Improving your home is about more than making it look beautiful; it’s about creating an environment that’s comfortable and healthy — and a side benefit is that it will also be more energy efficient.
An expert panel moderated by All Things Home and that included the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), three top Ottawa renovators and home energy consultant Homesol Building Solutions shared why and how to make your home a comfortable haven in this panel talk that was presented at the Ottawa Home & Garden Show in March.
Who are the panel members?
Panelists
Lynne Strickland: Lynne is the director of Net Zero Initiatives at the CHBA and project lead for the Towards Cost Effective Net Zero Energy Ready Residential Renovations program, which is funded by Natural Resources Canada.
Stephen Magneron: Stephen has been with environmental consultant Homesol Building Solutions for more than 14 years. He is a master energy adviser for several programs, including EnerGuide, Energy Star, R-2000 and CHBA’s Net Zero Home Labelling Program.
Roy Nandram: Roy is the owner of RND Construction, which he founded in 1990. RND is a multi-award-winning green builder/renovator and a leader in net zero sustainable homes in Ottawa.
Casey Grey: Casey is the founder of the award-winning sustainable building/renovation company The Conscious Builder, host of The Conscious Builder Podcast and The Conscious Builder Show on YouTube and founder of The Conscious Builder Academy, an online course hub for future-focused builders who want to create better businesses.
Jacob Kirst: Jacob is the president of Lagois Design·Build·Renovate, a multi-award-winning renovation and custom home builder that has been dedicated to creating thoughtfully designed, high-quality homes for more than 40 years.
Moderator: Anita Murray, president of All Things Home. Anita is a veteran journalist and the former Homes Editor at the Ottawa Citizen. She has covered the housing industry since 2011.
(This is an edited transcript of the panel discussion.)
ATH: We have an immensely experienced panel here to talk about how to properly plan and renovate for a comfortable and healthy home. Doing so will also get you a home that’s very energy efficient, which saves you money. The panellists have all been involved in an initiative called Towards Cost Effective Net Zero Energy Ready Residential Renovations that the CHBA is leading. So, Lynne, can you start by telling us a bit about that, including just what net zero is?
Lynne: Towards Net Zero Renovations is a project that was funded three years ago by Natural Resources Canada to track deep energy retrofits to determine how we renovate our existing housing stock to reduce energy consumption and yet still provide affordable but high-performing homes for Canadians. When we talk about a deep energy retrofit, one of the descriptions of that is can you cut your energy consumption in half.
When we start talking about net zero, that’s a concept that focuses on energy generation offsetting what you use. Over the course of a year, a house that has solar panels, for example, can it generate as much energy as is needed for what the house uses?
This panel is made up of CHBA-qualified net zero professionals and the CHBA’s net zero label was built by renovators, builders and energy advisers because they understood that we had to look at more than just energy; these are things that had to provide better homes for Canadians. We’re looking at all types of residential housing stock and seeing what is the pathway that works best for those different types of houses.
What homeowners want — yes, they love to renovate for reduced energy and have those savings — but the priorities were the lived experience. Is the house comfortable? How is the indoor air quality? During wildfire season, can I go in my home and be protected from smoke? If the power goes out, will my house lose all its energy overnight or will it be comfortable for a few days until the power comes back on?
There’s a difference between trying to accomplish something in new construction and taking an existing home that might be 40 years old and trying to achieve the same results. What our professionals have found is that we can provide the same quality in an existing home as we can for our new construction.
It’s all about the process. It’s about the integrated design, it’s about getting the right people to give you the right answers at the right time.
ATH: What does it mean to have a home that is healthy and comfortable? What does that look and feel like?
Casey: It’s hard to describe. When you walk into a home that’s built to a net zero standard, you feel it — no wind whistling through a leaky window or door on a very windy day: it’s so quiet inside. People think of thermal comfort, but that’s also sound. If you have a net zero renovation in a home with a busy road right beside you and your windows are closed, you can’t hear the trucks driving by. That adds to the comfort as well.
Health is another thing. Who leaves their home for two weeks and comes home and they’re like, ‘Does my house actually smell like that?’ We get rid of that, too. We put in the right HVAC system and think of the home as a whole system.
ATH: Stephen, as an energy adviser, what is your role in creating a home that’s healthy and comfortable?
Stephen: My role is partly air tightness testing. We also do energy modelling. And we provide the data and the analytics to help our project team figure out how to move forward. The project team could be everyone on this panel and the homeowner and other sub-trades. The more that we get as part of the team up front, the better we can develop a path forward. That’s kind of the integrated design process.
The air tightness is critical. The fewer air leaks you have, the more comfortable you’ll be all year round, the more durable your house will be.
ATH: If you’ve never had one of these tests done or an energy audit, they are eye-opening just in terms of what you can find out that is wrong with your home and how you can see it needs to be tackled to get it fixed.
Roy, although you are known as a champion of building or renovating homes for sustainability, often your clients do not come to you with the express purpose of a net zero renovation, rather they’re interested in a renovation that maybe has a net zero component. Can you speak to how that’s a small part of everything that you do in a renovation?
