Net Zero Energy Homes pilot program goals

The goal of the R-2000 Net Zero Energy homes pilot program in Canadawas to improve the performance standards of homes, and to raise awareness of energy-efficient green home building techniques among builders.

Through participating in this pilot project, every builder became licensed as, or was re-licensed as, an R-2000 certified builder. Several different archetypes were built, ranging from detached single-family homes, 4 different town homes and a six-plex multi-unit residential building as well.

To keep the attention of the green building community, ThisNet Zero Energy home constructionprogram focused on off-the-shelf technologies to ensure that it did not rush the home building industry into high-performance building techniques that were beyond their experience range or comfort levels.

A little push of the envelope is a great thing to keep people engaged, but if this program went too far into the off-grid home construction arena it could be viewed as somefringe building technique like the Earthship让建筑商和房主离开。房屋建设的任何新进展都必须是可扩展的,而且不能偏离建筑商熟悉的当前规范太远太快。

What are Net Zero Energy Homes?

简而言之,“净零能源住宅”是指生产和消耗同样多的能源。It starts with an energy efficient building envelope,high-quality windows,high-efficiency heating and ventilation systemsto keep the overall consumption of the home as low as possible, and thenrenewable energy sources like roof top solar panelsmust provide enough power to operate the home. Read more about the Net Zero Home Pilot program beginnings, and here we will cover the results.

ZNE Zero Net energy / Net Zero Homes results Canada Pilot
ZNE Zero Net energy / Net Zero Homes built for the Canada Zero Energy Pilot Project

Net Zero Energy Homes pilot program results

Under the pilot program, 23 individual Net Zero Energy Houses were built by six different builders (two from the RFP and four under the ecoEII project): Construction Voyer, Habitat Studio & Workshop Ltd.,Mattamy Homes, Minto Communities Canada, Reid’s Heritage Homes, and Sloot Construction Ltd.

Through the Pilot, all of these builders became new (or were re-licensed as) R-2000 builders. The Pilot also gave the opportunity to build a range of different archetypes, including detached (single family) dwellings, four townhomes and a six-plex multi-unit residential building.

Throughout this Pilot there were a number of homes that weren't approved because they either: didn't meet the labelling deadline, they did not install the necessary PV solar panels for providing their own power, or they included technologies that weren't improved within the program. However, even homes that weren't approved for the pilot provided helpful insight for fine tuning the program in the future.

Ecohome would like to extend congratulations to the six builders that successfully achieved Net Zero Energy Performance under the R-2000 Net Zero Energy Pilot!

That covers theResults of theNet Zero Energy Pilot.Read here about theLaunch of the Net Zero Energy Pilot, and for more information onGreen Home Rating Systemssuch asPassive HouseorLEED, or toLearn What Questions you Should Ask a Solar Panel Contractor, you can find all you needin theEcohome Green Building Guide PagesatEcohome.net,and if you don't find what you are looking for,ask a pro a question in our discussion forum.