Living a green, sustainable lifestyle is easier than ever, as many homebuilders come out with new models that tout Net Zero features.

Net Zero refers to a home producing as much energy as it uses in a year. With the added burden of the carbon tax, homeowners’ heating bills can go up substantially and the need to have more sustainable practices, such as Net Zero, goes a long way in alleviating those costs.

Today, more new homes come with energy-saving features and solutions, including better insulation, triple-pane windows, and even their own solar panels that enable homebuyers to save on energy costs. Net Zero homes bring all these together for a greener future, and Brookfield Residential and Jayman BUILT are showing the way in Edmonton.

Blatchford

The dynamic new downtown community of Blatchford is taking sustainable home designs to the next level. Instead of trying to shoehorn sustainability and ‘people first’ urban design principles in after the fact, Blatchford is integrating these concepts at all points of community development.

While approximately 40 per cent of Edmonton’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. Blatchford townhomes will release fewer greenhouse gas emissions (about 75 per cent less) than homes in a typical community. Here’s a quick look into how: Residents receive their heating, cooling and hot water services from renewable energy sources through the community’s District Energy Sharing System (bonus: because the system provides both heating and cooling, there’s no need to install air conditioning!). Homes are also built for energy efficiency.

Homebuilders must agree to meet Blatchford’s custom green building codes, which go above and beyond what the industry requires for sustainability and energy conservation. Think highly insulated walls, roofs and floors, high performance windows and an airtight envelope to reduce heat loss – and homes that not only come with energy efficient heat pumps rather than furnaces, but also sustainable building features like solar panels to offset the annual energy consumed by appliances.

Brookfield Residential

Brookfield Residential Sustainability and Innovation Manager, Lindsey Wachowicz, says Net Zero is important for future homebuyers to consider because it is an 80 per cent more efficient home. She explains that there are three components that make a home a Net Zero home: the building envelope, mechanical system, and a renewable energy source.

“With a tightly built and well insulated building envelope, and an ASHP (air source heat pump)–the home runs more efficiently and based on home modeling, the energy used can be offset from the solar panels over an annual bases – this can help futureproof your home of any electrical rate increases,” she tells NextHome.

“With the advanced construction methods and materials, the additional benefit of a tightly built home is it is a quieter home. Last, ultimately knowing you are helping support the environment, our net zero Purcell 24 home we built in Riverstone saves 15.3 tonnes GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions/year. That is equivalent to get 13 gas powered vehicles off the road per year.”

Brookfield Residential was one of the first builders to fully explore the sustainable home design with the completion of their passive house in 2019. At the end of 2024, Brookfield Residential introduce into market Energy Efficiency packages which includes a limited Net Zero and net zero building envelop offering. In 2025, Brookfield’s focus is to continue to find innovative solutions in an effort to make an energy efficient home more attainable.

In late 2024, Brookfield Residential also launched the Built Green certification program for all single-family homes. “This initiative goes beyond energy efficiency to address critical aspects of sustainability, such as reducing construction waste and incorporating environmentally friendly materials into our homes. Built Green certification ensures that each home aligns with our commitment to reducing environmental impact while maintaining quality and comfort,” Wachowicz says

They are also introducing varying levels of energy-saving homes, she adds.

• Essential Home: Our standard Brookfield home. All our homes are now BUILT Green Certified
• Elevated Efficiency Home: A high-performance building envelope designed to meet net zero standards, ensuring minimal energy loss.
• Ultimate Offset Home: Net zero homes that represent the pinnacle of sustainable living, combining energy efficiency with renewable energy solutions to achieve a carbon-neutral footprint.

Interested buyers will be able to see these new features in action in their Rundle 22 Ultimate Offset Home in Chappelle, Edmonton later this summer.

Find out more at brookfieldresidential.com.

Jayman BUILT

Jayman BUILT has prided itself in being at the cutting edge of home design innovation in Alberta, and their hit line of advanced, energy-saving home models have proven that environmental sustainability and good business can go hand in hand.

In a monumental achievement for sustainable homebuilding, Jayman BUILT (Jayman) and SkyFire Energy Inc. (SkyFire Energy) have reached a cumulative 10 MegaWatts (MW) of installed solar power across nearly 60 communities in Alberta. Since launching new home solar installations in 2018, there have been 28,262 solar modules installed on 3,964 Jayman homes, generating enough clean energy each year to run 14.7 million loads of laundry or drive an electric car around the Earth 1,830 times.

“In partnership with SkyFire Energy, we are proud to reach this significant milestone in residential solar power installation. As one of the first builders in Canada to include 10 solar panels as a standard feature in every home, we are committed to enhancing the quality of life for Albertans—today and in the future,” states Dave Hooge, Chief Operating Officer, Jayman.

Jayman BUILT already offers Net Zero certified homes – known, as the Quantum Performance Ultra E-Homes. “These homes prevent 10.84 tonnes of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, and can save homeowners up to $1,262 on their energy costs annually,” says Dave Krasman, Director, Corporate Purchasing, Jayman BUILT.

“Not only is this home good for the environment, but good for homeowners’ pocketbook. As building code is requiring Net Zero Ready by 2030, it was important for us to ensure we can meet these advancements in code requirements today, not some time in the future.”

Jayman introduced the Quantum Performance Ultra-E home in 2021 and expanded its offering in 2022, with the Path to Net Zero. “They have been well received by the market, with a handful sold each year since launching,” Krasman says. Today, buyers can build a Jayman Net Zero home in every community they build in, as long as the homesite has 200-amp servicing.

“A mix of laned and front-attached showhomes are available to tour with our Net Zero offering, which includes 30 or more solar panels, a proprietary wall system with Net Zero building envelope and triple pane R-8 windows with argon fill and an air source electric heat pump mechanical system. There is no noticeable change to the design, layout or functionality of the home. We have 12 Quantum Performance Ultra E-Showhomes in Calgary and eight in Edmonton available to tour.”

For more information, visit jayman.com.