Net Zero Training by Homesol

Net Zero Training by Homesol on April 25 in Curran

by with No Comment AllGeneral Education

Improving the energy efficiency of existing homes is crucial to reaching Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions goals. There are over 14 million existing homes in Canada, all of which need to achieve Net Zero ready performance by 2050. Through the Canadian Homes Builder’s Association (CHBA) Net Zero Home Labelling program and their Towards Net Zero Reno Initiative, we will be advancing proven technologies and approaches to pursue net zero levels of performance in the most cost-effective ways possible, a key to making it possible for more Canadians to not only increase the comfort in their home, but also reduce their energy consumption and GHG emissions.

With support from Natural Resources Canada, the CHBA Towards Net Zero Reno Initiative is working with select Municipalities that have programs supporting deep energy retrofits to give direction to their constituents on viable pathways to upgrade existing homes to Net Zero or Net Zero Ready. The scope of this project is to support the industry in delivering 100-150 Net Zero Renovations across Canada, representing a variety of climate zones and geographical areas and to build capacity through providing Net Zero training for Renovators, Builders, Energy Advisors, relevant contractors, and municipalities, and to develop tools and processes that will allow for a scalable and cost-effective house-as-a-system approach to improving homes through the CHBA Net Zero Home Labelling Program.

Homesol Building Solutions is a Net Zero Qualified Service Organization with Net Zero Qualified Energy Advisors and Trainers. We are one of the leaders in the industry providing Net Zero training to home builders, renovators, and contractors, and have helped over 150 projects achieve Net Zero labels.

The next training session is the Advanced Building Science course (a prerequisite for the Net Zero Builder course) in Curran Ontario, 896 Elizabeth St, K0B 1C0, on the 25th of April 2023 from 8 am to 4 pm. The cost will be $400 + tax.

Contact Mark from our Ontario division to get your tickets: [email protected]

watercolor westport

Homesol at Watercolour Westport

by with No Comment AllAnnouncements

Watercolour Westport

Over the Labour Day Weekend in 2021, the Homesol Building Solutions team was at the grand unveiling of Canada’s first Net-Zero community in Westport, Ontario. The community is called Watercolour Westport being built by Landark Homes. We have been working closely with Landark since even before ground broke on this first-of-its-kind community in Canada.

Homesol’s Contribution

Homesol is Landark’s net-zero energy advisor. We’ve been helping Landark since the inception of this community. We’ve been consulting with them on the performance aspects and the building science aspects of designing the house from insulation levels to airtightness details to mechanical specs.

We also performed the airtightness testing of the homes, and we do that in a couple of stages. We do that first at mid-construction, and when the house is being built and the air barriers complete. We’ll come in and do an air test just to make sure that the airtightness target is being met before it gets covered up. If it’s not being met, then we help find the leaks and suggest ways of sealing them.

Then we come back in at the final stage to do the final inspection to verify that all the mechanicals that were supposed to be installed are installed. And then we do another final air test. And that’s what we put into the energy model for the label.

RND Farmside

RND Construction’s Farmside Green Development

by with No Comment AllGeneral Education

Carlington, Ontario

Right near the Experimental Farm in Carlington, is Ottawa’s first Net-Zero home development project by RND Construction. In this new development, nine homes were built (3 singles, 6 semis) above and beyond the code for homes in Canada, making them extremely energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and Net-Zero ready. The addition of solar panels will make them true Net-Zero.

Environmentally Friendly

Not only are these homes built far more efficiently than traditional homes, but they were also constructed with the environmental impact in mind. Before these homes were built, nothing sat here but an empty lot, when construction began only a handful of dead trees were cut down for the homes to be built, the rest were saved and maintained, providing some very nice shading for these new homes in the front and backyards.

The grand opening of this development was joined by Mayor Jim Watson speaking about how this kind of development will not be the last, and that there are several more on the way in Ottawa, and that the need for solar and Net-Zero homes in Ottawa is more important now more than ever.

Homesol was RND’s Net-Zero Energy Advisors for this project. Homesol consulted RND throughout the construction process making sure that efficiency targets were being met for the labels and certifications.

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