The itch to put into practice all that I have learned about a super efficient, super green single family homes has finally got the better of me. It is time to build and prove the cost effectiveness and benefits of building green for the residential market.
Becoming the first Certified Passive House Consultant in Canada, I have spent countless hours studying, exploring and envisioning a normal looking home, that can compete in the market on price, that is certified as super green.
After discussions with my colleague and fellow green fanatic Jordan MacDonald of ThermalWise, I decided to build a home that is targeting both Passive House and LEED® Canada for Homes certification. It will prove, with 3rd party verification, that green construction is practical and affordable for the mainstream market.
Passive House is a German building standard that is leading the world in ultra efficient homes. The Passive House approach is energy conservation, to the point that the heating costs for this house are estimated at $200/yr.
Once we reduce the heat demand to this level, we can eliminate the need for a standard central heating system and instead use small, cost effective point source heating. This provides us with a saving of $10,000 to invest in insulation, which requires far less maintenance than mechanical systems.
LEED® Canada for Homes is a rating system that promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes. A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources; creates less waste; and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants.
LEED for Homes and Passive House complement each other well with Passive House focused solely on energy performance and LEED for homes encompassing broader green strategies important to the project.
Over the last month, the design team has finalized the house floor plan to efficiently use every square foot of interior space and incorporate many universal design features to provide accessibility in the house. This was the easy part, using the base plan of the last house we built with a few changes to add an office and centralize the plumbing and mechanical systems as part of both LEED and Passive House Design principles.
Now the fun starts, figuring out what foundation, wall and roof details we can incorporate into the design to build a shell that will reach the stringent Passive House target. Also creating a site plan for the lot selected for the project.
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