• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
BP Predicts Faster Oil and Gas Decline as Clean Energy Spending Hits $1.1T in 2022 January 31, 2023
Canada Needs Oil and Gas Emissions Cap to Hit 2030 Goal: NZAB January 31, 2023
Ecuador’s Amazon Drilling Plan Shows Need for Fossil Non-Proliferation Treaty January 31, 2023
Rainforest Carbon Credits from World’s Biggest Provider are ‘Largely Worthless’, Investigation Finds January 31, 2023
Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing January 23, 2023
Next
Prev

Net-Zero Home Rides Out Edmonton Cold Snap with No Furnace Required

February 17, 2021
Reading time: 2 minutes

/PxHere

/PxHere

230
SHARES
 

A net-zero home in Edmonton, Alberta stayed toasty warm this week when the polar vortex brought bitterly cold temperatures to town, enabling Darryl Zubot and his family to stay comfortable and safe—without having to turn on the furnace.

In pure dollar terms, net-zero homes can be a costly venture, with homeowners looking at up to 20 years before they recoup the up-front investment, writes CBC News. But the trend toward climate-friendly, self-sufficient houses is gaining momentum—even in a region where winters are wild, and oil and gas is still perceived as the economic bread and butter.  

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
New!
Subscribe

Zubot and his family recently built a net-zero home south of Edmonton, CBC says. The structure features south-facing, triple-paned windows, added insulation, extra-efficient appliances, and a heat pump—all working together to sharply reduce the home’s energy consumption. In Alberta, that means they can sell electricity to the grid when they have a surplus, then buy some back when they need it.

The windows measure six by 10 feet and provide “about 30 to 35% of the home’s heat” during bright, sunny days, CBC says, helping to keep things cozy and warm during the worst of winter. Add the heat pump, and the house remained a toasty 23°C indoors this week, even as the mercury outside plunged below -30°C during the recent stint of bitter cold.

“This house is a testament to how you can be completely self-sufficient in this day and age, with no reliance on oil and gas,” Zubot told CBC.

Zubot plans to add solar panels this spring, after which the house will generate as much energy as it uses. “We need to do our part to reduce our oil consumption,” he said. “I know it’s not going to change overnight and we still need oil, but it’s definitely slowly transitioning.”

This particular net-zero project was expensive—Zubot paid “roughly C$40,000” more than what an equivalent non-net-zero house would have cost. But “we plan to be here for a long time, and it’ll pay back in the long run,” he said. “It’s definitely not a short-term investment game, but long-term it definitely pays off.”

Then again, the strict financial calculation was not the Zubot’s primary concern—nor is it for many net-zero homeowners, said Dale Rott, co-owner of Effect Home Builders in Edmonton. 

“They are aware of climate change and they have an ideological reason,” he told CBC. “It’s not because of cost savings on utilities and all that. We’re not hearing that yet.”



in Buildings, Canada, Climate & Society, Community Climate Finance, Demand & Distribution, Demand & Efficiency, Ending Emissions, Jurisdictions, Renewable Energy

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Mike Mozart/Flickr
Ending Emissions

BP Predicts Faster Oil and Gas Decline as Clean Energy Spending Hits $1.1T in 2022

January 31, 2023
326
Gina Dittmer/PublicDomainPictures
Canada

Canada Needs Oil and Gas Emissions Cap to Hit 2030 Goal: NZAB

January 31, 2023
196
CONFENIAE
Ending Emissions

Ecuador’s Amazon Drilling Plan Shows Need for Fossil Non-Proliferation Treaty

January 31, 2023
61

Comments 4

  1. Gary Martin says:
    2 years ago

    I love stories like this – someone needs to share with folks in Texas right now! But a caution about pricing net zero construction: the economics are more complex than simple construction costs vs energy payback. Net zero construction will become better known as Cdn building codes move in that direction – familiarity will lower construction costs, as will Cdn mass production of e.g. triple pane windows and tapes and sealants. Codes, subsidies and education will spur the uptake. And imagine how appealing this type of construction would become if the grid was to fail in Edmonton during a cold snap due to a climate disruption like now across much of N. America?

    Reply
  2. Barbara Berger says:
    2 years ago

    We need federally mandated building codes to get us to net zero! This needs to be done.

    Reply
    • Mitchell Beer says:
      2 years ago

      Well, yes, thanks! And watch this space. We’ve just got wind that the latest building code update — in 2021, mind — will still treat airtightness as an optional feature. We’ll be publishing that story next week.

      Reply
      • Kathy R. Selvage says:
        2 years ago

        Well, go. I’m in America, in the state of Virginia in the southwestern corner where coal and gas has dominated our destruction for over a century. Still, we purchased some solar panels a few years back. I find change is difficult with leaders who have minds stuck in the past century. Even slower is the fermentation of changes in building codes, etc. Preparation for anticipated anomilies in the face of climate change is unheard of generally because of the costs but look at the costs now in Texas and who pays for their failure of imagination.

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Mike Mozart/Flickr

BP Predicts Faster Oil and Gas Decline as Clean Energy Spending Hits $1.1T in 2022

January 31, 2023
326
openthegovernment.org

BREAKING: U.S. Senate Passes Historic $369B Climate Package

August 8, 2022
540
Sam Balto/YouTube

Elementary School’s Bike Bus Brings ‘Sheer Joy’ to Portland Neighbourhood

October 16, 2022
260
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing

U.S. Emissions Grow Only Slightly, Offer Hope for Meeting Paris Targets

January 12, 2023
79
EcoAnalytics

Albertans Want a Just Transition, Despite Premier’s Grumbling

January 23, 2023
324
RL0919/wikimedia commons

Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing

January 23, 2023
2.4k

Recent Posts

Gina Dittmer/PublicDomainPictures

Canada Needs Oil and Gas Emissions Cap to Hit 2030 Goal: NZAB

January 31, 2023
196
CONFENIAE

Ecuador’s Amazon Drilling Plan Shows Need for Fossil Non-Proliferation Treaty

January 31, 2023
61
Ken Teegardin www.SeniorLiving.Org/flickr

Virtual Power Plants Hit an ‘Inflection Point’

January 31, 2023
125
/snappy goat

Rainforest Carbon Credits from World’s Biggest Provider are ‘Largely Worthless’, Investigation Finds

January 31, 2023
94
Victorgrigas/wikimedia commons

World Bank Climate Reforms Too ‘Timid and Slow,’ Critics Warn

January 31, 2023
42
Doc Searls/Twitter

Guilbeault Could Intervene on Ontario Greenbelt Development

January 31, 2023
132
Next Post
MBTafan2011/Wikimedia Commons

Amtrak One? With a Rail Enthusiast in the White House, Transit Advocate Eyes a Renaissance

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}