Passive kit home made with quality materials

ERV Post Follow Up

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Earlier this spring we posted an article on Pre-certified Passive Components: ERV or energy recovery ventilators. The “fresh air machine” of passive homes, including those built by EkoBuilt, ERVs are a vital component and worthy of close inspection. The unit we recommend is the Jablotron Futura Passive ERV and it’s pre-certified by the IPHA.

We fielded a couple of great questions following that post and want to answer them here:

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Canada Greener Homes Grant

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The federal government recently launched its Canada Greener Homes Grant. In brief, the grant provides various incentive options for existing homes to upgrade their energy efficiency, however no grants are available for new homes, even though housing starts in many parts of the country continue to grow (in our own local area, new builds are huge in a hot real estate market). In this article, we ask why the government won’t also support homeowners in building highly energy efficient homes right out of the gate.

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Passive kit home made with quality materials

Prefab house vs. passive house kit

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One question we often field is whether our passive house kit is the same as a prefab house. It’s not. It’s something much better, in our view, and here’s why:

Unlike a prefabricated house, which comes straight from the factory ready for final assembly on your property or site, our material kits provide quality materials installed in the correct steps and the option to be as involved as you like in the build. These are quite significant differences.

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EkoBuilt Project: Urban home in central Ottawa

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This new custom home is just a stone’s throw from the Governor General’s residence in central Ottawa. It’s a great example of flexibility in an urban setting. The home is situated on an unserviced laneway in a historic neighbourhood just east of the city’s downtown core. The home’s design had to be approved by the city’s historical committee before a building permit could be obtained. Construction was made much more interesting because the nearest intersection was closed throughout for the installation of a storm water collection facility!

All of these challenges made building this home exciting and rewarding. The family we built it for really love the area and it’s fantastic to share the end result with our followers.

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