Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
This is a preliminary schedule. Workshops, keynotes, and additional conference papers and extended abstracts will be added to the agenda in the future.
PS-12: Canadian Indigenous Housing and Cross-World Radon Control Practices
Time:
Thursday, 25/Sept/2025:
9:30am - 10:30am
Location:Opus Ballroom
Presentations
IEQ in Extremely Cold Climates: A Multi-Method Study of Inuit Homes
Jean Rouleau, Louis Gosselin
Departement of Mechanical Engineering, Université Laval, Canada
Nunavik represents the northern third of the province of Quebec in Canada. The region has a total population of 14,000, living in 14 remote and isolated Inuit communities. Nunavik has no road or grid connection with the rest of Quebec. Electricity is provided by off-grid diesel power plants and space heating in buildings is supplied through oil-based furnaces. Nunavik is also under an extremely cold climate, with heating degree days reaching up to 9,800°C-day. Building envelopes often degrade over time due to water infiltrations and permafrost movements. The combination of these factors means that buildings in the region are subject to severe conditions that create unique indoor environment quality (IEQ) challenges, which are common throughout the North American Arctic. This paper focuses on IEQ in Inuit housing in Nunavik using a multi-method approach that combines measured IEQ data, thermal imaging and interviews with occupants. IEQ (temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration) and occupant behavior (hot water and electricity use, window openings) data were collected over a 2-year period in 12 dwellings located in the community of Quaqtaq in Nunavik. More than 8000 IR photographs were taken in 20 homes in the community. In addition to these quantitative datasets, interviews about home energy use and comfort were conducted with 17 households. The paper first describes the IEQ conditions in typical Nunavik dwellings and identifies the most important IEQ problems. Common Inuit preferences and strategies for dealing with these issues are then explained. The paper then concludes with some suggestions for improving IEQ in Inuit housing in Nunavik.
