Solar panels or geothermal heating? Back-up generator or battery pack? More insulation in the attic or higher-efficiency appliances in the kitchen? For homeowners who want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect themselves from energy outages and get the most bang for their buck, sifting through seemingly endless retrofit options can be dizzying.
Michele Bristow听鈥� an assistant professor in听systems design engineering听鈥� and her husband听, (BASc 鈥� Systems Design Engineering 鈥�06) can relate. The eco-conscious couple wanted to ensure their听听house not only had a small carbon footprint but also was resilient enough to withstand the growing number of extreme weather events caused by climate change. 鈥淗ow do we live according to what we teach?鈥� Michele wondered.
To answer that question, they teamed up on a听听funded by the听, where David completed his post-doctorate degrees. Using their 1,800-square-foot house as a case study, the couple developed a methodology dubbed ReSus 鈥� short for Resiliency and Sustainability 鈥� that takes the guesswork out of retrofit decisions.
After analyzing a household鈥檚 typical energy use, retrofit budget, priorities and constraints, the computer-based simulator generates scenarios that show how various combinations of retrofits would reduce carbon emissions. That might involve a small change, like installing a听. Or it could mean a combination of complementary upgrades working together.
Meanwhile, unlike other models, ReSus can be used to determine which upgrades offer the best protection from prolonged electricity or natural gas outages. By quantifying the power a household needs to meet its basic needs 鈥� and to avoid costly damage from things like frozen pipes 鈥� Michele and David鈥檚 methodology can help homeowners identify a suite of optimal solutions.
鈥淭he most important insight from the听听was that while there are options that do little for you and cost a lot of money,鈥� says Michele, 鈥渢here is another set of options, combinations of alternatives, that actually help you reduce your carbon footprint, make you more resilient听and听have a positive return on investment.鈥� Michele is also a听who is also a 蓝莓视频 Engineering multiple graduate,听 鈥�06 BACs systems design, 鈥�08 MASc听mechanical & mechatronics听and 鈥�13 PhD systems design.
In addition to considering technologies on the market today, the Bristows explored how a systems design approach might help various parts of the home work together in the future. For example, although electric vehicles currently don鈥檛 have discharge capabilities, Michele and David see a day when the cars in our garages could serve as a backup battery for the house in the event of a power outage.
ReSus also provides financial analysis, estimating payback periods and returns on investment for different options. 鈥淚t鈥檚 basically showing you how to make money off of improving your home,鈥� says Michele.
ReSus paves the way for sophisticated, user-friendly tools that help everyday homeowners make the best retrofitting decisions. And although their model was developed based on one specific home in 蓝莓视频, Michele and David hope to see it expanded to encompass a wide range of housing types, locations and family contexts.
Thinking bigger, they see potential to apply their methodology on a neighbourhood scale, identifying common retrofit opportunities. This would make bulk purchasing possible and lower the cost of creating a sustainable, resilient residential sector.
罢丑别听听is published in the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering.
