First of 25 Net Zero homes in Canada built

GUELPH, ONT.—Reid’s Heritage Homes is celebrating the first of 25 Net Zero Energy homes to be built across Canada.

Constructed in Guelph, Ont. the house is the first completed as part of a national demonstration project which is trying to prove that Net Zero homes can be built on a community-level scale.

According to a release, the goal is to make Net Zero Energy homes that produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis, fully accessible and affordable to Canadians.

In all, five builders were selected to participate in the national project that includes the construction of at least 25 Net Zero Energy homes in four provinces; Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta, and Ontario.

Reid’s Heritage Homes is building five homes as part of the project.

This project will use existing technology and products that are readily available to the average builder, the release reads.

"Instead of building these homes as one-off, custom-built projects, this project is geared to the mainstream public, and the low-rise production builder," said Blake Seeberger, senior vice-president of residential, Reid’s Heritage Homes in a statement. "In fact, standing on the driveway facing the house, there is little indication that this is a real-world example of the future of housing."

However, the back roof shows where the difference is. There are 33 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels from Bluewater Energy. The PV panels will produce the energy required for the home to achieve Net Zero Energy status.

There are also other technologies that make this property unique, Reid’s states, such as the insulated and airtight design that provides an advanced envelope system. The homes also have triple pane windows for insulation and noise reduction, to name some of the features.

The project’s inaugural home was built in the Westminster Woods community of Guelph and will be used as a show house for the remaining four Net Zero Energy homes to be built by Reid’s. The second home is already for sale and the remaining three will be completed by spring of 2016, the release states.