Spring is a time of renewal, hope, and optimism. But spring also brings my winter power bill. Ugh.
My family of four live in a 60-year-old bungalow heated with a wood fireplace insert, two mini-split heat pumps, electric baseboards, and plenty of wool socks and sweaters. This latest power bill is our household’s largest, since it covers our electricity usage for the coldest months of the year.
It’s hard to believe we anticipate cutting our heating bill by almost 90% once my family moves to Treehouse Village in 2022. For my household, that translates to a reduction in our annually heating costs from over $1000 to approximately $140 per year.
Why? Because Treehouse is building all our condos to Passive House standards.
The vision for Treehouse Village is a joyful, environmentally responsible, healthy, multi-age cohousing community — now in development on 15 acres of land in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Members are attracted to the project based on the community’s shared goal to reduce our environmental footprint. One example of achieving that aim is by building our homes to Passive House standards.
Homes built to Passive House standards cost next to nothing to heat and cool. They ensure a healthy space by using Energy Recovery Ventilation to maintain lots of air exchange without leaking heat (in winter) or cold (in summer) to the outdoors, and they are built to a quality far higher than minimum code requirements. Passive House homes also reduce maintenance needs over the long term — another big contributor to sustainability.
Here’s a great 90-second video that explains Passive House in a nutshell.
Reducing our family’s carbon footprint is just one of the many reasons my family decided to purchase a home at Treehouse Village. The benefits will include everything from lower utility bills to lower maintenance costs to reducing the demands and expenses of daily life. Not to mention the sharing community of wonderful neighbours who are also committed to living lightly on the Earth. It’s one intentional step in creating an optimistic and hopeful future for our children and our planet.
What questions do you have about how we are planning to build a Passive House village?
Celebrate energy efficiency and Earth Day! Attend our free webinar on April 18 at 2:00PM ADT to hear more about why Treehouse Village is building a Passive House neighbourhood.
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