EnviroCentre’s large-scale, deep energy retrofit project is a blueprint for environmentally-conscious social housing
A blueprint for change: EnviroCentre transforms a social housing community into a model of large-scale energy efficiency
EnviroCentre transforms a social housing community into a model of large-scale energy efficiency
EnviroCentre’s deep energy retrofit is a model for energy-efficient social housing–and a formula for other communities to follow
The Carver Place project offers an achievable green vision for social housing: deep energy-saving retrofits, done on a community-wide scale, that benefit residents, housing providers and the environment.
This multi-phase retrofit and research project is a collaboration between EnviroCentre’s Retrofit Accelerator program and the MultiFaith Housing Initiative, the organization that manages Carver Place in Ottawa.
EnviroCentre obtained funding from federal grants, provided technical support and guidance, and partnered with contractors 1Click and O’Reilly Brothers to source the materials and complete the work. The phase 1 retrofit was completed in summer 2025.
The phase 2 research component, designed to assess the environmental and quality-of-life impact of the project, is now underway. Our research partners are McGill University’s Reconstruct Initiative and Carleton University’s Centre for Advanced Building Envelope Research (CABER) program.
Once the research phase is completed in summer 2026, the Carver Place project will offer a blueprint for how deep energy retrofits can transform social housing developments throughout Eastern Ontario.
Context and objectives
Large-scale, green-energy retrofits like the Carver Place project offer real benefits to residents, building owners and communities:
- For tenants: Improved comfort and quality of life in healthier living spaces
- For housing owners: Reduced operating costs, greater efficiency, increased market value, and higher tenant satisfaction
- For Eastern Ontario: Reduced emissions and air pollutants, improved air quality, and stronger climate resilience
Currently, Eastern Ontario has over 28,000 social housing units that are ageing and in need of building and equipment upgrades.
EnviroCentre’s Retrofit Accelerator program is easily adaptable–it can be applied to townhomes, low-rise apartments and other types of social housing communities across the region.
EnviroCentre’s Retrofit Accelerator Approach
Carver Place is a 63-unit, social housing townhome development located in Ottawa’s suburban Gloucester section. In 2025, the MultiFaith Housing Initiative approached EnviroCentre about replacing a few aging furnaces at Carver Place.
Instead, EnviroCentre proposed a more comprehensive approach using its Retrofit Accelerator program: harness the development’s large scale to retrofit the entire complex with green-energy upgrades for substantial cost savings.
EnviroCentre’s team provided full guidance and support for the project, handling the planning, financing, and coordination of the entire process. We obtained funding from federal government grants and partnered with two local contractors, 1Click and O’Reilly Brothers, for the retrofit work.
After conducting an energy audit of the complex, we made recommendations for green-energy upgrades. We ensured that the retrofits were done in phases, so that tenants could remain in their homes with minimum disruptions. The full retrofit was completed in summer 2025.
Research was a key component of the project, and we partnered with Carleton University and McGill University to measure the energy and greenhouse gas savings. Full research results are expected in summer 2026.
With Carver Place, EnviroCentre offers a turn-key, neighbourhood-level approach to deep energy retrofits that can be expanded to other affordable housing communities across Eastern Ontario.
Phase 1: Retrofit delivery at Carver Place
This project involved a comprehensive energy retrofit of Carver Place’s 63 townhomes that took place during summer 2025. Together with our partner contractors, 1Click and O’Reilly Brothers, EnviroCentre first conducted an energy audit and assessment of the Carver Place community’s building systems to determine the best energy-saving measures.
Key to the retrofit was improving the townhome building envelopes, upgrading aging mechanical systems, and adding in renewable energy technologies. The green-energy improvements for Carver Place included adding:
- Air source heat pumps to reduce natural gas usage
- Energy recovery ventilation systems
- Cold-climate heat pumps
- Building envelope upgrades, including new insulation and air sealing
Keeping residents comfortable and able to stay in their homes throughout the project was a priority. To achieve this, EnviroCentre worked with our contractors to ensure the equipment installation was rolled out in several phases, to minimize disruptions to tenants’ daily lives.
Throughout the retrofit, we kept residents informed and engaged in the process.
Due to the large scale of the project, our contractors were able to source the materials, equipment and labor at a substantially reduced cost.
Phase 2: Research and monitoring
Central to the Carver Place initiative is a phase 2 research and assessment component. The goal is to gather data on the post-retrofit energy and greenhouse gas use and savings, and compare that with the project’s initial energy modeling. From there we can accurately assess the benefits of these green energy retrofits for tenants, social housing providers and the environment.
The phase 2 research and monitoring started in summer 2025 and will continue through summer 2026. Our research partners for this portion of the project are:
- Carleton University’s Centre for Advanced Building Envelope Research (CABER) program
- McGill University’s Reconstruct Initiative
To evaluate the project’s direct environmental impact on reducing energy use and improving indoor air quality, Carleton’s CABER researchers installed sensors in several Carver Place townhomes. These will track three main factors–temperature, relative humidity and CO2 levels–over the next year.
McGill’s researchers, meanwhile, are analyzing information to explore how the retrofit affects tenants’ living conditions and well-being: their comfort, and their experience of heating and cooling their homes. They are also looking at data linking these green initiatives to people’s health outcomes.
Taken together, this combined research will create a roadmap going forward, and provide guidance as we work with additional social housing developments for retrofitting.
Program impact and early results
Post-retrofit research is now underway, and full results on the project’s energy and greenhouse gas savings will be available in summer 2026. Based on early energy modeling, we expect that the Carver Place retrofit will result in:
- 43% less overall energy use
- 95% reduction in natural gas consumption
- 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
Among the upgrades, installing air conditioning was an immediate benefit for residents’ comfort. This is critical, as social housing tenants are more vulnerable to health risks from extreme heat and more likely to experience conditions such as heat stress and heat stroke.
Funders and Partners
The Carver Place project was made possible through the support of our key partners:
- MultiFaith Housing Initiative
- 1Click
- O’Reilly Brothers
We also extend our thanks to the Carver Place residents for their involvement in this project.