Energy Efficiency Conference Will Showcase Innovative, Cost-Effective Solutions
MONCTON – The Naugler house in Fredericton was one of the first homes in Canada built according to Passive House design standards, a European-inspired movement that maximizes the energy efficiency and air quality of new and renovated buildings.
Since that home was constructed in 2013, a wave of designers and builders across the country have constructed homes, apartment and residence complexes, and commercial buildings according to Passive House standards.
Evelyne Bouchard, a course instructor with Passive House Canada and owner of Tandem Architecture Ecologique in Quebec, says the Naugler home (with a year-round heating bill of $77, its owners said back in 2013) was an inspiration for architects like her who were interested in forward-thinking ecological design ideas.
“It’s relatively new to Canada as a standard,” says Bouchard. “But the pace of growth has been very impressive…the sea change in the last five or six years has been immense. Most of the growth has been on the West Coast but it’s nice to see more and more enthusiasm across Canada, and other places that have colder climates.”
Since 2013, there have been about 10 buildings in New Brunswick designed according to Passive Home standards, including Teo & Ryan Strynatka’s home (pictured above) in Penniac, New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada’s first internationally certified Passive House by Consultant & Designer, Garth Hood of Thoughtful Dwellings in Gagetown. Bouchard is hoping to give the Passive House movement in N.B. an added boost when she’s in the province next month for NB Power’s second annual Energizing Efficiency Conference in Moncton.
Bouchard is leading a workshop May 8 at the conference, which is geared toward developers, architects and consultants in the building constructing sector that are looking for cost-effective, innovating ways to incorporate energy efficiency into renovation projects or new builds.
The Passive House standard is a design approach pioneered in Germany and Sweden in the 1990s to deliver large reductions in the energy used for heating and cooling buildings.
Key features of this kind of design are a compact building shape, high levels of insulation in exterior walls, roofs, and under foundations, and high-performance windows to minimize air leaks.
Over time, the energy savings are significant and the air quality in the buildings is much better, says Bouchard.
“Once you’ve seen this way of doing things it’s hard to go back,” she says. “The kind of rigour, the building science-driven approach is really compelling.”
B.C. was an early adopter with the construction of a building for Austrian officials in Whistler at the 2010 Olympics. It’s now the accepted building standard of the Vancouver Housing Authority.
In New Brunswick, Saint John Non Profit Housing is looking at a Passive House construction for its new building at the corner of Wellington Row and Union Street. But there hasn’t yet been a widespread adoption of the practice across the province.
Bouchard says commercial and non-profit builders countrywide are recognizing the benefits of Passive House construction and she welcomes the opportunity to spread the word at a conference like Energizing Efficiency.
“Across the country, there are a number of different organizations in that sector that are seeing this as a common solution, so there must be some magic in there,” she says.
“I like to talk to people and get them excited about this kind of work because my relative impact as an individual is greater if I can convince them to shift the way they’re doing things.”
Mark Jewell, a California-based expert on selling the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency, echoes Bouchard’s belief that investing in energy-efficient solutions requires a long-term vision of realizing the benefits.
Jewell, who will deliver two workshops and a keynote address at the conference, has a long history in the industry but his current focus is on training people to sell the merits of energy-efficient solutions
“The work we do now is teaching everyone from utility professionals to regulators to program managers vendors, contractors, manufacturers – everybody who is trying to sell the idea of an energy solution,” said Jewell, owner of Selling Energy.
“What we find is a lot of these people need the same help. They need help with an elevator pitch, a one-page proposal, the financial analysis that actually gives decision makers a metric that leads them to the most efficient solution as opposed to the fastest payback one.”
Jewell says most developers are focused on quick returns on investment, so it requires skill and training to be able to convince people of the long-term returns of energy-saving technologies.
“With my [Wharton School] finance background and 40 years in business, I can tell you authoritatively that most people are so fixated on how fast they’re going to get their money back in savings, as opposed to what they should be focused on – how many times they’re going to get back their money before the device they’re installing ceases giving savings.”
Tracey Somers, the Program Lead for Behaviour and Market Transformation at NB Power, says conference participants will greatly benefit from hearing about the innovative new building design standards and the tools needed to sell their benefits to prospective partners and clients in the industry.
“It helps people get exposure to these future-looking concepts…It’s always interesting to learn about these projects that are pushing the envelope,” she says.
Special pricing exists for those working in public service, non-profit and for students. Those interested in attending can learn more and register today at efficiencyconference.com.
This story is sponsored by NB Power.