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Peter Amerongen of Habitat Studios is a veteran net-zero home builder who says the two game changers enabling these super energy efficient homes are cheap solar PV and cold climate air source heat pumps.
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This is the Riverdale net-zero home in Edmonton, one of 12 that was built as part of the CMHC equilibrium program set up to prove net-zero homes can work. Many of those first net-zero homes were technological marvels, but the idea worked and started a rev
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In seven short years Peter Amerongen’s super energy efficient homes evolved rapidly. This Belgravia net-zero home, built just five years after the first gets half its heat from passive solar energy, has no furnace, no gas hook up and a very simply mechani
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In Peter Amerongen’s second net-zero build, the keep-it-simple maxim was already in play. By maximizing south facing, efficient windows, including plenty of solar photovoltaics and incorporating a heat storing concrete floor this home is much simpler and
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This is the front view of Conrad Nobert’s Mill Creek net-zero home, Peter Amerongen’s second effort. From the front it looks like a regular infill home, the only difference is this home produces as much energy as it uses over the course of year.
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Mike Turner built his net-zero home incorporating solar photo voltaics, passive solar design and a ton of energy efficient systems to minimize energy wastage.
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The Turner home incorporates 8.2 kilowatts of solar photovoltaics (PV) on the home and four more on the garage for a total of 12.2 kilowatts to help his home reach net-zero energy use over the course of a year.
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Mike Turner added four kilowatts of solar photo voltaic modules to his garage, in addition to 8.2 on his home, to help supply all of the net energy required by this home located in North America’s most northerly large city, Edmonton, Alberta.
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Mike Turner on his back porch. The 8.2 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic modules are mostly on the back part of his two-tiered roof, barely visable from the street. The solar modules are very affordable now, which in turn provides predictably priced electri
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Net-zero energy homes, the future of housing
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On the back of this south-facing Belgravia net-zero home in Edmonton, the solar photovoltaic modules produce electricity year-round and shade the windows in the heat of the summer.
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Net-zero home builder veteran, Peter Amerongen says two key things make net-zero possible in 2014: 1) Affordable solar PV modules, and 2) new cold climate air source heat pumps that heat homes by extracting heat from the air, even cold air, and heat the h
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Keep it simple! Les Wold of Effect Homes shows their version of a net-zero home’s mechanical room. It has an electric air source heat pump heating system, an air exchange system that pre-warms the air and on-demand hot water, all powered by electricity ge
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Net-zero in cold climates
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Rule one: conserve as much energy as possible with a well insulated home and energy efficient appliances. This induction stove uses half the energy of a conventional stove top and can boil water in less time than a microwave.
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Les Wold of Effect Homes shows the insulated concrete forms (ICF) used to protect a home’s foundation from heat loss. Saving energy is the first rule of building a net-zero home.
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Insulation is perhaps the most important energy conservation step to take in building a net-zero home. These 16 inch (40.5 cm) walls provide R56 insulation, a big help in reducing the amount of energy you need to heat your net-zero home.
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Mike Turner installed quad pane windows in his net-zero home. At R8 they offer three to four times the insulation of a conventional window. Windows are a double-edged sword – they help harvest passive solar energy, but they also are a key place energy is
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According to Amelie Caron, a high-performance building consultant, passive solar’s secret sauce is a concrete-topped floor that provides a thermal mass to store passive solar energy during the day and slowly release it at night. Using the thermal mass wit
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Mike Turner shows a simple system that captures rain water for use around the yard as a resource and cost saving feature on the home.
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Mike Turner opens the hatch to an air exchange unit used to save energy by preheating incoming fresh air and a the same time ensure there is enough good quality fresh air in home that is so tight it gets only 0.5 to 1 air exchanges per hour. An average Ca
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Air source heat pump electric hot water heater
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The three secrets of Net-zero homes