New Home Makeovers
When WISA Healthy Homes of Vancouver sent out a low-key e-mail inviting interested people to a February tour of a gut-andrebuild renovation being completed to R- 2000 standards, the award-winning “sustainable” contractor was in for a surprise. “We had an almost unbelievable turnout; 135 persons came on Saturday, while 28 Korean architects came on Sunday,” said WISA president Wilma Leung. Even a year ago, such an event would have drawn perhaps two-dozen visitors, mostly those already converted to the green cause. This time, Leung had to repeat the open house a week later as the word spread. Conducted in three languages, packed tours for the Angus Drive renovation underlined the new reality: call it the Al Gore factor if you will, but green is the new stainless steel when it comes to trends in Greater Vancouver home makeovers. And many believe it will become the defining characteristic of home design and construction. Architect Richard Kadulski, who has been preaching environmentally conscious building for three decades, was peppered with questions as he led tours of the 8,000-square-foot house and its 3,000-square-foot super energy-saving addition. It is one of the first renovations in Canada built to the standards of R-2000, a program launched in 1984 to
encourage energy-saving construction. “Homeowners [in Greater Vancouver] are much more aware of energy savings, and of their own impact on the environment, today,” Kadulski said. In fact, a poll done this year by Environics Research Group showed that 83 per cent of British Columbians said they are likely to change their own shopping habits to purchase more environmentally friendly goods and services, even if it means paying a premium price. This was the highest such response in the country. “We’re seeing a fundamental shift in consumer behavior,” said Michael Adams, founding president of Environics. Easy to be green Kadulski, the North Vancouver-based publisher of Solplan Review and an internationally noted expert on sustainable, low-energy building design, said there are simple steps homeowners can take to assure their renovation is healthier, for themselves and the planet. Higher levels of insulation, draft
proofing, better ventilation, more efficient windows and doors and upgraded heating systems should be a standard part of any home improvement project, he recommended. The insulation can be fiberglass batts for walls, or blown-in foam insulation that will plug even small air leaks in older houses, he noted. All windows in B.C. will soon be code-mandated as doublepane low-E, but an upgrade to argon gas-filled units gives even better energy savings for a small extra cost, Kadulski added. A heat recovery ventilation (HRV)
system that circulates fresh air without heat loss is also well worth the investment in improved indoor air quality alone, he added. Indoor air quality By January 2008, B.C. will be the second province in Canada to require that all new natural gas home furnaces be 90 per cent efficient, a move the federal government is expected to follow, but some Vancouver consumers are already ahead of the curve.
The Angus drive makeover, for instance, uses an advanced forced-air super high-efficiency heating and ventilation system designed by Coquitlam-based Emco Corporation. “Every home renovation is unique, so a system has to be designed to retrofit with what is there,” said Gary Fabbro, senior manager and HVAC specialist with Emco. This year, he noted, Emco is focusing on indoor air quality, combining heat and ventilation to make homes healthier. He notes that it is possible today to install “triple-function” units that offer high-efficiency forced heating and cooling and in-floor radiant heat, all from a single machine. The payoff for making a home more energy saving is now much faster, due to higher fuel costs and more efficient and less expensive upgrades. A healthier, more comfortable home – and perhaps planet – is the natural byproduct.