Saturday, March 20

• Seminar: 10am to 12:30pm
• Tours: 2pm to 4pm

Seminar: Designing and Owning a NetZero Energy Home

• Grant MacEwan University, CN Theatre Rm. 5-142, 105 St. Building at 105 St. and 105 Ave
• Peter Amerongen (builder), Gordon Howell, P.Eng. (solar engineer), Conrad Nobert (Mill Creek homeowner)
• Seminar and tours: No need to register. Cost: free

Open House Tours - see ideas you can use on your own house

• energy- and water-efficient construction and appliances reduce space heat by 65%, hot water by 75%, and
  electricity use by 50% for upgrade cost of less than $20,000. All electric. No need for natural gas line.
• air and water heat recovery, LED lighting, rainwater harvesting, passive solar, active solar, solar electricity
• sustainable materials, healthy indoor air quality, eco-landscaping, net zero emissions

As you would expect, the Riverdale, Mill Creek and Belgravia NetZero houses have much in common - netzero concept of course, designer/builder Peter Amerongen, urban location, attention to detail. They also share DNA, in the form of the large wood beams and posts that are prominent in all three houses. The wood was salvaged from a liquor store that had been located on 97 Street in Edmonton. The original beams were 7 1/2 inches wide by 29 inches deep by 33 feet long and weighed 1500 pounds.

Bernie is sawing a beam in half using a chainsaw while Tristan is removing joist hangers.  read more... »

You may have heard about Edmonton's next net-zero house, particularly if you're on Gordon Howell's mailing list. The Belgravia net-zero house is under construction, with demolition of the the previous house (built in 1948) on June 30.

Hi, my name is Bob Heath, and I'm the owner of the Belgravia NetZero (BNZ) house. I'd like to thank Conrad for allowing me to post to the Green Edmonton site. I'll be posting frequently over the next year about various aspects of the house, but I thought I'd devote my first post to how I came to make the decision to build a net-zero house.  read more... »