Residential Building Sector

Energy use by buildings would be reduced by a Factor 10 or more below that of conventional buildings. The purpose of factor 10 is a long-term

Climate change has become the most serious global environmental threat with sides of people who do not believe it exists and people who are actually aware. The release of greenhouse gases such as carbon and methane into the atmosphere has been known to be one of the major causes of climate change. Scientists explain that these emissions must drastically reduce to avoid a 2°C rise in average global temperature. Therefore different countries have made policies and ways to reduce the production of these gases and Canada is one of them. Canada ranks 15th out of 17 countries for greenhouse gas emissions per capita.Canada’s per capita decreased by nearly 5% between 1990 and 2010 while the total GHG emissions in Canada grew by 17%. The

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges that we currently face. With the ever-increasing uptake in the usage of fossil fuels, and getting ever closer to reaching peak oil, it is becoming of increasing importance to reduce our consumption of these non-renewable resources. The United Kingdom (UK) has been set a target to reduce its CO2 output level by at least 80% by 2050, in comparison to a 1990 baseline (Climate change act (2008)). This is a great challenge set by the European Union (EU) that UK is legally obliged to commit to. A large proportion of this CO2 output can be attributed to the UK’s housing sector, which currently accounts for 27% of the UK’s total CO2 level (Davies, P. and Osmani, M. (2011)). Clearly,

Various construction methods are used throughout the world depending on the available surrounding resources and differing environmental conditions. Central Canada is a rapidly growing country that is well known for having an extremely unpredictable climate, with a wide range of temperatures ranging from as low as -40 °C during the winter, to up to +40 °C during the summer. The rapid population growth is fueling Canada as an economy, but the constant construction is quickly consuming the buildable space. Lack of buildable space could significantly interfere with the amount of new homes and livable spaces in the future. To maintain the growth of living spaces, without sacrificing the new buildable area, a fairly new building alternative could

Energy efficiency has several benefits including being good for the environment. However, the biggest benefit is that it saves you money. Home inspectors often look at several things when detailing energy efficiency and its importance. Magnolia Property Consultants examine several things

In July 2017, “Toronto City Council unanimously approved City’s long-term path to reduce city-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2050”. A performance goal of 20% per capita GHG emissions reduction by 2035 from 2014 levels was put into effect, based on feasible energy saving opportunities at each facility. Initiatives used to achieve this goal include reducing energy consumption (electricity and natural gas) and increasing the use of renewable energy.

The best way to spend the taxpayers’ money is to buy the most energy efficient and best model and not replace it as often. As the age old saying, “you get what you pay for.” The same goes for other materials when doing an addition or fixing an existing structure, the administrators need to take the time to research and see what the best materials are for longevity and spend money wisely (Lucas, R., 2009, November/December). As Robert Lucas (2009) said, “Money spent well at the beginning of a project may save the facility from spending more in the future.”

Fossil fuels are harmful to the environment, they release chemicals into the atmosphere which reduces the air quality, and degrades the protective ozone layer around the Earth. Solar power is unlike fossil fuels in this way; solar harnesses power from the sun, a never ending source, in a simple process that does not harm the environment, making it renewable and sustainable. For a comfortable indoor temperature year round, this house utilises double glazed operable windows. Double glazing windows increases thermal protection of the house by creating a thicker insulating layer, it keeps the cold air outside in winter, and the warm air outside in summer that would usually be transmitted through the windows. The structure is made from metal cladding, cement sheet and plantation timber. Metal cladding and cement sheet create a thermal layer that protects the

Energy Efficiency: The Generation Y population is one that’s hopped on the “green living” bandwagon, and many of them are looking for energy efficient features in their homes, like tankless water heaters and natural gas. Many of them are also interested in homes

After this evaluation, skylights and renewable energy, consisting of photovoltaic (PV), solar hot water, solar ventilation preheating, and ground source heat pumps were designed to enhance and push towards net zero. Thirty-seven percent of total savings are estimated to be from PV and 13% from ground source heat pumps.

Canada is considered a world leader in energy production and the role that energy and power play in the Canadian and global economy is vastly important. At the present time the global energy industry is in the process of a significant world wide restructuring and the environment in Canada is at the forefront of this change. The energy system in Canada is involved in many facets of Canadian life including environmental, economic and social fabric of Canada. Due to its influences in so many arenas it is important for governments, business and industry, key stakeholders and the general public to have a clear understanding of the role energy plays and should play, in Canada as

Green buildings could become one of the main factors to preserve our rapidly decaying environment. There is no easy way to define a green building, but a green building is essentially a structure that amplifies the positives and mitigates the negatives throughout the entire life cycle of the building (Kriss, 2014). There are many definitions for a green building, but all of them include the planning, designing, constructing, and operating of the building while taking into huge considerations of the energy use, water use, indoor air environment, materials used and the effect it has on the site the green building is being built on. The first green buildings dates back to as far as the 1970’s, when solar panels went from experiments to reality. Green buildings were not as popular as they are today due to their extremely high pricing. With technology rapidly growing, solar panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper, making the transition to creating green buildings more affordable. This is the primary reason for the increased growth of green buildings today. A modern company that is paving the way to the growth of green buildings named LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, focuses primarily on new and effective ideas for environmentally friendly buildings projects. With more than 60,000 commercial projects worldwide and 1.7 million square feet being certified every day, LEED is one of the leading groups for promoting green buildings. LEED has popularized the entire

The inefficient homes in the UK have catastrophic effects on global warming. The UK needs to become more energy efficient as at the moment it emits a large amount of greenhouse gases which risk dangerous climate change. The retrofitting of the brick three storey terraced town house is necessary in order to comply with the legislations set out by parliament in the UK Climate Change Act (2008) or if the house falls under the private rented sector it must comply with the Energy Act 2011.

Residential property is a property, building or flat that is designed solely for the purpose of use by a person or a family to live in on a day-to-day basis. Commercial property is a property which is designed for the purpose of manufacture of a product or for the sale of goods and services. Hence, residential property is for an individual or a family for living purpose while commercial property is for the use for a businessman.

By taking the position as Raj Bhatt, Business Development manager of GE Canada, I am comfortable and confident that energy efficiency is an attractive industry and business opportunity. What makes Raj Bhatt believe that the Energy Efficiency projects will be successful in Canada is that the project helps not only the ESCo, which conducts the performance-based contracting, but also the customers, who are more aware of the benefits of Energy Efficiency project. The Energy Efficiency project will optimize the energy usage, including conservation, use of efficient equipment and off peak usage. Even though the project has required intensive initial capital investment and long payback period, it will