Inspired Spaces Builders is an Authorized ECHO System Installer

Inspired Spaces Builders is pleased to be an authorized contractor, licensed by Indoor Air Technologies, Inc to build and install ECHO basement systems. ECHO is a patented system that will transform your basement area into dry, comfortable living space. If you're thinking of renovating or finishing your basement, ECHO is a way to level up your comfort and health when it comes to basements life. Feel free to reach out, we would love to discuss your basement possibilities with you and provide you with a free quote.

The ECHO Basement Finishing System

Pioneered by Dr. Douglas Walkinshaw, President of Indoor Air Technologies, an Ottawa-based company specializing in indoor air quality. ECHO comprises ventilated perimeter finished walls built on the inside of the foundation and optional subfloors. ECHO is designed to combat water leaks, humidity and soil gases that enter through concrete foundation walls and floors.

Enclosed Conditioned HOusing System

Using a small variable speed blower, 10-100 CFM (consuming between 10 and 85 watts) air is continually exhausted to the outside of the home from the sealed and fully insulated ECHO walls and low E floors at a low rate. This combination creates a negative pressure barrier around the basement living space, preventing soil gas and moisture entry, and keeping insulation and materials dry. And since air in the envelop is constantly ventilated, soil gases such as radon do not enter the house.

ECHO comprises specially sealed, ventilated, depressurized, drained and insulated stud walls and optional sub-floors, covering the foundation where basement thermal, moisture, mold and soil gas problems begin. ECHO SYSTEM air quality improvements reduce ventilation requirements thereby eliminating the need for air-to-air heat exchangers. ECHO construction increases usable living space while preventing basement dampness and musty odors. ECHO Prevents soil gas entry and reduces basement heating and dehumidification requirements.

KEY BENEFITS

Unlike HRVs and standard exhaust ventilators, ECHO dehumidifies in rainy and humid weather.

ECHO eliminates basement pollutants such as microbial spores and gases at the source, thereby reducing house ventilation requirements and eliminating allergy problems.

ECHO provides whole house ventilation with heat recovery while eliminating envelope moisture problems.

ECHO creates healthy living space from unhealthy basement space, thereby eliminating the need for a costly addition and additional heating and cooling costs.

ECHO eliminates 1-2 gallons per day of soil moisture entry through the foundation, thereby reducing house dehumidification requirements.

ECHO keeps insulation dry and eliminates energy robbing convection currents thereby increasing subfloor and perimeter wall thermal resistance.

The ECHO System for Basements

Homeowners that are considering options to add additional space to their home, are all too familiar with the reality of cold, damp and dingy basements. Now the Enclosure Conditioned Housing (ECHO) SystemTM, winner of the Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders' Technology Award, is able to help you create the "perfect basement" in your own home. With ECHO System you have:

- Depressurized, ventilated and drained sub floors which can be finished like floors upstairs

- Depressurized, ventilated and drained perimeter walls,

- Mechanical, variable rate heat, recovery house ventilation,

- House depressurization testing capability.

The ECHO System insulation, ventilation, dehumidification and water drainage system is incorporated in specially constructed basement perimeter stud walls and sub floors. ECHO System ventilation and drainage technology keeps building and insulation materials dry in what might otherwise be damp and musty basement floor and perimeter wall cavities.

The ECHO System eliminates foundation water leakage. Its continuous, depressurized envelope cavity prevents soil and building material moisture, gases and mold spores from entering the living space. Its energy efficient, variable speed blower, provides extra house ventilation when you need it.

Here is how it is done. First, in an existing finished basement, old insulation, studs and carpets are removed in the areas to be finished with the ECHO System. Next, cracks in the foundation walls are air-sealed. Then the ECHO System perimeter stud walls and/or raised sub-floors are constructed.

The ECHO System raised floor is hollow yet has a thermal resistance of R4 and a thickness of less than 2 inches. This floor is drained either by a standard floor drain or by a hole(s) to the sub-slab. It is sealed at the edges where there is no connected ECHO System wall.

Sub-slab depressurization (SSD) may be included. This prevents soil gas entry in areas not covered by the ECHO System sub-floor. It can also help to keep the slab from being damp, and exhaust humidity from existing stud walls. ECHO System perimeter stud walls are fully insulated (air can move through batt insulation, and glass and mineral fibers are not damaged by water), contain sealed electrical outlets, are sealed at the top and either connected to an ECHO System sub-floor or sealed and drained at the slab.

The complete perimeter stud wall - raised floor assembly is exhausted to the outside by a continuous duty blower. The ECHO System is pre-commissioned (pressure-tested and leaks sealed) before drywall installation. This ensures complete venting of the wall-floor assembly at the lowest possible exhaust rates for the ECHO System layout and foundation type. After the drywall is installed, the ECHO System is commissioned and certified, setting the minimum exhaust rate for most energy efficient operation, and higher rates for increased envelope dehumidification (e.g. in the case of a flood) and for added house ventilation.

About Dr. Walkinshaw....

Dr. Douglas S. Walkinshaw, President of Indoor Air Technologies Inc., managed the organization of the 5th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Toronto, Canada, 1990 and the International Society of Indoor Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). He has contributed to the development of two American Society of Heating Refrigerating Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) ventilation standards, one for buildings 62-1989, and one for aircraft 161-2008.

He has been a speaker at many international conferences and has published numerous papers on the subject of indoor air quality. Prior to founding Indoor Air Technologies in 1988, Dr. Walkinshaw held positions with several Canadian Federal Government departments and agencies including the Defence Research Board, Public Works Canada, the National Research Council Canada and Health Canada.

Dr. Walkinshaw holds a PH.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta, and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Civil Engineering from McMaster University, Hamilton. He is a founding member of the International Society of Indoor Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) and of the International Academy for the Indoor Air Sciences (IAIAS).

From Dr. Walkinshaw....

My professional background is as an engineer with a PH.D in Mechanical Engineering. I have worked in the private sector and for several federal government agencies. The government agencies include the Defence Research Board (design of the DDH280 destroyer and the Gentilly Nuclear Reactor, 1965-72), Public Works Canada (bridge and marine engineering technology development and building energy conservation, 1972-82), the National Research Council and Health Canada (indoor air quality problem solving, 1982-88).

For the past 20 years I have owned and operated a consulting and technology development firm, Indoor Air Technologies, Inc specializing in indoor environment problem solving in buildings and aircraft. This firm has problem solving ventilation technologies licensed in the building and aircraft fields. One of these, the ECHO System (a basement radon gas and water entry prevention and mold exposure and odor mitigation system), was installed in 1992 in the Prince Edward Island energy conservation demonstration house.

I have conducted over 400 indoor air quality investigations in all sorts of indoor environments. In the course of this work, I have developed protocols for investigating systemic sources of a number of indoor air contaminants and for measuring ventilation and sorption parameters. I'll provide more information concerning my findings in future articles.

With the Indoor Air Technologies blog I intend to address indoor air quality (IAQ) problems and solutions in buildings and aircraft. I'll also be discussing our ECHO Air, VEFT, PEACE and ECHO Systems technologies. I invite you to drop by on a regular basis.

Dr. Douglas Walkinshaw

September 8, 2008