CoverStoryHIGH defLEED | ˡlēd | abbreviation - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is aninternationally accepted building rating system that provides benchmarks, standards andcertification for environmentally sustainable construction. In Canada, the rating system hasbeen tailored for Canadian climates, construction practices and regulations.Net zero | ³net ˡzē-(ˡ)rō | adjective - produces as much energy as it consumes onan annual basis. | noun - such a state.Green-collar | ˡgrēn ‒ ˡkä-lǝr | adjective - Describes the type of job that,according to a United Nations Environment Programme report, not only contributes topreserving or restoring the environment, but has adequate wages, safe working conditionsand worker rights. Green-collar jobs can be found in a variety of fields, from plumbing andelectrical to engineering and architecture to administration, marketing and retail.Above, seen from the rear,the more complex parts ofthis house, including solarpanels, would make littlesense without the superiorinsulation and seal.Then, in July 2007, the family went car-free. “Wedebated it, believe me,” Amores says. “But Conrad said,‘Let’s just try it, and the second you want a car, we canbuy one.’ So I thought it’s not forever.”Other than the occasional rental car, cycling fills inthe transportation gaps, winter as well as summer. “Icall it my zero-minute commute,” Nobert says. “I couldbe putting in an hour in the gym; instead, I hop on mybike and appear at home with my workout done.”Being car free, coupled with the fact that bothparents work three days a week, applies welcomecounterbalance in a go-go-go culture, Amores says.“We’ve slowed down because we can’t go fast.”What’s more, they’re saving $25,000 by notbuilding a garage behind their net zero home.The journey to net zero had a detour of its own. Backin 2000, the couple hoped to live an energy-frugal lifein the 1954 raised bungalow we’re sitting in now. After$25,000 in energy efficiency improvements, the homeproved markedly snugger but no more energy efficientthan a standard new house. “And so we realized that, toget as far as we wanted to go, we would have to startfrom scratch,” Nobert says.In 2005, they bought a 100-year-old house twodoors away, thinking they’d rent it out for a decade, thentear it down and build an energy miser. Escalating realestate prices prompted Nobert to dream of speeding upthe timeline, and the dream grew legs when he caughtwind of plans to build a net zero home in Edmontonwith a team involving designer and homebuilder PeterAmerongen of Habitat Studio & Workshop. WhenAmerongen said they already had a lot in Riverdale forthe net zero house, Nobert had a comeback: “Then wewant to be next.”It meant a wait, but that gave Nobert time todeconstruct the old house. He saved Douglas fir andmaple flooring for the new home. He saved windows foruse as cold frames. He knocked out dozens of 2x4s witha sledge hammer, until tendonitis forced him to call ahalt. By July 30, 2008, when the bulldozer came in, thehouse was little more than wood and plaster.Now Net Zero Two is taking shape underAmerongen’s watchful eye. “We’re very much on thesame page,” the homebuilder says. “In fact, if anything,they’re pushing me to go further, probably more thananyone else has ever done. I didn’t think it was possibleto get to net zero on that site without being impractical,but Conrad wouldn’t let go.”Not that there weren’t compromises. Nobert’sdesire to use a composting toilet, for example, fell preyto cost, round-the-clock venting needs and predictionsof an occasional invasion of flies. “We’re prettydedicated,” Amores says. “But flies in the bathroom?”There’s no doubt Nobert and Amores hope theirnet zero home will help spur a massive migration togreen. Nobert has become somewhat of an evangelistfor the cause, giving speeches, submitting to interviewsand tracking the home’s construction on his website,greenedmonton.ca. Beyond building with care, thecouple is determined to use this home in a way thatproves we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.That’s what it will take, they believe, to leave Luc andJacob a world in which life can survive.“Conventional thinking was that natural gas is prettycheap, so it doesn’t make sense to do what we’re doing,”Nobert says. “That thinking is what we’re trying to turnon its head.”Not to outrun an ice age, but to stop global warmingin its tracks.32 techlifemag.ca
8Zero inGET INsIDE ThE hOusEThAT WILL PrODuCEAs MuCh ENErGy AsIT CONsuMEs OvErThE COursE OfA yEAr.3571246910,591 kWh Estimated total amountof energy neededannually for heating, hotwater and appliancesbetWeen8,000 AnD8,500 kWhAmount of energy thesolar electric system willgenerate annually2,500 kWh Amount of energythe solar hot watercollectors will produceannuallyrear view of the millCreek net zero home.DESiGn ByhAbitAt StuDiO &WOrKShOp ltD.illuStration ByDereK lue1 16-inch walls are filledwith cellulose fibreinsulation made fromrecycled newspaper,cutting total heat lossby more than onethirdover conventionalconstruction; six-inchwalls are fitted withbatts of insulationin traditionalconstruction.2 Large south-facingwindows, coupledwith interior concretefloors that absorb heatduring the day andthen release it duringthe evening, provide54 per cent of thehome’s annual heatingrequirements.3 The 6-kW solarelectric system, with 12photovoltaic moduleson the roof and 10 oneach solar awning, willbe one of Edmonton’slargest residentialsystems when fullyinstalled.4 Solar awnings willbe moved seasonallyto orient the solarmodules towards thesun for maximumelectricity productionand to shade thewindows in thesummer.5 Solar hot watercollectors provide90 per cent of thehome’s annual hotwater consumption.The remainder isproduced by electricity.6 Interior wood trim andexposed beams wererecycled from localsources, including thehouse that once stoodwhere this one is beingbuilt.7 A grey water collectionsystem flushes toiletswith shower water.Water-efficientplumbing fixturesand toilets will savethe equivalent of734 bathtubs a yearof water comparedto a new home withfixtures that meetEdmonton’s new waterefficientfixtures bylaw.8 A locally manufacturedlight pipe – a tube thatpipes sunlight intothe room – providesdaylight to thewindowless secondfloorbathroom.9 A selection of the mostefficient appliances,plus the decision tohang-dry clothesinstead of using adryer, will reduceelectricity use by 50per cent over that of atypical new home.v2.2 2009 33
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