Environment
Building An Eco-Modern Home
Take a good look because this house at 360 Winnett Avenue is about to be demolished in favor of a new "Eco-Modern" house to be built in its place.
Jeremy Bell and his wife have embarked upon quite a project- to document their experience designing and constructing a brand new home on the lot they have lived in for the last five years. They have set up a blog with the aim of sharing the details involved in choosing to build an eco-friendly home over simply buying something new.
Jeremy says that although it's great to share green design and construction ideas, he hopes that blogging the process will provide a platform to answer all the little questions people have about what he's doing. Daily photos, a calendar, webcam, and open access to project documents (including budgets) will all be a part of the site which is live now but gaining more content as the demolition phase is scheduled for the end of July.
Is it really possible to have absolutely no prior experience in building design or construction and decide to be involved every step of the way? "My experience ends with Holmes on Homes," says Bell. The original plan started with a pretty normal design with an emphasis on more space than the current home. He just had a feeling he could do better with the money they were spending and came around to the idea of quality over quantity. The new design has a reduced size but more features and "less empty space".
Bell emphasizes that a good architect willing to spend the time explaining the pros and cons of the various "eco-friendly" options is essential. Solar panels and water collection units sound like great ideas but are not always the best investment when working with a budget. He's already taking a bit of heat for forgoing some of these more hardcore green ideas and focusing on quality (expensive) insulation, windows, lighting, and otherwise less glamorous design features.
You can take a look at some cardboard model photos.
For potential buyers, the perceived high Toronto house prices can make renovating a more attractive option. And Cedarvale is consistently ranked as one of the Toronto's hottest real estate markets if judged by prices on the rise. A big renovation might not be the best option if your agenda is to flip your home, but if it's somewhere you know you want to be for a long time it gives you real control over your space. The fact that the project is technically considered a renovation- they are rebuilding what was already there- actually qualifies them for more grant money (federal and provincial energy efficiency audit grants) than if they were building on a new lot.
They might be paying more upfront to build the home they want but they see that as a sacrifice worth making. And sacrifice they will- they'll be living with in-laws for the 6-8 months it will take for the new house to go up.
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I'll agree that it doesn't quite fit into the character of the neighbourhood. It's not ugly, it's... different. I quite like it, but it's up to the neighbours/city to decide if they approve of the elevation. (In all honesty, what they appear to be doing can easily be done in a house that fits the style of the 'hood).
Diane, I've looked into buying these old homes and they are actually very inefficient with their energy use. Typically they have almost no insulation around the house... so in the winter you are pretty much heating the outdoors. I would love to tear out all the walls of these houses and lay insulation, upgrade the furnance and a/c, but the problem is that it gets really costly. It's better for the environment and somethings are easier on the pocketbook (ie. new furnace, a/c, tankless waterheater) - but when it comes to the structure of the house... sometimes you have to tear much of it up.
Lastly... I wonder if for all of this work it's even worth it. Buying a house in that neighbourhood probably cost around 400k, house construction probably another 350-400k. So they'd have to sell for about 800k to make it worth it. I'm not so sure they will be able to make that much back in the short term, given current house prices in the neighbourhood...
What is green about this project? For example, is he reusing any of the materials? Is he installing geo thermal? Is he making use of siting to take advantage of the sun? Any solar passive or otherwise?
This is as 'green' as our Mayor. Green with envy for those actually doing it.
I'd love to see any of you guys try and build Eco like your describing on a budget. Maybe you should go research on the costs of geothermal or solar.
The problem is that most of these Eco solutions are still very expensive so its about making due with what fits in budget.
I can't say I can justify the aesthetics of the house as it's far to subjective to make an argument, however I can definitely speak to our eco strategies:
* Energy Star certification
* Compact house footprint that fell below allowable coverage
* ICF foundation
* Closed cell, medium density spray foam insulation
* Low E II insulated, argon-filled windows
* High efficiency furnace + heat pump
* On-demand hot water
* Passive heating & cooling (solar chimney + cross ventilation + window shading)
* Daylighting (clerestory + internal windows)
* Energy Star appliances
* Rainwater collection
* CFL and/or LED lighting
I just wrote a new post that highlights some of the green features we're planning for, and some we've had to abandon. Hopefully it sheds a little more light on the topic.
http://www.360winnett.com/2008/06/27/shades-of-green/
While its great your doing these things the reality is they were leading 'green' 15-20 years ago and these days to reach the level one would expect under this too trendy monicker, you would need to go much, much deeper and invest far more than you obviously are intending.
Consider it the cost of entry but that's reality.
I'm not certain who's advising you, but there are certain things like solar, for example, that given its very low efficiency might be not worthy of investment today, especially if its a fixed application versus a tracker, until the next version of technology is available which will almost double the return from 15% to 30%.
Just a suggestion from one who is also waiting.
It is because of the cost of investing in these upgrades that you need to first determine what will get you the biggest return for your budget and meet your objectives.
