In this webinar hosted by the City of Toronto's BetterHomesTO team, Toronto resident and energy professional Mike Kurz shares details of his recently completed home retrofit, which lowered his energy costs and made his home more comfortable and healthy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by getting off gas.

How to overcome the status quo bias and live within your values and save money too. He went from emitting 4.6 tonnes CO2e to 0.26 tonnes CO2e, which could go to zero by buying green electricity such as Bullfrog.

Have you considered how big of a hot water tank you need? Is 40 gallons large enough?

Have you considered the indoor air quality impact of cooking on a gas stove? Children are particularly affected by these emissions, which is similar to living with a smoker.

In this video, you will learn how homes can achieve carbon neutral by undergoing a deep energy retrofit featuring Chris Magwood from the Endeavour Centre.

You can also learn how to improve air leakages:

Watch air sealant video

Watch hot water video

We have replaced all of our windows and doors with Energy Star Certified openings, sealed all openings, installed a smart thermostat, reinsulated portions of our roof, enclosed previously-exposed portions of our house with ICF foundation walls, insulated the underside of our basement floor slab, installed an energy recovery ventilator and replaced an aging washer and dryer with Energy Star Certified appliances. Additionally, we are in the process of insulating basement headers and walls, sourcing a battery backup system to purchase and store electricity from the grid during off-peak periods and replacing our aging refrigerator, dish washer and natural gas stove/oven with all-electric/induction-based Energy Star Certified appliances.

Preliminary results reveal that our house emitted approximately 6.1 tonnes GHG/yr. Following the work we did, we anticipate our total emissions to be 0.7 t GHG/yr.

A large central duct-based air-source heat pump (Mitsubishi Electric SUZ / SVZ Series Multi-Position Cold Climate Hyper-Heat Pump) replaced our natural gas furnace and main air conditioner.

In extremely cold conditions, a duct-based auxiliary electric heater automatically engages (Mitsubishi Electric SVZ Series 10KW Auxiliary Heater).

A small ductless air-source heat pump (Mitsubishi Electric MSZ Series Ductless Cold Climate Hyper-Heat Pump) replaced our ductless air conditioner on the partial third floor. The electric baseboard heaters now serve as an auxiliary heat source, when needed.

A hybrid-electric water heater (Rheem Professional Prestige Pro Terra Hybrid-Electric Heat Pump) replaced our gas water heater. It extracts the ambient heat from the air throughout the mechanical room to heat water.

We then retained an electrician to upgrade our electrical panel, meter and conduit connection to support 200 amp service. This was necessary to accommodate the new mechanical equipment, in addition to a planned induction stove and level 2 EV charging station.

Learn about how "embodied carbon” or the energy required to manufacture building materials, more accurately described in this report as material carbon emissions (MCE)—has indicated that the emissions from manufacturing may outweigh the impact of operational carbon emissions (OCE) for several decades and be the leading cause of GHGs in the building sector. Some of the findings:

Bricks emit 472 kgCO2e to produce/install compared to synthetic stucco at 35 kg CO2e.

Dense packed cellulose insulation sequesters 13 kg CO2e while spray foam with an HFC blowing agent creates 232 kgCO2e so if you use spray foam, make sure you use the HFO blowing agent (still high at 73, but much better).

Look at how different materials rank in emissions and cost. The chart is on page 15 and 16 of the report (page 19,20 of the pdf).

Carbon emissions released before the built asset is used, what's referred to as ‘upfront carbon’, will be responsible for half of the entire carbon footprint of new construction between now and 2050, threatening to consume a large part of our remaining carbon budget.

At a recent Architecture of Emergency climate summit in London, Andrew Waugh complained, and was quoted in Dezeen:

We have BREEAM and LEED that look to control or reduce the amount of carbon at construction puts into the atmosphere, but this is measured over a period of 50 years. If you build a building now it's in 50 years' time when the carbon is measured from that building. We don't have 50 years.

Read the proposal for all new buildings, infrastructure and renovations to have at least 40% less embodied carbon by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

“Passive house” is an approach to building extremely energy efficient, air-tight dwellings using thick insulation, heat recovery systems, triple glazed windows, with no so-called “thermal bridges” – i.e., places where heat can escape.

“We have to tape every panel and floor panel [and window] because if we don’t, we have air leaking out through the gaps.” With conventional tapes, she adds, the sticky backing eventually breaks down and loses its grip, allowing heat to escape. Siga’s polymers, by contrast, are guaranteed to last for 50 years, which means they’ll continue to ensure air tightness – a key element of passive house.

A practical guide to swapping your furnace (and A/C) for a heat pump

The worst time to think about figuring out a new approach to home heating is in the depths of winter when the furnace conks out. At that point, the emergency service crews, either from one of the gas distributors (if you rent) or the HVAC contractors (if you own) will almost certainly recommend a “like with like” replacement – a new, and more energy-efficient, gas furnace. Furnaces last for 20 to 25 years, which means that if you have to make this switch today, you’ll be burning fossil fuels in your home until mid-century, which is too late.

Corporate Knights article

BY JOHN LORINC

APRIL 12, 2022

Retrofitting our buildings at the degree required to confront climate change calls for market re-shaping innovations. This report defines a climate retrofit mission for Canada, proposing a way to organize the public sector to achieve it. Central to this effort would be a system in which “market development teams” would operate on the ground across the country.

Download the report here

Natural Resources Canada has put together a list of projects from across Canada, highlighting how they are meeting the challenge of making their buildings more sustainable.

View examples of new buildings, building retrofits, federal buildings, benchmarking and training.

See the case studies here

Greener, walkable communities are possible, however we all must be involved in green education and community planning. That is why Environmental Defense created a resource guide that highlights: the benefits of growing smarter, how sprawl affects our health, and how you can contribute to a greener community starting in your own backyard.

Access the toolkit here

Concrete is one of the most carbon intensive materials. Are there opportunities to replace concrete or make it more green?

Read this article from CBC - What on Earth

Sand is a big component of concrete and solar panels. You may think there are endless amounts of sand on earth, but there is a looming crisis.

Read this article from CBC’s Quirks & Quarks