New Westminster is trying to take some of the mystery out of energy efficient housing.

Energy Save New West is launching a new high performance home program to support local residents and builders by providing resources that encourage growth and adoption of green building practices. “We are trying to demystify some of these ideas in ways that are interesting and understandable,” said Norm Connolly, the city’s community energy manager.

In an effort to help people learn about “tomorrow’s homes today”, the City of New Westminster is holding a free forum on Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Anvil Centre.

“Our target audience is local residents and consumers in New Westminster and beyond that are interested in exploring these types of things, these types of concepts and these types of systems and approaches to constructing a home,” said Ryan Coleman, a project coordinator with Energy Save New West. “It’s beyond just the esthetics of a house, the countertops. That’s becoming more and more top of mind and an actual driver of decision making.”

According to Connolly, high performance homes may fall under a variety of banners, including Passive House Certified, but they all include thick walls, efficient windows, smart design and good choices of materials. He recently attended an open house about a six-unit strata project done to passive house certified standards in Victoria.

“When these people move in, they will have some of the lowest energy costs you could imagine so that’s going to help with affordability,” Connolly said. “The big pieces about this is they are super comfortable inside.”

The May 9 launch of the high performance new home program in New Westminster includes speakers discussing how to design and build ultra-low energy homes. Attendees will get information on a variety of concepts such as Passive House Certified, Net Zero Energy and Energy Start-rated programs and will have a chance to network with leading-edge builders.

Monte Paulsen, a certified energy advisor and a certified passive house consultant, will give an overview on high performance homes. He’s known for his ability to explain complex ideas in a way that’s understandable for everybody.

Attendees – including people who are curious about the topic and experts in the field ­ - will have a chance to mix and mingle at lunch. The afternoon features short presentation about the new home program from B.C. Hydro and FortisBC and green lending products from Vancity, as well as a session where people working on a variety of leading edge local projects will provide short presentations on their projects.

“All this stuff is coming together here. It’s really exciting in Canada. B.C. is starting to really embrace this stuff,” Connolly said. “What we want to do is bring awareness about this.”

Connolly said the forum’s focus is on new projects, but some of the principles can also be applied to renovations of existing homes.

Even though much of New Westminster’s land is built out, there are still opportunities to create high-performance new housing. Along with infill development in existing neighbourhoods and new construction in places like Queensborough, the city is updating its official community plan and is contemplating the creation of more row homes and townhouses in New Westminster.

Brian Lowka is a local builder/renovator who has been incorporating green building approaches and technology into his construction practices for about a decade. Although people would often prefer to spend money on the bricks and mortar aspects of their home, he sees tremendous value in green building approaches.

“I know it’s possible to do more energy-efficient homes but it’s always a case of cost. I am not one who wants to throw a ton of money at stuff and say, this is much more efficient,” he said. “I try and come up with more efficient ways that they can understand or things that can be adapted later on.”

Along with construction methods that focus on heat loss and air barriers, Lowka recently built a home in New West that uses solar panels and his past few houses have eliminated natural gas and opted for electric energy. Having made numerous inquiries to city hall through the years about green building approaches, Lowka is looking forward to attending the launch of the city’s high performance home program.

To register for the free forum, visit www.EnergySaveNewWest.ca.

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