First Passive House Under Construction in Revelstoke B.C.

Published on January 18, 2019

A 7,500 square foot Passive House is currently under construction in Revelstoke B.C., and is set to become one of the first Passive Houses in Western Canada.

The building is being constructed by Tree Construction, and when completed it will house the Tantrum Ride Company, the Selkirk Law Corporation, and more tenants in the future.

Selim Sabbagh and Michelle Bowlen, the owners of the building under construction, decided to construct a Passive House instead of a traditionally built building for the purpose of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and improving the quality of their interior air  - even over their current home which was built to very high standard of energy efficiency.

This is because a Passive House is built to the highest standards for emissions and energy efficiency; meaning it must: be exceptionally airtight, only consume a very small amount of energy for heating and cooling, and draw only minor amounts of power from the grid overall.

Bowlen had even noticed a significant difference in air quality when she first moved into her highly-efficient current home, declaring that her respiratory problems experienced a positive change over time.

The new Passive House should be yet another step up in interior air quality for Bowlen, as it is built to even higher standards than her current home.  

The provincial government of B.C. is looking to make Passive Houses the standard for home building construction by 2032, but there are a few financial obstacles that may stand in the way.

Dan Gellein, Manager of Building Services for Revelstoke, has said that more green building practices are not far off in the future, but that there is an issue of higher construction costs holding back many families from building a highly efficient home, such as a Passive House.

For this reason, Gellein is in support of the government offering incentives for families who build to higher levels of energy efficiency, which would hopefully help to jumpstart energy efficiency home construction in B.C.

Bowlen is also in support of government incentives for the promotion of energy efficient buildings, saying that the government could offer tax breaks, incentives for parking, or other financial incentives for those who lower their greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption through new building construction.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Home

Improvements to energy efficiency can be made in any home - old or new. The older your home is, the more likely it is to suffer from poor airtightness, lower levels of insulation, and a high rate of energy consumption. By arming yourself with the tools and information necessary, you can take control of your home’s energy efficiency, working to reduce your home’s greenhouse gas emissions and utility bills in the process.

By having a Registered Energy Advisor conduct a Home Energy Assessment, you can see how every aspect of your home affects its overall level of energy efficiency, along with how it could be improved in the most effective and affordable manner. This allows you to make an informed decision regarding energy efficiency improvements, and the assessment even lays out projected energy and utility bill savings for each individual improvement you may wish to consider.

Up to $5,000 of home renovation rebates are also available for Ontario homeowners who are customers of either Union Gas or Enbridge - having a Home Energy Assessment done can help your home qualify.