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Written by Sherri Gallant LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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Monday, November 09 2009, 9:48 PM |
The partnerships forged in order to get the city’s award-winning Living Home built are not the sort of alliances that happen all the time, but they happen a lot in Lethbridge.
A builder, a post-secondary institution and municipal government may seem as well-matched as the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, but like the latter trio they’ve all brought something to the table to make a meal — or in this case, an energy-efficient home — complete.
Monday they gathered at the Living Home on Sunridge Cres. to celebrate receiving the Partnership Award from the Minister’s Awards for Municipal Excellence, 2009. Cedar Ridge Quality Homes, the City of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College were recognized for joining forces to educate, demonstrate, validate and promote good environmental homes design that’s applicable to the Lethbridge environment.
“It’s been a great opportunity for us, as a small builder, to make a difference,” said Lonny Hoy, president of Cedar Ridge.
“Sometimes as a builder you kind of get blinders on — you head in one direction and you just keep going. And it’s really neat to step back and take a look at what you’re doing and think about why you’re doing it. This project has been that for us. Now that the home is complete, it’s been good to see some of the research come back and pass some of the things that we’ve learned on to others.
“We get calls daily to our office and we’re over here talking to builders who have questions and want to do the right thing.”
Steven Dyck, executive director of advancement for Lethbridge College, explained how the germ of a concept first sprouted when Michael Kelly, manager of real estate and land development for the city was at a sporting event with the vice-president of academic affairs for the college.
“I’m not sure if they wrote it up on a napkin or what they did, but you see the results of it today,” Dyck said. “I think the award itself combines the force of industry, community and higher education, and I think this is a powerful statement.
“What you see here today is not merely a green home, it really is a living laboratory for green building design and sustainable construction, and our students have really gained some valuable experience during not only the conception and design phase, but also in the building stages, and now the applied research that’s coming on the back end of this project. More than 150 students have taken part in this project across a number of different faculties.”
All materials in the house were chosen for their ability to reduce energy consumption, absence of toxins and potential to be recycled. Solar panels on the roof are projected to generate 2,400 kilowatt hours of electricity per year — about one-third of what’s needed for an average Alberta home. Water is heated by transferring heat from a solution pumped to the roof and warmed in black tubes. By using only EnergyStar appliances, low-flow faucets, showerheads and toilets, water consumption is expected to be reduced by about 50 per cent.
Visit www.thelivinghome.ca.
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