Energy and thermal performance requirements are growing and playing an increasingly significant role in building codes throughout North America. However, understanding and meeting these requirements has also become complex for designers. At the same time, it is clear important decisions regarding basic enclosure assembly design and window area need to be made early in the project to achieve the most cost-effective, energy-efficient, and comfortable building.
High-volume, low-speed (HVLS) fans are easy to install in open spaces such as libraries, cafeterias, gyms, and school corridors. These cost-effective systems use minimal energy while creating a cooling effect of up to 5.5 C (10 F), thereby improving comfort in learning environments throughout the year.
The Québec City University Hospital Centre (CHU) de Québec – Université Laval opted for a deep retrofit project when addressing a backlog of deferred maintenance. Energy-efficiency upgrades at four of the centre’s hospitals included boiler replacements, improvements to the thermal plants, and reconfiguration of numerous electromechanical systems.
The newly launched EnergyCompass tool seeks to improve energy literacy in Ontario and aid construction professionals to make better use of green building designs to reach the goal of net-zero carbon emissions.
The federal government is investing $35,000 in a project at Carleton University aiming to help the construction industry design more energy efficient and high-performing buildings. This project will study and model occupant behavioural patterns to better predict building energy consumption and find new methods to reduce it.
Building an ultra-energy efficient industrial-style building in a northern climate is no easy task, but the Wood Innovation Research Laboratory (WIRL) at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in downtown Prince George proves it can be done.
The redevelopment project of the Canada Post building in Vancouver by QuadReal Property Group is touted as one of the most ambitious heritage redevelopments in the country’s history, preserving the building’s architectural features through adaptive reuse.
When selecting air barrier products to employ in building designs, architects have a broad range of choices. Spray foam insulation products are often selected because they can provide superior performance and also contribute to greater energy and operating cost savings in buildings.
Commercial buildings are among the biggest consumers of energy, with much of it being wasted. There is growing pressure to provide more efficient designs that are also sustainable over the life of the building.
Carleton University in Ottawa has released a new energy master plan, part of a strategy for reducing current energy and water consumption and ensuring the highest possible conservation levels are maintained as the campus evolves.
