By Tracey Arial
On Monday, June 22 at 10:45 a.m., Construction Voyer held a ground-breaking ceremony for six net-zero condos that will produce as much energy as they consume.
According to a press release distributed by the company, the condos will achieve the net-zero goal through “advanced heating, cooling and ventilation systems; high efficiency windows; superior levels of insulation and air tightness; solar panels that feed back to the grid; and significant water conservation measures.”
They form part of a Natural Resources Canada project that will see at least 25 net-zero energy homes constructed by March 2016.
Owens Corning Canada has devoted $2 million to the project and National Resources Canada is providing another $1.96 million in funding from under its ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative (ecoEII).
Construction Voyer joins four other participating builders across Canada. They are: Mattamy Homes Limited; Reid’s Heritage Homes; Minto Communities; and Provident Development Inc.
“Speaking on behalf of staff and management, Construction Voyer is thrilled to be participating in the NZE demonstration project,” said co-owner Jean-Francois Voyer. “It is proving to be a terrific experience which is allowing us to display our expertise in building high quality homes, while always looking for ways to utilize cutting-edge technology.”
Voyer’s ground-breaking took place on Lot 100-101, Boulevard des Cépages in Duvernay East, close to the Highway 25 bridge.
Officials from all levels of government attended. They were: Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette; City Councillor Paolo Galati; Construction Voyer co-owners Jean-Francois and Pascal Voyer; Owens Corning Canada technical services manager Salvatore Ciarlo; and Montreal Homebuilders Association executive director, Marc Savard.
The project is a follow-up to a 12-unit project led by Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) in 2007.
The homes built under that project ran into some difficulties, including complicated mechanical energy systems that required custom engineering and sometimes became unreliable or difficult to service.
Everyone involved is confident that those challenges have been overcome for the current project.
