request from the client and come at a more
substantial cost ranging from an additional
$40,000 to $100,000. But that can be a long-
term savings to the consumer notes Hoover,
and right now the cost of solar energy has gone
down in price.
“Net-zero or Net-zero ready is important for
many reasons: the price of gas is not going to go
down, and the price of electricity is not going
to go down. There’s talk of climate change, so
it only makes sense that if it’s going to cost you
another $10,000 to 30,0000 for a $500,000 to
700,0000 house, to make your house perform
much better. It will also be more comfortable.
You can sit next to the window and not feel a
draft when it’s -30 degrees Celsius outside,”
said Hoover. “It’s not much just do your part
for the environment. For us, it’s not that big of
a deal in terms of the effort, that’s been kind of
a passion for us.”
Many of the design and building techniques
that go into net zero homes go into the con-
struction of Habitat Studio’s other homes. Ev-
ery home is very airtight for example, and ev-
ery home is very well insulated with the best
appliances such as furnaces or hot water tanks,
or on-demand tanks or whatever is required for
maximum efficiency according to the client’s
134 business elite canada
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AUGUST 2014
