Home Green Home
By Lisa Van de Ven
National Post

Why paying for eco upgrades now could save you money in the long run.

For David Webb, it was all part of a plan.  A plan to save the world.

Concerned about the state of the environment, and excessive energy consumption, Mr. Webb and his wife, Lori Mazza, wanted to do their part to create change, if only in their small corner of Etobicoke.  So when they decided to build an addition and renovate their home, they were committed to doing things differently: installing thicker walls to better keep energy in, adding energy-efficient windows, as well as a high-efficiency furnace and Energy Star appliances.  Each step was researched and, if there was a green alternative available, even if it cost a few dollars more, Mr. Webb and Ms. Mazza used it.

“If you are going to spend something, spend a little bit more, which will save you money [on energy costs] and save the environment,” Mr. Webb says.  “I’m big on that.  I love the notion that if you do something – let’s say you spend 30% more, which is maybe what I did on the addition – but if it cuts my energy bull down by half, I’m saving money forever.  And I’m saving the environment, or at least reducing my impact.”

And that's an equation that's also

'The Technology provides real-time energy monitoring for homes and condos’

starting to make sense to homebuilders and homebuyers across the country.  In fact, a recent Green Building Poll by TD Canada Trust showed that 73% of Canadian homeowners planning to buy a new home would be willing to pay more for environmentally friendly features – an average of 10% more, the poll showed.  About 29% said they’d made significant improvements in that area already.  “Energy conservation and environmental consciousness has become such a big thing,” says Dan Pelosi, manager of planning and development for Dreamland Homes in Newmarket, which became an Energy Star-rated builder this year.  “We wanted to be on board because we think it’s a good idea.  We start to see our own energy bills and think ‘This is ridiculous,’ and when homeowners come in and buy a new home, they also have to start thinking of this stuff.”

Which is why Dreamland Homes is building all the houses at it’s new Mount Albert site, Dreamland on Cedar Hill, to Energy Star standards.  In keeping with that, it will be including as standard a new technology, which Mr. Webb has also introduced in his home.  Called PowerWatch, the technology – by MJ Innovations Ltd. – provides real-time energy monitoring for homes and condos.

'We use energy all day long, every day, and we have no idea how much we’re using or how much it costs – so how do you reduce it?’

“What’s annoying about the hydro bill is, it’s very vague – at the end of tow months you just get a bill,” Mr. Webb says.  “You do all this stuff – good or bad, you don’t know – and then someone gives you a bill.  There’s a complete disconnect. [PowerWatch] provides you with a 100% connect.”

And that was the purpose of PowerWatch from the start, says Janeen Stodulski, CEO, MJ Innovations.  It was during the blackout of August, 2003, while having a drink with a friend in the dark, that she first envisioned the innovation.  “We just got talking about how absolutely ridiculous it was that the whole thing happened, and that if everybody used a little bit less then we wouldn’t have the demands, the blackouts, and the crises,” she says.  “But then we started talking about ‘what’s less, how do you use less, how do you know?’  And we all hear of watts and kilowatts and kilowatts0an0hour, but nobody really understands it.”

PowerWatch offers a real-time view of a home’s energy consumption at any given moment.  If you turn on the micro-wave, you see its energy impact on display.  If you unplug your television or PlayStation when you’re not using them, you’re able to determine how much power is used just by keeping them plugged in.  You can compare this month’s energy consumption with the same month’s the previous year, or look at what the financial repercussions of your energy use will be even before the next bill comes in.

An off-the-panel technology, PowerWatch can be installed into a new or existing home.  Energy savings, from there, depend on the homeowners themselves – but having that information handy, Mr. Stodulski says, means that they can better control their own consumption.  She’s seen average energy savings – and the equivalent cost cuts – of 10% to 20%.  At 20%, she says, that’s the equivalent of one free electricity bill every fifth month.

“We use [energy] all day long, every day, and we have no idea how much we’re using or how much it costs.  So how do you reduce something that [is so vague]” she says.  “This is the missing link.  Structurally, you can only do so much, the rest comes down to behaviour.”

Even structurally, though, developers are showing that there’s still plenty that can be done on the green front.  With the Canadian Green Building Council’s new LEED for Homes program – a Canadian-based green rating system for residential housing, set to launch this month – builders are searching out environmentally friendly innovations that will push the norm and give options to

‘A south-facing exposure ensures the home uses more passive energy’

Developer Minto, for example, took on the challenge of building a “net zero” home, responding to a  recent call by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.  The house produces as much energy as it consumes; a hougher house cost will ultimately be balanced out by savings on energy costs, which means it’s not a financial burden for owners.  Located in Manotick, just outside of Ottawa, the Minto EcoHome, called Inspiration, features double-wall construction, triple-pane windows, “Green plugs” (which can be turned off to cut out phantom power use), rainwater collection, and solar panels that will put energy back on the grid.  A south-facing exposure, with an increased overhang that blocks sun in the summer but not the lower angle of the winter sun, ensures that the homes uses more passive energy as well.  The 2,300-square-foot house has also been designed to maximize space, with an attic and basement that can easily be converted to include up to a total of seven bedrooms

Construction of the home should be completed by summer, says Andrew Pride, vice-president of Minto’s Green Team.  And it’s not simply a demonstration home; Minto’s Ottawa buyers can introduce many of the initiatives into their own new homes, and there are plans to take them to Mino’s site, Harvest Hills, in East Gwillimbury, near Newmarket, as well.  “That was what we were trying to shoot for – if we couldn’t do it today, we really didn’t want to participate in the CMHC program”, Mr. Pride says.  “Our whole goal was to show how this can be done as a production unit.”

The homebuilders group, BILD, meanwhile (a merger of the Greater Toronto Home Builders’ Association and the Urban Development Institute/Ontario has a similar goal with its latest project, The Archetype Sustainable House, a set of two homes being built at the Kortright Centre conservation area in Vaughan.

Expected to begin construction this week, the houses show what can be done in green building: One will demonstrate current technologies while the other will demonstrate technologies of five to 10 years in the future.  The project will act as a model for homebuyers and builders looking for examples of green building.  “You have a variety of different stand-alone technologies that are integrated together to form a solution,” says Larry Brydon, BILD’s Green Committee co-chair.  “the goal is, basically, awareness and understanding… putting that thought in your head when you are making a decision to buy your house: Are you considering these various factors?”

Mr. Webb, for one, would approve.  Like many homeowners, he’s considering his energy consumption and environmental footprint ever time he changes a light bulb or makes amore drastic changes to his house.  “I think we’re going to save the world by taking a lot of small steps,” he says.