Ontario NetZero Energy Houses

[Mel Tyree]

Hi Rob & others,
I know that there are a few NZE homes in Ontario already and I have reported on GPT Forum about my net zero energy house in NY State, which uses solar PV and residential wind for energy and a geothermal heat pump for heating/ac. This home has been operating for >4 years with lots of data logging of energy production and use; the home has proven to be very successful and economical!
I am thinking of building another which will be very energy efficient and use solar thermal and solar PV. In contrast, my NY home is built only to current code in terms of energy efficiency. The question is where should I build my second NZE home? What are the prospects today and into the near future for PV incentives and solar thermal incentives in Onatario? Has the new Ontario Government killed them?
Since I am a dual national (US & Canadian passports), I am seriously considering designing and building my second home in Ontario (between Cornwall and Ottawa or east of those towns). There are other advantages of personal interest to me that have nothing to do with energy.
If I can get into Ontario energy incentives I will start looking in April 2012 for vacant land or an older home to retrofit. I have attended more than one talk about retrofits to NZE status so that appeals to me too.
I will report progress of my adventure (blow by blow) on Green Power Talk Forum!
Best regards,
Mel Tyree

[Rob Beckers]

Mel, welcome to the neighborhood! We got lots of swamp land you can buy at outrageous prices! :)

Seriously though, if you're looking for land in this general area (east of my location), make sure it's on one of the ridges left over from the last ice age. This entire area, all the way to Montreal, is essentially a lowland bog. Lots of people having water issues (and the need to run sump pumps year around).

The only incentives I'm aware of are the ecoEnergy rebates. The ones I know about are for retrofits, but there may be a program for new building as well. Take a look. Other than that nothing quite as nice as the US federal and NYSERDA rebates. There's the FIT/MicroFIT program (currently under review), but that means you have to sell all energy to the grid. Technically I suppose you can still use that for net-zero determination, if what you pull from the grid is less than what you're putting back. Beyond that nothing I know about.

-RoB-

[Shane mari Besh]

Many of these homes are pre-fabricated and are priced about the same as a normal house. For instance, Shea Homes builds entire neighborhoods of net-zero houses, with houses starting at $180,000, according to Time magazine, though Shea Homes are used for retirement communities. Meritage Homes, a net-zero builder located in the Southwest U.S., according to USA Today, offers net-zero houses for as little as $140,000.

[Shane mari Besh]

Energy bills are annoying. Nobody really likes them, but unless one is willing to live without electricity, there's little one can do about them. There are a growing number of contractors setting up “net zero” houses which generate their own energy. More builders crafting net-zero homes (http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2012/03/09/net-zero-homes/) which are more energy efficient or energy producing and more people want them. Not having to pay a power bill, or at least a much smaller one, certainly has appeal. Going net zero is still a bit outside the expectations of the average home buyer, and outside the experience of the average home builder. But net zero homes, which produce as much energy as they use over the course of the year, offer valuable lessons.