Building a Sustainable Home in Canada

Building an environmentally friendly house in Canada involves using sustainable materials, energy-efficient designs, and renewable energy sources while minimizing waste and carbon emissions. Here are the most eco-friendly strategies:

1. Energy Efficient Design

The design of your house has massive implications on the energy efficiency of the building as well as the comfort of the homeowner. Thoughtful design, well-considered insulation, high-performing details and site specific considerations will impact the use of the home for decades to come. Use of south-facing windows to bring sunshine into the home in the winter and overhangs to shade those windows in the summer is the most basic design consideration that can have a massive impact on energy efficiency. See our other posts about high-performing building details for more information on ways to design an efficient home.

2. Use of Sustainable Materials

The most important first step in building an environmentally friendly house is to use sustainable materials. There are thousands of building materials used in Ontario, and just as many building techniques. Every scenario offers unique opportunities to use the most suitable materials for that location and project. Every material and technique comes with its own set of pros and cons.

3. Home Design Programs

Home design programs are often used and referenced in high-end sustainable builds as an achievement of the builder, designer, and home-owner. These programs often use a points system to make sure enough criteria are achieved to be able to be accredited or certified. There are many programs out there with but the following are some common examples:

• LEED

  • LEED-certified homes are designed to provide clean indoor air and ample natural light and to use safe building materials to ensure our comfort and good health. Some of the credits can help reduce energy and water consumption, lower utility bills each month, and create healthy living spaces for the resident and the community.

• Passive House:

  • Passive House is a building standard and certification program focused on ultra-energy efficiency, reducing the need for active heating and cooling systems by maximizing insulation, ventilation, and airtightness. Whether seeking certification or not, passive house standards are a fantastic guideline for designing an extremely energy efficient home.

• Net-Zero or Carbon-Neutral Home:

  • A net-zero home produces as much energy as it consumes, often through solar panels, wind turbines, or geothermal systems. When done well, these home can be very environmentally friendly, comfortable, and drastically reduce operating costs for the future of the home.

    
    

5. Building Construction Technology:

• Geothermal Heating and Cooling

  • Geothermal systems use the earth’s stable underground temperature to provide heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.

• Green Roof or Living Roof

  • A green roof consists of vegetation planted on top of the building, helping with insulation and reducing heat island effects in urban areas. They can improve air quality, support biodiversity, and reduce stormwater runoff.

• Solar Power

  • Installing solar panels on the roof or nearby can supply a significant portion of a home's electricity needs. Using solar energy can significantly reduce reliance on grid electricity, especially when combined with energy-efficient design.

• Natural & Recycled Insulation Materials

  • There are thousands of natural and recycled insulation materials including local stone, hempcrete, cellulose insulation (typically used in attics), wool insulation, wood products including framing members, flooring, interior & exterior wall finishes, and even insulation, and countless other options. Every material has pros & cons, risks & benefits, and an experienced designer will be able to navigate the properties and characteristics of different materials to best apply them to each project. Sourcing from local suppliers and manufacturers also greatly reduces the environmental impact of transportation.

• High-Efficiency Windows & Doors

  • Windows are specifically designed for different climates. Windows for colder climates will allow more solar heat to pass through the glass reducing the need for heating appliances in the winter but allowing more heat in the summer as well. A good quality window will most importantly provide an extremely airtight seal, and the U-value of the window must be chosen specifically for the location the window is installed in.

There are many contributing factors that go into designing an efficient or environmentally friendly home in Canada. Contact us to discuss the priorities for your home and the benefits and considerations for each and every material and detail that can bring your goals to reality.