High Performance Retrofit Opportunities of Toronto's 1970s Residential Detached and Semi-Detached Houses

Based on previous studies of Toronto's residential archetypes, this research focuses on retrofit opportunities of 1970s OBC (Ontario Building Code) detached and semi-detached houses in order to understand its viability at the micro level. A GIS mapping has been utilized to identify the concentrations of 1970s OBC archetype in old Toronto area. A comprehensive field survey has been performed to collect data for creating a baseline model which also establish a consistent characteristic of 1970s OBC archetype. The EnergyPlus baseline model is then validated by calibration method to finalize the baseline model for an in depth retrofit analysis. The energy simulation has been performed to identify the most attractive combination of retrofit opportunities for highest cost/benefit. The research illustrates that meeting the target of 75 kWh/m2 for 1970s OBC detached and semi-detached houses is not always possible with attractive cost-effective options because of their differences in geometric shape and envelope system.