State-of-the art house nears completion
Flatrock energy-efficient house won’t be certified yet
This is the house that Jack built. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx And with or without the provincial government’s support or encouragement it will be one of eight net-zero, Energy Star, R-2000 LEED platinum homes in Canada, says contractor Jack Parsons.
Can generate electricity
Simply put, he said, during an open house of his daughter’s unfinished home Friday, it will produce at least as much energy from the sun as it uses annually and is twice as efficient as an R-2000 home — which includes high levels of insulation, clean air features and measures to help protect the environment of the house.
But not only will the net-zero produce enough solar energy to run the Flatrock home, it has the potential to give back the electricity it doesn’t use.
However, that isn’t in the cards at the moment said Parsons because in order to do that a special meter called a net meter will have to be installed by Newfoundland Power.
Newfoundland Power has the
It is good for everybody. There are no negatives in this. If they’re not using the power for residents they can use it for something else. Contractor Jack Parsons
meters, but they can’t be installed under the province’s legislation.
Not allowed to return power to the grid
“The obstacle we have in Newfoundland is that at the present time you can’t get net-zero certified because Newfoundland Hydro won’t allow you to generate elec- tricity and put it back into the grid, which is allowed in every other province. But we’re working through that,” said Parsons, one of the owners of K & P Contractors, the company building the house.
“In order to get it certified as a net-zero we have to have an energy balance and right now you can’t have an energy balance because you can’t put power back into the grid because of the law, but yes it can be done physically,” he said.
Parsons said in Nova Scotia for example, residents buy a kilowatt from Nova Scotia Power for 10 cents and if a resident sells one it will give the resident 15 cents because they are trying to encourage the practice.
“It is good for everybody. There are no negatives in this. If they’re not using the power for residents they can use if for something else,” he said.
Curtis Mercer, K & P’s president and CEO, said the company submitted information recently to the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (PUB) as part of PUB’s interim report it is doing on power availability in the province for this winter.
Will present brief to PUB
As well he said the company will present a brief to the PUB later in the fall as it prepares a long-term power plan.
“Hopefully, between that and lobbying … the idea here is not to sell power,” said Parsons.
When contacted by The Telegram Friday afternoon, Natural Resources Minister Derrick Dalley said in an emailed statement the provincial government is honouring its 2007 energy plan commitment to provide regulatory support for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Newfoundland Power to develop and implement net metering for smallscale renewable energy sources, such as wind.
“Government expects to receive a new net metering draft proposal from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro later this year and will consider next steps at that time. We want to ensure that any policy put in place provides value for the ratepayers of Newfoundland and Labrador,” he said.
Parsons said since undertaking the project the company has become involved in a pilot project through Natural Resources Canada, which is providing technical support to the eight homes being built in the country.
According to a release on the federal department website, nrcan.gc.ca/node/5067, the project, along with input from the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) and the Net-Zero Energy Coalition, will play a key role in setting the requirements for labelling net-zero homes in Canada.
“Pilot participants will also benefit from collaborating with leading experts to gain insight into design of homes using available, high performance building envelope products, technologies, and techniques that can be used to achieve net-zero energy performance,” says a release on the website.
Mercer said the homes must be built by 2015, but because K & P started sooner Parsons’ daughter will move into her house in June.
Parsons said the company is also a member of the Net-Zero Energy Coalition, which according to its website, www.netzeroenergyhome.ca, was formed to make net-zero energy buildings and communities more mainstream across North America.
So it is doing what it can to promote netzero energy as a viable option to homeowners and builders in the province.
In fact, the Newfoundland chapter of the CHBA has recently set up a new self-funding association council focused on it.
Parsons said he will be a member of the council which will have its first meeting in less than two weeks.
“The message is that this is a viable option. It is environmentally friendly, uses less power and we will try to persuade the government to encourage and support this initiative,” he said.
Following the open house Mercer said some government people showed up, but the minister wasn’t available. He said members from the industry, College of North Atlantic, Memorial University and curious homeowners also had a look around.