Canadian national project

EQuilibrium ^TM Housing Pilot and Demonstration Initiative by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). EQuilibriumTM housing follows a Net Zero Energy approach and integrates high-performance, energy-efficient passive solar design and commercially available on-site renewable energy systems such as solar heating, air- and ground-source heat pumps. EQuilibriumTM housing also incorporates the principles of occupant health and comfort, affordability, resource conservation and reduced environmental impacts. These significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimize the detrimental environmental impacts of housing on water, land and air. The goals of the EQuilibriumTM housing initiative is to build the capacity of Canada's housing and renewable energy industry sectors to create high-quality housing across the country over the long term and achieve acceptance of low-impact healthy houses and sustainable communities. Twelve demonstration projects have been selected by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation throughout Canada.

Fig.1    Logo of the EQuilibrium ^TM Housing Initiative of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation

In the frame of Annex 32 two EQuilibrium^TM Houses in Eastern Canada are designed, simulated and investigated in field monitoring. The EcoTerra^TM House of the Home Building Company Aloutte Home is a house of prefabricated components, which has been erected in one day in Eastman, Quebec. The building technology incorporates as core components a building integrated PV/thermal (BI-PV/T) and a ground-source heat pump. Furthermore, other innovative technologies are field-tested, e.g. a waste water heat recovery and a hollow floor slab to store the preheated air of the PV thermal system.
The second house, the Alstonvale Net Zero Energy House, is based in Hudson, Quebec, and also incorporates a building integrated PV/Thermal. The concept of a Net Zero energy lifestyle incorporates besides the design of a Net Zero consumption of the house also mobility aspects by integrating the car battery charging into the energy concept and a local food production. Thereby, different aspects of sustainability are integrated in the concept of the house. Core components of the technical building system are two heat pumps for capacity control, a ground loop, a BI-PV/T as heat source and a heat storage. System concepts have been documented in two system concepts sheets and single pilot technology concepts are treated in the final report on prototype systems.