Build with PINK and make home a better place
Owens Corning
Owens Corning is a Gold Sponsor Member of the CHBA Net Zero Council, which focuses on innovative and high-performance housing solutions.
In the fast-paced construction world, adopting an envelope-first approach to Net-Zero readiness ensures peace of mind for your buyers, guaranteeing that it’s done right the first time.
Product focus:
PINK Next Gen Fiberglas insulation helps you meet future codes, manage costs, and keep projects on track. Engineered for ease and efficiency, making it ideal for Net-Zero ready homes:
• FASTER INSTALL: Keeps projects on schedule with no downtime.
• PASSES INSPECTION: Meets the highest standards with a smooth, inspection-ready surface.
• COST-EFFECTIVE: Lower installed cost compared to competitors.
• SAFE, PROVEN INGREDIENTS: Supports a healthier home environment.
Precision and comfort in every install
Advanced fibre technology delivers improved recovery and stiffness for a faster install. Superior texture with less clumps and chunks for clean cuts with one pass, less dust and a smooth surface that passes inspection. Compression packaging for neater stacks and easier handling.
PINK Next Gen Fiberglas insulation sets the standard for precision, comfort, safety and sustainability. It’s the right choice for your business, your customers and the future.
Explore all envelope first insulation products: owenscorning.com/en-ca/insulation/residential
Owens Corning is a global building and construction materials leader committed to building a sustainable future through material innovation. The company’s three integrated businesses – roofing, insulation and composites – provides durable, sustainable, energy-efficient solutions that leverage our unique material science, manufacturing and market knowledge to help their customers win and grow. The company is global in scope, human in scale with approximately 18,000 employees in 30 countries dedicated to generating value for their customers and shareholders and making a difference in the communities where they work and live. Founded in 1938 and based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, Owens Corning posted 2023 sales of $9.7 billion. For more information, visit owenscorning.ca.
Net Zero starts at home with windows and doors
All Weather at Home
Creating a Net Zero home is about more than reducing energy consumption – it’s about building a space where sustainability and comfort come together. The journey to achieving Net Zero status begins with a well-designed building envelope, and high-performance windows and doors are at the heart of this transformation.
All Weather at Home believes that a truly livable home honours both the lives of its occupants and the environment. its energy efficient windows and doors are built to help homes achieve Net Zero standards, blending sustainability with the feeling of home. These products minimize energy loss, boost insulation and create a peaceful indoor environment, tailored for the unique demands of western Canadian homes.
The company’s triple-pane windows form an insulating thermal barrier, reducing heat transfer between the inside and outside of a home. Compared to traditional dual-pane options, triple-pane windows are a cost-effective path to Net Zero, making a notable impact on energy savings while increasing the comfort of a home.
Its windows are designed to enhance every aspect of home life, from maintaining stable temperatures to blocking out exterior noise. With the added benefits of Low-E coatings, the windows reflect heat back inside the home during winter and block unwanted solar gain in summer, ensuring consistent comfort all year.
All Weather at Home also offers an exterior frame extension on its casement window series to facilitate the seamless installation of additional insulation on the exterior building envelope and support structures over the nail fin.
A pursuit of building better extends beyond just windows. Designed to prevent air leakage, the company’s doors feature durable EPDM weatherstripping that provides a tight seal against drafts. This reduces the strain on heating and cooling systems, bringing homeowners closer to Net Zero performance. Built to last, its doors balance form and function, offering high energy efficiency without requiring high maintenance.
Choosing All Weather at Home means investing in products that are the foundation of a home ready for the future.
Discover how All Weather at Home windows and doors can help your home achieve Net Zero at allweatherathome.ca.
Hybrid heating: A resilient and economical heating solution
Enbridge
Space heating accounts for more than 60 per cent of energy use in the average Canadian home, and various methods to help reduce home heating costs and emissions are increasingly available. Enbridge Gas is working to improve hybrid heating, an innovative system that can also help homes achieve resilience to power outages.
Hybrid heating – also known as dual fuel heating – uses an electric heat pump and gas heating equipment to heat and cool homes more efficiently, optimizing energy use and reducing costs. The system utilizes smart home controls to automatically switch between natural gas and electric heating based on factors such as which energy source is more economical at the time. By optimizing the home’s energy mix, energy costs can be reduced.
Furthermore, resiliency to power outages is much easier to achieve with a hybrid heating system, as power needs are lower than with an all-electric heating system. Gas heating equipment has lower power requirements than electric heating equipment, and this difference in power draw increases as the outdoor temperature decreases or the thermostat setpoint temperature increases. For example, a gas furnace may only require 0.4 kW of electricity during operation, whereas an all-electric heating system may require more than 10 kW on a cold day. For example, a single 13.5-kWh battery system could power a gas furnace drawing 0.4 kW for more than 33 hours before running out of charge. But if it was used to power an all-electric heating system on a cold day, it may be able to last only two hours maximum.
Moreover, if a home’s heating system draws less power during a power outage, more wattage is available for other electrical loads, such as refrigerators, lighting and more, while staying within a battery or generator’s maximum power output.
Hybrid heating can allow a homeowner to leverage the strengths of both gas and electric heating equipment to reduce energy costs and improve resilience.
Learn more about Enbridge Gas’ work on hybrid heating at enbridgegas.com/sustainability/clean-heating/hybrid-heating.
New $10,000 FortisBC rebate for dual fuel systems
FortisBC
To help support customers who are looking to install a dual fuel system, FortisBC Energy Inc. (FortisBC) introduced a new rebate of $10,000 or more for eligible customers who replace their home’s older gas heating system with a qualifying dual fuel system.
A dual fuel system provides whole-home heating and cooling and is a good option for homeowners who are replacing an aging gas furnace and want to upgrade to a reliable and efficient system keeping their home comfortable year-round. It includes an electric heat pump for cooling during warm weather and space heating during milder conditions, and a high-efficiency gas furnace for heating in colder weather. The system is operated through a connected thermostat that automatically switches between electric and gas heating at specific temperatures to maximize energy efficiency and comfort.
To make these systems more accessible for customers with unique circumstances and needs, additional funds are also available for income-qualified, Indigenous and Northern B.C. customers. Customers living in and north of 100 Mile House who install a dual fuel system can be eligible for an additional $3,000 top-up offer funded by the Province of British Columbia for a maximum rebate of $13,000. Low-income customers and Indigenous communities may be eligible for a rebate of $15,000 to install a dual fuel system. These customers living in northern communities can also access the top-up for a maximum rebate of $18,000.
Helping British Columbians use energy more efficiently is an important part of FortisBC’s work each and every day, which is why the company plans to invest close to $700 million in its electricity and gas energy-efficiency programs between 2024 and 2027.
For more information about FortisBC’s dual fuel rebate offer, visit fortisbc.com/dualfuel.
Appealing electric solutions for multi-unit developments
Mitsubishi Electric Heating & Cooling
Westman Village is a development by Jayman BUILT located in the community of Mahogany in Calgary. The project thoughtfully weaves convenience, diversity and accessibility into an all-inclusive suburban community concept. Redefining the way new homes are built, bought and lived in, the carefully designed community includes condominiums, townhomes, seniors’ residences and long-term leasing condos.
According to Dennis Aucoin, Senior Development Manager for Westman Village, many of the prospective residents and homeowners were downsizing. To offer them an attractive product, the units needed to be quiet, and the building had to create a seamless transition with top-quality products that would meet high expectations. This includes everything from the finishes to the heating and air conditioning units. The heating and cooling units also had to be energy efficient, as Jayman BUILT prides itself on Green construction.
That’s where Mitsubishi Electric came in. With more than 100 years of experience providing reliable, high-quality products to both commercial and residential consumers all over the world, Mitsubishi Electric is a recognized world leader in the manufacturing, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and construction.
“We were attracted to the Mitsubishi Electric brand because we consider it the Cadillac of heating and cooling units,” says Aucoin.
The Westman Village project is Mitsubishi Electric’s largest Canadian multi-unit residential development. Mitsubishi Electric individual split and centralized variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units were chosen, thanks to their efficiency and reputation. Their whisper-quiet sound was also a deciding factor – the units emit about half the noise of a regular unit in a house. Further, the slim, suitcase-style units were also perfect for more compact living spaces.
Ease of maintenance was also a deciding factor. “For us getting into leased seniors and rentals, we wanted a product that was going to be somewhat maintenance free and last the test of time,” says Aucoin.
Finally, the Mitsubishi Electric VRF units are all about consumer comfort and use unique design and engineering solutions to deliver it. Typically, a normal air conditioner runs at full blast, cooling the entire space then shutting off. But these units are built to get to a certain temperature and maintain it. Overall, this allows for lower energy use and improved comfort.
Learn more about Mitsubishi Electric systems at mitsubishielectric.ca.
Panasonic heat pumps: The retrofit solution for Homestead apartments
Panasonic
Homestead Land Holdings – one of Canada’s largest landlords – couldn’t justify the unacceptably high operating costs of two of their buildings. The buildings’ aging systems had led to excessive electricity consumption and mounting repair bills, and the decades-old HVAC equipment – packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs) in one building and electric in-floor heating in the other – were no longer meeting tenants’ expectations.
Homestead needed to find an affordable, energy-efficient solution capable of delivering consistent heating and cooling throughout each apartment, supported by accurate, user-friendly controls. The retrofit had to deliver annual savings on energy consumption, maintenance and repairs that guaranteed a reasonable payback period. The chosen solution also had to fit seamlessly into apartments of various shapes and sizes; system components could not significantly impede living space, reduce its usability, detract from its appearance or compromise tenant safety in any way.
The company set up two pilot projects designed to assess the long-term performance of their chosen solution, Panasonic Ductless Air Source Heat Pumps (DASHPs).
Over a year, Homestead measured the electricity consumption of the new DASHPs and old PTACS in two similar apartments, for comparison. The company also collected temperature readings to verify that the DASHPs were keeping up with heating and cooling demand. When the year was over, Homestead found that the new heat pumps had achieved an astonishing 68-per-cent savings on electricity costs, prompting the company to install Panasonic DASHPs throughout the two apartment buildings.
Considering all capital upgrades and operating expenses, the estimated payback period for retrofitting the two apartment buildings is five and seven years. Data collected during the pilot projects shows that a combined annual electricity savings of $228,000 is expected for the two buildings – that’s $10 million in savings over 25 years when adjusted for inflation. To date, Homestead’s actual post-retrofit electricity costs support this projection.
Further, tenants reported that the Panasonic DASHPs provided instant heating/cooling and better air circulation, eliminating noticeable hot/cold spots for a more even profile across each temperature zone. They also reported having better control over their living space, citing major improvements, such as automatic temperature and occupancy settings, Wi-Fi connectivity and more.
Find out more about Breathe Well by Panasonic heating and cooling solutions at na.panasonic.ca/indoor-air-quality/hvac.
How combination heating systems can help builders achieve high-performance and affordability
Reliance Home Comfort
Systems that prioritize energy efficiency are growing in popularity amongst builders – and combination heating systems (or combi boilers) are helping builders offer high-performance systems and affordability to their customers.
Combi boilers are hydronic-based mechanical systems that have a dual purpose: They provide domestic hot water and space heating and offer some advantages when compared to typical forced air gas furnaces and hot water tanks.
Reliance Home Comfort, which services more than two million customers across Canada, is a leading provider of combi boilers for multi-unit rental buildings. With a dedication to helping homebuilders work towards Net Zero, the company’s Director of Builder Markets, Shannon Bertuzzi, says builders can expect a high level of service and expertise from Reliance.
“We know what solutions are helping move the needle towards Net Zero,” says Bertuzzi, adding that Reliance is attuned to code changes and sits on the CHBA Net Zero Council. “Our involvement in the Council lets us offer input into new systems that help builders achieve high-performance housing.”
When working with Reliance, builders are assigned both an account manager and a technical manager to ensure they receive high-end systems that add great value for homeowners. This is showcased by a recent example in which a Reliance key account manager worked with a builder in Vaughan, Ont. to help them select the appropriate equipment for their townhouse project. The builder included a tested combi boiler system in its 111 townhomes and a hot water recirculation pump to help reduce water consumption.
Bertuzzi emphasizes that Reliance is more than a water heating company. “We offer builders a multitude of products, including smart home technology, HVAC equipment, and even EV charging solutions.”
Bertuzzi stresses innovation is essential in the residential construction industry and builders play an important role by testing new systems in their projects. “Collaboration is vital to successfully transform the housing stock.”
Learn more about how Reliance helps builders reach high-performance and affordability at reliancebuilderprogram.com.
– Marc Huminilowycz, award-winning content writer and editor specializing in Green building and energy-efficient homes
