Digital Twins and Energy Systems for Decarbonizing Low-Carbon Social Housing in Québec

Project Overview

This project advances decarbonization and electrification in social, affordable, and low-income housing across Québec using innovative digital twin and urban energy simulation tools. It involves four living labs collaborating with housing cooperatives and city partners to create scalable retrofit solutions focused on reducing carbon emissions.

What You Will Do

• Develop digital twin models for low-income housing and urban districts
• Build and apply building energy simulations to evaluate retrofit performance
• Design and test retrofit strategies including heat pumps, thermal storage, PV, and battery integration
• Model electrification impacts on grids and demand response
• Contribute to integration of 3D city models and urban data on the Tools4Cities platform
• Simulate urban sustainability indicators like thermal comfort and heat island effect
• Integrate real-time monitoring data for model validation and calibration
• Develop decision-support tools for housing authorities and city stakeholders
• Analyze cost, emissions, and policy constraints of retrofit scenarios
• Support ongoing monitoring and commissioning of retrofits

Expected Outcomes

Deliver validated digital twin and energy models that inform cost-effective, low-carbon retrofit strategies in social housing. Provide tools that facilitate decision-making for municipalities and community partners and demonstrate replicable approaches for sustainable urban energy transitions.

Why This Matters

This research addresses a critical gap by focusing on low-income housing sectors often excluded from market-driven retrofits. By combining technical innovation with community engagement, it facilitates equitable access to clean energy transitions and contributes to climate goals by reducing carbon footprints in urban residential environments.