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The professional body governing Saskatchewan engineers has awarded Regina-based firm MacPherson Engineering for its work in repurposing basement furnace heat to stop and reduce mould in homes with poor air circulation.
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Using the firm鈥檚 radiant heat technology, company co-founders Murdoch and Aura Lee MacPherson installed it in two homes on the Star Blanket Cree Nation, near Lebret, about 90 kilometres northeast of Regina.
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鈥淓ssentially we're warming up the surface of the walls,鈥� Murdoch said of the technology, called radiant link, which uses radiant heat from a high-temperature liquid piping system.
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The project, for which they won the excellence in engineering award from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS), was called Blanket of Warmth. The MacPhersons learned of the award on April 30.
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In a concrete-basement type setting, 鈥渢he house's furnace (is) a heat source, and it warms up glycol, which we then pump through piping within the (concrete) slab,鈥� or in a Styrofoam-fastening frame mounted to the wall, Murdoch explained.
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The generated, dispersed heat reduces condensation while eventually drying and killing mould on the walls.
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The MacPhersons first started the project about two years ago, through Aura Lee鈥檚 work with First Nations in the Qu鈥橝ppelle Valley area; she introduced Murdoch to Wendel Starblanket, a member of the Star Blanket Cree Nation whose home sits on land the band acquired in Lebret.
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Starblanket said he and Aura Lee decided on mould reduction after sharing concerns over the Canada-wide issue of mould-covered homes in First Nations; federal NDP MPs raised the issue in 2019 with the previous Liberal majority government.
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Starblanket said since the system was installed in his basement, mould on his walls has 鈥渄ried up and fallen to the floor. Then we just swept it up.鈥�
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He said he noticed how after three or four months his and his wife鈥檚 (Sonia) physical and mental health improved.
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鈥淪he was getting headaches in our house prior to radiant link 鈥� After work, I would have to go take her for a drive and make sure she was getting fresh air to get her out of the home,鈥� he said.
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Since then, the couple's allergies have cleared up and they get no more nagging headaches.
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Using infrared scanners and computer sensors, Starblanket made his house the standard for comparison with his brother Fred's home, after Fred put the same system in his basement.
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鈥淚 saved about 27 to 30 per cent in energy and heating costs,鈥� Wendel said of his house.
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Murdoch said, 鈥渋t feels great鈥� to design and implement a technology that works and benefits homeowners.
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He鈥檚 glad of the opportunity 鈥渢o work with First Nations mechanical contractors who can also install the technology. Hopefully it grows and we can see it.鈥�
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APEGS awards committee chair Bert Munro commended the MacPhersons鈥� design for 鈥渢he potential of what they were doing to be broader and have a greater impact on individual people鈥檚 health 鈥� their (home) environment and air quality.鈥�
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Other projects that have won the same award include Clifton Associates鈥� Big Dig at Wascana Lake (2005), SaskTel鈥檚 4G wireless network (2011) and SaskPower鈥檚 carbon capture technology at Boundary Dam (2015).
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