Renewable Energy and Conservation Measures

Increased insulation levels throughout the "building envelope"

• R50 in the attic
• R19 in the above ground wall cavities
• R7 rigid insulated sheathing over the walls
• R31 air tight spray foam insulation in garage ceiling
• R22 on basement foundation walls
• R10 under the basement floors

All of these upgrades comprise the most cost effective way to save energy and improve comfort in a new home. Like adding a warm blanket to your house, these "envelop" insulation upgrades are a prerequisite for many of the homes' other green home features and provide a lasting legacy of energy conservation for a home.

Exceeds ENERGY STAR® for Homes minimum energy efficiency levels

ENERGY STAR for Homes set the standard for new home construction in Ontario, these homes exceed that standard and add other important green features like indoor environment quality, water conservation, materials and resource conservation, site management, community linkages, public and homeowner education, and industry innovation.

Draft-proofing and attention to construction details

By using multiple and overlapping draft sealing techniques and a strong attention to every detail of the building process, these homes are more quiet, comfortable, and energy efficient. Each home is depressurized and tested by an independently certified third party inspector to make sure that the home is draft proof and well built.

Low-e2 dual pane windows with argon gas filling

Low-e or low emissivity coatings are strategically used to help to reflect heat and sunlight. These windows have two low e coating to keep the homes cooler in summer and warmer in winter buy passively keeping in or reflecting the sun's energy. The lower winter sun is allowed to heat the home, whereas the higher summer sun is reflected away. Low-e coating also will protect furniture, curtain, floors and more from having colours fade due sunlight. The inert argon gas filling is a better insulator than air and it reduces the chances of moisture problems from condensation.

Dual purpose high efficiency on-demand water heater

In the same way that cars get better gas mileage on the highway than in the city, because there are less stops and starts, so does the home's water heaters by having one heater heat both the domestic hot water and the radiant heating. And because this system only produces hot water when needed, energy is also saved from having no "stand-by heat loss" that a conventional water tank has as cools and reheats over and over even when no one is using it.

Integrated HRV and air handler with an ECM motor

An air handler is like a forced air furnace without any burners, as the heat from the homes comes from their water heat. By having a variable speed electrically commutated DC motor and integrated heat recovery ventilator (HRV) not only does this air handler save energy, but it ventilates the homes with conditioned fresh air. In winter HRVs transfer up to 85% of the heat from the warm exhaust air to cold fresh air, improving the air quality in the home, without wasting a lot of energy. ECM motors use approximately 75% less electricity to move the air throughout the houses as do traditional furnace fans.

Properly sized and sealed air handling ductwork

Leaky ductwork can mean as much as 30% of the heated or cooled air will not get to where you want it most. By taping and sealing all the homes' ductwork, and calculating air and ventilation flows, the homes' comfort and air quality is greatly improved and energy is conserved.

Radiant heating system rough-in in the basement floor

Rather than an expensive upgrade to radiant basement floor heating when you decide to finish the basement, these homes are easy to upgrade as all of them have the piping set into the concrete slab. And, if you choose to not upgrade to radiant heat, your basement will function as normal.

Solar hot water heating

All the homes are equipped with solar hot water pre-heating systems that use the sun's energy to heat water before it goes into the on-demand dual purpose hot water heater. This means the heater needs to heat the water much less, conserving natural gas by replacing it with renewable solar energy. This is a year round solar heating system, and it works so well in summer that often the heater does not have to come on at all, the system averages over a 50% reduction in fuel costs over the entire year, according to the manufacture's research.

Solar air heating for HRV intakes (standard on 60 ft. lot homes)

The largest homes are equipped with solar air heating panels that warm fresh air, using the sun's energy, prior to going into the homes' heating system. This is an option on all other homes, and it saves on fuel costs, but using the renewable solar energy to heat the homes.

PV ready

All of the homes can easily add photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity, as an electrical line has been roughed-in from the roof to the basement electrical panel. If homeowners choose to install PV in the future, this will reduce installation cost and prevent any interior work or disruptions.

Three foot roof overhangs for solar shading

It is a simple technique that many people may have seen many older homes. All of these homes have three foot overhangs to keep the midday summer sun from overheating the homes, but allow the morning and evening sun in along with much of the sun's winter heat and light.

Five ENERGY STAR® rated appliances

The fastest rising area for increased energy use in a typical Ontario home comes from those things that get plugged into the wall socket. Called plug load, these home have tried to minimize it where possible by supplying very efficient appliances as standard. ENERGY STAR® is a world-wide rating system that identifies appliances that are top performers when compared to other appliances on the market. All the homes come with five appliances that are ENERGY STAR® rated. The rating is assurance that the appliance will use less energy and cost less to operate.

Gas Dryer and Stove

Ontario gets much of its base electricity from nuclear power, and most of its peak electricity from burning fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas. The efficiency of burning coal and natural gas to create electricity is much lower than the efficiency of using natural gas to for drying and cooking, especially when the concept of line loss is factored in. Line loss is the amount of electricity, often 30% or more, that happens when electricity travels hundreds of miles along power lines from a central generation plant to a person's home. Using natural gas for cooking and drying clothes is generally more efficient, faster, and much more cost effective than using electricity.

Low energy lighting

The homes have compact fluorescent, LED, and other low wattage lighting strategies to conserve the electricity needed for lighting. Each home has a professional lighting design in order to maximize illumination and comfort, using the least amount of electricity. Because Ontario has only a small portion of its electricity generated from renewable power sources like wind, solar, or hydro, there is also a strong environmental benefit to conserving electricity.

Programmable Web-connected peaksaver™ thermostats

As a result of a partnership with Newmarket Hydro, these homes will have programmable, mercury-free thermostats that can be programmed over the Web on using a private password. These thermostats are also peaksaver™ devices enabling Newmarket Hydro to occasionally manage the air conditioning power draws to prevent brownouts and blackouts during times of extreme electrical usage.

In-home real-time energy monitor

Many homeowners are simply not aware of their energy use, and getting a bill a month after the fact is not very informative. The homes have an innovative real-time energy monitor that allows homeowners to see exactly what they are using and how their energy use changes when the clothes dryer is on for example.