As clean energy goes, solar power is the future. There is enough sunlight in Ottawa for either solar hot water production (which earns a $1,000 ecoEnergy credit) or to make solar electricity through the use of photovoltaic modules. Solar electricity does not require any batteries and the energy can go straight to the grid. Ontario currently pays 42 cents per kWh for solar electricity through the Standard Offer Program, but this may improve to 80 cents when the Green Energy Act passes (Ontario Bill 150). Germany, the world’s largest installer and producer of solar electricity, passed a similar act and it created an entirely new industry of “green collar” jobs.

Local small-scale production also offers an important benefit to our aging electricity grids and power facilities. Producing electricity for local use reduces the need (and inherent losses) of long distance distribution. If the Ontario Green Power Act passes, installing photovoltaic modules on the roof of a new house will be a very feasible option to offset energy use, creating a net-zero electricity home.

While generating green energy is not for everyone, homeowners may elect to buy electricity from ecofriendly sources. Bullfrog Power is an electricity provider that purchases its energy from green sources and sells it to Ontario residences and businesses (www.bullfrogpower.com). Green sourced electricity is slightly more expensive than conventional electricity but encourages energy conservation.

You are in luck if you are building a new house. There are a variety of new and old construction techniques and materials that can help, ranging from simple home orientation to cuttingedge, energy efficient materials that can reduce a home’s impact on the environment. Considering our winter climate, there is opportunity for massive energy savings through passive solar heating. This means orienting a house so that there is sufficient glass on the south side to provide solar heat in winter; sufficient thermal mass to maintain constant temperature; and awnings over the windows to provide shade from the summer sun. It is entirely possible to meet 85% of your winter heating load through passive solar orientation.

When building a house, consider the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard (www.usgbc.org/leed). It comes in several categories, starting from LEED certified, to silver, gold, and LEED platinum. LEED is based on a point system that considers efficient design, the impact on the community, the use of sustainable materials from a local source and the health of occupants. LEED is a good standard to strive for - even if LEED platinum is not easy to achieve! The result will be better for our environment and provide a healthier residence.

A great example of a small local business’ commitment to the greening of the construction industry is Pat and Celine Shank’s Evergreen Concepts Inc. (www.evergreenconcepts.ca). The company is certified by Energy Star and it is presently going through LEED certification for new homes. Pat says, “The company’s primary focus is to demonstrate to potential clients the ease of reducing one’s carbon footprint by hitting a happy medium between environmental idealism and common sense.” The Shanks incorporate various green, reliable and healthy products. They firmly believe that modern technology, which also takes efficiency and cost savings labour into account, is what will make this growing green collar industry work. “Keeping it efficient and simple will always make it affordable,” says Shank.

“The entire process begins with proper design,” adds Celine, “Important things, like lifestyle, solar orientation and general site placement… are always prioritized before one of our design concepts starts to take shape.” Not surprisingly, the Shanks’ own home has a large hybrid solar and wind system and they willingly pass on their knowledge to interested potential clients.

Traditionally, home construction incorporates cement foundations and 2x6 stick framing. Now, there are more energy efficient ways to build. Insulated concrete forms (ICFs) are ideal for basement walls. An ICF is a foam form that is stacked together to form a wall, much like Lego blocks. Add rebar and concrete to the ICFs’ hollow cores and you have perfectly straight, well-insulated walls with an R-value between 13 and 22. Above ground, walls can be made from structural insulated panels (SIPs). These are large sandwiches of wood and foam. A SIP wall is very strong and airtight. A 6 1/2" SIP wall with R-29 insulation has an actual value of R-26 (a 2x6 stick frame wall offers R-13 at best). Better walls use 8 1/4" SIPs for R-37. A 10 1/4" SIP roof of R-47 allows the space in the attic to be utilized for comfortable bedrooms. Both ICFs and SIPs conserve resources and are greener building materials. They save on labour and lumber, resulting in a more energy efficient home for a construction cost premium of less than 5%.

For those feeling nostalgic, consider log homes. Log or milled homes cost 15-20% more than customized wood frame houses due to the extra labour involved but such premiums are offset by energy savings. Their natural properties offer significant energy efficiencies. Combined with modern materials and sustainable technologies, log homes offer homeowners energy conservation never imagined in colonial times.

