A new Zero Carbon Cottage is now under construction in CottageClub at Ghost Lake, Alberta. When completed, the cottage will be used for educational tours on building green as part of an innovative partnership with cottage owners, the Jenkins family, SAIT’s green building technologies team and Lamont Land Development Inc., the developers of CottageClub at Ghost Lake.
The SAIT / developers partnership seeks to explore and improve energy efficiencies in new homes built in the CottageClub community. To encourage sustainable building, the developer pays for up to 10 hours of planning time with the SAIT team as part of every developer lot sale. SAIT is providing CottageClub owners with affordable ways to achieve net zero energy construction and reduce utility bills as well as innovative options for high performance building envelopes, mechanical systems, advanced energy monitoring and renewable energy.
The SAIT green building technologies research group was formed 11 years ago, providing energy and emissions reductions advisory, education and applied support for building products, services, design and construction. SAIT provides technical input in the development and application of green building systems. A full range of services is offered to owners beyond the initial planning, including analyzing cottage energy requirements; cottage orientation to maximize passive solar and solar PV options; identifying requirements for geothermal heating/cooling systems; identifying eco-friendly material selections and operating options to reduce carbon footprints.
The project is aiming to develop a carbon emissions-free home through low energy and water use to zero-carbon materials, such as building a wood basement in place of concrete.
The home is also being built at a price point similar to a typical stick-frame constructed cottage. Managing the build is Plaid Shirt Projects, a new partnership formed to provide hands-on project and construction management for residential and commercial builds and renovations, in particular those connecting the demand for quality and creativity to the values of sustainability and healthy environments.
“The start of construction of the Zero Carbon Cottage is a milestone for CottageClub and another step forward in our vision of building an enviro-conscious community. Having the SAIT green building technologies team involved, with its many years of experience in net zero energy construction adds innovation, design and validity to the project,” says Don Stengler of Lamont Land Development.
