Situation
Brine headers are the pipes at one end of an arena that feed a system of refrigeration pipes buried underneath an ice rink’s concrete pad. Most headers used in artificial ice surfaces are what’s known as a two-pipe header and distribution system. This system distributes a secondary refrigerant solution, usually ethylene glycol brine.

The headers, which sit in a concrete trench beneath floor level at the end of the arena, are exposed to the air. As the temperature of the fluid is around -7°C (20°F), the pipes sweat and moisture freezes on the pipe, encasing it in ice. Moisture will continue to form on the surface of the ice and drip onto the floor of the trench. The cooling energy lost to lack of insulation amounts to 695 kilowatt-hours per year lost for a 10-inch header.

Another problem is rust, resulting in leaks. As headers are usually constructed of steel pipe when not protected they will rust. This can result in system leaks, which can have an environmental impact, as ethylene glycol is a hazardous substance. A common practice is to paint the headers every five years, but this is an expensive operation as access is restricted, and provides no energy cost savings benefit.

Solution
All Angles cleans dry, inoperative brine headers and covers them with 2 inches of foamed-in-place polyurethane. This material has excellent thermal characteristics, meaning that a modest thickness of insulation will reduce brine header heat gain to a minimum. It also acts as a complete barrier to moisture, preventing the formation of rust.

Result
This strategy has been implemented on more than three dozen rinks in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, with an average projected solution cost payback of less than three years. The first implementations were carried out in 1990, and the brine header systems, usually replaced after 20 years, are running strong.

Situation
Just recently, All Angles greatly reduced the heating costs and improved the comfort of three hospitals in eastern Ontario. In all cases, problems included uncontrolled flow of conditioned air through the building envelope caused by pressure differences due to wind, chimney (or stack) effect, and mechanical systems, resulting in increased heating costs and decreased occupant comfort.

Solution
The project involved improving the integrity of the building envelope and compartmentalizing areas within the buildings. This included weather-stripping doors and windows as well as stairwell doors. Doors in such institutions require materials with a 2-hour fire rating, requiring the use of specialized materials. Other work included exterior wall/roof intersection sealing with polyurethane foam, and the caulking of interior window perimeters. All facilities were constructed with block walls and metal roofs, which in these cases were built without air leakage in mind. Cobwebs and dirt above ceiling tiles were a great indicator of air leakage, which was sealed up.

All Angles also compartmentalized boiler mechanical rooms that have air brought in from the exterior for combustion. When boilers fire up, they create a negative pressure, so fire-rated weather stripping and sealants were required to seal doors and service penetrations, ensuring that only outside air was feeding the boilers, and not interior conditioned air.

Results
This is very recent work, so results have not yet been proven. However, All Angles calculations (typically correct to within 10%) indicate that ROI payback will be achieved in less than 5 years. All Angles almost always exceeds the original energy savings estimates given at the time of inspection. In calculating payback, we take into account factors such as unit cost for fuel, heating degree days, (HDD), building type, insulation type, average ambient wind speed and direction, and other factors.

Situation
All Angles has performed building envelope upgrades on a dozen occasions for the province of British Columbia as part of an ongoing B.C. public housing upgrade program in northern B.C.

The most recent, a 40-unit public housing complex, was typical in that it included window and door weather-stripping replacement, as it had come to the end of its service life. Other sites throughout the lower mainland with similar scopes of work include highrises, three-story apartments, town homes and cottages.

Solution
All Angles performed interior window sealing, including sealing joints like that between the baseboard and the floor, the window perimeter, sealing wall outlets, sealing attics with polyurethane foam, and blowing-in cellulose insulation (R30-rated) to attic spaces.

Result
The projected payback on all B.C. public housing building envelope sealing upgrade projects is between five and seven years. Some of those that we have carried out have proven that payback did indeed occur within that time frame.

Situation
Two long-term care facilities and a museum run by a county in southern Ontario were experiencing high heating costs and lacking in occupant comfort.

Solution
All Angles first performed building envelope air sealing assessments on all sites, with painstaking attention to detail. All potential energy saving upgrades were identified. Measures actually included in the retrofit project included door and window weather-stripping, boiler room air sealing and compartmentalization, insulation upgrading and attic air sealing.

Result
The occupants of the long term care facilities were conscious of drafts and light coming through gaps around doors and windows, comfort being very important, commented immediately on improvements and the projected payback of the project is within five to six years.  

A wealth of experience
All Angles personnel have significant experience in performing building envelope retrofits on a wide variety of buildings—from institutions to residential towers. Here are a few recent examples: