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The Deep Energy Retrofit of Canadian buildings presents a great challenge in the sheer number of different building types across the country. There are millions of existing buildings, all of differing ages, states of maintenance and construction characteristics.

The idea of industrial application to retrofits is one that is being tried in some European countries, with programs like Energiesprong. The premise of this approach is to reduce, as much as possible, the amount of unique decisions needed for a retrofit and instead apply a standard formula for the project.

Industrialized retrofits may involve approaches such as..

• Laser scan or photogrammetry imaging of the existing building to create accurate drawings and details;
• Off-site, factory construction of insulated panels for walls and roofs;
  
• Funding or financing for the retrofits that values the projected energy savings as an investment opportunity;
• Installation of thermal and air tight panel products on building exteriors, causing little disruption to occupants.

The scale of retrofitting our existing building stock makes industrialization a worthwhile consideration, even though the cost of setting up factories and transportation networks will be substantial. But in order to tackle thousands or tens of thousands of retrofits every year, the ramping up of production is important and necessary.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: NRCan PEER Panels - Prefabricated Exterior Energy Retrofit