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Building engineers commonly use the Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) weather data for simulation and design purposes. However, the nature of TMY in excluding weather extremes makes them less suitable to investigate the effect of potential climate change on building design as climate change likely increases the frequency and magnitude of those extreme conditions. The current practice of designing buildings has lacked a clear method to incorporate future climate change trends. An approach is used to compare present weather simulation results of a commercial building with varying roof reflectance and insulation thermal resistance parameters with future year-by-year results which are affected by potential climate change. Future weather data for year-by-year simulations is obtained by "morphing" historical weather data with a General Circulation Model (HadCM3). Mean energy consumption and optimal roof configurations are discussed with regards to climate change over the study period, and are compared to results obtained with TMY data. Results show that increased roof solar reflectance always lead to less mean and less variant cooling energy consumption. The study shows the importance of considering possible future climate scenarios and in building energy performance design.

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Highlights In the past 15 years, household energy costs in Canada have risen at a much faster pace than real income, particularly in low-income households. Within-the-home energy poverty rates, as determined by various metrics, have followed suit. Low-income households across Canada consume the least amount of energy per year and per unit heated area. They also tend to live in smaller dwellings which require more energy per unit floor area. Low-income households tend to live in older, rented dwellings which are retrofitted less often than owner-occupied dwellings and are the least exposed to energy-saving technology. Other developed countries, particularly in Europe, have studied energy poverty and affordability across their populations and have used their results to analyse cases of freeloading and splitincentive and to optimize government subsidy programs. Energy efficiency rating systems for dwellings have been designed in some countries to help manage subsidies and determine patterns contributing to energy inefficiency. Energy rate increases across developed nations are part of a global trend which could be alleviated through sponsored retrofitting and income transfers. Several solutions can assist in reversing the increasing rates of energy poverty in Canada, including reinstating non-profit housing programs, providing on-site renewable energy generation and defining energy as a basic need.

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A numerical mathematical model has been developed to predict the thermal behavior of phase change material during thermal storage. The model includes the effects of various mechanisms of heat transfer such as conduction, convection as well as fusion of the phase change material. Water/Ice was used as a phase change material. The thermal behavior of the phase change material during cooling has been studied experimentally and analyzed under different conditions. Comparisons were made against experimental data for validation of the predictive model. The model fairly predicted experimental data obtained at various inlet conditions.