CIV576

Sustainable Buildings 2021

Sustainable Buildings
CIV 576H1S 2021

University of Toronto
Department of Civil Engineering

Course Description: Building systems including the enclosure and the heating, ventilation and
cooling systems are considered with a view of both reducing the energy use of buildings and
improving the health and well-being of building occupants. Life-cycle economic and assessment
methods are applied to the evaluation of various design options including considerations of
embodied energy and carbon sequestration. Green building strategies including natural
ventilation, passive solar, on-site energy generation, green roofs, and air cleaning strategies are
introduced and evaluated. Students are introduced to efficient designs that lessen the impact
of buildings on the environment as well as tools to evaluate green building approaches.
Prerequisite: CIV375H1/CIV575H1 or equivalent.

Learning Outcomes
As part of the accreditation process as stipulated by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation
Board (CEAB), students have the opportunity in this course to acquire the following graduate
attributes:
1) Use of Engineering Tools: Demonstrate ability to use fundamental modern techniques,
resources and engineering tools to design energy efficient and healthy buildings.
2) Use of Engineering Tools: Show recognition of limitations of the tools used.
3) Individual and Team Work: Demonstrate success in team based projects.
4) Communication skills: Demonstrate the ability to communicate engineering knowledge.
5) Impact of engineering on society and the environment: Demonstrate the ability to
identify alternative ways to prevent adverse social, environmental, human health and
safety impacts.
6) Life-long learning: Demonstrate the ability to independently summarize, analyze,
synthesize and evaluate information from a wide variety of sources

Instructor: Jeffrey Siegel [email protected] or Skype, Teams, Zoom, bbCollaborate

• Include "CIV576" in the subject line for emails.
• Official University of Toronto email addresses must be used.
Instructor Office Hours: Monday 13:10-14:00 Toronto Time (bbCollobarate) or by appointment
• TA office hours will be arranged prior to the midterms and final.

Required Textbook
1) “Indoor Air Quality Guide”, ASHRAE. Available free from http://iaq.ashrae.org/

Synchronous Lectures: Monday 12:10-13:00 Toronto Time

Thursday 15:10-16:00 Toronto Time
Asynchronous Lectures: Short videos posted some weeks
CIV576 Sustainable Buildings 2021

Ask questions – course Quercus site indicates multiple approaches to ask questions about
synchronous and asynchronous course content
• Be considerate of your fellow students – follow communication rules as described on
course Quercus site.
• Outline slides will generally be uploaded to Quercus before synchronous lectures.
These are not complete notes and thus should be supplemented with students’ own
notes.
This course, including your participation, will be recorded on video and will be available to
students in the course for viewing remotely and after each session. Course videos and materials
belong to your instructor, the University, and/or other source depending on the specific facts of
each situation, and are protected by copyright. In this course, you are permitted to download
session videos and materials for your own academic use, but you should not copy, share, or
use them for any other purpose without the explicit permission of the instructor.

Tutorials: Tuesday 12:10-13:00 Toronto Time

Tutorials will be used to complete assignments and supplement lecture material. Tutorials will
be recorded except for portions spent in breakout groups.

Course Work Outline: Dates are tentative and will be at noon Toronto time (e.g., before
Tutorial) unless otherwise indicated, any changes will be announced on Quercus.
• Individual Homework Assignments
o Assignment 1: Mass Balances and IAQ -Due Feb 2 (10%)
o Assignment 2 IAQ Strategies Video – Due Feb 12 (5%)
o Assignment 3: Gathering Building Input Data – Due Feb 23 (10%)
o Assignment 4: Energy Analysis – Due March 2 (10%)
o Assignment 5: Green Building Video – Due Mar 23 (5%)
• Group Homework Assignment 6: Debates - Due April 5-9 (15%)
• Midterm March 8 (15%)
• Final Exam TBA: uoft.me/engexams (30%)
100%
All parts of this course except Assignment 6 are individual assessments (see notes below on
academic integrity).

Assignments
• Assignments will be posted, completed and submitted on Quercus only
• Late assignments penalty 5% every fifteen minutes or portion thereof for first hour,
30% for next 23 hours or portion thereof, not accepted after 24 hours

Midterms and Final Exam

• Midterm will cover material up to the end of March 1, including Assignments 1,2 & 4.
• Final exam will cover all material presented throughout the entire course.
• Only notes from the course and the provided aids/references may be used. No software
(including internet browsers, spreadsheets, etc.) can be used.
• Midterms and Final Exams will be administered through Quercus or Crowdmark.

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Grading Concerns
• Students must fully explain concerns in writing via email and assignment/test should be
resubmitted with written explanation to instructor within one week following the original
return of the assignment/test.

Exemptions and Accommodations

• Term work petitions (e.g., arising from sickness, family emergencies, etc.) are handled
through the online TWP system on the Engineering Portal.
• Assignment/test accommodations will be provided for students who register with
University of Toronto Accessibility Services (accessibility.utoronto.ca/).
• Other circumstances should be dealt with by the Office of the Registrar
(uoft.me/petitions).

Course Website
• Course website is accessible at the Learning Portal (portal.utoronto.ca).
• UTORID is needed for access.
• Assignments will be posted, completed and submitted on Quercus.
• Lecture slide outlines (with gaps) will be generally be posted online before lectures.
• Please regularly check the website for any announcements and updates.

Academic Integrity
• Every student is expected to complete course work individually, with the exception of
the group project.
• You may receive assistance from instructors, the TAs and Engineering Communication
Program (http://www.engineering.utoronto.ca/Page109.aspx).
• Any occurrence of inappropriate collaboration, cheating, or plagiarism will be dealt with
in accordance with University’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters
(www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/behaveac.htm).
• Examples of potential offenses include, but are not limited to the following:
o Copying or allowing another student to copy your assignment or test solutions
o Sharing your exam questions with another student
o Submitting answers/files that resulted from a collaborative effort without
disclosure of this collaborative effort
o Submitting a file/answer that did not result from your sole effort for an
individual assignment
o Discussing any aspect of an exam after you have taken the exam but before it
has been returned to you
o Using additional aids on exams or assignments, beyond those permitted
o Inaccurate reporting of your contributions to group assignment

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CIV576 Tentative Schedule

Date Week Topic
Introduction and motivation
Jan. 11-14 1
No Tutorial
Indoor Contaminants and Mass Balances
Jan 18-21 2
Tutorial: Assignment 1 IAQ & Assignment 2 IAQ Strategies Video
Mass Balances 2
Jan 25-28 3
Tutorial: Assignment 1 & 2 working
Energy Simulation
Feb 1-4 4
Tutorial: Assignment 3 Building Input Data Introduction
Energy Simulation 2
Feb 8-11 5
Tutorial: Assignment 4 Energy Analysis Introduction
Feb 15-18 Reading week
Building enclosures and sustainable buildings
Feb 22-25 6
Tutorial: Assignment 4 Energy Analysis working
Building HVAC and sustainable buildings
Mar 1-4 7
Tutorial: Midterm review
Midterm: March 8
Mar 8-11 8 Sustainable buildings integration
Tutorial: Assignment 5 LEED Video
Sustainable buildings special topics
Mar 15-18 9
Tutorial TBA
Deciding between sustainable building options
Mar 22-25 10
Tutorial: Assignment 6 (group): Debate
Green building rating systems
Mar 29-Apr 1 11
No tutorial (Group meetings)
Debates
April 5-Apr 8 12
Tutorial: Exam Review
Course wrap-up & summary
Apr 12-15 13
No Tutorial