While “cautiously optimistic,” an Edmonton builder says the city is not likely to meet the target of all new housing being net-zero-ready by 2030.
“At the rate we’re going now, I think they’ll have trouble meeting that target,” said Sydney Bond, project manager with Effect Home Builders.
“The landscape of housing is changing … net zero is a big part of that,” she said. “If they want to be meeting their goals, they really want to be considering what that means.”
A net-zero home is built in such a way it can support solar panels that could produce enough energy for the needs of that home, Bond explained.
However, the city’s energy transition project manager said 2030 is part of the federal government’s climate change framework, not Edmonton’s target.
“We’re mindful that this direction is out there,” said Mike Mellross.
Edmonton’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gases by 35 per cent below 2005 levels, by 2035.
“Net zero is a mechanism that we’d be able to advance towards those goals,” he said.
Nevertheless changes will have to be made to the Mature Neighbourhood Overlay plan, which governs how infill homes are built in mature neighbourhoods, Bond said.
A rooftop deck, alongside solar panels, has been incorporated into the Belgravia home. (Effect Home Builders)
“The simple answer is to relax some of the rules,” she said. “You’re not just looking at the aesthetics of a house. With net zero, we’re looking more at the functional side of a house.”
Currently the overlay plan restricts where a house can be placed on a lot, including how close a house can be to property lines. It also restricts height.
For solar, builder must be creative with the orientation of the house in order to best capture the sun, said Bond.
“Being able to slide the house over more to one side of the lot or more towards the front or back” can help capture sunlight, she said.
The placement of solar panels on this house built in 2009 makes it appear architecturally disjointed, says Sydney Bond. (Effect Home Builders)
Height restrictions can be a challenge if abutting houses or trees shade the solar panels, and easing those restrictions would allow more flexibility in where th panels are placed, she added.
“If we are too limited as to where we can place, and sometimes rotate a house, you will start seeing people giving up on the idea altogether, or solar panels that stick out like a sore thumb,” Bond said.
But Mellross said the overlay plan is an evolving or “living” document.
As the city looks at ways to institute carbon reduction technologies and approaches, potential changes to the plan is “something we should keep our eye on,” he said.