After purchasing our home, a remodel was needed to reconfigure the bedrooms for the kids and open up the living spaces. We had been following environmental issues, in particular climate change and its impacts, and felt this was the perfect time to learn how to make our home more efficient.

I wanted to see how much could be done to reduce our energy use, thereby reducing CO2 emissions and saving money in the long run. Is it possible to have a modern lifestyle yet consume much less energy? If so, how? That was the challenge and inspiration. We also had a desire to use more healthy, sustainable materials. (No VOC, wool carpet, cellulose insulation, no plastic plumbing, local juniper wood for our decking, for example.) I did a lot of research upfront before the design and construction phase, in order to be informed about our options. Planning efficiency features into the design from the start can make a huge difference. For example, choosing best placement of heat-pump water heater so ducting can run to/from a warm location in the house, placement of heat recovery plumbing under showers, or furring and doubling the width of exterior walls for more insulation. We learned there’s a lot you can do for efficiency without changing your overall design goals, and, most of the work is easy to do for any contractor who is willing to read a spec sheet and think about the task. 

My advice is: Firstly, make efficiency a priority from the beginning to end of your project, and find contractors willing to work with you on it. Secondly, when faced with a choice, do more than you think. Add more solar panels than you think you need - fill the roof. If someone specs double pane windows, go triple pane. Instead of R45 go R60 above the ceiling. If someone says gas cooks better than electric, question that. If there’s anything you can do during the major portion of your remodel, do it upfront because (a) it will pay off, and (b) it is often harder to go back later to make changes.

In the end, the benefits are worth the upfront costs. You are future-proofing your home with modern materials and technology, and will get good resale value. It’s also better for the environment and therefore our kids and grandkids, but everything works better too. The house heats up (or cools down) faster. Boiling water on the stove top is faster. Things cook better in the oven. There’s no nasty gas exhaust smell blowing outside our windows. The house is comfortable and the air inside is fresh. Our bills are significantly lower. What’s not to like? Initially, with 9.6kW of solar, plus all the efficiency measures in our home, our family of 5 (two adults and three young kids) were seeing $14 electric bills for close to 9 months of the year. I felt this was a big success. As the kids grew and we purchased two EVs, our electric use has increased (while gas decreasing), and we only see $17 bills maybe 6-7 months of the year. Our plan is to purchase more solar panels for the west-facing roof on our garage, and add battery storage. There are also ways we can reduce consumption (e.g. drive less, reduce laundry/hang clothes, interior thermostat settings, etc.) I hope to get very close to net-zero for the entire year.