industry knowledge resource, publishing data for use in development and design of plastic pipe systems. PPI also collaborates with industry organizations that set standards for manufacturing practices and installation methods.
