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The reduction of electricity use for heating and domestic hot water in cold climates can be achieved by: (1) reducing the heating loads through the improvement of the thermal performance of house envelopes, and (2) using solar energy through a residential solar-based thermal storage system. First, this paper presents the life cycle energy and cost analysis of a typical one-storey detached house, located in Montreal, Canada. Simulation of annual energy use is performed using the TRNSYS software. Second, several design alternatives with improved thermal resistance for walls, ceiling and windows, increased overall air tightness, and increased window-to-wall ratio of South facing windows are evaluated with respect to the life cycle energy use, life cycle emissions and life cycle cost. The solution that minimizes the energy demand is chosen as a reference house for the study of long-term thermal storage. Third, the computer simulation of a solar heating system with solar thermal collectors and long-term thermal storage capacity is presented. Finally, the life cycle cost and life cycle energy use of the solar combisystem are estimated for flat-plate solar collectors and evacuated tube solar collectors, respectively, for the economic and climatic conditions of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landfilling of organic waste is still the predominant waste management method in Canada. Data collection and analysis of the waste were done for the case study city of Montréal in Canada. A life cycle assessment was carried out for the current and proposed waste management system using the IWM-2 software. Using life cycle assessment results, a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm was used to optimize the waste flows. The optimization showed that the current recovery ratio of organic waste of 23% in 2017 could be increased to 100% recovery of food waste. Also, recycling could be doubled, and landfilling halved. The objective functions were minimizing the total energy consumption and CO2eq emissions as well as the total cost in the waste management system. By using a three-objective optimization algorithm, the optimized waste flow for Montréal results in 2% of waste (14.7 kt) to anaerobic digestion (AD), 7% (66.3 kt) to compost, 32% (295 kt) to recycling, 1% (8.5 kt) to incineration, and 58% (543 kt) to landfill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]