NSERC/Hydro-Québec IRC (Industrial Research Chair) in Optimized Building Operation and Energy Efficiency: Towards High Performance Buildings

Buildings consume a great deal of Canada’s energy resources and over half of its electricity production, making the optimized operation and improvement of energy efficiency in buildings an important step towards reducing our use of carbon-based energy sources. Hydro-Québec, CanmetENERGY, Regulvar and Concordia University have joined forces to carry out a research program has the potential to result in major benefits to Canada. Building on the candidate’s recent efforts in the fields of energy efficiency, smart building operating strategies and solar buildings, new knowledge and innovative solutions will be developed to substantially enhance building energy performance.

The proposed research builds on the work performed in the first term, such as development of reduced models for optimizing building operation, model predictive control methodologies and major continuing case studies such as the EV building of Concordia and Varennes Library – Canada’s first institutional solar net-zero energy building, that integrates advanced solar technology (with the advice and guidance of our team). In addition, average representative buildings such as the low cost bank building are considered.

The goal of the proposed research program is the development of solutions and enhancement of key technologies towards optimal energy performance of the built environment that combine on-site energy generation from fully integrated solar energy systems with thermal energy storage, energy efficiency measures and optimal control. The primary focus is commercial and institutional buildings, including retrofits. The case studies include application of solar and energy efficiency techniques to public infrastructure.

The website of the first cycle of the chair program is at IRC-Term One.

Chairholder: Andreas Athienitis

Partners

Heating Quebec’s schools can be easier and cheaper thanks to Research by this IRC program 

A news article on February 6, 2024 on Concordia University website reported the demonstration project that applied MPC to peak shifting at the École Horizon-du-Lac. This work was carried out by Navid Morovat under this Concordia - Hydro-Quebec Industrial Research Chair program. 

Excerpt: "A new system to heat Quebec schools during cold winter months could help keep students more comfortable, improve the amount of solar-heated clean ventilation and save school boards a bundle. The energy-flexible approach is designed by researchers at Concordia’s Centre for Zero Energy Buildings Studies and the University of Sherbrooke. The system uses model predictive control strategies to heat school buildings and increase the amount of solar-heated clean air during off-peak hours. The method is designed to both ease the strain on Hydro-Quebec’s electricity grid during peak hours — 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. — and avoid paying the higher rates the utility charges during those times."

Article link: Heating Quebec’s schools can be easier and cheaper thanks to a new Concordia-led study https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2024/02/06/heating-quebecs-schools-can-be-easier-and-cheaper-thanks-to-a-new-concordia-led-study0.html

Recent Prestigious Awards for Graduate Students 

Five HQPs under this IRC term recently had won awards in FRQNT (Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies), CGS-M (Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master’s)  and NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) competitions. Congratulation!

HSF 2022-2023

Anna-Maria Sigounis has won a scholarship from the Hellenic Scholarship Foundation (Fondation Hellénique de Bourses d’Études) for the academic year 2022-2023.  The award ceremony was held on February, 24, 2023. The list of winners can be found in the link. 

FRQNT 2022-2023 

Matin Abtahi, Modèles de bâtiments de référence pour la flexibilité et la résilience énergétiques dans le secteur résidentiel au Québec

Navid Morovat, Méthodologie basée sur les données pour le contrôle prédictif et les rénovations énergétiques dans les bâtiments scolaires

Jean-Christophe Pelletier-De Koninck, Methodologie pour moderniser les bâtiments existant avec un système photovoltaique/thermique et contrôle prédictif intelligent pour la flexibilité énergétique du bâtiment

CGS-M, 2021-2022

Anna-Maria Sigounis, Modelling and control of air-based BIPV/T systems

FRQNT 2020-2021 

Harry Charalampos Vallianos, Conceptualisation des thermostats intelligents: vers une maison adaptative, économique et écologique

Past Events

Hydro-Québec Symposium 3i, Oct. 16-17, 2019, Montreal, Québec

The Symposium 3i (integrated intelligent infrastructure) for the new-generation grid is offering a series of conferences, panels and workshops on the challenges, issues and advances related to the new-generation grip in the era of digitization. The Symposium 3i will provide participants (managers, engineers and scientists) with an opportunity to discuss the business and technical issues while also developing their partner and collaborator networks!

NSERC/Hydro-Québec Industrial Research Chair Workshop, August 29th, 2019

This workshop will be held at the Hydro-Québec's Laboratoire de technologies de l'énergie, Shawinigan, Québec. The agenda include focus discussions, team discussion and presentation by advanced highly qualified personnel.

Roadmap to Resilient, Ultra-Low Energy Built Environment with Deep Integration of Renewables in 2050

We are pleased to inform you that the Canadian Academy of Engineering Resilient Built Environment Roadmap is officially launched with the following communique on the CAE website. This project is co-chaired by Andreas Athienitis and Andrew Pape-Salmon. Our Centre for Zero Energy Building Studies (CZEBS) co-organized with CAE at Concordia the planning workshop for the Roadmap on March 22, 2019. For more information, please visit the CAE website at: https://www.cae-acg.ca/projects/resilient-infrastructure-project/

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