Development and field testing of novel approaches to improve building operations

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Buildings play a significant role in our environmental impact (e.g., 53% of electricity use, 35% of greenhouse gas emissions), comprise of about 15% of our gross domestic product, and represent our living and working environment for about 90% of the time. But despite the high impact of buildings on the environment, society, and the economy, they are frequently operated sub-optimally - despite numerous low or no-cost upgrades and operational modifications. This project will develop and test four innovative approaches to greatly improve building performance on a portfolio of 20 large commercial buildings in Ottawa. The four approaches include: 1) a systematic calibrated energy model development and upgrade analysis; 2) novel data visualization methods to facilitate identification of performance improvements; 3) systematic assessment of building utilization and risk assessment for reducing floor area; and, 4) innovative means to perform preventative maintenance on building mechanical equipment, including text-mining of operator work-orders. Four leading Carleton University researchers with complementary skills will continue collaborating with Canada-based Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions (BGIS) Inc. for a four-year term. BGIS is a market-leader with decades of experience with building management and operations. They have the capacity to integrate the research results and develop them into marketable products. BGIS's contributions to the project included: student training, software, access to data and buildings, engineering services, technical advice/support, and monetary funding. The planned outcomes include innovative workflows, methodologies, and software-based tools and building-specific solutions for the buildings. The developed strategies are expected to reduce energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and associated costs by as much as 30%, while potentially reducing required building floor area. The developed solutions will help the BGIS remain as a leading Canadian and international property management firm and train four PhD students. A parallel project with Ontario Centres of Excellence will support an additional five students, who will be responsible for advancing the research and field work.