Sudbury homebuilders will soon be some of the most educated in the province on energy-efficient construction techniques, thanks to a new program being launched in select cities around Ontario.
As one of just four selected to participate, the Sudbury & District Home Builders’ Association is due to offer green tech education and demonstration through the new Local Energy Efficiency Partnership / Technology Adoption Pilot (LEEP / TAP) program.
“Interest in these things is definitely increasing; there’s just not that much awareness, and I think that’s what this program is going to enhance among the builder community,” says Paul Corsi, president of the Sudbury & District Home Builders’ Association, and J.Corsi Developments.
“There’s so many options out there from a builder’s standpoint, and there’s always that risk about how you warranty something when you don’t know how it works. This is going to help.”
With the Internet allowing consumers to research a broader range of options, local interest in greener products such as compact fluorescent light bulbs, as well as energy-efficient appliances and windows, has risen in recent years. Even consumer interest in natural gas hookups have increased as hydro prices continue to soar, says Corsi.
Without the knowledge needed to service, install and use newer products, however, builders are loathe to even consider installing them.
This is where the LEEP / TAP program comes in, says Julia Ramkerrysingh, managing director with the Toronto-based EnerQuality, a firm offering certification, training and consulting for green-focused home construction.
EnerQuality is delivering the program, which is funded by Natural Resources Canada’s CanmetENERGY, the Ontario Power Authority, Enbridge and Union Gas.
Though the LEEP portion of the initiative, local builders will meet regularly over the course of several months to discuss, with the help of expert facilitators, which energy-efficient technologies and products they’d like to further explore. Local officials, EnerQuality and a number of other key local partners will also participate.
Among those announced as participating locally are Dalron, J.Corsi Developments, JP Max, Monkhouse Homes, and Lifestyle Homes.
Over time, the technology list will be narrowed, and representatives from listed products will arrive to discuss and educate in detail, answering builders’ questions and taking back their concerns to further refine their own designs.
CanmetENERGY will then prepare fact sheets on how to install and market these selected technologies, providing them to the builders.
Once this process is complete, participating builders will embark on the TAP portion, building as many as 10 discovery homes in and around Sudbury, with some help from EnerQuality.
These, along with the other 30 set to be built by the other participating homebuilders associations, will act as public showcases of the technologies they’ve selected, providing an open platform for educational institutions, other builders, and the public.
Though this is the first time the LEEP / TAP programs are being offered, their core isn’t without precedent. In 2006, CanmetENERGY pioneered the idea in London by bringing together local builders, officials and experts to share ideas and knowledge of new energy-efficient technologies.
This initial run formed the basis for LEEP, with EnerQuality spearheading the creation of TAP.
As the originator of the Energy Star energy efficiency guidelines, EnerQuality has no shortage of experience in introducing specific construction concepts, says Ramkerrysingh.
How the project unfolds over the coming years will also help provide EnerQuality with the basis for a template on how it may be rolled out across Canada. Indeed, this is something the company fully intends to do, making Sudbury builders’ participation part of the foundation of what will eventually become a much larger push for energy efficiency.
Selected through an open application process, Sudbury’s association was chosen in part due to their knowledge, passion and cooperation of local industry players, says Ramkerrysingh.
This is merely evidence of the local building community’s desire to keep up with the cutting edge of making better homes, says Laura Higgs, executive director of the Sudbury & District Home Builders’ Association.
“One of the best ways to make this entire energy-efficient market thrive is if the technologies are used right across the board,” says Higgs. “The way you do that is to educate the builders.”
