Building Green

When we set out to build our house, select the type of heating and the building materials, energy efficiency was always a consideration. The choices we made: R20 prefab walls, R40 ceiling, radiant heat and the use of a heat pump, good windows; double glazed with Argon gas and Suncoat Low-e coating were all with that goal in mind. We plan to be here a while and with the costs of energy on the rise we wanted to be proactive. Recently I learned that there were rebates available for new homes through the EnerGuide program. This is a program which encourages the building of homes that are energy efficient, that lower greenhouse gas emissions and save energy. Homes are evaluated against many criteria and given a score on a scale of 1-100. An official label with the score is applied inside the electrical panel and stays with the home. In much the same way that EnergyStar appliances are labeled, so it will be for our homes. Currently voluntary, this EnerGuide program for homes will become mandatory and a factor for consideration when buying a new home. Good builders are now working with Energy Advisors from the planning stage so that their homes are designed and built to qualify from the start. In 2005 the average home in Canada had a rating of 66 on the EnerGuide scale. By comparison a home built to the R-2000 standard has a rating of 80. We decided to apply for the rebate and to get our home tested so we contacted an Advisor and made an appointment for our leakage test.


Above, the blower door test: a frame and fan were set up and air was forced out of our house. Leaks were discovered as cold outside air came in to fill the void. A computer read and recorded the results. Our leakage primarily occurred around pot lights, wall electrical outlets and in some windows. A score of 80 is required to qualify the home as efficient. Our house scored an 84.
We were the first Owner/Builders and the first prefab home to be tested by this consultant and she was impressed with the measures we had taken and pleased with the outcome as 84 is considered a good score. How good will be proved by future heating bills.