Case Study
Harmony Commons: Sustainable Student Living
Harmony Commons at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) is crushing greenhouse gas emissions.
The largest Passive House dormitory in the world opened in August of 2023 and post-occupancy data is showing that the modeled energy savings are being realized. This all-electric building includes 700+ beds and a commercial kitchen turning out 3000+ meals per day.
Handel Architects Principal Deborah Moelis recently presented the project at SCUP's annual conference in Philadelphia. The team compared Harmony Commons to Foley Hall, another dormitory on UTSC’s campus. Foley Hall was built in 2003 and is not as large as the 746-bed Harmony Commons, but its similar occupancy type and use pattern make it a useful baseline condition for understanding how much energy (and carbon) thoughtful design can save.
Looking at energy demand per square meter, we see Harmony Commons uses close to 70% less energy in peak heating conditions (that includes the energy use of the commercial kitchen which Foley Hall does not have).
What’s astonishing is how consistent the energy use is from month-to-month.
This is thanks in large part to a very high-performance building enclosure and electric air-source heat pump (ASHP) driven VRF system for heating and cooling. This is an important note because designing buildings to have demand curves that are consistent is critical to building out a renewable grid. Sharp peaks require the electricity grid to add more capacity and generation sources, but these end up being used for only a portion of the year increasing the cost/kwh and reducing overall grid efficiency.
Energy demand is great, but what we really care about if we are going to mitigate the worst effects of climate change are greenhouse gas emissions. The news is even better on that front. Since unlike Foley Hall, Harmony Commons does not have gas-fired heating we see a 90% drop in GHG emissions per person in peak conditions, as illustrated in the chart below. This is thanks in part to the Canada’s cleaner electricity grid, but soon a renewable grid will be a reality for all of us which is why we need to design fossil-fuel free today.
Harmony Commons is a remarkable case study in what can done through thoughtful design and up-front investment.
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