EnerGuide 80: Investing in Efficiency, Health & Value
By Carolyn Cutting, Estimator
You may or may not have heard of Cedarglen Homes’ new initiative to consistently achieve an EnerGuide rating of 80 on all of our homes purchased in 2016.This offer of an EnerGuide 80 rating is available on our standard plans on standard lots! Now that all sounds nice but what does this actually mean? Energuide is the official label from the Government of Canada for rating the energy consumption and efficiency of varied products, and in our case for labeling the energy consumption of our homes. The scale for EnerGuide goes from 0-100 with 0 meaning least efficient and a rating of 100 indicating products are the most energy efficient. Just to give you an idea, the typical new home built to the Alberta Building Code is rated between 66 and 72, depending on the specifications. When rating a home, the EnerGuide program categorizes if the home is cost-effective, energy efficient, has lower greenhouse gasses and saves energy. Some of the benefits to having an EnerGuide 80 home is that they are less expensive to operate, more environmentally friendly and overall more comfortable to live in. With the proposed government carbon tax, having a high efficiency home will also help keep your monthly utility costs lower.
There are many ways to achieve an EnerGuide rating of 80 in your newly built home. Here is a list of the standards that Cedarglen Homes has included to ensure we meet this goal;
- R60 attic insulation provides a higher R-value and minimizes the transfer of heat. Industry standard: R40.
- Triple pane insulating glass provides added performance benefits, especially in extreme climates, as it features additional glass and airspace for improved insulation. Industry standard: double pane.
- R20 Basement exterior wall insulation provides a higher R-value and minimizes the transfer of heat. Industry standard: R12.
- Industry standard: not included.
- Tankless water heater heats water directly without the use of a storage tank. As a result, tankless water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. This system uses energy only when there is a demand for hot water. Industry standard: mid-efficiency hot water tank.
- 95% high efficiency furnace. Industry standard: 92% high efficiency furnace.
- 2lb spray foam to rim joists, 1/2lb spray foam around windows and doors, as well as spray foam to all exterior penetrations. Industry standard: batt insulation and poly vapour barrier.
- Wood backing and acoustic seal to potlights and bath fans. Industry standard: not included.
- Airtight electrical boxes with gaskets to exterior walls. Industry standard: metal electrical boxes.
With all these measures in place, we know that we will provide energy proficient homes meeting the EnerGuide rating of 80 for each home that has started construction in 2016! We look forward to offering each of our home buyers this new standard that will bring efficiency, value and health into each home.
Have a great weekend,
Cedarglen Homes