Renovating your home the GREEN way9 min read

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Larry Brydon, LEED AP – Vice Chair – Reliance Home Comfort
Mr. Brydon is currently a Senior Account Executive with Reliance Home Comfort where he supports New Product Development projects within their Builder Markets Group.

He is both a LEED Accredited Professional, and an NRCan Certified Energy Evaluator with the EnergyStar and Energuide programs. In addition to his role as Vice Chair with Sustainable Buildings Canada, he has also served as Chair of the Canada Green Building Council – Greater Toronto Chapter and is a past Board Director for BILD, the Building Industry and Land Development Associations (formerly Greater Toronto Home Builders Association and The Urban Development Institute).
June, 2011.
The thermometer hit 30 degrees a few weeks ago and for the majority of us that signals the start of Home Improvement Season. Whether you are looking for big life changing additions or small ways to boost your home’s curb appeal, it’s important to think of the environment while your making your plans. Rest assured, this month’s blog instalment by Larry Brydon will help you do just that.
General rules of staying green
1. Set your goals
Before you begin, understand what you want to achieve. Understand your wants and your needs and especially your budget. Start with the needs – need an extra bedroom, more kitchen storage, an extra bathroom – then look at wants – hardwood floors and granite counter tops, lower utility costs or a smaller environmental footprint. Check with your bank to see what you can afford and ask if they have a “green” mortgage plan or incentives and what do you need to do to qualify for them. Rental products from Reliance can shift capital costs to monthly operating costs, freeing up cash or credit to help pay for the “wants”. Write all of this down and provide it to your contractor.
2. Find a green contractor “team”
Locate an expert contractor who shares your “green” vision and values. Ask about the Integrated Design Process and ensure that your contractor includes his subcontractors when defining the scope of work. Select an NRCan certified energy evaluator to work alongside your contractor, they will advise on energy and resource efficiency and grants or rebates available for work being considered. Make sure your contractor and his subcontractors have the appropriate training, licensing and qualifications, and that they share your commitment and ideals too.
3. Prepare a master plan
Work with your “Green Team” on a Master Plan for your project, keeping a systems perspective in mind. Investing more in insulation and windows may mean you can save money on smaller mechanical systems. Assess the lifecycle of components being replaced and consider replacement of those components that are at or past their estimated lifecycle first. Replacing a furnace or water heater when it breaks down is inevitably more expensive than planning and shopping for the right one, or better yet consider renting them to free up capital for other projects. Think as well about downsizing or reconfiguring your current space to better suit your needs. Remember, the larger the physical footprint of your home, the larger the environmental footprint as well, in terms of material, and energy use. Consider lifestyle changes like off-peak electricity use and Energy Star appliances to reduce your energy bills and start your schedule with renovation measures that reduce energy consumption, the money you save can be used for the “wants”. Write it all down and include it in the contractors scope of work.
4. Tighten it up
Renovating your home provides the unique opportunity to address your heating and cooling bills– via upgrading mechanical and ventilation systems, using natural heat and sunlight to your advantage, and improving your homes indoor air quality. Start with your energy evaluator’s air tightness test and report. This tells how much heated or cooled indoor air is lost through unintended openings in the homes walls and ceilings. Caulking and spray foam sealing around utility penetrations, weather stripping and door sweeps around windows and doors and air gaskets at electrical outlets are low cost, high impact measures. Pay particular attention to pot lights in the ceilings and exhaust fans in the bathrooms. A tighter house requires better ventilation to manage the indoor air quality. Consider adding a heat recovery (HRV) or enthalpy recovery (ERV) ventilator to not only supply clean, fresh air, but recover the energy and humidity from the exhaust air.
5. Material selection
Make a list of all of the materials to be used in the renovation and consider their durability and their environmental footprint. Look at the material or product’s recycled content and its recycle-ability. How far has it had to travel to get to your site, and what is the embedded energy in the manufacturing process of that material. Granite countertops are beautiful but the water and energy required to cut and polish it are considerable, and transportation overseas has its associated greenhouse gas emissions. Consider both human and environmental toxicity of things like adhesives, paints and stains, and the off gassing properties of carpets or manufactured cabinetry. Look for environmental certification labels like Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) for lumber products, Greenguard and Green Seal for paints and adhesives and the Carpet and Rug Institutes (CRI) Green Label for textiles. Canada’s own Environmental Choice program labels a wide variety of materials and verifies manufacturer’s claims
6. Buy reclaimed
Where possible, use reclaimed materials; consider options like using reclaimed pine timbers for flooring and installing salvaged doors and cabinets. Reclaimed pieces and materials are not only more affordable (on the whole), but they save the energy, material, and resources it would take to produce a new similar product and keeps them out of our landfills. Visit Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore stores to not only save money but help out with a social cause. Antique stores and even garage sales can yield interesting and expressive materials like door knobs or unique architectural features.
