Photos by Marlene Chabot pg
8 By Dauna Ditson
Green home:
Sustainability Showcase
W
hen Karen Coté and Jon Wilsgard were looking to build a home, their wish list included a wall suitable for showcasing a massive elk head. The elk, lovingly called Elkie, is the only animal Karen ever hunted, but his glorious antlers landed her a provincial record. In order to hold the record-setting mount, the couple needed a 14-foot-(four-metre) high wall. Karen and Jon wanted a “mountain modern” style where Elkie would feel at home, where their stuffed bobcat could crouch and where their owl and hawk could roost. While the elk bust is arguably the most attention-grabbing feature in the couple’s home, they were focused on building a place that matched their environmental values. They wanted an energy-efficient home constructed from materials that are built to last. Meredith Hamstead and Paul Denchuk of thinkBright Homes stepped in to build the couple the home of their dreams, with the additional aim of making it energy efficient for a modest premium compared with building a conventional home. “They convinced us they could build us a home that was exemplary,” Jon says, but thinkBright Homes delivered even more than he had hoped. "They were absolutely stellar to work with," he says.
In December 2015, the couple, Karen’s children – now 16 and 14 – and their dog moved into their threebedroom 1,800-square-foot (170-square-metre) bungalow in Wilmer. Karen and Jon’s house is 36 per cent more efficient than the average household in B.C. Annually it produces 14.1 fewer tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions than a comparable code-built home, and only 16 per cent of the energy used in the home goes to heating and cooling. According to thinkBright Homes, the family will save so much on heating and cooling their home that the energy-efficiency upgrades will pay for themselves in seven and a half years. More than two years after settling in, Jon remains pleased with their energy bills, which he says are only $200 a month – including heating costs and powering multiple refrigerators and freezers. “A lot of folks pay that much just for lighting,” he says. Paul says results such as these are his best reward. He enjoys when clients rave about a home’s beautiful design, then add, “and you should see my energy bill.” “People are getting showy about the right things,” Paul says. At Karen and Jon’s home, those right things include triplepane windows, high-quality doors, an air sourced heat pump and more than double the insulation required under provincial building codes. The home also uses water-efficient fixtures and LED lighting. “Most people value homes based on location and other sub-
Columbia Valley Homes and Lifestyles • Vol 8: 2018