Supported by the Climate Resilient Built Environment (CRBE) – Resilient Residential Retrofit (R³) theme at the National Research Council Canada (NRC), NRC and Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) are collaborating on long-term care facilities in Québec. Activities include environmental sensor deployments, thermal comfort and IAQ surveys, field tests and numerical simulations, retrofit strategy design and implementation, and post-retrofit evaluation. Findings from this study will support the development of design and retrofit guidelines and codes for long-term care facilities, with anticipated benefits for seniors' health and reductions in public healthcare expenditures.

By attending this webinar you will be able to:

1. Identify the challenges that climate change (e.g., extreme heat and wildfire smoke) poses for building performance and the health of older adults in long-term care facilities.
2. Understand how building technologies and operation strategies (ventilation/filtration, cooling, shading, envelope upgrades) can mitigate climate change risks.

Speakers:

Dr. Dahai Qi is an Associate Professor in Building Engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke whose research focuses on thermal airflow and climate-resilient built environments, combining field campaigns, laboratory testing, and numerical simulations. He is the founder and director of the Energy-Efficient and Safe Built Environment Laboratory (EESBEL). Dr. Qi serves as Chair of eSim 2026, the 14th Building Performance Simulation Conference (IBPSA-Canada), and as Research Subcommittee Chair for ASHRAE TC 5.6—Control of Fire and Smoke. He also serves on the Early Career Editorial Board of Energy and Buildings.

Dr. Chang Shu is a Research Officer in the Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality Group at the National Research Council Canada. He holds Adjunct Professorships at the Université de Sherbrooke and Carleton University. His current research is dedicated to advancing building climate resilience, developing energy-efficient strategies to mitigate the impacts of heatwaves and wildfire smoke on indoor environmental quality and occupant health.