Engineers develop “electrified” housing to reduce utility costs

Western engineers have combined the functionality and power of photovoltaic (PV) technology with heat pumps and thermal batteries to create new homes that are fully electric and energy efficient. The ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for fossil fuels and bring home builders and homeowners around the world to net-zero energy consumption.

Western Engineering and Ivey Business School Professor Joshua Pearce and PhD Candidate Shafqat Rana collaborated with Professor Anthony Stratman of the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Professor of Engineering Kamran Siddiqui, and Jamie Kuncic, President of Magnus Homes, to design and develop this first energy-efficient housing system. A two-story home in Komoka, Ontario. (just west of London, Ontario) serves as a living laboratory for observational experiments and data generation.

Preliminary results show that this Canadian-specific setup can reduce electricity bills by 45% and reduce household carbon emissions by 55%. Thermal cells, which use phase-change materials such as salt or wax, store energy efficiently and increase self-consumption of solar power (using energy produced on site rather than sent to the grid) by 60%. Phase change materials are substances that absorb or release large amounts of thermal energy during melting or freezing in order to maintain a stable temperature.

“The cost of solar power is now below the cost of grid electricity, making it a viable and desirable option for most Canadians,” said Pearce, Western’s John M. Thompson Innovation Chair. “This project integrates solar panels, heat pumps and thermal batteries to provide thermal energy for heating and supply the hot water needs of the entire household.”

Researchers have developed a best practice that uses heat pumps to make homes four times more energy efficient than traditional methods. A heat pump converts electricity generated by sunlight from solar panels on the roof of a house into heat. This heat is stored in a thermal battery for future use. The researchers aim to show that the technology is fully scalable, safe and, importantly, can be retrofitted to existing homes with minimal modifications.

“The goal is to prove the effectiveness of the system over a one-year period, with the ultimate goal of completely eliminating the need for fossil fuels in home heating,” said Rana, an electrical engineering student. “Once validated, we hope to expand this system to other homes across Canada and eventually around the world.”

Lana outfitted her new home with wiring and sensors to track and predict energy usage, efficiency, and cost savings. Data for both her and Kuncic, a home builder who lives in the surveyed home, can be monitored in real time on a mobile device or computer using an easy-to-use app.

“We have a unique opportunity to create and consume energy in our homes, and it’s very interesting to see how the two are balanced, both as owners and builders,” Kuncic said. “I think many homeowners are not aware of their energy consumption. Knowing what role you play in your home’s energy consumption and production is critical to sustainability.”

Seeking more data, Rana is monitoring a second home built by Kunsich that does not have an integrated thermal battery and solar power system (similar in model and located in the same Komoka area), and comparing fully electric homes to traditional Canadian homes that use grid power and natural gas supply.

“Electrify” our homes

Although heat pumps and thermal batteries are very common in the United States, regulatory approval of both systems is relatively new in Canada. This exacerbates the energy problem, as it is very expensive to heat homes north of the border.

“Unfortunately, many homes in Canada don’t even meet current standards, let alone have cutting-edge solar technology,” Pearce said. “Second, most people heat their homes with either natural gas or electric heating, which is incredibly inefficient and economically painful as electricity prices have increased multiple times in Ontario. Similarly, while natural gas prices fluctuate, solar power provides a hedge against energy inflation.”

Pearce says residential electrification is an important pathway to long-term sustainability in Canada and around the world.

“If you can power your home using a renewable energy source like solar power and transfer that energy to a heat pump, you get three units of heat for every unit of electrical energy, making it more than 300 percent efficient,” Pearce said. “It’s a much more efficient way to heat your home.”

Rana says this novel approach to energy production and consumption does more than just provide homeowners with comfort and lower energy bills. It’s about saving the planet. Rana’s recent research has shown that Canada is not growing renewable energy fast enough to meet its climate goals.

“Climate change is real and everyone on the planet needs to do their bit to fight this fight,” Lana said. “Decarbonizing the housing sector is a low-hanging fruit and everyone knows it. Integrating this sustainable equipment into Canadian homes, especially new homes, will help significantly reduce Canada’s carbon emissions to address the global impacts of climate change.”

The team’s related research has been published in the journals Energies, Energy and Buildings and e-Prime – Advances in Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Energy.