Planning the Yukon's Most Energy Efficient Home

We are now less than a month away from starting construction on what we hope will be the Yukon's most energy efficient home.  It is a small laneway house that my wife Georgi and I are building in downtown Whitehorse to replace a very small, dilapidated "garden suite".  I'll try to post construction progress photos as the work progress, so check back soon. Here is what the building is going to look like:

Project Description: 704B Wood Street is a privately developed laneway house project. The project principals are based on bringing truly sustainable housing to the community.  The building is generally a "Craftsman" style home that draws upon architectural elements of  older homes and outbuildings in the neighborhood.  It is also shares the property with the Hulland House, a designated heritage home.  The new laneway house is designed to fit comfortably with the Hulland House and be a complimentary younger sister.

The house is designed to provide modest, yet high quality rental accommodation.  The house is a two-bedroom 970 ft² suite over a single car garage and 480 ft² unfinished basement. The building site is centrally located in downtown Whitehorse, Yukon and is an infill home on and existing lot. The building is designed with three major themes: Super energy efficient, Durable and Healthy.

Project Objective: To build a truly Sustainable home: A home that is an asset to future generations, not a liability. A Sustainable home project means:

	Building Owner/Occupant	Building Team
Financially Sustainable	Affordable to own, operate & maintain (Simple, compact design; Energy efficient & Durable)	Financially successful project for team members.
Environmentally Sustainable	Reduced environmental impact of construction & operation (Energy efficient). Healthy for occupants.	Healthy & safe for building team during construction.
Socially Sustainable	·   Occupant: Lovable house, pride in ownership, dignity in housing, promote social interactions. ·   Community: Lovable house, contribute to the community and promote social interactions.	Happy Team: enjoyable project to work on; Pride in work & being part of a great project.

Key Themes:

1. Super Energy Efficient	Super insulated house; well-sealed. Preliminary EnerGuide for Homes Rating: 88 Annual heating cost to be less than $300 / year.
2. Durable	Comprehensive Building Durability Plan. Building is planned to last for more than 100 years.
3. Healthy Indoor Environment	Ventilation plan & verification; Use of healthy / low emission materials inside.

Demonstrating Sustainability: This project is registered with the Canada Green Building Council as part of the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)[1] for Homes Certification (CaGBC project #16524).   If achieved, this will be the second LEED Certified home in the Yukon.

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[1] Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED is a consensus-based system for rating the design, construction, operation, and certification of the green buildings administered in Canada by the Canada Green Building Council

The “LEED Canada for Homes Logo” is a registered trademark owned by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) and is used by permission. The logo signified that Old Way of Seeing Sustainable Building Services is actively participating in CaGBC’s LEED Canada for Homes Program; the CaGBC does not guarantee the products or services offered by its participants