Apple Self Storage Guelph is a 9,010.20 m² (96,984.98 ft²) self-storage facility located at 110 Stevenson Street South in Guelph, Ontario. Completed in 2025, the three-storey building features storage lockers across all levels, supported by a small office and reception area on the ground floor.
From onset, the project was guided by a strong commitment to environmental responsibility. The design integrates a fully electrified mechanical system, on-site renewable energy generation, advanced energy efficiency measures, and a selection of low-carbon materials, minimizing both operational and embodied carbon. As a result, Apple Self Storage Guelph has achieved the Zero Carbon Building-Design™ (ZCB-Design) certification from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), positioning it among a select group of self-storage facilities in Canada to meet this rigorous standard.
Operational Carbon
Energy Efficiency
The building’s operational carbon strategy is anchored by a high-performance building envelope and a fully electric mechanical design. The envelope incorporates continuous insulation, a highly insulated roof assembly, and improved overhead doors at the loading bay to reduce air leakage and minimize infiltration losses.
All heating and cooling demands are met using electric air-source heat pumps, eliminating on-site combusting for space heating. These systems provide both space heating and cooling for the storage areas and office spaces, allowing for efficient year-round operation while significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Office areas are served by heat recovery ventilators (HRVs), which recover thermal energy from exhaust air and transfer it to incoming fresh air. This heat recovery substantially reduces ventilation-related heating loads, improving overall system efficiency and indoor air quality without increasing energy demand.
Energy efficiency is further enhanced through the use of LED lighting throughout the facility. Occupancy sensors ensure lighting is only activated when spaces are in use, an especially effective strategy in a self-storage environment with intermittent occupancy patterns.
Onsite Renewable Energy
To further reduce operational carbon, the project incorporates on-site rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, offsetting nearly 50% of the building’s annual energy consumption.
Fugitive Emissions
In addition to electrification, the project carefully addressed refrigerant-related emissions, which are an increasingly important component of operational carbon. The heat pump systems utilize R-454B refrigerant, a next-generation low-global-warming-potential (GWP) alternative to commonly used refrigerants such as R-410A.
Embodied Carbon
The embodied carbon for the building has been minimized through the thoughtful selection of low-carbon materials. Notably, the use of insulated metal panels (IMP) for the exterior walls significantly reduced the need for concrete. Concrete panels are often heavy and energy-intensive to produce, whereas IMPs offer a more efficient alternative by combining insulation and cladding in one unit. The roof insulation was chosen as polyisocyanurate (ISO), a high-performance material that offers better thermal resistance per unit of thickness compared to other alternatives like extruded polystyrene (XPS) or expanded polystyrene (EPS). Both XPS and EPS have a higher embodied carbon due to their manufacturing processes, whereas ISO is a lower carbon intensive option. For the wall insulation, fiberglass batt was selected over mineral wool. The insulation selections not only optimize energy performance but also reduce the embodied carbon of the building envelope itself.
Apple Self Storage Guelph demonstrates how self-storage facilities can play a meaningful role in climate action when sustainability is integrated into the design process. Through a high-performance envelope, full electrification, low-GWP refrigerants, on-site renewable energy, and low-carbon material choices, the project addresses both operational and embodied carbon.
