Project Details
- Project Name
- Windsor Park Net Zero Energy
- Builder
- De Waal Developments
- Project Types
- Custom Home
- Size
- 3,902 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2016
- Project Status
- Built
2017 Builder's Choice & Custom Home Design Awards
Production, Semi-Custom, or Spec, More Than 3,500 Square Feet: Merit
When the existing 1950s bungalow where one of the clients had grown up was facing possible demolition, the couple realized that its lot was well-suited for a zero-energy home. The site’s backyard faces south with little obstruction, allowing the new home’s primary living spaces to be oriented in this direction to maximize natural light and solar heating in the cold climate of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The resulting net-zero 3,902-square-foot home was designed and constructed by its owners, who run Edmonton, Alberta–based De Waal Developments, using simple, locally available technologies that easily could be installed by tradespeople from the region. The privacy afforded by the backyard allows the living spaces to extend to an exterior deck with built-in benches and planter boxes. The house includes a rental suite atop the garage, which is intended to provide high-quality student accommodations targeting nearby University of Alberta North Saskatchewan River, although the owners are considering its possible future use as an expanded home office, or even for their own residence when their two children are grown and move away.
Efficient use of materials included salvaging windows and doors, hardwood flooring, trim, kitchen appliances, and a 12-foot-square sunroom from the original home. Clean waste lumber was retained and used for heating in the high-efficiency wood-burning fireplace. A Canadian EnerGuide rating of 100—the highest score possible—was achieved through the use of passive solar design, airtight construction, maximum insulation, efficient mechanical systems, and a PV system. Overhangs were designed for maximum solar gain and shading appropriate to the season. In addition to the home’s energy needs, the setup provides power for two electric vehicles. — E.K.
“There is a true attempt at achieving sustainability without sacrificing design, which is rare to see outside the custom market.” - Juror Timothy Lock
Click here for all of the 2017 Builder's Choice/Custom Home Design Award winners.
Project Description
From the architects. The owners of this project acted as both Architect and General contractor. One of the homeowners grew up in this same location when it was still a 1950’s bungalow with all imaginable problems that could come with it. The objective for the new home was to design and build a home for a young family of 4 that is fun, comfortable to live in, aesthetically pleasing and produces all its own energy needs. All energy efficiency upgrades had to be simple, locally available and had to have the ability be installed by local tradespeople. A secondary suite was integrated into the design of the home. Creating living space for renters with direct access to the University, Downtown, and Light Rail Transit. The result is a Net Zero home that produces enough energy to support the home, a home office, a secondary suite on top of the garage and two electric vehicles. An approach of optimum value engineering was done to keep incremental construction low. The home as an integrated system applied the principles of: passive solar design, increased insulation, airtight construction techniques, highly efficient mechanical systems and the pv solar system. These systems work together to achieve an Energuide rating of 100.
