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To achieve those aims, Koen designed the home as
an integrated system, which applied the principles
of: passive solar design, increased insulation,
airtight construction techniques, highly efficient
mechanical systems, and a PV solar system.
Together, these strategies resulted in a Net-Zero
home which produces enough energy to support
the home, a home office, a secondary suite, and
two electric vehicles.
“To have a home that produces thatmuch renewable
energy, while still being financially feasible – I think
that’s going to be a game changer,” Koen says. “I
think we’re onto something very special.”
The energy-efficient features of the home include
a foundational sump pump, which is equipped
with a valve to permit irrigation of the yard using
recycled water. The residual heat in wastewater is
also collected through a single stack drain that is
connected to a drain water heat recovery system.
There’s also a 25 kilowatt solar array. And then
there are the plumbing fixtures – all of them low
flow.
The landscaping was also designed and completed
with environmental sustainability in mind. Existing
trees were kept on the property where possible,
brushes plants and flowers were salvaged and
planted temporarily off site during construction,
and seeds were harvested in the fall, planted
indoors in the winter, and brought back outside
in spring. Additional native plants were planted as
well.
As the resident of that home, Koen’s review is
predictably glowing. “It’s phenomenal,” he says.
“Being so one with the environment, producing all
of our own energy, not having any utility bills – and
in fact, getting paid for the energy that you produce
– it’s very cool. Moving in was a life-changing event.”
In their jury comments, the Canada Green Building
Council had similarly high praise. They called the
finished product a “commendable example of
environmentally responsible densification.” They
said it was “both gentle in its addition of a secondary
suite, and transferrable in its use of off-the-shelf
technology and local labour.”
“The project achieves its net zero ambitions in a
holistic way, exploiting passive solar orientation
and creating a highly insulated and airtight
building envelope before adding photovoltaic
panels for make-up energy,” they wrote. “Water
conservation and material selection strategies are
also commendable.”
Koen also credits the home’s exceptional result to
some of the same factors – such as the company’s
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018