It's no different than putting in a new furnace, you need to calculate each room's heat loss and factor in any future additions or changes to size the unit correctly. A salesman can't do this and that's why most homes waste energy heating and cooling with improper equipment. Of course getting the most efficient helps as well.
Jeremy should be developing a plan that he can add to as his budget allows. Perhaps hiring an HVAC engineer who specializes in these items would save him lots down the road.
Geothermal may not be as good right now as you think it is... It may be good in terms of cooling, Enwave's working in a number of buildings downtown, but you're limited by the location of the house. Apparently, this member of the green party doesn't think it offers much promise compared to good old insulation. http://danforthgreens.ca/geothermal-heat-and-insulation/
Cost wise, solar power doesn't make much sense at the moment. I saw a some information posted that if you figure the solar panel's lifespan of 25 years, the amount you are paying for electricity is about 40?/per kilowatt hour. Right now we pay some 5.0?/kWh - 5.9?/kWh. Which makes more sense to use if you are on a budget?
Another website discussing solar panels and their cost - not the one I saw, but something similar... http://firestallion.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-solar-panel-cost-effective.html
the article you tag is really all over the place.
The issue is not one or the other but a combination. you need insulation, preferably continuous spray foam to keep out drafts and keep your conditioned air inside. That means whatever HVAC system doesn't work as hard.
In toronto you can't take advantage of Enwave which is a deep water cooling system for your home. It's only available to commercial buildings in the core. It is a geo system but limited to the cooling side.
What the lady's article doesn't explore is drilling vertically for the ground loop which can be installed in a double driveway. There are advantages in the winter because you are only heating up the difference between the temperature coming in which is a constant 56 degrees up to say 68 degrees. That gets heated via a heat pump but only that small 12 degree difference. And generally these are radiant systems which hold heat longer not forced air. That's where the savings are versus a typical system that heats much wider variances and if it draws air from the outdoors is heating from zero or below. In the summer, the temp coming out of the ground eliminates the need for a typical AC compressor so the savings are quite high.
As I stated earlier, solar is impractical at this point because it is at best 15% efficient.
For this man's project he would be best to insulate the hell out of his place with 2lb. spray foam -ON THE EXTERIOR- to catch all air leaks that Tyvek won't, put in insulate glass with low E, and get a 90+ efficient gas furnace that is 14 seer rated for AC all running on variable speed DC motors.
Is it 'eco' no just more efficient and will be eligible for some government rebates and will lower his consumption greatly.
When I put in these items my costs dropped 30% in gas and hydro.
I think the problem for Jeremy is he's using the 'eco' / 'green' label which is very misleading when all he seems to want is more efficiency. Go for that and lose the vanity. Just a suggestion.
i applaud jeremy for not being afraid to take on the vanity of eco/green and wish more "environmentalists" would learn from those who actually have to sort through the array of alternative investments.
2) I would not mind the footprint. I'm looking for 1,000 sq-ft for a family of 4.
3) passive solar design, NO A/C - they should be banned
4) adapt - make due with less. What's the point of a $30k ground source heat pump if the home only needs $300 in heating a year?
5) solar water heating - with a small (electric) on-demand heater. Don't design for unlimited hot water. Mind you the only nat. gas water heaters (and they are EXPENSIVE!!!) I've seen are more powerful than my furnace. Again - why spend $5k to provide $70 of hot water a year? My family of 4 spends $70/yr for our electric water heater - the nat. gas one was more expensive.
6) Diet. If you want to make a difference; remember that 1/3 of your GHGs are home, 1/3 are transportation and 1/3 are food. Ditch the meat and all of the processed crap. You'll loose weight, gain health and tread lighter on the planet - and it'll cost you LESS without investing in expensive technology.
7) Low-E windows are ok. The minimum should be the TiR; although I'd consider triple glazed on anything but the solar gain (south) side of the home. On the south side it gets mess - insulating shutters on the outside are the best (if you can find such a thing) and they can be insulated on the inside (Passive Solar Home by Kachadorian) but that's got issues too. My calculations for Ontario (it's very cloudy in the winter) show that at best you'll get about 30% of your winter heat from the sun. One can get around that with a wack of evacuated tube solar water collectors - but that's expensive and complex. I think that the solution would be to just make due with cooler home temperatures in the winter. http://fourMileIsland.com is a neat home
8) Build a cold cellar and ditch the freezer and/or fridge.
9) Read Better Off by Eric Brende and consider why you "need" what you want.
10) Why are you thinking of greywater? Why do you need toilets? Why not just compost the humanure? Read the Humanure Handbook. Greywater would be relatively easy to do - but it would require a pump and tank. If you conserve you'll be pressed to get enough water to flush your toilets; even if you get dual-flush toilets. But it's better to just stop polluting drinking water with human manure.
For comparison - my family lives in a stock 1991 home and it costs $350/yr in natural gas for heating (+$200 for the yearly connection fee) and around $70/yr for electric water heating (19 gallon super insulated tank), and about $25/mo in electricity.
One has to have windows - and they should be optimized for solar gain in winter.