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Research and Evaluation

Bfreehomes undertakes research for agencies of the Government of Canada to help support policy and guidelines for getting to "NetZero" in progressive stages, as well as sustainable building assembles and products for residential housing. To date, we have done substantial work for Natural Resources Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

We also provide technical and management advisory services for the conservation divisions of utilities such as the Ontario Power Authority to inform code decisions about the existing and new housing stock, as well as value for money evaluations for energy efficiency organisations such as the Prince Edward Island Office of Energy Efficiency.

Sample Projects

Regional Cost-Optimization Study of Progressively Improving Energy Efficiency Towards Net Zero Houses (Natural Resources Canada, 2009)

This study involves a detailed analysis of the incremental cost of reaching certain energy reduction targets and ultimately, net-zero houses. The overarching 4-year project, of which this study in the Greater Toronto Area was the initial step, aims to develop regionally-sensitive recommendations to achieve significant improvements in energy efficiency and ultimately, net-zero energy homes. This initiative is studying the "real" cost of implementing energy conservation measures, advanced mechanical systems and renewable energy technology to incrementally reduce whole house energy consumption to reach the specified annual energy-use targets.

In Spring 2009, Bfreehomes facilitated a focus group with high-volume production builders and industry stakeholders, ran energy modeling simulations and made recommendations for incremental upgrades to existing conventional construction. The final report contained recommendations and suggestions for future work on the long-term project.

Payback Period for "Green" Building Features in Single Family Detached Dwellings (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC], 2010)

The purpose of this project is to build a framework to profile estimates on the internal rates of return of 61 green products available for single family detached dwellings. Fuel prices, potential energy and water savings associated with each product and the related capital costs were modelled in four house types in six cities in Canada. The projection of these prices against potential savings and related capital cost over a 20-year planning horizon was done using stochastic modelling to calculate Internal Rates of Return. This research has lead to the development of 61 consumer level generic green feature profiles, with 10 to be published by CMHC in 2010.

Energy Efficiency Program Evaluation of Residential Energy Efficiency Programs (PEI Office of Energy Efficiency, 2010, in process)

The PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry has engaged the services of Conestoga-Rovers & Associates and Bfreehomes to complete a study of the effectiveness of its grants and loans for energy efficiency upgrades in the residential sector. The program evaluation involves examination of the existing suite of residential programs, provides an analysis on the effectiveness of each of the current programs and determines the effects of the programs with respect to their impact on energy use, environmental impact and socio-economic impacts. A unique aspect of this evaluation is the detailed analysis of pre and post home audits to estimate the fuel cost savings resulting from the upgrades underwritten by the grants and loans to homeowners.

New Housing Construction Options Beyond The 2012 Ontario Building Code (Ontario power Authority, 2010, in process)The project consists of analysing the cost of achieving certain whole house energy reduction targets by researching conventional building code-compliant practices in Ontario with specific focus on Eastern Ontario and Central-Northern Ontario; and consulting with builders on the real and associated costs of various upgrades (i.e. increasing wall thickness for insulation leads to increased window finishing costs and reduced floor space).

Four house archetypes are being examined and each archetype is being subjected to energy conservation measures, such as increases in insulation levels and improved air tightness levels, to determine not only the internal rate of return (using stochastic modelling) of the measure, but also the most cost-effective combination of energy conservation and renewable energy to reach specified 2017 building code energy targets (ERS 85). Bfreehomes is also providing the province of Ontario with specific technical and capacity building advise with respect to implementation of the new code. The technical recommendations address the building envelope, mechanicals and renewables while the capacity building addresses affordability, brand recognition and education and training.

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