Annette Chan

How Sustainable is my Home?


A building performance assessment of a typical residential building. This project investigates a 300m2 single family home consisting of two above ground storeys and a finished walkout basement. The building typically houses four occupants and operates on a forced air heating, central split air conditioning, and conventional tank water heating system using natural gas.
Through comparing energy efficiency standards to building data, including bills, on-site observations and energy modelling, the home’s use of natural gas, electricity, water, and stormwater management are assessed. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic which has created a remote working and learning situation for three of the home’s four occupants, another aspect of the home’s performance that is assessed is the quality of the workspaces it provides. The daylighting and acoustics in the identified workspaces are analyzed for their ability to support productivity.


Natural Gas:


The overall usage of natural gas is slightly higher than the provincial average. Space heating usage is almost 5 times the Passive House standard, while the hot water usage is below the 190L/day threshold of SB-12. The components generally perform below the current standard for new builds.

Electricity:


The overall electricity usage is slightly higher than its comparable benchmarks. Some appliances in the home fulfill Energy Star and SB-12 Zero Rated Homes requirements but fail to provide the minimum required energy star savings. Lighting is not energy efficient.

Acoustics:
Long reverberation times indicate that the profiled home workspaces are not equipped to provide acoustic comfort to occupants while working.

Water:

Although the overall water use is average, the outdoor water use and fixture flow rates are significantly higher than standard benchmarks.

Stormwater Management: The current permeable area is not sufficient to support rainwater runoff from non-permeable areas.

Daylighting:



In each of the profiled spaces, sDA and UDI measures indicate that natural daylight is insufficient to support productive work. Supplementary artificial lighting is required to work comfortably throughout working hours (8am - 6pm).


Overall: The home performs quite closely to the average overall resource use for homes in York Region, Ontario, and Canada. However, its building performance falls below current sustainability standards in regards to energy use, water use, daylighting, and acoustics. Its sustainability and efficiency could be significantly improved through an upgrade to its various building components, appliances, and fixtures.

Toronto Metropolitan Department of  Architectural Science Toronto, CA.