It’s easy living green

By Pepper Rodriguez
February 06, 2023

Living a green lifestyle is easier than ever. Energy-saving appliances are readily available, dual-flush toilets and low-flow showers are more popular, and many new homes now come with smart thermostats. Houses themselves are becoming more sustainable, not only in their function, but in the way they are built, as a more ecologically conscious public looks to lessen their impact on the environment and lower energy consumption.

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. And these features are welcome now more than ever, as rising energy and utility costs take a big bite out of the household budget.

Calgary’s homebuilders are taking initiatives to help consumers in the fight against rising energy bills and help save the environment as well. Many have taken up the Built Green program, and some are already taking the next level to building Net Zero homes.

Industry initiative

Jayman BUILT and Cedarglen Homes have recently launched initiatives that bring an even more dynamic sense of urgency in building sustainable homes for the future.

“Jayman BUILT is not only a member of Built Green, but the founding member in 2005 and the first builder to register a BUILT GREEN home. Our commitment to ‘green’ building practices goes back many years,” says Dave Hooge, COO at Jayman BUILT.

“Consumers today expect that their builder, or any other vendor for that matter, take the Built Green practices seriously and contribute to a greener world. So, for us, Built Green is just how we do things.”

Jayman BUILT has already programs like Core Performance and the Path to Net Zero and they are adding more to this, as they introduce new standard features for 2023 that can reduce a home’s carbon footprint and provide up to 50 per cent in electrical savings per year.

 

 

Cedarglen Homes is also making headway in in its commitment to a greener future as it is now among the select few home builders in Alberta who have been officially designated as a qualified Net Zero Builder through the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA).

Cedarglen Homes President Howard Tse says the move keeps Cedarglen in front of the coming federal mandates for sustainable homes.

“Cedarglen Homes has always been passionate about sustainable building practices, and in the next decade there will be new guidelines in place that will make this mandatory,” he points out. “In 2016, the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change committed to a net-zero ready building code by 2030. In anticipation of this upcoming change, we have recently been recognized by the CHBA as a Qualified Net Zero Builder.”

The Built Green way

Built Green Canada is an industry-driven, national, non-profit organization committed to working with builders interested in responsible sustainability practices in the residential building sector. It uses a certification program that promotes healthy building measures, such as no or low volatile organic compounds, heat recovery ventilators for fresh air and high efficiency features. It also serves to underline the economic and health benefits of building “green.”

The organization offers programs for single-family, single-family renovations, high density (including multi-storey, residential tower, and mixed-use), and high-density renovation projects, and now, a pilot program for communities.
“Built Green’s programs… address energy performance, and then go one to address other integral aspects of sustainability. As building code with minimum energy requirements is now in place, other areas are being considered more – water conservation and waste management, for example,” Built Green Canada CEO Jennifer Christenson tells Calgary New Home + Condo Guide.

There are over 50 homebuilders across Alberta that are already taking part in the program, as demand grows for sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyles. Many of Calgary’s own builders are taking the initiative and build “greener” homes that adhere to the Built Green mode.

“Built Green Canada began in 2003,” Christenson says. “It has grown its representation to include Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, and has now expanded into Manitoba. Builders have worked with us to complete over 45,860 BUILT GREEN® certified single family, multi-family, and high-density homes represented in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario (as of December 31, 2022).”

A greener future

In 2021, Built Green Canada launched its Net Zero Energy+ program for single family new homes, which it calls “a new level of achievement within the organization’s long-held, industry friendly green building program.” They’ve created a labelling program which provides the industry and consumers with clear and precise technical requirements for two levels of labelling: Net Zero and Net Zero Ready Homes.

“As the homeowner of a house certified through Built Green Canada, you will enjoy a healthier, more durable home with a lower environmental impact,” she adds. “These homes are affordable with a reduction in monthly operating costs, automatic rebate eligibility, improved resale value, and more. And so, there are economic benefits, a healthier more comfortable home, a more efficient home, verification of green features integrated into the build.”

She adds that Built Green has long been committed to affordability – for the builder and the homeowner – and to providing support to builders working to progress the industry through its holistic certification programs. “As such, for those units required to be built as part of the inclusionary housing mandate, Built Green is offering financial support: a full financial waiver for the home certification fees on inclusionary units, and for those builders new to the program, a waiver on the BUILT GREEN® Program Fundamentals Training course fee. This applies to those units within a High-Density project that are inclusionary (as per the requirements of the municipality you’re building within).”

“We do recognize that the cost to jump to a fully net zero certified home can be cost-prohibitive for many home buyers,” Jayman’s Hooge says. “So, we do ensure we include as much added value in our homes while exceeding the building and energy codes, while still being priced competitively.

Greener standards

Jayman BUILT recently announced that beginning this year, all new Jayman homes will come standard with 10 solar panels (as opposed to the previous six). This is an important addition to the already amazing suite of energy efficient inclusions home buyers get when purchasing a Jayman home.

These 10 solar panels will generate enough electricity to cut homeowner’s electricity bills by 50 per cent - nearly half-way to Net Zero energy generation! Jayman, already an established leader in the home building industry, is one of the only homebuilders in Alberta taking this important step to a greener future.

Cedarglen Homes’ Net Zero home program will bring a new generation of sustainable homes to the market.

“At Cedarglen Homes, our Net Zero Inspired program allows homebuyers to choose their level of investment in making their new home Net Zero certified by choosing from one of five distinct packages. Each of these packages will improve your homes overall performance, which can have significant benefits to homebuyers with regards to comfort, health, and financial stability,” he adds.

A fully certified Net Zero home can be defined as a house that generates as much renewable energy as it consumes on an annual basis. A Net Zero-ready home in comparison, is essentially a Net Zero home without the renewable energy resources (i.e. solar panels) installed – therefore it has been designed to consume as little energy as possible.

Every home in its Net Zero program will vary slightly in the amount of energy savings, depending on several factors including the orientation of the lot, the size of the house, the number of solar panels installed, and the extent that homebuyers choose to make their home more sustainable.

“A fully certified Net Zero home is up to 80 per cent more energy efficient than typical new homes and ultimately achieves an EnerguideTM rating of ‘zero’. This rating means that the home generated as much energy as it consumed annually,” Tse says.

About Pepper Rodriguez

Pepper Rodriguez is a writer, editor of New Home + Condo Guide's Calgary and Edmonton editions.

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