Edmontonians curious about sustainable building practices toured across the city Saturday, checking out eco-friendly homes.
The 2018 Eco-Solar Home Tour over the weekend features 22 stops that show off various green technologies that support energy and water efficiency, as well as emission reduction.
One of the tour stops was a net-zero triplex in the Prince Charles neighbourhood.
Builders Sheffie Kalat-malho and Sikander Singh of Net Zero Developments said the building on 122nd Street and 122nd Avenue uses solar panels to produce the annual energy demand of the 1300-square-foot townhomes.
“Everything that we are producing off of the solar panels is feeding every appliance in here,” said Singh, who lives in one of the townhomes.
Builders Sheffie Kalat-malho and Sikander Singh helped develop a net-zero home in Edmonton’s Prince Charles neighbourhood. (Scott Neufeld/CBC)
Kalat-malho noted that during sunny summer months, excess energy produced by the panels is fed to the electric grid, providing a credit for homeowners. In the winter, the townhomes pull energy back from the grid.
The builders tore down the house that used to occupy the site, replacing it with three fully electric townhomes.
“The house that was on here used more energy than this entire building does right now,” Kalat-malho said, noting that the new building is bigger and houses three families, while the old home housed one.
A common concern about sustainably built homes is the price tag. But Singh said they’re not necessarily more expensive.
You’re paying more up front, but your operating costs are much lower.– Sheffie Kalat-malho, Net Zero Developments
“We’re trying to influence the building community, trying to influence homeowners by letting them know that it’s not unaffordable,” he said.
Homes from Net Zero Developments start at $395,000.
“You have to basically educate people to say ‘You’re paying more up front, but your operating costs are much lower,'” Kalat-malho said.
He noted that sustainable building practices are becoming more popular as they help counteract climate change.
Solar panels added to church
There are 52 solar panels on the roof of All Saints Lutheran Church in north Edmonton. (Scott Neufeld/CBC)
The congregation of All Saints Lutheran Church in north Edmonton put solar panels on their roof to help protect the environment.
Chairman of the congregation Aaron Ball said the goal is to cut electricity costs by 75 per cent at the church on 119A Street and 138th Avenue, which was another stop on the Eco-Solar Home Tour.
“We’re working on taking care of creation and reversing that electric bill,” he said.
But cost and energy savings weren’t immediate. The 52 panels were installed last October, Ball said, and the results were “horrible” due to limited sun exposure.
“But now it’s starting to really peak and we’re seeing numbers that are pretty positive,” he said. “We’re starting to get some money back on it.”
Ball encourages other churches and businesses to give solar panels a try.
“If you truly believe that we’ve been given this earth to take care of, this is a very simple step,” he said.