Future Net-Zero homes break ground in Guelph

GUELPH—Reid’s Heritage Homes broke ground recently in Guelph on the first of 25 Net-Zero homes that will be built across Canada — a $4-million project that is co-funded by the Canadian Government, Owens Corning Canada and five participating builders.

The program will effectively double the number of Net-Zero Energy homes in Canada.

"Net-Zero Energy homes are incredibly progressive," says Corey McBurney, President of EnerQuality, an organization that designs and delivers green building programs to the residential construction industry,

EnerQuality has seen a constant evolution in home design. Although Net-Zero Energy is relatively novel to Canada, building homes that exceed the building code’s energy requirements is not new to the industry.

McBurney points out that the five homes under construction are ENERGY STAR qualified homes, a program that has seen wide-spread adoption across the province and set precedence for innovation in the industry.

For a home to qualify, it must be at least 20 per cent more energy efficient than those built to minimum provincial building codes.

In 2013 alone, more than 9,500 homes qualified in Ontario, representing 28 per cent of all homes built in the province. Since the program’s inception in 2005, EnerQuality has certified more than 72,500 homes in the province.

In 2012, Natural Resources Canada awarded Reid’s Heritage Homes the New Homes Participant of the Year award at the ENERGY STAR Market Transformation Awards, recognizing the builder as a trailblazer for ENERGY STAR qualified homes. Reid’s Heritage homes was one of the first builders in Ontario to build entire communities of ENERGY STAR certified homes.

"There is a persistent trend towards consumers wanting more efficient homes," says McBurney, "most Ontarians are familiar with the ENERGY STAR label on their washing machine, more and more are becoming familiar with the fact that their home can be ENERGY STAR qualified."

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