Grant: Alliance Grants

Canada's pathway to a net-zero carbon target by 2050 must include revamping Canada's building stock. Our study aims to achieve the followings:- First, we will extend the existing knowledge base that typically focuses on retrofitting individual buildings (a case-specific and time-consuming process) and apply it to large portfolios of buildings. This requires research that goes beyond building science and construction; this project will incorporate data-driven analysis and machine-learning techniques over large portfolios of buildings in Canada.- Buildings that perform well now will operate at sub-optimal conditions in the future under climate change. This project will consider different climate change scenarios to optimize retrofitting measures to yield robust performance over time.- Volatility in the carbon market tends to discourage the willingness of building owners to invest in retrofitting measures, as payback period can be long and full of uncertainty. This project will apply stochastic risk analyses to devise policy recommendations that will continue incentivizing building owners to engage in retrofitting measures while making long-term financing affordable and sustainable.This project will develop a multidisciplinary decarbonization framework, by engaging experts from both engineering and finance backgrounds, for large portfolios of buildings. The project outcome supports decision-making and prioritizes retrofitting measures on a significant portion of building stock in Canada.