The College of New Caledonia (CNC) believes the future of space heating homes and buildings could be something as simple as aluminum foil.
According to a project conducted by students of Applied Research and Innovation, as well as Carpentry, Northern BC resident could benefit from this breakthrough by using reflective foil in walls instead of a traditional poly vapour barrier.
The study involved two identical sheds in which results revealed a five percent savings on energy consumption.
Acting Director of the Applied Research program Sorin Pascas this potentially provides a more comfortable environment in homes.
“What we are proposing basically is to scale up this experiment into a house, an existing old house, and show that actually we can help with improving the thermostat to within four months of the wall’s assembly.”
He says the results could also mean even bigger savings when upgrading older units.
“The assumption is that in an existing house that’s about 40 years old, the issues related to insulation, such as air leaks and everything else, the savings could be anywhere in between 10 and 20%, which is very surprising. You apply 20% off our heating bill, and that means a lot to residents up here in the North.”
However, in order for the project to be in full force today, Pascas says building codes would need to be updated.
He believes Northern BC would be greatly impacted by this change considering the colder weather this time of year and in comparison to Lower Mainland homes.
CNC’s research was funded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Engage Grant.