Want to slash your home energy costs by 75 per cent?

By Wayne Karl
July 23, 2015

Want to slash your home energy costs by 75 per cent? Things are about to get a whole lot Greener in Kanata, Ont., as Ottawa-based builder Minto Communities says it will build five of the most energy efficient homes in Canada in this suburb of the nation’s capital.

With support from Natural Resources Canada’s ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative (ecoEII), Minto is investing in this initiative with leading residential experts in building science and energy efficiency to plan, design, and construct five zero energy homes. The homes, to be built in Kanata’s Arcadia community, are designed to deliver net-zero energy (NZE) performance – meaning they will produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis.

Owens Corning Canada is a partner in the project.

The goal is to take what were once one-off, high performance custom homes and make them accessible to average homebuyers.

“The ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative is a natural fit for us, and benefits Minto homebuyers – for whom we’ve created better and healthier communities for 60 years,” says Brent Strachan, senior vice-president, Minto Communities.

Minto expects the five NZE homes in Arcadia to be completed within the next 12 months. The Killarney model home is already under construction and will be finished this fall, followed by four townhomes in in spring 2016.

Rendering of The Killarney model, at Minto's Arcadia community in Kanata, Ont.

Minto says early results from its Arcadia project show a 75-per-cent reduction in home energy costs for space heating and cooling of the NZE homes. It is expected that 30 to 40 solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of each home will allow homeowners to connect to the Ontario electricity grid and offset electricity consumption.

More information about the ecoEII Owens Corning Net Zero Project can be found here.

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About Wayne Karl

Wayne Karl is an award-winning writer and editor with experience in real estate and business. Wayne explores the basics – such as economic fundamentals – you need to examine when buying property. wayne.karl@nexthome.ca

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