It’s official! Homesol Building Solutions now has Energy Advisors who specialize in servicing and assessing Multi-Unit Residential Buildings or MURBs as they are also known. There are many rebates available in the Canada Greener Homes Grant exclusively for MURBs, and MURBs can receive up to $20,000 under the program. Contact Homesol Building Solutions today to get started!
Kingston homeowners are now eligible for a zero-interest loan for home energy efficiency improvements.
Better Homes Kingston is a local improvement charge (LIC) financing program to encourage homeowners to undertake deep-energy retrofits. Homeowners who participate in the program will qualify for up to $40,000 loans at 0 per cent interest, with the option for an initial 30 per cent upfront to pre-pay contractors for your services. This project is carried out with assistance from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund, an endowment created by the Government of Canada.
Homesol Building Solutions is raising money for the Canadian Red Cross’s disaster relief program.
The strength of the Canadian Red Cross is our dedicated volunteers and donors. Help us build stronger communities at home and abroad.
From situations ranging from house fires that affect one family, to wildfires and hurricanes which can disrupt entire regions, The Canadian Red Cross is there every step of the way, providing communities with tools and skilled responders preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters.
Beyond disaster relief, the Canadian Red Cross also provides other essential services to those who need it most. Whether it’s teaching students about violence and bullying prevention, or providing essential health services to an elderly patient so they can live more independently, or delivering water safety and first aid courses to help build safer communities, no organization is better equipped to serve the most vulnerable people in our communities than the Red Cross.
Homesol Building Solutions now has Energy Advisors in Alberta! Alberta is the latest province Homesol has expanded to, and our Energy Advisors will cover the areas of Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, and everywhere in between!
Starting in Ottawa in 1999, since then we have expanded to cover all of Ontario, then New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and now Alberta! As the demand for Energy Advisors surges across the country, Homesol continues to expand across our great nation!
If you are interested in having an Energy Assessment completed for your home to make energy-efficient and environmental upgrades, book an audit with us today!
Homesol Building Solutions is now on Instagram! Follow us for weekly updates from our Energy Advisors across Canada as we provide Energy Evaluations to new construction and existing homes. We can’t wait to see you there!
The follow-up for a Mid-Construction Air-Test is a Final Home Evaluation. The team from Homesol Building Solutions provides a final inspection of a newly built or renovated house to assure all of the mechanical systems are in place for the energy certificate or label.
At final inspection or evaluation, we come to the house close to when the house is completed and we do an air-tightness test. It’s one of the things that we do for all about Energy Star and Net-Zero R2000 homes. And the process would be that we would take photo documentation of the exterior of the house and elevation so someone can compare to the plans and to the energy model that the house is what it is and also to document the mechanical systems and anything else that is visually available for us to document at this stage.
And then all that gets put into the file and then it gets cross-checked with what is put into the energy model and what the specs are. And if anything differs in a substantial degree than we can count as a deficiency and work with the builder to offset any that may be present.
So another part of the process of the final evaluation set up to blower door at the front door or any of the exterior doors, make sure that all the windows and doors to the exterior are closed. Make sure all the interior doors are open so that there’s good flow throughout the house and then run the air test to check for additional holes and leaks.
So even though a project has had a passing, mid-construction, air-test a final test is still required because many things can happen between that mid-construction air test and the final holes can be put into the air barrier that gets covered up and represents an air leak. So that’s why it’s good quality assurance for the final air test to confirm the actual air tightness of the house.
If you are interested in a Final Home evaluation for your houses or construction projects, get started with Homesol Building Solutions today!
Recently, our Ontario Manager, Stephen Magneron was featured on the This Must Be The Place: The Building Science Podcast by Shawna Henderson. Shawna and Stephen spoke at great lengths about the current challenges the industry faces and what we need to do to overcome those challenges to be environmentally friendly and more energy efficient. Listen for free on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Homesol Building Solutions offers mid-construction air-tightness tests to builders looking to make more energy-efficient homes. Our mid-construction air-tests show builders where the air leaks are in their builds, so they can be properly sealed before the work covers them up leading to less energy waste.
The first requirement in conducting a mid-construction air-test, the house needs to be prepared. For a house to be prepared, the air barrier needs to be complete. Whatever the primary air barrier is, there could be multiple air barriers, but as long as one is complete, then we can come in to do a mid-construction test that will include the windows and doors needing to be installed prior to our test.
The mid-construction air-test is a great marker to make sure that the air barrier is as complete as possible at that point so that they can continue on in the process of construction, knowing that they’re already achieving the air tightness target. And if they happen to not be, then we can go around looking for air leaks before they get covered up.
So the process that happens with the mid-construction air-test is that we come in and we have to have power, that’s a big one, which is not always the case in the during construction, in which case sometimes they’ll bring over a portable generator. But as long as we have power, then we can run our fan and run our laptops. Then we set up the blower door. We make sure that all the windows and doors are closed. We spot check for other areas where the air barrier may not be complete, and then we run the test.
And when we finish the test, we can get a result to see if we need to look around for air leaks. And when we look around for air leaks at this time, the best method is to feel with our hands and use special infrared cameras in typical areas where we find air leaks, and then inform the builder on where they are so they can be sealed before construction can continue.
Interested in a mid-construction air-tightness test for your construction operation? Contact Homesol Building Solutions to get started!
As the demand for Registered Energy Advisors across Canada increases to build better and more energy-efficient homes & buildings, Homesol Building Solutions continues to grow across Canada. We now have Energy Advisors in the Greater Toronto Area, Sudbury Ontario, and North Bay Ontario. Contact Homesol Building Solutions today to book an Energy Assessment for your home to see if you qualify for home energy upgrades.
Over the last 3+ years, I have had the good fortune of being a Registered Energy Advisor (REA) with Homesol Building Solutions Inc.
Starting this new career was not the easiest transition for me, but it has yielded tremendous opportunities. My previous career as a Certified Carpenter provided a lot of transferable skills to assist in the EnerGuide Rating System (ERS) on-site residential home energy evaluations. It was the computer modelling and report writing, aka desk work, that challenged me. After finding a new balance and realizing the potential flexibility in my work and personal schedule, I found a great appreciation for my new position as an REA.
Attaining your Natural Resources Canada licence to become an REA can be just the beginning. Beyond the Federal Greener Homes Grant Initiative there are opportunities to pursue continuing education as a Multi-unit Residential Building (MURB) Energy Advisor; Quality Assurance Specialist in both Residential and MURB’s; EnergyStar, NetZero, LEED, and Passive House Third Party Verifier; and Building Science Consultant on both existing and new residential home construction.
Homesol Building Solutions Inc. has conducted itself as a group of professional Energy Conservation Consultants since 1999. Founded in Perth, Ontario, we now serve Canadians from coast to coast!
Homesol’s Energy Advisors and green building consultants work with builders, renovators, designers and homeowners in Ontario, Atlantic Canada and throughout North America, to deliver energy-efficient green building solutions for residential new construction or retrofit projects, from energy modelling, thermography and “blower door” air leakage testing, to ENERGY STAR Certified homes and third-party verified EnerGuide Ratings, and high-performance R-2000, Net Zero, Passive House and beyond.
Residential buildings, done right, can easily enjoy fresh, clean air and comfortable temperatures year-round, with a substantial reduction in energy use over standard construction, while addressing water use, indoor air quality and environmentally-preferable materials.
