Carbon-neutral homes, sometimes referred to as Net Zero homes are a relatively new concept in Canada and many parts of the globe too, but it’s also a concept that’s garnering a lot of interest. With the cost of rising utility and energy bills and serious concerns about the rapidly growing climate crisis, many homeowners are looking into building carbon-neutral homes as a response and solution to the climate and energy crisis that the whole world is facing.
Follow our journey here at 2030home.org and learn more about our carbon-neutral home projects in our growing story archive, from real people and real carbon-neutral homes. Learn about the real challenges of building a Carbon Neutral home, get inspiration, and find ideas which can help you transform your home towards a more Carbon Neutral standard. You can read our blog to follow our story and keep up to date with all the exciting projects we’re working on.
Carbon Neutral Homes in Canada
In Canada, fully Carbon Neutral homes are still very rare and most of them are quite small. One of the first luxury homes that’s been certified as a fully Net Zero home was built in 2017, a seven-bedroom home that has everything except costly energy bills. In fact, the home makes almost exactly the amount of energy it uses and it’s what all future homes should be built on if we want to make a real positive impact on the climate crisis.
What Are Carbon Neutral Homes?
A Carbon Neutral or Net Zero home means a home where the entire building nets little to no energy consumption when calculated. This means that the all the energy used is more or less equal to the renewable energy generated by the home itself.
Carbon Neutral homes are a relatively new concept due to the complicated engineering process that goes into building such a home. In fact, such homes only entered the market about 30 years ago and they’re still not widely available on the market in any part of the world, but that’s about to change in the future.
Net Zero homes can be both existing spaces that are renovated to produce the same amount of clean energy as the home consumes, or entirely new homes built on this model. These homes are up to more energy efficient by up to 80%, not to mention they offer much more comfort all year round than a typical home.
What We Do at 2030home
Our goal at 2030home.org is to build a 2030 home, in the present. Our aim isn’t to wait for 2030 to start addressing the worrying climate crisis that our planet is facing right now, but to start reversing the damage done, right now.
Inspired by Architecture 2030, our vision is to meet the 2030 challenge for comfortable, modern houses where energy use is kept to the lowest minimum possible and significantly lower utility bills become the norm for homes in Canada. By starting the work now, we can achieve resilient, Net Zero homes with reduced cold drafts in the home, equal temperatures from room to room, and reduced dust and allergens with proper indoor air filters. Ultimately, our vision adds up not only to a much more environmentally friendly way of living, but a more comfortable living experience too.
Architecture 2030
If you’ve been poking around the internet for energy-saving tips or you’ve been interested in learning more about how you can make your home more sustainable, you may have heard a little bit about Architecture 2030.
Architecture 2030 is a non-profit and independent organisation that was set up in 2002 as a response to the dire climate crisis. Our built environment is currently the biggest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, so the goal of Architecture 2030 is to transform our homes into a major part of the solution to addressing the growing climate and energy crisis by building more energy-efficient homes.
Architecture 2030 was founded by the American architect Edward Mazria with two main goals. One focuses on the reduction of our reliance on fossil fuel consumption while the other is about the development of an adaptive environment infrastructure that can handle the impact of climate change whilst preserving our natural resources.
Mazria’s research is now available to architects and builders which will help the way cities, buildings, and infrastructure is designed and constructed by using low-cost, renewable energy resources instead of non-renewable sources of energy which we still rely on heavily today.
What are the Benefits of Having a Carbon Neutral Home?
Besides the obvious positive impact on the environment and the climate crisis, there are plenty of advantages and benefits that come with having a home that has zero energy consumption. These types of homes are becoming the right way to build homes in the very near future and the demand for such homes is rapidly increasing in the housing market.
Tax Incentives
One of the benefits of having a Carbon Neutral home is the tax incentives that homeowners can take advantage of. For example, in Canada, for solar panel installation alone, you can be eligible for up to $5000 in grants. An obvious benefit is also the fact that these homes don’t rely on energy and instead, they are even able to return clean energy back to the grid in some cases. As a result, minimal to no energy bills can be expected.
High Resale Value
It’s clear that the future is steering towards a Carbon Neutral type of home and with the popularity of these homes increase as well as the demand for them, the resale value of such a home is expected to be very high. The demand for ready-built Carbon Neutral or Net Zero homes is even bigger because most people might not be willing to go through the lengthy building process and would prefer to purchase a home that’s already been certified as Carbon Neutral.
Enhanced Insulation
Additionally, another benefit is that these types of homes are built with superior insulation properties that ensure less heat loss during the cold months and reduced heat absorption in summer. This means that Carbon Neutral homeowners don’t need to worry about heat or cooling leaks.
Environmental Impact and Superior Quality of Living
As we mentioned briefly before, one of the biggest advantages of a home based on the Architecture 2030 model is not only the positive effect it will have in addressing the climate crisis, but the increased comfort of these living spaces. Testimonials from people who are already living in Carbon Neutral homes seem to agree that the level of comfort and quality of living is superior to non-Carbon Neutral homes by far. This is due to the unique layout of the home, the superior sound and heat insulation, and the pure quality of the indoor air thanks to advanced air filtration systems that are used in these homes.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Finally, another perk is that you’ll be doing your part at reducing your carbon footprint on the planet, and a big part too. Whether you build a Carbon Neutral home or renovate your existing home to a more Carbon Neutral infrastructure, you’ll be making a significant positive impact on the environment and becoming part of the solution to reduce the damage that fossil fuels and non-renewable forms of energy are causing.
Carbon Neutral Homes can be Affordable
Naturally, building a custom home is time-consuming and not exactly cheap, but when you think of the fact that you’re constantly going to be saving a significant amount of money on heating and utility bills, investing in a Carbon Neutral home makes a lot of sense, but it could be financially daunting to get started.
However, it may not be as inaccessible as you think because if you build a custom Carbon Neutral home, it’s all about what you really need for your home rather than what’s conventional. In fact, there have been a few Carbon Neutral homeowners who have managed to build such a home for around $125 per square foot as opposed to the average estimated cost of $180 per square foot. It’s actually estimated that compared to a non-Carbon Neutral home, there is only about 5% - 10% increase in building costs, not to mention the fact that the cost to operate the home is reduced to nearly zero.
Energy Saving Tips and Tricks
Whether a Carbon Neutral home isn’t in your near future plans or it’s out of reach for any reason just yet, there’s still a lot you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and save on your bills by using the following tips and tricks for energy saving in your home:
- Don’t warm rooms that aren’t in use and keep doors and windows closed when heating a room.
- Use the sleep feature on appliances like computers and televisions when not in use for an extended period of time.
- Switch off the lights as soon as you exit a room.
- Replace your light bulbs with LED bulbs.
- Use cold water to wash your clothes wherever possible.
- Don’t forget to keep filters clean and service your air conditioner regularly.
- If you have a roof, consider insulating it to keep your home cooler in summer and keep the heat in during winter.
- Keep your refrigerator at the temperature recommended by the manufacturer to avoid wasting energy by overcooling.
- Another simple tip is to dress appropriately for the weather. For example, in cold months, it’s better to pile on an extra thick sweater rather than turn up the heating to stay in your t-shirt.