SeaBEC

2020 April Member Meeting

Thursday, April 16, 2020

The Big Chill: Blowing Agents and Refrigerants Legislation

By engineering the use of alternate chemicals, humanity has successfully been addressing the problem of ozone depletion. Following in these footsteps, effort is being made to significantly reduce the impact of global warming caused by two categories of chemicals regularly used in the building industry: refrigerants and blowing agents. The scientific community has determined that this step alone can reduce potential global warming by 0.5 degrees C.

Washington State, along with California, New York, and a handful of additional states, as well as all of Canada, is enacting regulations which will define limits on the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the chemicals used for these components; components which are an integral part of any mechanical systems and insulation products we use in our buildings. 

During this presentation, Dan Whitmore and Ari Anderson with RDH Building Science Inc. (RDH) will review the underlying logic behind these new regulations, the impact on the available blowing agents and refrigerants, and critically, the effect on the products we will have available for use in our construction projects starting on January 1, 2021. Dan and Ari will be joined by Emily Bruns, Senior Environmental Technical Specialist with the Washington State Department of Ecology, and Paul Lewandowski, Director of Regulatory Law for Owens-Corning to present a panel discussion. 

Dan Whitmore combines a passion for energy, sustainability, and the natural environment with over 30 years of construction experience. A long-time denizen of Seattle, Washington, in 2018 Dan joined RDH, as a Passive House Specialist. He melds knowledge of Passive House, building science,, materials selection, and energy resources with his extensive background in hands-on craft, site management, and project troubleshooting. He serves on the boards of Passive House Northwest and PHIUS and is a constant advocate for municipal and state advances in building practice. 

Ari Anderson has a background in architecture and is a Building Science Consultant with RDH. He received his Master'S of Architecture from NDSU and has since worked in Minneapolis and Seattle. Before joining RDH, Ari worked on several high-profile projects like the West Edge Apartments at 2nd and Pike and the Lincoln Square II Expansion. Ari has focused on bringing sustainability into all of his projects and makes a point to push for more sustainable materials and resource use. Ari's biggest focus in sustainability right now, is building electrification, embodied energy, and hydrofluorocarbon legislation. 

 Speakers: Ari Anderson and Dan Whitmore with RDH Building Science, Emily Bruns with Washington State Department of Ecology, Paul Lewandowski with Owens Corning.  

Click here to download a copy of this presentation. 

For additional information from the Washington State Department of Ecology, please see the links below. Emily Bruns can also be reached directly for questions at [email protected]. 

Information on transition timeline and notification

Information on rule-making (this is where updates will be posted)

Date: Thursday, April 16, 2020

Schedule: 
5:30-5:45 PM: Seabec Business & Announcements
5:45-7:00 PM: Speaker Presentation
7:00 - 7:30 PM: Networking via Zoom

Refreshments: Walt Suman and Mike Breda with Tekterior

Location: Remote via Zoom 

This meeting will be held remotely using Zoom. Please refer to your email from SeaBEC for Zoom login information. Please contact Nathan Seney at [email protected] with any questions about the Zoom meeting. 

Seattle Building Enclosure Council PO Box 725 Mercer Island, WA 98040 www.seabec.org