As more and more people look for greener solutions, homes in Edmonton are being transformed to become more energy-efficient. The houses may look brand new, but in some cases, they are more than 50 years old with only a step away from becoming net zero.
Three families in Edmonton took part in the Retrofit Canada Pilot project. Including the Hoffman’s.
They are all about living green, their house is currently fit with solar panels and are now taking it to the next level.
“Just with modern technology we have now, this is the time to do this,” said Sean Hoffman.
The Hoffmans decided to deep retrofit their home. This means they gave it a facelift, replacing the house’s original exterior with new panels to keep the heat in, and the cold out all while reducing energy use.
“It being a pilot project, it was a learning experience for all parties but the end product is wonderful and we have an extremely efficient comfortable home,” Sean said. “Instantly the day they put the insulation and the panels on the house, it was quieter. Within an hour the whole house was almost the same temperature. There’s no more cold spots, hot spots.”
The idea for the homes involved with the Retrofit project was sparked by a technique used by EnergieSprong. Which is a method developed in the Netherlands and widely adopted by European builders for retrofitting row housing. Now it’s made its way to Alberta.
“Edmonton’s always been a hotspot for net zero housing. It’s a really great place to see how this business is growing with some of the first net zero homes in Canada built here,” said Jesse Tufts, mechanical engineer with ReNü Engineering Inc.
Tufts also made his home net zero and retrofitted the exteriors, the upgrades made an immediate difference.
“We had sheets that would freeze to the wall when it got below -20°C, so there’s a really big comfort benefit,” said Tufts.
Retrofit Canada says around 1/3 of greenhouse gases come from existing buildings and 70 per cent of these buildings will still be standing by 2050. Tufts believes it’s best to take proactive efforts now.
“There are ways to reduce greenhouse gases while still using natural gas, but the only way to eliminate it entirely is to electrify,” Tufts said.
What makes this unique is the three homes are all more than 50 years old and the changes only took a few months.
The retrofit isn’t cheap, but money will be saved in the long run. The three homes drastically cut their energy use by more than 100 gigajoules a year.
“It depends on your overall energy usage, but you can easily cut 50 per cent of your energy bill by doing a deep retrofit. Once you add solar then you can basically cut all of the energy bill,” Tufts said. “If you have a large home that has very high energy bills, there’s obviously a lot higher percentage of savings. If you’ve got a modest house with $1000 a year of gas and electricity then your savings are at a maximum.”
Melanie Hoffman says after the upgrades their bills are more manageable. She says heat pumps are also a big part of the changes. After the retrofit, their family can heat and cool their home electrically. They’ve also been able to install new air filters.
“We know that when we have smoky days we can filter our air. We’re not having a bunch of air exchange through the leaky envelope of a regular house, but that air is coming in through a place where we can filter it. It’s also just having that peace of mind,” said Melanie.
It’s also one step closer to their family goal of net zero.
“Setting an example in our local community, just like this is possible, we can do this,” Sean said.
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