GOHBA Homebuyers' Corner
Ottawa Sun
Sat, May 31, 2008
Byline: JOHN HERBERT, Sun Media
Section: New Homes

Energy efficiency is key in the new home building industry and the people who work in it are continually looking for ways to improve.

The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association and its members are focusing our attention and efforts on environmental and energy conservation issues and initiatives that we believe will give us a “big bang for our buck.”

In 1998, the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance and Natural Resources Canada formed EnerQuality Corporation. One of EnerQuality’s goals is to improve energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of new homes built in Ontario.

These are some of the major programs that builders in Ottawa support through the Enerquality Corporation.

ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR for New Homes are about 30% more energy efficient than those built to the minimum Ontario Building Code standards and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 3 tonnes a year per home.

R-2000

R-2000 certified homes offer both energy efficiency and green building features. Only licensed R-2000 builders who have been trained and certified can build R-2000 homes.

EnerGuide for New Houses is a rating system that informs consumers and supports choice by measuring the energy use and efficiency of a new house.

The Building Canada program aims to reduce construction costs, customer call-backs, warranty claims, construction time and construction waste, while improving the energy efficiency of our homes.

GreenHouse

GreenHouse is a brand new labelling program aimed at delivering a whole-house green option to homebuyers. To qualify, homes will have to meet conservation/reduction criteria in four areas: energy use, water management, indoor air quality and resource management.

The quest for energy efficient housing is a trend that’s on the rise, and Ottawa builders are up for the challenge.

One interesting example of this is Minto’s ‘Inspiration’ home being built in Manotick that is part of a CMHC Canada-wide program known as ‘Equilibrium’. Builders across Canada submitted 72 proposals for energy efficient homes from which 12 winners were chosen.

Minto’s creation is a 2,500 sq. ft. ‘zero net energy’ home that incorporates a wide range of energy efficient features that will become commonplace over the next 5-10 years.

Not only is the home extremely well insulated with R-52 walls and roof but it also demonstrates solar thermal and solar PV panels. Another interesting feature is a 550-gallon rain water collection tank in the basement that will be used to provide water for landscape maintenance purposes.

The home’s energy balance will be closely monitored over a 12-month period to determine whether in fact a ‘net zero energy’ balance has been achieved.

The home will be officially open to the general public in mid to late June and we encourage anyone who is interested in energy efficient housing to tour the home and see a little about what the future is going to bring.

Much of the innovation and efficiency in houses has been pioneered by new home builders such as Minto and we will continue to look for ways to reduce our dependency and consumption of energy in new homes.

So you can rest assured Ottawa’s builders are committed to finding new and creative ways to build green and build better. John Herbert is executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association.