While it may look rather ordinary, the home that now occupies a former infill lot at 545 William Ave. is anything but.
One of the winning entries in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s (CMHC) EQuilibrium Sustainable Housing Demonstration Initiative competition, Urban Ecology -- the brainchild of the Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corp. (WHRC) -- is a two-storey, semi-detached duplex that's demonstrating it's possible to build a home that's not only environmentally friendly and energy-efficient, but affordable.
"It's (EQuilibrium housing) an initiative that was started by the CMHC," said the WHRC's Stephanie Haight. "Their goal is to develop a home that's highly energy-efficient, has a low environmental impact and provides a healthy place for people to live. We were really excited when we won the proposal to design, build and demonstrate how a sustainable home could be built."
The WHRC's Urban Ecology concept -- funded by partners including the WHHI (Winnipeg Housing & Homelessness Initiative, federal provincial and city), the Sustainable Development Innovations Fund and Winnipeg Foundation (to name a few) -- is now a reality.
Haight added assistance from other Winnipeg-based companies -- Prairie Architects, Wolfrom Engineering, Peter Sampson Architecture, Oakley Homes, JL Hockman Consulting Inc., Milestone Project Management and Clint Gerus Electrical -- was invaluable.
"We had to think of energy consumption and designing the home at the same time. It was a holistic design that everyone contributed to."
Today, the end product of the highly collaborative initiative is an infill lot occupied by a cutting-edge home that's not only filled with eco-friendly technology and sustainable materials, but is within walking distance of key amenities such as shops, transit and parks.
The emphasis was placed squarely on building a home that features a healthy indoor environment, renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, low environmental impact, resource conservation -- all while being affordable, said Haight.
"First of all, this is a very energy-efficient design -- the total energy cost for one year is projected to be about $300. That comes from features like double-sided, 16-inch-thick walls with an R65 rating, an R80 attic, R40 foundation and R20 insulation below the floor slab in the basement," she said. "We also spray foamed under the joists in the basement, too."
The energy-efficient features don't end there -- not by a long shot.
"There are also tri-pane windows on the north face of the home; appliances are energy efficient, and other features light low-flow plumbing fixtures and energy-efficient light bulbs also help keep costs down. We focused on the home's envelope and insulation, and less on photovoltaic panels, to bring costs down, yet gain efficiency."
That said, the home still possesses its fair share of technology; it's just being used more strategically to make the home financially feasible.
"We decreased the solar technology (photovoltaic panels that harvest energy from sunlight), but we still used thermal collectors that contribute to space heating and heating domestic hot water," Haight explained. "There's also a grey water recovery system, where the water is preheated (by solar power) before it goes in to the hot-water tank.
The solar panels (on the roof) are also used for another purpose, she said.
"In-floor heating in the basement (which is of ICF, or insulated concrete form construction) is run from the solar panel. We keep the basement at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius so the heat will rise through the rest of the home. That -- and using large windows throughout the home (particularly in the upper level) for passive heat collection -- will make for a very comfortable interior. There's also a dual HRV system to enhance air quality."
The interior of the home is not only striking, but green -- and healthy. That laudable combination has come through applying a thoughtful collection of finishes, and finishing materials.
"The kitchen counters are a double-side laminate product that reduces off-gassing, as do the low VOC paints we used," she said. "The baseboards are a recycled wood fibre product, and the cabinets are plywood with maple doors. And everybody loves the floors. They're a beautiful hardwood made from diseased elm trees that were re-harvested right here in the city."
Now that the Urban Ecology home is up and running, it's time to see how efficient it will be.
"The CMHC is going to monitor it for a year to chart energy consumption," Haight said. "We're optimistic that it will meet our goals, as it's a very tight home, a well-insulated home filled with all kinds of great energy-saving systems. Our hope is to take what we learn from this home and use some of the concepts to make the infill homes we build in the future that much more energy-efficient, sustainable -- and affordable."
lewys@mts.net
