Grant: Alliance Grants
Université d'Ottawa
$20,000.00
Determining air leakage in buildings using artificial intelligence and infrared thermography
EF 2023-24
Résumé
The partnership with QEA Tech will develop innovative technology capable of assessing the heat losses due to air leakage in large buildings in an efficient, integrated, and environmentally conscious way. The proposed technology bridges the current research gap in assessing building air leakage. QEA Tech is a national leader in assessing transmission heat losses using advanced technologies such as infrared thermography (IRT) and artificial intelligence (AI). In this respect, the company uses advanced drones equipped with thermal and visual imaging systems to fly around the building on preplanned trips and scan the building's exterior in thermal and visible spectrums. Obtained data is fed into a patented thermal image analysis software developed by QEA Tech to identify areas of concern, calculate the effective thermal transmittance of building elements (U-values), and quantify transmission heat losses. However, the current company's technology cannot estimate air leakage, which accounts for about 30 % of the total heat lost in older buildings and can hinder indoor environmental quality (IAQ). Currently used methods for quantifying the air leakage through the building enclosure, such as blower door and tracer gas tests, are disruptive, expensive, and harm the environment. Hence, 1 kg of the most used tracer gas SF6, has the same impact as 23,500 kg of CO2, making it the most potent greenhouse gas known. Also, achieving a required pressure difference of 50-70 Pa in large buildings with blower door tests is always challenging. The partnership with QEA Tech addresses this challenge by proposing a new and innovative methodology relying on IRT and AI for reliable qualitative and quantitative estimates of air leakage in large buildings. The project's expected outcomes are numerous and have the potential for far-reaching impacts on the Canadian built environment and the construction industry by enabling increased testing in various building types and sizes. In this respect, the technology will enable fast and large-scale assessments of buildings' energy performance required for developing optimal energy retrofit plans and strategies on city, neighbourhood, community, and campus levels.
Programme
Alliance Grants
Bénéficiaire
Emplacement
Ontario, Canada
Type de bénéficiaire
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
Tel que publié
Application id
585928-2023
Name nom
Kavgic, Miroslava MK
Department département
Civil Engineering
Organization id
28
Institution établissement
Université d'Ottawa
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2023
Competition year année de concours
2023
Award amount
20000
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
306
Area of application group en
Energy resources
Area of application group fr
Ressources d'énergie
Area of application en
Energy efficiency
Area of application fr
Efficacité énergétique
Research subject code
9999
Research subject group en
Not available
Research subject group fr
Not available
Research subject en
Non disponible
Research subject fr
Non disponible
Application title
Determining air leakage in buildings using artificial intelligence and infrared thermography
Keyword
Air leakage; Artificial intelligence; Blower door tests; Building envelope; Building heat losses; Building performance; Energy efficiency; Heat, air and moisture transport; Infrared thermography; Sustainable buildings
Application summary
The partnership with QEA Tech will develop innovative technology capable of assessing the heat losses due to air leakage in large buildings in an efficient, integrated, and environmentally conscious way. The proposed technology bridges the current research gap in assessing building air leakage. QEA Tech is a national leader in assessing transmission heat losses using advanced technologies such as infrared thermography (IRT) and artificial intelligence (AI). In this respect, the company uses advanced drones equipped with thermal and visual imaging systems to fly around the building on preplanned trips and scan the building's exterior in thermal and visible spectrums. Obtained data is fed into a patented thermal image analysis software developed by QEA Tech to identify areas of concern, calculate the effective thermal transmittance of building elements (U-values), and quantify transmission heat losses. However, the current company's technology cannot estimate air leakage, which accounts for about 30 % of the total heat lost in older buildings and can hinder indoor environmental quality (IAQ). Currently used methods for quantifying the air leakage through the building enclosure, such as blower door and tracer gas tests, are disruptive, expensive, and harm the environment. Hence, 1 kg of the most used tracer gas SF6, has the same impact as 23,500 kg of CO2, making it the most potent greenhouse gas known. Also, achieving a required pressure difference of 50-70 Pa in large buildings with blower door tests is always challenging. The partnership with QEA Tech addresses this challenge by proposing a new and innovative methodology relying on IRT and AI for reliable qualitative and quantitative estimates of air leakage in large buildings. The project's expected outcomes are numerous and have the potential for far-reaching impacts on the Canadian built environment and the construction industry by enabling increased testing in various building types and sizes. In this respect, the technology will enable fast and large-scale assessments of buildings' energy performance required for developing optimal energy retrofit plans and strategies on city, neighbourhood, community, and campus levels.
