Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings is not only a vital step in reducing energy costs, it also provides economic opportunities to increase jobs and productivity. 34% of Canada's construction workers, over 300,000, are located in Ontario, the majority employed by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Access to proven technologies is a competitive advantage to SMEs; however, implementing new technologies requires evaluating, prototyping, and testing in laboratory and field settings before they can be brought to market. Also, although much research exists regarding the integration of technology into new buildings, little study has focused on developing technologies for retrofitting existing buildings. George Brown College's (GBC) Green Homes initiative addresses this gap with an industry-focused applied research and innovation program tightly integrated with the training of highly qualified and skilled personnel in areas such as advanced construction systems, green energy integration and computer-enabled, efficient residential buildings. The research will focus on two themes: (i) Development of Novel Building Retrofit Materials and Methods, and (ii) Development of ""Smart"" Building Automation, Sensor and Control System Technologies. These themes address the two most important issues facing industry in evolving the sector: an integrated, ""total building"" approach to home construction, and renovation and retrofitting, from materials and processes to systems integration, that integrates the interior and exterior for energy efficient home building. GBC's leadership of Green Homes will not only help SMEs innovate and get new products to market faster, it will also deliver a new generation of highly skilled, technology savvy graduates ready to lead economic development in a vital area of the economy: the development of more energy efficient homes.