Deep Energy Retrofit of a 1940’s-era MURB

Lead Proponent

Toronto Community Housing Corporation

Project Objectives

The objective of this project is to transform a poorly performing 80-year-old mid-rise multi-unit residential building (MURB) into a high-performance building with enhanced indoor environmental quality (IEQ). It will establish an innovative and replicable model for buildings in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) portfolio and similar buildings across Canada, beginning with two adjacent sister buildings. The project will develop and refine best practices in design, business case analysis, procurement, construction, community engagement, training, and operations and maintenance.

Expected Results

This project targets a prevalent housing archetype, mid-rise MURBs, representing 18% of the housing sector in Canada and is expected to provide some of the following:

• Innovative new technology solution using a packaged air source heat pump (ASHP) combining heating, cooling, and in-suite heat recovery ventilation (HRV) in a single unit, eliminating the need for an outdoor unit.
• Innovative domestic hot water heat pump using a water-to-water system that recovers heat from wastewater.
• Strong technical and regulatory impact, supporting the development of codes for existing buildings.
• Create approximately 145 job years directly, with an additional 290 job years from the two sister buildings on the same site. This multi-faceted demonstration project will show innovation to achieve substantial reductions in the cost of operation and is critical, as deep energy retrofits are not solely a design or technology challenge. Successful implementation at the pace and scale required to meet Canada and Toronto’s climate targets requires removing multiple barriers simultaneously through comprehensive projects such as this. It is expected that this project will promote replication well beyond TCHC’s portfolio.