In Canada, buildings account for 17% of total domestic GHG emissions, and almost 50% of GHG emissions from urban regions. In southern Ontario, Canada, there are approximately 1,200 post-war multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) that were constructed between 1960 and 1970, and there is a lack of knowledge on how these buildings operate. Our research has shown that these buildings often suffer from poor indoor air quality, overheating, and poor energy performance.

This presentation will focus three different research projects that are being carried out at the Building Energy and Indoor Environment lab at the University of Toronto:

1) Assessing the ventilation performance and perceptions of indoor environmental quality in two post-war MURBs.

2) Updates on the development of alternative strategies for characterizing air leakage in MURB suites.

3) A new retrofit method for the heating system in post-war MURBs.

The information presented here will be useful to the Toronto ASHRAE community as we work to improve the sustainability and comfort of our existing building stock.

LECTURER

Dr. Jamie Fine, PhD. EIT

Post Doctoral Fellow

University of Toronto