January 29, 2025
From Cold, Moldy Basements to Healthy Homes: The Blanket of Warmth Story
By Alex Gross
Aura Lee MacPherson of MacPherson Engineering Inc. is passionate about creating living environments that promote safety and human health. When she heard about black mold issues in First Nations communities across Saskatchewan, she took action by collaborating with Wendell Starblanket of the Star Blanket Cree Nation to provide a solution.
Recognizing the homes’ furnaces needed a retrofit to address the cold, dampness, and resulting black mold in the basements, MacPherson integrated RadiantLink™ technology that connects the furnaces to a hydronic radiant heating system.
The radiant heating system circulates warm water through Uponor helioPEX™ pipe that is fastened to Uponor Fast Trak™ knobbed mats on the basement walls. This design transfers heat to the concrete wall, surrounding the basement in a “blanket of warmth” that eliminates cold, dampness, and black mold.
The technology provides additional benefits as well, including reduced asthma and allergy symptoms, increased usable square footage in the homes, and lower utility costs. Most importantly, the system is much safer, eliminating the need for space heaters, which have been known to cause house fires.
What started in 2018 with two houses is growing to more than a dozen homes across four communities. This growth is thanks, in part, to a grant from the OneGF Impact Fund, which is managed by the GF Water Foundation.
Nicole Miller, Canada Prairies Sales Manager for GF Building Flow Solutions Americas, has been instrumental in the project since 2018 and submitted the First Nations Blanket of Warmth project for the grant in 2025.
To learn more about the Blanket of Warmth project, watch this video or visit GF booth C7925 at the 2026 AHR Expo in Las Vegas. In addition, attend Aura Lee MacPherson’s session at AHR on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in the expo area (S224) to discover how radiant systems increase home comfort, reduce energy consumption, and build long-term climate resilience.
Recognizing the homes’ furnaces needed a retrofit to address the cold, dampness, and resulting black mold in the basements, MacPherson integrated RadiantLink™ technology that connects the furnaces to a hydronic radiant heating system.
The radiant heating system circulates warm water through Uponor helioPEX™ pipe that is fastened to Uponor Fast Trak™ knobbed mats on the basement walls. This design transfers heat to the concrete wall, surrounding the basement in a “blanket of warmth” that eliminates cold, dampness, and black mold.
The technology provides additional benefits as well, including reduced asthma and allergy symptoms, increased usable square footage in the homes, and lower utility costs. Most importantly, the system is much safer, eliminating the need for space heaters, which have been known to cause house fires.
What started in 2018 with two houses is growing to more than a dozen homes across four communities. This growth is thanks, in part, to a grant from the OneGF Impact Fund, which is managed by the GF Water Foundation.
Nicole Miller, Canada Prairies Sales Manager for GF Building Flow Solutions Americas, has been instrumental in the project since 2018 and submitted the First Nations Blanket of Warmth project for the grant in 2025.
To learn more about the Blanket of Warmth project, watch this video or visit GF booth C7925 at the 2026 AHR Expo in Las Vegas. In addition, attend Aura Lee MacPherson’s session at AHR on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in the expo area (S224) to discover how radiant systems increase home comfort, reduce energy consumption, and build long-term climate resilience.