Roy: Before I answer that question, I want to express why we are doing this. I want to make sure that the group understands that by reducing energy, we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time lowering operational carbon. And with all this, you’re going to enjoy all the benefits that these guys already spoke about — comfort, improving indoor air quality.
To answer the question, a client generally asks for a general home renovation and we will lead them towards net zero renovations. We start by explaining how to deal with the building envelope — windows, exterior walls, air leakage and so forth.
Most of the time, after we have improved the envelope, we need to install a smaller HVAC system because the system that’s there is probably too big because we reduced the energy use drastically.
I have to encourage homeowners on all these pieces like windows and insulation and so forth while we’re giving them a beautiful kitchen, bathroom, flooring. So, it’s a difficult thing to sell and you have to work at it piece by piece.
That’s why it’s called towards net zero renovations. A homeowner could do part of the work this year, part of the work next year, until they complete enough to make the house net zero ready, and then they could install solar panels that will generate as much energy as the home uses to end up having a fully net zero home.
ATH: It’s important for homeowners to have a road map for the renovation, to be able to do things in an order that makes sense and is the most cost effective. Can you speak to how renovating towards net zero factors into this idea?
Jacob: It starts with a conversation about understanding what a homeowner’s short-, medium- and long-term goals are, and then educating them on incidentals associated with that scope of work.
An example is renovating their kitchen. We’re going to be removing all the existing cabinetry and finishes out of that space. Maybe it’s not in the cards to renovate the entire home and go for a net zero standard, but what are the things we can do to set homeowners up for success in the future? So, let’s tackle things like insulation and vapour barrier in the walls while we’re removing cabinets. That way, once that new kitchen space is complete, we don’t have to worry about that again.
Roy: When you’re choosing appliances, there’s the opportunity to use energy-efficient appliances like Energy Star-certified, which also helps reduce your energy consumption.
Lynne: When we talk about the road map, it’s about starting off with a fully complete puzzle and how you put that puzzle together. Without that plan, you could be putting puzzle pieces together that are from completely different puzzle sets and they don’t end up giving you the picture of the home that you wanted because you didn’t have that overall vision.
ATH: What about the cost? Doesn’t renovating to achieve something like net zero add a lot to the budget?
Casey: We’ve had a lot of conversations about this recently. A big part of renovating, just like buying a house or going on vacation, is you need to know what you have available to spend, because I’ve never had a set of plans come to me already done and a budget aligned. The plans are always way more expensive because they didn’t bring in the team to help them design within the budget.
Chances are, you’ll have to do a phased approach, but you want to make sure that you do things in the right order. You have to bring your team together right from the start.
Lynne: One of the things that is essential in cost-effectiveness is looking at the work that already has to be done — what would I have to replace anyway — and matching that up with that timing.
Jacob: It’s really important for us to understand what makes sense to invest in from our client’s perspective so we can best advise them in terms of where the value is going to be to align with their goals.
Stephen: There’s a term that we use a lot called ‘sunk costs.’ So, if you end up doing something just because you’ve been thinking about it, but you haven’t taken that long-term approach, it will be a missed opportunity to do something better.
Until you’ve got the road map, it’s probably better that you don’t do anything unless you actually have to do something — like replacing your heating system in the middle of winter because it has shut down. But if you’ve planned it beforehand, you already have a road map and when that happens, you can replace it with appropriate equipment that’s part of your strategy moving forward.
Roy: It’s very difficult to attribute the cost for net zero when you’re doing a renovation because you are going to be renovating anyway. If you have to change the windows, the cost to change your windows is there whether you do net zero or not. But if you’re working with one of us, we’re going to encourage you to use triple-glazed windows with the right low-e and solar gain coefficient so that you already plan for net zero. It will cost a bit more, but it’s worth it in the long run. Your home will be much more comfortable and it’s going to reduce energy consumption.
ATH: That’s an important point. Yes, there might be a bit more of an upfront cost, but it’s going to save you money through the use of your home. And just to put a point on the whole idea that the road map is really key: You may not have a budget to do a huge renovation right away, but if you’ve got that road map, you can do it in phases in a way that makes sense to do it for you.
What kind of homes are not a good candidate for a renovation that moves the home toward net zero?
Roy: Let’s say you have a home that is in a heritage district and the city would not allow you to mess with the interior or the exterior. There are some alternatives. You can replace the windows, probably improve air tightness. You can look at other sources of heating and cooling.
Lynne: One of the views that we’re finding from working across Canada is that it may not be that a net zero reno isn’t good for that house, it just may not be the right time for it. We’ve been working with homeowners who really want to get to net zero and they want to do it through an exterior renovation, but their siding is five years old and energy went into putting up that siding. So, the right time for that house may be when that siding is coming near its end of life.
Stephen: When we speak about net zero, we should define it. The CHBA has a Net Zero Home Labelling Program and that has certain criteria. Certain homes that can’t meet the minimum criteria for that program don’t become eligible for that label, but they can still go through the EnerGuide process and, working with net zero qualified professionals, will achieve close to net zero.
