Measuring to Build: Research into Low Energy, High

Measuring
to Build:
Research into
Low Energy,
HighPerformance
Housing
research.carleton.ca
Ian BeausoleilMorrison, PhD
Carleton University’s
Canada Research Chair
in Innovative Energy
Systems for
Residential Buildings
Ian BeausoleilMorrison’s Research
Aims for Low Energy
and High
Performance Home
Construction
Canadians are energy hogs. Intensely
cold winters combined with a growing
taste for larger homes pose significant
challenges for anyone involved with
home building because of demands on
energy supplies and environmental
damage.
The twin objectives of Ian BeausoleilMorrison’s research involve reducing
energy consumption with novel
technologies that are also designed for
high energy performance. The effective
by-product of his research is to lessen
greenhouse gases that result from
excessive energy use.
Successful strategies in energy
conservation hinge on accurate
simulation prediction and field
evaluation, which is where BeausoleilMorrison’s expertise is renowned in
international circles. He has developed
sophisticated performance simulation
tools reflecting building physics and
energy systems to measure and test
adaptive technologies. The software
integrates a range of parameters from
basement insulation to outdoor climate
condition to energy conversion systems.
Beausoleil-Morrison’s work also brings
new meaning to the phrase re-use
and recycle. His research investigates
methods to trap redundant heat for use
when temperatures drop. Solar energy
offers the luxury of lots of extra radiant
heat when the sun shines brightly
even on bitterly cold days. BeausoleilMorrison has devised a means to
harness and store the heat to recycle
during dark, cold wintry hours.
How to deliver affordable, efficient and
workable heat management systems
that home builders will eventually adapt
for Canadians is the focus of a new
Carleton University research lab. The
laboratory plan is a 1,600 square foot
home, the Urbandale Centre for Home
Energy Research (CHEeR), that will
provide and measure the performance
of solar heating and cooling, and heat
storage together with a range of energy
efficient design strategies.
THE RESEARCH
What I do
Develop new technologies and analyze to heat
and cool, and store energy for housing; provide
software tools to assess and analyze low-energy,
high-performance systems.
Why it matters
Heating and cooling systems in Canada’s extreme
winter cold and high summer temperatures
are expensive and significantly contribute to
greenhouse gas emissions.
What it will change
“We’re working with ideas and
technologies that the home
building industry cannot and
will not use until they have
been proven. Our performance
measure models will expand our
capacity to deliver results that will
have an impact on government
and industry.”
Proven, newer technologies and building practices
can be adapted by home builders for more efficient
energy use.
THE RESEARCHER
2010 - 2014 President, International Building
Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA);
and Co-founder, co-editor Journal of Building
Performance Simulation.
2011-2016 National Sciences and Engineering
Research Council Smart Net-Zero Energy Buildings
Strategic Research Network.
Partners in the project include a major
construction company, and Urbandale.
The National Research Council and
Natural Resources Canada are also key
supporters.
Former Operating Agent, Annex 42 research
project, involving 25 research organizations from
10 countries on micro-cogeneration for the
International Energy Agency’s programme on
Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community
Systems (IEA/ECBCS).
“A single-family detached house that
seasonally stores thermal energy and
is configured to maximize use of solar
energy for space and water heating has
the potential to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by six to eight tonnes every
year,” says Beausoleil-Morrison. Expand
that to even two per cent of Canada’s
housing stock and the savings would
amount to more than one megatonne
(one million tonnes), he says.
PARTNERS
Partnerships and collaborations include The
National Research Council of Canada (NRC);
Natural Resources Canada; Smart-Zero Energy
Buildings Strategic Research Network; Urbandale
Construction, Ottawa; Sumaran Inc., Ottawa, and
Ecologix, Cambridge, ON.
“If solar energy available from early spring through late
autumn can be captured and stored for use during
winter, a significant portion of a home’s heating needs
could be met without an excessively large, expensive
solar collection system.”
research.carleton.ca