Good news everyone! Over the past two weeks I've spent some time looking into a range of different eco-friendly materials that could help improve the rating of my house design. The R2000 standard of sustainable building leaves the selection of materials very open ended, opening up opportunities to use alot of local, sustainable building products. These are a list of some notable ones I found with a small description of each. At this point in my design plan I'm looking for any type of building material that can help improve the energy efficiency of my design, while being sustainable and hopefully also affordable. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
http://www.energyconservationspecialists.org/
Mechanical insulation product that helps reduce heat/energy loss through piping.
http://www.aeongreensolutions.com/
A lighting company providing environmentally friendly lighting solutions. They also have an partnering initiative with businesses who commit to using their product in the workplace to help spread awareness of sustainable design.
http://ecopaving.ca/
A paving product using 100% recycled materials like tire rubber in place of traditional tar and asphalt.
http://www.syntheoninc.com/
Produces the ACCEL-E wall system, a line of thermal resistant paneling for steel frame construction.
http://greenshieldfloors.com/
A durable flooring sealant, which eliminates the use of chemicals in the traditional wax, buff and strip treatment.
http://www.nextenergy.ca/default.php
A geothermal energy solution, based out of Ontario Canada.
http://www.quiktherm.ca/
An innovative insulation/framing product to help improve building envelope and air transfer.
http://www.skyfireenergy.com/
One of the leaders in solar energy installation in Western Canada.
http://www.sunproject.com/home
An exterior facade style product which helps regulate natural light into the home.
http://www.vaproshield.com/vaproshield
An air barrier product which reduces air transfer around wall assemblies.
So building environmentally friendly is cost effective in the long run, yes, but how much does building to R-2000 standards cost right off the bat?
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge supporter of green building technology, dont get me wrong, but the cost of some of it is outrageous, with a very long return on investment time, its hard to even go green in the first place. I cant picture many first time house owners being able to afford to go green, with renovations or building a house.
What would be really cool is if you could provide some sort of price breakdown. Maybe make an image comparing the cost of normal materials to materials that conform to R-2000? Images work great for things such as that.
Throughout my research I hope to prove whether or not it is affordable at all, as I'm skeptical if it will be. Breaking down a product comparison is definitely a good idea to decide one way or the other, thanks!
DeleteI'm liking what you've got so far Mark! Perhaps one thing to look into is the availability, cost, and insulative value of recycled denim material as insulation. I came across this website while looking into using this form of insulation in my laneway house last year. http://bondedlogic.com/construction-products/ultratouch-denim-insulation
DeleteHere is a link to a company out of Nelson, B.C. that does Soy based Spray foam insulation. I Came across this last year when we were doing the Walls Gray cabins.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ewinginsolutions.com/FAQ.html
I agree with devons ideas above Mark, that is by far the only thing stopping people from making a more eco friendly product decision. I found a interlocking block system that claims to be structurally sounds and fire resistant, its worth checking out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/interlocking-blocks-%E2%80%93-a-cost-effective-building-solution-for-africa/11230/
Howdy Mark,
ReplyDeletecould it be possible to get your hands on the energy usage stats of the Dream Home at Sun Rivers? I'm sure a home like that has a lot to offer towards your research.
Hope this helps!
Harry's comment got me thinking that it might be helpful to talk to the people responsible for organizing the Y Dream Home Lottery, see what they say about products they use, etc. since they claim to promote the latest in sustainable design, and focus on environmentally friendly approaches to home construction. I believe they often get TRU students in each field to work on a lot of the construction of those houses as well. It might be worth looking into.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments guys. Thanks Darren and Brad for the links to the building materials. The dream home could be a good benchmark to help compare my future design to. Good ideas guys and thanks for the input!
ReplyDelete