The SolarWall air heating projects will improve the operations
of the buildings and will permanently decrease the
ongoing operating costs associated with energy use. The
benefits are twofold; 1) decreased energy costs means
more money is available every month to spend on more
worthwhile community services; and 2) these renewable
energy projects then become environmental showpieces
for their community.
Toronto Community Housing
Background
Moss Park is a community of affordable housing buildings located in downtown Toronto. It is also a Tower Renewal site, as designated by the City of Toronto, which refers to a city-wide program aimed at improving Toronto's concrete apartment towers and surrounding neighborhoods. Multi-residential high-rise buildings are excellent candidates for SolarWall® air heating systems because they required continuous ventilation air in the hallways and common-areas. In addition to the renewable energy benefits, with these types of retrofit applications, the installation of the wall-mount SolarWall® system means that these buildings have effectively been re-clad, thus reaping a second building envelope benefit. Also, the system will provide other benefits; including a significant contribution toward achieving Toronto’s sustainability goals of reducing GHG emissions and creating local “green” jobs.
Solution
Each of the three towers that make up Moss Park were outfitted with the SolarWall® air heating technology. Two of the towers had custom designed 3,388 ft2 (315 m2 ) SolarWall systems, and the other tower a 480 ft2 (45 m2 ) roof-mount SolarDuct® system comprised of 20 SolarDuct units. The SolarWall technology was incorporated into the building’s mechanical system to compliment the existing HRV system. The systems should offset 85 tons of CO2 each year, which translates into a permanent GHG reduction of 2,250 tons over the 30-year lifespan of the systems.
MossPark_Y11_SolarWallCaseStudy(PDF)
