The green building movement is gaining momentum as builders, consumers and policy makers pay lip service to environmentally friendly materials, equipment and practices. As a sector grows, and we determine the plan for a new way of building our homes, impressive local achievements set a high standard that might soon inspire us to start making environmental changes at home.

“Unless we start heading in that direction now, we’ll be too late to start,” says architect Peter Sampson, showing the details of a “net-zero” home he helped design for the EQuilibrium housing initiative launched by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) last year. In February 2007, the CMHC chose 12 designs from across the country at the end of a search for homes that maintain an environmental balance of give and take. Working for Prairie Architects at the time, Sampson helped the Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corporation (WHRC) lay plans for a house that combines a host of energy reduction strategies with free solar and geothermal power to produce as much energy as it uses. At this point, the design remains a conceptual project.

Mechanical systems reduce the home’s need for outside power: for example, a pair of heat recovery ventilators keeps fresh air moving into the house year-round with only a little power needed to heat it up or cool it down and in-floor heating means warm air rises evenly all over the house, not just at duct openings. On the main floor, a computerized system to monitor energy consumption acts like a “dashboard for the house,” says Sampson. “We usually hide our meters in the basement,” he says, “but this reminds the homeowner of energy being used.” Outside, solar panels and glass tube solar heat collectors produce “off-the-grid” power that the house can either use or feed into the electrical grid through a “grid tie inverter.”

To emphasize the design’s practical applications, Sampson and the WHRC team made sure to plan the as-yet-unbuilt home for a low- to moderate-income owner. Based on estimates at the time of design, the home would cost $170 per square foot, compared to $120 for a “code home” built to the lowest acceptable construction standards. For the extra investment, Sampson says the house could save about $2000 a year in energy costs while respecting environmental standards that the building code makes no allowance for.

Make a difference Whether you’re planning a new build or a simple refreshment of your space, there are many steps that can be taken towards a greener home. Here are some ideas to help you on the path to eco-living:

Don’t throw it out! After demos, donate any unwanted cabinets, appliances and even the kitchen sink to agencies such as Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, where they will be refurbished and sold or used in their building projects. 60 Archibald Street, 233-5160.

Low-impact materials. Choosing building and decorating materials that have little or no environmental impact is easier than you think. From no-VOC paints to lumber harvested from responsibly managed forests, greener options are available in every area.

Energy stars. High-efficiency appliances are not only smart environmental choices, they’ll save you money in the long run. Energy Star-rated washing machines use about 30 per cent less energy than traditional models, and front-loading versions use up to 50 per cent less water, too. For more information on conserving energy in your home, visit www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/energuide.

Seal it up. A properly sealed and insulated home will save big on energy during our frigid winters. Triple- or quadruple-paned windows will keep the cold out and the warm in, adding an R value of more than 10 in some cases (single-paned windows have an R value of 1 – which is the same as snow).

“People generally think energy savings only come through expensive technology instead of through improving construction methods,” says Sampson, focusing on simple, built-in energy efficiencies. The EQuilibrium demo plan includes a sealed-tight building envelope and calls for such things as locally-sourced material as well as a rainwater storage tank for landscape water use. Throughout the house, high-efficiency appliances and windows mean fewer expensive solar panels.

Though Sampson waits to see his house built, other local projects demonstrate the way green thinking can be applied to houses in renovation, with methods useful to old and new homeowners alike. Gerry Humphreys, owner of Milestone Project Management, talks about his company’s recent retrofit of a 1972 home in St. Vital as a showcase for sustainable home building.

Humphreys says the green building process centres on re-use and responsible use of materials and energy. “People expect green building to be all about new innovations,” he says, opting to take inspiration from ancient ways. “Look at tipis and sod houses; some of this is very old technology.” Humphreys’ St. Vital project does feature high-tech heat exchangers and quad-pane windows, but it also uses simple solutions to ease the house’s burden on the environment. Leafy trees in front of big south-facing windows provide shade in summer and after the fall, they allow the sun to heat the living room; in all the rooms, compact fluorescent lights reduce power use; reclaimed maple flooring saves trees; dual-flush toilets and tap aerators reduce water use.

While this house stands as an exceptional example of green home building, Humphreys says Canada lags behind other countries in green home building efforts. “We have the burden of plenty in Canada,” he says, explaining our green deficit as a result of living in a country perfectly-suited to encourage resource waste.

“We’re good for talk, but not for action,” says Jeff Olafson of Gardon Construction, estimating that we’re 10 to 15 years behind the United States in green building. Partly, he blames government for not imposing green standards for the building industry to meet. “Change has to come from policy makers,” says Olafson. “If we want change, it’s the government’s responsibility to reflect that in policy.” Currently, Olafson says industry players build according to various shades of green. “Everybody at least pays lip service to the idea, but we’re trying to hit moving targets now; it’s confused the hell out of everyone,” he says. “We have to come to a common ground.”
Another key to change, suggests Olafson, is shifting our notions of value. “Especially in Manitoba, we’re so concerned with how cheap we can buy things,” he says, adding that responsible green building benefits us as well as future generations by giving them a stable infrastructure to build up from. But he says that single- and multiple-family home construction too often amounts to “slap it together and hand over the keys.”

“We’re not moving fast enough, considering where the rest of the world is at,” Olafson says. “The construction industry can do something right now to shake things up. We don’t have to stay within the same realm of building practice.” Sampson, too, encourages a shift in thinking—one that reaches further than “sustainable building” towards what has been called “passive survival.” That ideal sees us becoming adaptors again, living appropriately in our world instead of making the world adapt to us.

LEED the way
The United States Green Building Council launched a LEED for homes rating system early this year to encourage builders to put up resource-conserving homes. The group based the new system on their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating systems that already focus on larger buildings. In an August 2007 news release, the Canada Green Building Council announced plans to launch a Canadian version of LEED ratings for homes this June. (Check out cagbc.org and usgbc.org.) Currently there is only one gold LEED-certified building in the city – Mountain Equipment Co-op on Portage Avenue. The new Winnipeg Humane Society shelter and the under-construction Manitoba Hydro building will be built to LEED standards, but both are yet to be certified.