Students contribute to efficient home (Ottawa Citizen)

Two dozen guests, members of the building industry, government and education partners gathered in the dining and living room of home builder Urbandale Construction’s new two-storey demonstration home to announce the 2012 version of the R-2000 standard.

The updated program, a partnership effort by Natural Resources Canada and the home-building industry, and backed by the federal government, will make R-2000 homes twice as energy-efficient as they were when the standard’s program was last updated in 2005.

Urbandale’s involvement came about in part because of general manager Matthew Sachs’ long-standing interest in energy-efficient building techniques and technology. Since 2007, the company has been building to R-2000 standards.

Sachs said the intention in the design process of the demonstration home was to build a high-performance house that felt like a home, “not a science project.”

A member of Natural Resources Canada’s R-2000 committee, Sachs struck up a friendship with Carleton University professor Ian Beausoleil-Morrison while considering pursing a graduate degree in energy efficiency.

That friendship led to Beausoleil-Morrison collaborating with Urbandale and his fourth-year engineering students to dream up as many innovative ideas as possible for the demonstration home.

“For the past couple of years, I’ve been giving the mechanical engineering students Urbandale’s floor plans and specifications, and challenging them to redesign our homes in costeffective ways to save energy,” said Sachs.

“Many of the concepts used in this house actually came about through brainstorming sessions and discussions with the students

The students will continue to monitor the performance of this house to make sure it matches our expectations.”

“From the outside, the fourbedroom brick home looks just like others in the neighbourhood.

Even looking at the finishes inside, there’s only a hint of the green features, like the bamboo cabinets, quartz countertops and triple-glazed windows.

Everything that makes this home cost $25,000 to $35,000 more than counterparts built to the Ontario Building Code is either in the walls – with its tighter building envelope and plastic vapour barriers – or the basement, where you’ll find the geothermal heat pump, instantaneous water heater, drain-water heat recovery and mechanical ventilation system.

The result is a noticeably quieter home with even temperatures and better indoor air quality. It conserves wood, water and energy.

R-2000 was launched in 1982. Since then, more than 14,000 homes have been certified by the government.