IMPROVING EXISTING HOMES

While smart solutions will continue to make new homes more efficient, tackling the inefficiency of the vast majority of Canada’s remaining homes was the focus of last month’s grand opening of CABER at Carleton University. The 5,700 sq. ft. Centre for Advanced Building Envelope Research (CABER) facility will work with industry, government and academia to investigate innovative materials and design strategies for completing retrofits that prioritize energy conservation and affordability.

Led by mechanical engineering researcher Cynthia Cruickshank, Carleton CABER researchers will investigate how heat, air and moisture move through materials and highly insulated wall systems, and how these elements contribute to occupant health, comfort and building science risks. They will use their findings to develop new approaches to constructing building envelopes that are thinner and cheaper, as well as new methods for renovating existing buildings with less cost and less disruption.

“The majority (70-90%) of Canadian housing that will exist in 2050 already exists today, with over 70% of the current building stock constructed prior to the development of a building energy code,” says Cruickshank. “Solutions for existing buildings will play the biggest role in meeting Canada’s climate change goals. At CABER, we’re hoping to have a heavy hand in discovering these solutions.” be implemented. Although everyone recognizes it as a low-carbon, green solution, and arguably the most effective solution for eliminating the use of fossil fuels and reducing overall energy consumption, they may also see it as costly, complicated and therefore risky. Because we own and operate the system and provide a performance guarantee, we take on 100% of the operating responsibility and risk, rather than the building owner. And because boilers and cooling towers are eliminated, there’s the potential for increased space or cost savings.”

The CABER facility is equipped with three state-of-the-art pieces of equipment: a two-storey guarded hot box to examine the thermal and moisture performance of retrofit wall assemblies, a two-storey pressurized spray rack to assess moisture resilience and in-situ wall openings to examine the interaction between outdoors and the built environment.

This innovative facility, located on the CanmetEnergy campus in Ottawa’s Bells Corners, is being funded from Natural Resources Canada and the Ontario Research Fund.

Carleton University President Benoit-Antoine Bacon and mechanical engineering researcher Cynthia Cruickshank enjoy a demonstration of the pressurized spray rack at the CABER facility.