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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, May 6, 2010 · 12 First GreenHouse in town By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 905.847.7333 or toll free 1.866.707.7333 · airport flat rates · 24 hr. service · commercial accounts · local & out-of-town · luxury sedans · weddings · proms Serving Oakville Since 2005 s r r TM edwinlimoinc@yahoo.com www.edwinlimoinc.com The people at Oakville's Greenbilt Homes are very proud of their current project. The construction company has built the first certified GreenHouse in Halton -- in Bronte Village. With utility bills going up, the builders say this new Oakville home will save its owners some money. "A GreenHouse-certified home will reduce energy consumption by 25 per cent. This house will probably do more," said the company's vice president Catherine Ann Marshall. The 3,300 square-foot home is certified by EnerQuality Corporation, the same organization that labels products with the Energy Star in Ontario. For a home to receive a GreenHouse certificate, it needs to do more than conserve energy. The home will also save water, the construction of the house will reduce the amount of material used and minimize waste, as well as use a high amount of recycled materials and the home will have improved air quality for a healthy environment through things such as better ventilation. The construction of the home also includes RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER BUILDING GREEN: Michael Manning and Catherine Ann Marshall of Greenbilt with a certified GreenHouse built in Oakville. The house has some 85 features that make it more energy and water efficient and healthier. low-to-no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in materials such as paints and carpets for healthier air. Marshall added this home will also have a gas stove and a gas drier to conserve electricity saying that driers and big-screen televisions are the biggest draws on electricity in the home. All together there are 85 features in the home to make it green, such as things as small as compact florescent light bulbs throughout the home, motion-controlled lights, to larger items such as heavy insulation and draft proofing and much more. There are also initiatives in the home that go beyond the GreenHouse certificate. In the basement of the home is an 80-square-foot cold room/cellar that will use a traditional opening to the outside for cooling in the winter. However, in the summer, when the cellar normally gets hot, the hole will be closed and a ground source cooling system will be activated. Michael Manning, president of the company, put a pipe along the outside of the foundation of the home, some eight feet deep. The water in the pipe will stay a constant temperature, which will be used to keep the cellar at 12 C. Manning did some research into geothermal systems and spoke with experts to come up with the idea. "There was nobody I could talk to whether it was going to work conclusively," he said. "We took a chance to do this because there is no evidence that this will work." He did point out that similar systems have worked in other places. Another feature within the home is a drain water heat recovery unit. Manning said the system is at its best when someone is taking a shower. A pipe bringing water into the home is coiled around the drain so that the draining hot water will warm up the cold water coming into the home before it gets to the water heater. The heater is also tankless to reduce energy consumption. Another additional feature in the home is a pipe of about 50 feet in length that runs deep underground to let air into the Heat Recovery Unit. "This reduces the draw on the air conditioner because we've pre-cooled the outside air before it gets into the home," Marshall said. People who wish to learn more about the home can attend an open house this Saturday, May 8 from 1-4 p.m. The house, located at 2305 Belyea St., is on a 55 by 200 foot lot. It is selling for $1.39 million. Visit www.greenbilthomes.ca for more information. Get Mom what she really wants : Sundance Spas are FREE For This Year!** Impr ove Health w Your High Qu ith a a Inf r a-Relit y d Sauna 2000 Appleby Line (Millcroft Shopping Centre) Burlington *Based on 12 mo. no interest, no payment financing from install date through Jan 1, 2011 OAC. Other conditions and restrictions may apply. See store for details. 2379 Trafalgar Road (Winners Plaza) Trafalgar Ridge Plaza, Oakville 905-315-7800 905-257-5006 w w w. t h e s u n d a n c e s p a s t o r e . c o m