Some would argue that a home built through any deforestation can hardly be considered green. John Kealey, president of Kealey Tackaberry Log Homes (www. kealeytackaberryloghomes.com) says, “Canada has 12% of the world's forest cover, 90% is Crown Owned, [and] no more than a quarter of 1% of the forest is allowed to be harvested each year. We have the largest and best managed forest system in the world. Presently, forestry practices entail the planting of two trees for one tree cut. All our milled logs are at or near life expectancy when harvested and are waiting preservation in one of our homes. What makes our homes a viable green option is their extremely slow rate of heat flow. Logs, in their natural round shape, have thermal mass which means they are able to absorb a tremendous amount of heat, store it, and radiate it back to the warm side of the building resulting in homes that are easier to heat in the winter and easier to cool in the summer. An 8-inch pine log is equivalent to R-20 insulation.”

Log building isn’t the only traditional construction method being resurrected. There are straw bale buildings around that are well over 100 years old and there is renewed interest in using this technique to form walls. What makes bales such a great green building material is that they are renewable, locally available, and offer significant thermal mass, providing an R value of around 33 for a three-string (23” thick) wall. Straw bales are large and walls go up quickly. The inside and outside of the bales are finished using plaster. They can be load-bearing or not; it is even possible to make a two-floor straw bale house.

Former Ottawa residents, Gwen Hoover and Les Macdonald have built their dream retirement home on a 10-acre lot in Prince Edward County. With the help of Toronto architect, Martin Liefhebber, their straw bale home is a jewel of environmental responsibility. It is completely off the grid, uses solar energy for hot water and electricity, and has a wind turbine. David Suzuki visited and gave a green thumbs up when Liefhebber's work was featured on the Nature of Things.

With its botanical roof, the home is a marvel of sustainability from top to bottom. The roof has 6 inches of soil on a porous plastic frame and filter fabric, planted with no-maintenance green, yellow and red sedums. A green roof keeps the house cooler in summer, reduces heating loads in winter and extends the life of the roofing membrane. Rainwater is stored and released slowly, rather than running off and away immediately. It stays much cooler than a regular roof and provides a habitat for birds.

The Hoover-Macdonald home was oriented to maximize passive solar heating, through south facing windows and mostly natural materials such as internal stone walls, granite counter tops and concrete floors to store the sun's heat. Hot water from the solar collectors and passive solar heating combine to keep the house well above freezing even in the coldest winter weather. A very efficient wood fired masonry stove raises the temperature to comfortable levels and, just in case, there is a backup propane water heater, used to pump warm water through the floors. Vacuum tube solar collectors provide heat for most of the home’s hot water.

When a new home isn’t an option, home décor and renovation can beautify and raise the value of an existing home. An upgrade can present opportunities to improve your health and reduce your carbon footprint. This spring, Beth & Chris Medl of Kanata made an environmentally conscientious decision when renovating their cold and unfinished basement. “Being environmental and living in the ‘burbs can be seen as quite the conundrum,” says Beth, “but that did not stop us from wanting to make a difference in the impact that we knew our renovation would have on our health and the environment.”

Rebecca Best of The Healthiest Home (www.thehealthiesthome. com) says, “We want to encourage awareness in the market place that going green does not have to cost an exorbitant amount of money – green features should be brought into the equation at conception. It was critical to the Medls that their home improvement incorporated healthy, nontoxic material and it was vital that any potential contractor understood their interest in making sustainable choices. They sought our services and the Medls’ basement is now an inspiring space that speaks warmth and coziness with sophisticated design and functionality.

During the renovation, Best says that special attention was given to providing nontoxic custom cabinetry; high efficiency insulation; mouldresistant subflooring; use of local or certified wood; cork flooring and energy efficient lighting. “Moreover,” says Best, “the increase in the home’s energy efficiency will be of great benefit as well.”

Whatever you are in the market for – act now. Going green may not mean instant savings but lessening your carbon footprint brings a wealth of benefit to your health and home. Kermit the Frog had it right: Green is all there is to be!

REFERENCES: • “The Natural House: A Complete Guide to Healthy, Energy-Efficient, Environmental Homes” by Daniel D. Chiras, ISBN 1890132578. • “The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling” by Daniel D. Chiras, ISBN 1931498121. • “Building with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs): Strength and Energy Efficiency Through Structural Panel Construction” by Michael Morley, ISBN 1561583510. • “Builder's Guide to Cold Climates: Details for Design and Construction”, by Joseph Lstiburek, ISBN 156158374X. • Web forum for the discussion of renewable energy and sustainable building: http://www.greenpowertalk.org/ Rob Beckers, MSc, is the president of Solacity Inc. (http://www.solacity.com/), a Manotick, Ontario, based business that specializes in renewable energy. Beckers is an electrical and biomedical engineer, with a passion for solar energy, wind energy, and sustainable building. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .