Research and Development to Support an Ultra-Energy-Efficient Residential Building Stock in Ontario

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The demand exists in Canada to utilize super-insulated building envelope (SIBE) technology (i.e. walls, roofs, slabs, windows and doors) to design and construct ultra-energy-efficient (UEE) houses that significantly reduce operational energy. The proposed research problem is that current designs of building envelope assemblies do not directly transfer to super-insulated building envelope designs. Numerous cases highlight deleterious effects (e.g. mould deterioration) when current design has been used as a framework for SIBE design. The proposed project will conduct analytical research to quantify success criteria utilizing laboratory and field experiments to fill the knowledge gap between traditional building envelope design philosophy and that of SIBEs to support the development of a standard market of UEE residential dwellings. ***Nature of the Work*** The proposed research will develop recommendations for Canadian climate specific SIBE technologies using performance criteria backed by quantitative research. Success criteria directly related to the performance of SIBEs will be developed as the analytical back-bone to support results analysis. The research will be tested and analyzed through laboratory and in-situ full-scale experimentation. Additional performance data will be generated using experimentally validated simulation models. Results from this work support the development, adaptation and construction of SIBEs to support and UEE housing stock across Canada. ***Why is the Research Important*** Residential dwelling energy use accounts for a significant amount of Canada’s energy use (approximately 15%). In an effort to reduce Canada’s energy consumption, Canadians require the means to design and construct UEE buildings through utilizing SIBEs that are healthy, durable, energy efficient and proven. The proposed research is important because it directly supports significant energy efficiency increases at both the building and community scale. In order to reduce the high level energy use, durable and constructible SIBEs are required. ***To Whom is the Research Important*** The research is important to the general public, industry and academia. The general public will benefit from development of useable SIBE assemblies. Industry will benefit from direct market growth in green economy sectors such as sustainable materials, construction and renewables. Academia will benefit from leading edge research providing concrete results related to SIBEs and future research to grow the field of study. ***Anticipated Outcomes*** -Measured data will be published to support the increasing demand of ultra-energy-efficient houses while using strategies that ensure a durable, sustainable building stock. -Results to develop a tiered target system and publish guidelines for design and construction of SIBE assemblies in Canada will be published. -Specific recommendations will be made to governing codes and standards to focus sections on SIBE systems. This data will be coupled with data to support highly efficient energy delivery systems and renewable and bio-energy systems. -The building envelope and systems research output from this project will be complimented by critical analysis of the construction and manufacturing sectors capacity to adopt the proposed ultra-energy-efficient strategies. ***How the Research Field and Canada Will Benefit*** The proposed project will reduce Canada’s environmental impacts of energy production and use through quantifying performance of SIBEs to support the design and construction of UEE homes throughout the nation. The resulting target energy reductions will directly enable Canada to achieve their GHG emission reductions by 2020 and could result in over $1.5 billion in the near term alone.