Visit energy-efficient, climate resilient homes across BC
by flipper935
Note: This is one of three homes and a laneway house with Sustainable Home Info Sessions and (free) registration is required. It will be open from 10 a.m. to Noon. View the schedule and registration.
Our heritage home was built in 1912. We have owned it for almost 20 years, and in that time we have taken many steps to improve the home’s energy efficiency and move away from fossil fuels. We added insulation, double-glazed windows, solar panels and electric heat pumps.
by flipper935
This heritage home, known as the Whitehead Residence or Hammond Forever House, may not look like a low-energy, fossil-fuel free house, but it has been retrofit and restored, insulated and sealed. In 2024, the total energy costs, including heating, cooling and powering two EVs was $993.89. This work earned the project local and provincial heritage conservation awards in 2023, its 100th year.
This tour will interest anyone with questions about the choices and compromises that happen when retrofitting an older home. You will learn about: aiming for net-zero energy use; where heritage considerations compliment or conflict with an energy retrofit; lifting a home to dig a new foundation; insulating beneath foundations and basement slabs; how to super-insulate and seal a pre-existing standard wall; hydronic in-floor and under-floor heating; heat pumps; keeping the air fresh in a well-sealed home without losing heat (heat-recovery ventilation); spray foam insulation; All things solar: installation, incentives, hydronic (hot water) collectors vs. solar photo-voltaic panels, net-metering with BC Hydro vs. battery back-up; how to live without a gasoline-fueled car; how to reduce your household waste so you can cancel your garbage pick-up service; how a heritage revitalization agreement can help; and rainwater conservation.
Much of the home will be open with signage pointing out key elements. The owners will be on hand to answer your questions and key professionals involved in the project have been invited to share their expertise.