Ambitious deep energy retrofits of buildings to accelerate the 1.5°C energy transition in Canada

Abstract

Scientists advise limiting global warming to 1.5°C with substantial actions by 2030. Our viewpoint argues that climate response strategies in Canada have underemphasized and underestimated the potential contribution deep energy retrofits can make to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, leading to inadequate responses in the building sector, and that Canada can (and should) be ambitious with building retrofits over the next decade. GHG savings from building retrofits can be realized more quickly than GHG reductions from other sectors, and either deliver net cost savings or are cost‐effective when compared to other mitigation measures. Retrofits can also provide social and economic benefits, such as improved health and comfort, and lower energy costs. This paper reviews energy use and building retrofits in Canada and argues the following should be implemented: (1) focus innovation on deep energy retrofit processes, not singular retrofit actions; (2) maximize both social and environmental benefits; (3) improve data gathering and availability for analysis and delivery; (4) innovate for a process of decisions and to avoid “dropouts” during the retrofit process; and (5) focus innovation on business models that maximize benefits.

Energy poverty: an overlooked determinant of health and climate resilience in Canada

“…Cross-sectoral interventions aiming to reduce energy poverty and improve energy security by targeting the energy efficiency of dwellings have been shown to improve a range of health and well-being outcomes in varied population groups (Thomson et al, 2013;Willand et al, 2015Willand et al, , 2020. Residential building retrofits, for example, have the dual benefit of lowering greenhouse gas emissions and providing social and economic benefits that could assist with 9.5 (9.2, 9.9) Small population centre 13.0 (12.6, 13.5) Rural areas 16.9 (16.5, 17.3) health by way of mitigating energy poverty (Hoicka & Das, 2021;Pojar & Karásek, 2019;Sharpe et al, 2019). Programs and subsidies for housing retrofits as well as to build new energy-efficient dwellings should consider, and be assessed for, health and equity impacts as these most often target, or are most accessible to, those who are (financially) able to make changes to their dwellings.…”

Quantifying the prevalence of energy poverty across Canada: Estimating domestic energy burden using an expenditures approach

“…Retrofitting the Canadian building sector is therefore critical. Not only will targeting inefficient buildings reduce energy costs, the co-benefits of health and comfort, which are lacking for some people in energy poverty, would be beneficial (Hoicka and Das 2021).…”

A Review of Evaluative Measures of Carbon-Neutral Buildings: The Bibliometric and Science Mapping Analysis towards Sustainability

“…Interpreting the themes in carbon-free buildings at this phase clarifies the design as a subpart of the major residential building theme, which was a leading theme in an earlier stage (Figure 9b). Likewise, the transition and retrofit of themes received a lot of attention and became popular due to their contribution to reducing carbon emissions, as shown in Figure 9d,e [115,116]. A digital twin is an isolated specialised theme that integrates advanced technology in sustainable building construction.…”