Calgary Passive House Wins Award for Energy Efficiency

Published on March 06, 2019

A highly energy efficient Passive House in Calgary was recently recognized by the Canada Green Building Council Alberta Chapter with the Inspiring Home Award.

To qualify for this prestigious award, a residential home must demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and high levels of energy efficiency, in addition to improving and inspiring its surrounding community.

The Calgary home, the Symons Gate Passive Haus, is unique in that it is able to maintain a comfortable interior temperature without the use of a furnace.

To achieve this, the home has been built with a multitude of strategies for improving energy efficiency, including natural heat from the sun, an extremely well insulated and airtight building envelope, and rooftop solar panels.

Since the home is also certified as a Passive House, it has passed a series of strict global regulations for energy efficiency, meaning that it is able to fully and comfortably operate with very little energy consumption.

The Symons Gate Passive Haus is at least 90 percent more energy efficient than a typical home built to current building code, and is helping builders understand what building to future energy efficiency standards will be like.

By 2030, Canada’s National Energy Code is looking for newly homes to be at least 80 percent more energy efficient than the standard home built today.

Doug Owens of Brookfields Residential, the developer of the Symons Gate Passive Haus, has said that the project has already spawned more interest than they had expected.

Dean Guidolin, design manager for Brookfields Residential, has said that they had set out to prove that an energy efficient home that meets the possible 2030 energy standards could also be comfortable and luxurious.

He added that the Inspiring Home Award is completely in line with their projects original vision, and what it stands for.

Energy Efficiency Improvements Mean Lower Utility Bills

Quite often, the average home in Ontario could see significant energy efficiency improvements through a few simple and affordable modifications or retrofits. With a Home Energy Assessment, our Registered Energy Advisors are able to provide you with a complete look at your home’s level of energy efficiency, and supply you with a list of suggestions for how it could be most cost-effectively improved.

By improving your home’s energy efficiency, you are not only making your home more environmentally friendly, but you are also helping to improve your home’s level of interior comfort, air quality, and market value - all while saving money from lower utility bills.

A Home Energy Assessment can also help your home qualify for up to $5,000 of home renovation rebates that both Enbridge Gas and Union Gas are currently offering their customers. Our advisors are happy to help you make sense of your available rebates, and guide you towards the home improvements that will make the biggest energy efficiency improvements for the lowest upfront cost.

Take the first step towards controlling your home’s utility bills and energy consumption by calling us for a free phone consultation, or by scheduling a time for a Home Energy Assessment.