Concordia University is concretely starting the decarbonization of its building stock, which includes dozens of buildings in Montreal. On Monday, it launched a call for tenders aimed at carrying out the “deep renovation” of one of its buildings which burns fossil natural gas for heating. Work is due to start at the end of 2024.
The project, which will take place within the framework of a “living laboratory” involving researchers from the University, will provide a better understanding of how to decarbonize commercial or institutional buildings in the Quebec context. Many still use fossil fuels for heating.
“What we want to do is go to zero carbon as quickly as possible, but not just by electrifying heating,” explains Ursula Eicker, professor of building engineering at Concordia University and co-director of the Institute of new generation cities, who is one of the researchers involved in the great experiment.
The details of the project will be tied up once a private sector partner is selected following the call for tenders launched on Monday. We already know that a range of solutions will be explored to heat the first targeted building – the one located above the Guy-Concordia metro – without putting too much pressure on the Hydro-Québec network during very cold weather.
Most likely, heating will be provided by electric heat pumps. To help manage the peak, hot water tanks and electric batteries could be installed. Smarter management of energy consumption will also likely flatten peak demand.
It is also possible that the university opts, in part, for renewable natural gas (RNG) during extreme cold. Remember that this gas is mixed throughout the gas network, where fossil natural gas mainly circulates. By paying a surplus, customers can buy a share of the GNR and claim “zero emission” heating.
“I find that the deployment of the GNR in the network is not very ambitious nor very fast”, however observes Mme Eicker. By 2030, 10% of the natural gas distributed in Quebec must be renewable. “We could go much faster [pour décarboner notre chauffage] with our own systems on site,” says the specialist.
“The wonderful thing about this pilot project is that we expect to have very different proposals [de la part des soumissionnaires] says Marie-Claude Lavoie, Associate Vice-Rector Real Estate Management at Concordia University. The establishment sets the objectives — including the building’s carbon neutrality — but leaves it up to the participants to find the way to achieve them.
What we want to do is go to zero carbon as quickly as possible, but not just by electrifying heating.
To obtain the three environmental certifications required by the University, improving the energy efficiency of the building will be essential. This condition sine qua non facilitate the achievement of other objectives. A repair of the building envelope, in particular of its windows, could be on the menu.
Mme Eicker expects that within two or three years, a first phase of the work will be completed. Its research group, which specializes in energy modelling, will therefore have access to valuable data that will enable the strategy to be optimized. The lessons will be used to decarbonise the university’s approximately 80 other buildings.
By way of context, note that the City of Montreal is developing a “zero emission” building by-law. In February, a committee of elected officials recommended prohibiting “as soon as possible” the connection of new buildings to the gas network. For its part, Hydro-Québec considers that it would be risky to do without natural gas during extreme cold weather.
Concordia University has been aiming for a few years to achieve carbon neutrality no later than 2040. The annual emissions of its building stock amounted, according to an inventory carried out in 2014, to just over 9,000 tonnes of CO2. The building sector represents 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec.