“Be prepared.”
That Boy Scout motto might be old but homeowners are increasingly keeping it in mind as they look to new sources of energy.
St. Albert resident Lucien Dnestrianschii is one such thinker. The industrial designer planned and built his own house, making sure it was ready to accommodate different energy sources in the future, so the house will always provide a cost effective option regardless of future fluctuations in commodity prices.
“Everybody is excited about alternative energy but in the end it’s the financial aspect that’s driving whether to do it or not,” Dnestrianschii said.
Dnestrianschii’s house, which he recently completed, uses a high efficiency natural gas boiler to supply in-floor heating to the basement and garage as well as all the home’s domestic hot water. A high-efficiency forced air furnace heats the upper floors.
But Dnestrianschii already has a spot picked out and piping in place for a wood pellet boiler should natural gas spike. His roof is ready to accept panels for solar water heating or photovoltaic electrical generation.
Dnestrianschii designed the “engine room” to be large and he’s already got piping in place for an 80 gallon water tank which would be used for heat storage.
He estimates that this built-in flexibility cost an extra $10,000 to $15,000 to incorporate up front, which he feels is far less than it would cost to retrofit the house in the future.
“This is a brand new philosophical idea to have a house adapted, or plug-in ready, for whatever is the most efficient energy plan,” he said.
Leigh Bond of St. Albert’s Threshold Energies has noticed that people are becoming more interested in building their new homes to accommodate future changes to energy supply. A common request is to prepare the roof for solar panels, he said.
This is easy to accomplish if the house plan includes a chimney chase. Homes that have high efficiency furnaces don’t use a chimney but it’s a good idea to spend the $200 to build the chase anyway because these can accommodate pipes and wiring should solar panels be added in the future.
“Then you’re kind of solar-ready,” Bond said. “But if the builder leaves it out … then it’s almost impossible to do it after the fact.”
Another forward-looking idea he’s implemented for new homes is including a sleeve assembly when the foundation is poured to allow the simple addition of a geothermal heating system. The extra cost is around $1,500, but it saves a less than ideal and costly retrofit in the future, he said.
Energy efficient builder Peter Amerongen said many of his clients are getting him to run conduit to their roofs so solar panels can be added later.
“That’s far less important than making sure the building envelope doesn’t use much energy,” he said. “You can always run a wire somewhere if you have to.”
Amerongen advocates walls that are insulated well above building codes, with R40 as the minimum, as well as insulation under the basement floor, triple-pane windows and very airtight construction.
“Those are things that cost a fortune to do later and don’t cost much to do now,” he said. “If you’re thinking about the future, your very, very best thing is to invest in conservation.”
