Concordia and McGill team going solar in China
McGill, Concordia universities team up to create green home for solar decathlon
Imagine a household that produces as much if not more electricity than it consumes. Now imagine that home in Montreal — harsh winters and all.
That’s what a group of students and staff from Concordia and McGill universities is working toward. Students from undergraduate to PhD levels are teaming up to build what is called a net-zero energy home.
Next year, the residence will be transported to China, where it will go up against other solar-powered housing models from around the world in a competition called a solar decathlon.
“(The residence) is the first of its kind in the history of the solar decathlon entries,” said Michael Jemtrud, a McGill associate professor of architecture and leader on the project, whose team is called TeamMTL. “We’re very proud to have a comprehensible, sustainable model.”
TeamMTL is the only group from Canada competing in the solar decathlon.
On Tuesday, Hydro-Québec announced at Concordia’s Loyola Campus that it would sponsor TeamMTL and provide $250,000 in funding for the project. Pierre Arcand, Quebec minister of energy and natural resources, was also present along with representatives from both universities.
“TeamMTL’s vision is perfectly aligned with (Hydro-Québec’s) mission to play a significant role in developing tomorrow’s decarbonized economy,” said Éric Filion of Hydro-Québec.
“Hydro-Québec has the goal of becoming a … key player in the development of technology for houses of the future, and responding to the needs to our clients.”
The house’s current site is on Concordia’s Loyola Campus, and it was recently opened to the public. It’s designed to be an intergenerational live-play-work space according to Sarah Ives, a construction lead on the project and McGill research assistant.
“Because our house is being shipped to China, we had to panelize it,” Ives said, adding that the house’s walls, floors and ceilings are made up of 67 panels that will fit in shipping containers.
The group has about 15 students, but TeamMTL is recruiting to grow to 40, spokeswoman Sophie Jemtrud said. They come from different fields, including communications, architecture, engineering, design, business, computation arts and construction. The house is modelled after a typical Montreal row house, which can be seen in areas like Pointe St-Charles and the Plateau-Mont-Royal.
“Right from the get-go, they wanted to do something that was inspired by the Montreal context, but also Chinese courtyard typology,” Ives said.
Row houses allow for more homes in a city, she added, and are more sustainable. The house also has very thick walls, perfect for insulation in cold Montreal winters. These walls reduce the energy demand by about 90 per cent, Ives said.
Solar panels have not yet been installed, but they will go on the roof and will power the house entirely.
The competition will take place in Dezhou, in northeastern China, from July to October next year. There are 10 categories. Five are measured, focusing on things like energy performance, air quality and water consumption. The other five are juried competitions, with things such as communications, finance and affordability considered.
“This building is a reflection of Quebec know-how, but also of our sense of innovation,” Arcand said, adding that Quebec is a worldwide leader in the production of green energy.
“This house is a reflection of our engagement to fight climate change.”