Building a B.C. version of a European home that stays warm without a furnace
As the story goes, when the three little pigs built their houses out of straw, sticks and brick, it was only the house of bricks that was strong enough to stand up to the big bad wolf. But the Faculty of Forestry is working on a house of sticks to prove that wood can be just as good, at least when it comes to energy use.
Using B.C. wood products, the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) and the Department of Wood Science, are working with a B.C.-based Brash Ventures Ltd. to build a passive energy home, a home that needs almost no external source of energy to heat.
“We have to do things like this because the cost of natural resources like oil and gas are going up and we’re consuming too much of them,” says Robert Fürst, a senior instructor in the Department of Wood Science, who is leading UBC’s side of the project.
Passive houses stay warm without a furnace because they are so well insulated that they trap in heat created in the home. They do this through walls much thicker than normal and with breathable insulation. Items like the oven, an electrical hot water heater and people, generate enough warmth to keep the home cozy. When required, solar energy and heat exchange pumps can be used to bridge any additional need for energy.
Because of their ability to minimize energy consumption, the passive home market is growing rapidly in Germany and other parts of Europe. Despite all the forests and wood available here in Canada, the passive home idea has not taken off. Now Brash Ventures Ltd. is working to build a “Canadianized” model of the German passive home.
The company turned to CAWP to collaborate through its Business Innovation Partnership program. When CAWP was created, its objectives included working with businesses to make the knowledge and expertise at the university accessible to industry. It works with companies to get unique ideas off the ground.
“Whether it’s building a prototype, a business plan or showing a company how it can best manufacture a product, we have the expertise to help,” says Iain Macdonald, managing director of CAWP. “Our students get to work on these real-world projects and it really enriches their opportunities.”
The goal of the industry-university project is to create a prototype of a B.C. passive home. As this is the first attempt to build a passive home in Canada, the cost hasn’t been established. In Germany, passive houses are approximately 15 to 20 per cent more expensive to build than regular homes.
The structure of the house is made of lumber and the insulation is made from excess waste products generated in the manufacturing process. Instead of releasing the carbon found in wood back into the atmosphere by burning it or letting it decompose, the carbon is sequestered in the building for decades.
Passive homes are not only environmentally sustainable but also support healthy living. Homes are built from natural products such as wood and wood-fibre insulation panels and water-based finishes are used.
“European passive homes are treated like a living organism. They call it ‘building biology,’” says Kell Hansen, a fourth year Wood Products Processing student who is working on the passive home for a co-op placement.
“Unlike most Canadian homes where the insulation works as a plastic bag, locking everything in, the walls of a passive home are breathable, allowing fresh air to circulate.”
At 12 inches thick, the walls are double the thickness of most walls in British Columbia. They’re filled with insulation made out of wood fibre and work to filter out dampness and air pollutants.
Despite all the benefits of the passive homes, Fürst and Hansen have run up against some major obstacles in British Columbia. The building codes are different here than those in Germany. In Germany, prefabricated walls and ceiling panels can be used without prior inspection of the building.
“I have never done construction before,” says Hansen. “This was a chance to get involved in construction but also to show that maybe we can do this sort of thing in North America, using our products and our knowledge.”
“In the long run, these types of projects are about changing people’s perspective on wood products, how we use them and how we build,” says Fürst.