Ontario Construction News staff writer
The federal government says it will invest more than $2,445,000 in a Canadian Home Buildersโ Association (CHBA) project to enable seven housing builders to construct net-zero energy and net-zero energy ready residential buildings in Ontario as well as British Columbia, Alberta andย Saskatchewanย
A statement from Natural Resources Canada minister Seamus OโRegan says that buildings and homes contribute approximately 17 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Net-zero energy buildings are designed and constructed to produce at least as much energy as they consume on an annual basis.
โMore energy-efficient homes means less emissions in our atmosphere and more money in the pockets of Canadians,โ OโRegan said in the statement.โItโs a win-win. Thatโs how weโll get to net-zero emissions by 2050, with partners like the Canadian Home Buildersโ Association.โ
CHBA president Kevin Lee said there is a need to find new solutions, technologies and approaches, to give large numbers of Canadians the option of living in homes that are more efficient than the current building code, without impacting affordability.
โThis partnership between the residential construction industry and the federal government to facilitate information-sharing and research among industry leaders who are voluntarily striving to build low-rise multi-family residential buildings to net-zero energy levels using pre-fabrication is an important step in getting us closer to that goal,โ Lee said.