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Ottawa’s OakWood Designers & Builders Label Their First Net Zero Ready Home

Custom Net Zero Ready Home in Ottawa by OakWood


Ottawa, October 1, 2020 – Today the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) is recognizing CHBA Member OakWood Designers & Builders first home to qualify under the CHBA Net Zero Home Labelling Program. Without compromise, this Ottawa home combines state of the art design and optimal energy efficiency.

Specializing in renovations, custom homes and commercial properties, OakWood has been providing design & build services in Ottawa since 1956. An active member of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA), OakWood has a long history as a high-performance builder, beginning in the 1980s as a registered R-2000 builder. Their expertise in pairing beautiful design with energy efficiency is demonstrated by their stunning design centre and showroom in Ottawa, which was built to LEED Platinum.

And now, OakWood is adding CHBA Qualified Net Zero Builder to their list of accomplishments. Net Zero homes produce as much energy as they consume. Consequently, their EnerGuide rating – a measure of energy consumption in gigajoules per year – is zero. A Net Zero Ready home is built to the same efficiency levels as a Net Zero Home, but does not yet have the renewable energy generation system installed.

The Net Zero Home Labelling Program provides the residential construction industry and consumers with a clearly defined and rigorous two-tiered technical requirement that recognizes Net Zero and Net Zero Ready Homes. It also recognizes the builders and renovators who provide them. To date, over 400 homes in Canada have been labelled through CHBA’s Program.

“CHBA supports leading-edge innovation in the residential construction industry with the goal of having those innovations as a voluntary and affordable choice for consumers. Oakwood, with its long-standing commitment to energy efficiency, continues to help raise the bar with this Net Zero offering for discerning homebuyers,” said Kevin Lee, CHBA CEO.

“Home builders in Ottawa have long been leaders in a number of high performance building standards, and we are extremely pleased that Oakwood is showing how a Net Zero home can fulfill the aspirations of local home buyers for energy efficiency,” said Jason Burggraaf, Executive Director, GOHBA.

The home features a walk-out basement, front porch with cathedral cedar ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling triple-pane windows. Its high construction quality means the home is quiet and comfortable, with excellent indoor air quality – a feature more important now than ever as so many of us find ourselves working and schooling from home.

And because it’s built to Net Zero Ready, the home’s entire annual energy consumption can be offset with future on-site renewable energy generation (typically in the form of photovoltaic solar panels that generate electricity). Getting to this level of energy efficiency requires a team of experts. EnerQuality, and energy advisor Mark Rosen from Building Energy Inc., ensured the home met the Net Zero Home Labelling Program requirements.

“OakWood believes that Net Zero is the standard of the future and are really pleased to be a part of it,” said Patricia Liptak-Satov, VP Operations for OakWood.

  • Builders and Renovators can learn more about the Program at www.chba.ca/nze
  • Consumer information on the Program can be found at www.NetZeroHome.com
  • Information on the Net Zero Council can be found at www.chba.ca/nzc

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CONTACT

Natasha Rombough
Director, Marketing & Communications
Canadian Home Builders' Association
P: 613.230.3060 x224
E: natasha.rombough@chba.ca

ABOUT THE CANADIAN HOME BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION

Since 1943, the Canadian Home Builders' Association has been "the voice of Canada's residential construction industry" - one of the most vital and enterprising industries in Canada. Representing some 9,000 member firms across Canada, CHBA members represent every part of Canada's housing industry - home builders, renovators, land developers, trade contractors, product and material manufacturers, building product suppliers, lending institutions, insurance providers, service professionals and others.

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association is represented in Ottawa by the Greater Ottawa HBA. For more information or to join, visit: https://www.gohba.ca/how-to-join.