7. Don’t demolish, deconstruct.
Think of your demolition as a treasure trove of materials, from piping, to lighting fixtures, to wood beams to electrical wiring. Reuse these old materials in your new build, or take them to a company that accepts well preserved demolition waste and intact building materials. Instead of hard-core, knock down and haul away demolition, disassemble with care — surgically take walls apart (unscrew screws to take sheetrock off the walls for example), look at pre-existing plans and specifications of your home if available, for clues as to what unique design features or materials might be lurking behind your walls, and preserve original pieces of your home which add historic integrity like baseboards, moldings or stair rails. Pay special attention to hazardous materials you may discover along the way, such as lead, mold, and asbestos, and remove or isolate them with care and professional expertise.
8. Reduce and re-use your water
Begin with a water use audit. Repair leaks and replace faucets and showerheads with low-flow fixtures, look for the WaterSense label, and replace older toilets with low-flush or dual-flush ones. Consider on-demand water re-circulation. It reduces cold water down the drain while you’re waiting for the hot water and can be controlled by a switch or a timer. In jurisdictions where permitted, consider rainwater collection for toilet flushing and outdoor irrigation. Use permeable pavers for driveways and walkways to reduce storm water run off and improve local water table re-charging and soil conditions.
9. Energy efficient lighting and fixtures
Plan for future wiring and cabling needs when considering the lighting, electronics and appliances being installed or replaced. You may be able to eliminate the need for much of this lighting by strategically placing walls and windows to optimize natural light. Removing an interior wall not only opens the space visually but allows natural lighting. Placing a window higher in the wall allows light deeper into the home and using skylights and light chimneys that refract and spread natural light contribute to reduced lighting loads. For the lighting you do install, avoid recessed pot lighting in ceilings which may break the thermal envelope of your home. Go with energy-efficient lamps which accept LEDs and compact fluorescent lights, and install motion sensors and timers in rooms to keep lights turned off when they’re not needed.
10. Select your heating wisely
Mechanical systems replace the heat lost through your walls, doors, windows and ceilings so concentrating on higher insulation levels and improved air tightness are your first consideration. Once you have done this, it is time to look at your heating, cooling and hot water needs and this is where Reliance can help. Consider recovering energy normally wasted first. This includes exhaust air with a heat recovery ventilator, and shower water through a drain water heat recovery pipe. Both of these devises remove energy you have already paid for from the air and water being expelled, and returns that energy to the home for re-use. With an air-tight home and heat recovery, you will now need a much smaller furnace or a/c. You might even be able to replace the furnace with a rental combination space heating and hot water system. These systems use your hot water tank to produce heat that is circulated through an air handler and your regular ducts. New high-velocity space heating air handlers with small 3 and 4 inch ducts can be fished through walls and floor joists to reach hard to heat and cool spaces and reduce the need for bulkheads and uninsulated attic insulation.
11. Efficient hot water
Renovating your house will not cut down on your hot water use but improving your hot water efficiency will cut down on your hot water bill. Consider renting on-demand, tankless water heating or condensing storage water heaters from Reliance that can increase water heating efficiency by 30 and 40%. Drain water heat recovery adds to that efficiency. Also, heat pump water heaters (new to the North American market) can reduce bills in homes that use electricity to heat their hot water. Look for the Energy Star brand on hot water tanks to ensure you are getting the most efficient in its class.
12. Maintain your green renovations
Commit to maintaining your brand new products, ensuring they will last for decades (rather than years) to come. Use natural wood oils in place of varathane, as it is easier to repair spot damage without complete resurfacing. Paper stone recycled paper countertops don’t chip or stain, and scratches are easily repaired by the homeowner. Maintenance is key to both materials and mechanicals with regularly scheduled maintenance reducing cost and extending life expectancy. Consider a service protection plan to take the worry out of managing your essential home equipment.