Increasingly, builders are offering new, energy-efficient houses
and condos. But not everyone can or wants to buy a new home in a newly developed
area. For many people, improving their existing house is the best economic and
lifestyle choice. The Now House™ project is addressing this issue, and, with the
help of a team of designers, architects, engineers, homeowners and sustainable
building experts, will turn a 60-year-old house in an established Toronto
neighborhood into one that produces as much energy as it uses. In the process,
the homeowner’s energy bill should be eliminated and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions cut by six tonnes annually – a 60 percent decrease. Now House™ is one
of 12 teams from across Canada chosen by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
for their EQuilibrium demonstration home competition.
The two-bedroom, 650-square-foot Now House™, located in an established Toronto
neighborhood, is one of tens of thousands of “Victory Homes” – housing built for
veterans after the Second World War. Clustered in orderly configurations on
small lots, these partially prefabricated houses were meant to temporarily fill
the gap in the post-war housing market. But they remain a fixture in many cities
and many have been renovated, although usually without much thought given to
modern energy-saving amenities.
This house, on the other hand, will be retrofitted with the latest healthy,
energy efficient and sustainable features and technologies and the Now House™
will become a green showcase. Team Leader Lorraine Gauthier, co-founder of the
innovative Toronto design studio Work Worth Doing, says the project will
demonstrate how homeowners...
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