Two near-net-zero homes in Airdrie and Balzac will open their doors this Saturday to members of the public who are interested in learning more about energy-efficient households.
Edmonton-based non-profit Eco-Solar Home Tours Society has been organizing tours of energy-efficient homes in the Alberta capital since the early 2000s. In 2019, the organization expanded its tours to the Calgary region for the first time.
"What we’re trying to do is get people to open their private homes and show what they’ve done in energy efficiency and solar [power]," said Eco-Solar president Andrew Mills. "This is so we can inspire other people to do the same thing.”
He added this Saturday will mark the organization's third time offering such tours in Calgary and area. Nine homes are being toured on Saturday, including seven in Calgary, one in Balzac, and one in the Chinook Winds neighbourhood in Airdrie. The addresses are listed on the Eco-Solar website – ecosolar.ca
The homeowners will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to show tour participants their homes, which Mills said each feature a range of energy-saving technologies. The Balzac home, for example, has a 1.5 kilowatt wind turbine, solar panels that produce 50,000 kilometres worth of driving annually, a sophisticated water collection system, and three electric cars on site.
According to the Eco-Solar website, the Chinook Winds home has a 10.5 kilowatt (KW) solar array that produces 13,000 KW hours per year. Excel Homes built the Chinook Winds house under its Built Green program, and the home boasts a high level of insulation and air-tightness, Solar Edge energy monitoring live streaming output, an electric vehicle charging outlet powered by solar energy, a heat-pump hot water tank, triple-glazed windows, double cell honeycomb blinds, a rain barrel, and a battery electric mower and grass trimmer.
The Airdrie homeowner, Adrian Bollard, will explain to tour participants how he was able to take what was virtually a standard-built home and convert it to a house that offsets nearly all of his energy usage.
"He’s gone and updated the heating to an air-source heat pump, so he’s all-electric," Mills said. "He’s got the gas out of his house and now he’s looking at updating his solar to get to net-zero.
"He was able to get a fairly efficient home built by a standard builder in the community, ask for additional features, and now he’s taking the last step to get it all the way to net-zero.”
Mills said Eco-Solar's tours help demonstrate that net-zero households – homes that produce as much energy as they consume – are possible in Alberta.
"We have fabulous solar resources – lots of sun. If you choose to go that way, you can do it," he said.
"My home, for example, each year, generates enough electricity to offset my lighting, heating, and my electric car."
According to Mills, there are multiple benefits to retrofitting homes to improve energy efficiency. Not only is it better for the environment, but it can also eventually be better for your pocket book – particularly now, when inflation is at a record high.
"Our homes are a significant part of the energy we consume," he said. "We live in a cold climate, so having your home generate its own energy to the point where it actually offsets all the energy it uses in a year is great. But it’s even more than that. Nowadays, through a couple of things called Solar Club and getting lots of solar, you can actually get to the point where you have no electric bill."
