News
Dec. 16, 2016 | Gerald Vander Pyl
University research looks at solar solutions to multi-storey challenges
New research at the University of Calgary could lead to condominium and apartment high-rises being retrofitted to become energy-efficient and green-energy-producing buildings.
Caroline Hachem-Vermette, an assistant professor of architecture in the Solar Energy and Community Design Lab at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Environmental Design, is looking at new ways to optimize solar capture on multi-storey buildings to help offset their energy use.
"Most of the buildings that exist now will be existing in 50 years, so we really need to move in this direction," said Hachem-Vermette, whose interest in the area came out of wider research she did on the design of mixed-use solar communities.