Homeowners and housing corporations are burdened with growing maintenance, operations, and utility costs. The northern climate is extremely challenging for housing durability, and the cost of electricity and heating fuel is the highest in Canada. In many remote communities, the utility supply is limited and prone to outages, so passive survivability can be a significant issue under the extreme climatic conditions. Energy efficiency retrofits present a proven method to lower the housing costs of existing northern homes and reduce the burden on local utilities. These measures can also improve homeowner health and comfort and the passive survivability of the home. However, homeowners face a daunting challenge when selecting an optimal package of energy efficiency measures for their home.
We were retained by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to develop an illustrated guide that would provide “how-to” information on retrofit energy efficiency strategies for homeowners, contractors, and builders in remote northern communities. Our aim was to focus on best practices for enclosure retrofits in the remote northern context using locally available materials and skill sets. Our team was also tasked with delivering supplemental local training and educational seminars.
We aimed to develop a guide that was largely graphical in nature and would present the optimal housing retrofit strategies in a clear and easy to understand manner. Since every existing house is unique, homeowners have many options for building enclosure, HVAC electrical, and equipment retrofits to choose from with different returns on investment and savings. To develop content for the guide, we built off of previous northern housing energy efficiency optimization work performed in early 2015 by NRCan, CMHC, and our own team as well as other northern housing work. It was critically important that the guide be directly relevant to northern housing, so we worked with the client to establish a local stakeholder group to provide input and review for the project. The housing archetype illustrated in the guide is unique to the North.
The Illustrated Guide for Northern Housing Energy Retrofits was published in 2016 as an industry resource for achieving higher energy efficiency in existing homes while maximizing utility cost savings and home passive survivability through lower energy use. The guide considers whole “house as a system” interactions stemming from air sealing and insulation retrofits, including occupant health and safety associated with combustion, hazardous materials, mechanical ventilation, and indoor air quality. We covered two optimal retrofit packages in the guide for a typical single-family dwelling in Canada’s Far North: a cost-effective retrofit package, and an energy-optimal retrofit package. Two comprehensive chapters outline procedures and materials for potential air sealing and insulation retrofits using numerous photos and illustrations. An additional chapter covers mechanical system upgrades and air sealing considerations.
Following the publication of this guide for northern housing energy retrofits, our team was retained to develop a follow-up guide specific to Yukon titled Energy-Efficient Housing Retrofits for Yukon.
The Illustrated Guide for Northern Housing Retrofits is available here: https://rdh.spinxweb.net-final/resource/illustrated-guide-for-northern-housing-retrofits/
