CMHC EQuilibrium™ Demonstration Project in Quebec Opens the Way to Net-Zero Energy Consumption
The small lot in a modest section of Montréal’s Verdun neighbourhood was once home to a parking lot and car wash.
Le Soleil was designed by EcoCité Developments, in partnership with Les Constructions Sodero, to create apartment-style condominiums that are designed to be as healthy and energy-efficient as they are comfortable to live in.
Today, it is the site of Abondance Montreal: le Soleil: a highly energy efficient triplex that is one of the winning entries in Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC)EQuilibrium™ Sustainable Housing Demonstration Initiative.
EQuilibrium™ Housing is a national initiative led by CMHC that brings the private and public sectors together to develop homes that are designed to address occupant health and comfort, energy efficiency, renewable energy production, resource conservation, reduced environmental impact and affordability. By combining the latest energy-efficient features and technologies with on-site renewable power, EQuilibrium™ homes are designed to produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis.
To help Canadians learn first-hand about the initiative, CMHC is working with private sector teams to build EQuilibrium™ demonstration homes across the country. Abondance Montreal: le Soleil is the latest of these projects to open its doors to the public.
Le Soleil was designed by EcoCité Developments, in partnership with Les Constructions Sodero, to create apartment-style condominiums that are designed to be as healthy and energy-efficient as they are comfortable to live in. The three-storey triplex is an urban infill project that is intended to help revitalize this part of the city.
Each of the three 96.6 m2 (1040 sq ft) apartments occupies an entire level of the building. The project features an extremely well insulated and air-tight building envelope, passive and active solar heating, a solar photovoltaic (PV) electrical generating system, energy recovery systems and a ground source heat pump for heating and cooling. The roof-mounted solar panels also double as a pergola (shaded walk or passageway of pillars and cross-beams), to provide shade for the shared rooftop terrace. The triplex is net metered so that electricity bills will be reduced when excess electricity generated by the PV system is delivered back to the grid. As a result, the household energy requirements for Le Soleil are estimated to be only 24 per cent of those of the average Canadian home. The high energy efficiency of the building, coupled with the many renewable energy features means that the triplex is expected to approach net zero energy consumption on an annual basis.
For more information on this project, the CMHC EQuilibrium™ Sustainable Housing Demonstration Initiative or to find a demonstration home near you, visit our Web site atwww.cmhc.ca and type in the search keyword “EQuilibrium” or call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642. For more than 60 years, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada’s national housing agency and a source of objective, reliable housing information.
They made houses out of a carwash! One place in Toronto didnt they make a condo out of a parking garage?
Amazing. Its too bad they dont do enviromentally friendly developments like this on a larger scale.