“It saves you a significant amount of money on heating your domestic hot water which is one of the biggest energy loads in a home,” says Curtis. Last November, about 20 MHBA members took part in a net-zero builder certi fication course. Kensington Homes marketing manager Ryan Alby says his company is imple menting LED lighting as standard in homes this year, and he’s also exploring ways to move toward net-zero construction. Part of the challenge is showing homeowners that investing in energy efficien cies will be worth the upfront costs over the long term. But costs for efficiencies such as solar panel systems are coming down, and Alby says they may even become common on show homes over the next few years. “There might be a couple of builders who have already done that. I wouldn’t be surprised if we continue to push in that direction,” he says. “From a builder’s perspective we just want to keep making ourselves better and providing the best homes we can for our customers, and I think that’s the same message you’d get from almost every builder. We always want to be leaders in the industry and we want to be pushing our industry as a whole to be better.” Lund urges consumers to let their builder know that they want their new home to be energy efficient from the start. “The beauty of energy efficiency is you can include it in the design of any home at any price point, and all builders can do it,” she says. To learn more about the New Homes Program, visit www.hydro.mb.ca .
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