Fredericton-based tech startup Climative is collaborating with Microsoft on artificial intelligence tools that will help Canadian homeowners chart a course through the deep energy retrofit market.
Climative CEO Winston Morton says the company offers a path to net zero by using machine learning to provide “a conscious life plan” for sudden changes in the landscape.
Working with EfficiencyOne and Nova Scotia Power, Climative is using the data it has collected to generate AI-powered “contactless mass market assessments,” a type of mass energy audit that could allow us to move more quickly through time-consuming and energy. intensive building assessment stage and right to retrofit buildings for climate action.
The largest source of carbon in Halifax is in our building stock, which accounts for approximately three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Using digital tools and big data could drive scalable solutions to the climate emergency by increasing the efficiency of Nova Scotia homes – cheaper, easier-to-heat energy.
The downside to AI technology is the amount of energy it takes to operate. Right now, ChatGPT alone consumes the energy associated with running 33,000 Canadian homes. That, coupled with the amount of water consumption and carbon emissions associated with it, means it would become part of the climate problem, even as it tries to be part of the climate solution.
The other common criticism of AI is that it will lead to significant job losses, although Morton is confident that AI tools like Climative’s will only make jobs in the retrofit industry more in demand.
“We’re trying to make people more efficient, we’re not trying to replace them,” he says. “We need to help energy advisors talk to more clients.”
Climative’s work puts them in a category with other AI companies that are trying to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to more efficient energy systems.
A New Brunswick-based company is looking to streamline building retrofits in Nova Scotia with the help of AI.
Many companies are starting to announce that they are leveraging AI to help accelerate the transition to clean energy. Google has been using AI to improve energy efficiency in some of its operations and develop climate adaptation strategies since at least 2014.
AI could be a real weapon in the climate fight by allowing us to see the big picture and get closer to the needs of particular communities or, in this case, the many communities that require urgent support to become more energy efficient while taking action . to clean energy.
AI can give us a boost to close the knowledge gap, but financial obstacles may still remain. Equitable and ecologically sensible AI solutions to the climate crisis could have a positive impact on the race to net zero if we deploy AI to address both energy poverty and emissions reductions.
Climate Story Network is an initiative of Climate Focus, a nonprofit organization dedicated to covering stories about community-driven climate solutions.