A database of house descriptions representative of the Canadian housing stock for coupling to building energy performance simulation

Abstract

The development of a simulation tool that can accurately characterize the energy performance of the Canadian housing stock would enable detailed studies to predict the impact of energy saving upgrades and technologies on a national scale. Such a tool requires a detailed database of house descriptions that collectively represent the entire housing stock. Such a database has been assembled by selectively extracting measured and observed data collected by professionals who conducted on-site audits of 200,000 houses. The auditors' data were extracted to statistically match key parameters (location, house type, vintage, geometry and heating system) with a broad-based random survey of the Canadian stock. The result is a database comprised of nearly 17,000 detailed records of single-detached, double and row houses. Each of these house records represents ∼500 houses in the Canadian stock and contains sufficient data to enable the accurate characterization of its energy performance through building performance simulation.