GRAND Network Investigators Unveil Sustainable Laneway Home Promoting Energy Conservation

Posted by GRAND NCE, February 12, 2010

The Honourable Stockwell Day, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robinson, Cam Matheson, Acting Executive Vice-President, BC Hydro and SFU Professor Lyn Bartram participate in opening ceremony

SFU West House is a state-of-the art, made-in-Vancouver laneway home that demonstrates how digital media together with green technologies can contribute to and enhance sustainable living. The house is also a great example of what can be accomplished through the type of multi-disciplinary, collaborative projects supported by GRAND’s Human-Centred Technologies for Sustainable Living (HCTSL). HCTSL projects explore new technologies related to green buildings and alternative energy sources as well as information tools for encouraging energy conservation in more traditional residences.

With principal partners the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro Power Smart, and funded by Western Economic Diversification Canada (WED), SFU West House was also made possible through the herculean efforts of partners Smallworks Studio/ Laneway Housing, MSR Innovations, Embedded Automation, Schneider Electric, Day4Energy, Vertech Solutions, Pulse Energy and Rainforest Automation. Ongoing research and development will be sponsored by GRAND.

SFU West House features advanced green engineering, informative art-pieces whose display subtly changes with water, electricity and gas use, in-home control systems and touch screens, social networking and personal milestone support tools and real-time iPhone connectivity.

With a field site (SFU West House) in place, GRAND researchers will work as part of a larger team for the next few years to investigate a variety of display, control and tracking tools. Equipped with this data , researchers aim to provide information that will lead to knowledgeable and more efficient energy use decisions.

SFU West House will be on display at LiveCity Yaletown for the duration of the Olympic Games where thousands are expected to walk through its doors. After the Games, it will move to a site owned by the City of Vancouver, where it will serve as a living lab, a research and development facility and a technology show piece.

The project was spearheaded by GRAND network investigators and SFU professors, Lyn Bartram and Robert Woodbury, and the Sustainable Development Program Manager of the City of Vancouver, David Ramslie. Together they worked with planners, designers, architects, builders, engineers, computer scientists and policy makers to design and build the show home in less than three months.

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