Casey: You can pretty much renovate every home and make it more energy efficient, but there are certain homes that are easier to do than others. A box is the easiest thing to renovate and make more efficient. As soon as you start adding bump outs and a complicated roof and all sorts of different intricate designs to a home, that will make it more expensive. It’ll cost more to make that home more efficient, potentially.
ATH: Net zero targets in new-home construction are coming to the building code by 2030. What about net zero renovations? I’ve heard chatter that that’s coming, too.
Lynne: We have over 15 million existing residential homes in Canada; that is a huge volume of housing that is impacting our energy consumption and impacting our climate mitigation. We’re a voluntary program, but the regulations are coming because we need to do more in that direction.
ATH: Isn’t it something like 80 per cent of Canadian homes are at least 20 years old? So, our housing stock is aging as well.
Lynne: Exactly. So, while our codes are improving, there’s still that really huge volume of houses that need that improvement. I think the 2015 building code is around 100 gigajoules (of energy consumption), but we have a lot of developments in Canada where the average house is four times that. When you compare that with a net zero home that’s around 50 gigajoules and you’ve got a home next door that’s 400 gigajoules just to keep it safe and comfortable, then we really need to do a lot of work.
ATH: Are there any grants or rebates that help with net zero renovations?
Roy: There are three programs available right now. One gives you some small grants — Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings Program, run by Enbridge. There’s some money for windows, insulation, heat pumps, solar. Most of these require an energy audit, but there are a few of them that do not.
The Canada Greener Homes Loan is a program run by the government. And they give you $40,000 interest free for 10 years, as long as the money is used towards energy-efficient renovations.
The City of Ottawa’s Better Homes Ottawa Loans Program will lend you $125,000 or 10 per cent of the current value of the home, but they charge you interest, and you have 20 years to pay that back.
You can combine all three of these programs and do all these renovations on a typical home at a lower cost.
MORE on these and other programs
Audience questions
Q: With a net zero renovation, or even better, there’s always that cost benefit analysis going on, right? Is there really a savings here at all? And what are the savings? Or is it just those who either have more money or have really bought into net zero are willing to pay the extra cost?
Casey: It’s kind of like buying a car. Most people buy the car that they like, and then they justify why they buy it. It’s not necessarily a logical buy, a lot of the time it’s ‘I’m going to stay here for a long time, I want to be comfortable, I want to enjoy this space, and I know by doing these things it’s going to add value to the home.’
If your home is significantly more cost effective to operate than your neighbour’s home, that’ll add some value to it — maybe not as much right now, but in 10, 20 years from now when energy costs continue to rise, those types of things will have value. It’s dependent on what you want and that’s why we say to go through this design and planning process. What are your priorities? Let’s make sure we check out those priorities within the budget that you want. And if we can get things that will save you money in the long run, then great. Let’s do that as well.
Lynne: Through this initiative, we delivered training across Canada and that question came up: Will I be able to pay for this renovation through the energy savings? And the answer is, for most single-family homes, probably not. Because when we look at just the energy savings, that’s only one benefit.
How it becomes cost-effective is that every dollar that goes into the craftsmanship of building you a high-performance home has stacked benefits. So, if you’re looking at indoor air quality and you have somebody with allergies, you’re probably already investing in a room Hepa filter or something else. We’re already making these investments with our make-do homes. We make do, but there’s costs incurred to solve problems we’re living with, so the goal is to address those problems when you undertake these Net Zero Renovations.
The flip side is there are costs we incur when we do nothing. If we don’t invest in our siding and it rots or our roofing and we get leaks, then it’s going to cost more.
But working through that road map for a healthier and comfortable home that’s going to give me what I need for the next 30, 40 years, then that’s the investment that we’re finding is topping the list of why homeowners are investing.
Q: From the viewpoint of a residential homeowner, what if I can’t do it all at once? Is there a process for that?
Lynne: A lot of times we’ll get an energy audit done and we then know the things we can do that can help improve our energy use. But you really need to pair that with a professional builder or renovator, because they give you that perspective of what the cost is and the plan and what’s achievable.
They work with their energy advisers to map out the phases. We talked about doing it incrementally, but we didn’t really touch on the risks if we don’t have that plan. So, let’s say you have a (government or utility) incentive and want to put that all into insulation to tighten up your home. Your home doesn’t have ventilation right now, but you’ll do that later.
That is a huge risk to your indoor environment and to the structure of your house if you seal up your house without ventilation. That has historically caused a lot of damage in homes when you have done things without that full holistic plan. That’s where you want to work with your energy adviser and your renovator to create that plan, not just so that you can plan it out, but also so that you don’t cause problems before you get to that next stage.
Stephen: Getting the team together up front, we keep reiterating that because if it’s a long-term phased approach, having that road map of where you want to get to and having the team that will get you there throughout all the phases will make it easier down the road. Because if you have to defer to a second phase or a third phase, it becomes exponentially expensive the longer it takes. But then if you’re working with the same team, at least you’re not starting from scratch with respect to the plan.
ATH: Plus, your team is also going to determine for you the steps you need to do first and the ones you can do in subsequent phases.
Stephen: And then when it comes to the next round, if things have changed and we need to pivot, we still have the same goal, we just need to do these small changes and then move forward.
