EnerQuality Applauds Midhaven Homes’ Commitment to Sustainability

(Durham) An apple tree, a garden plot or a compost station are not options homebuyers typically look for, but they are standard features offered by Midhaven Homes - a local builder that is pushing the boundaries on environmental sustainability and changing the landscape of Durham communities.

In 2012 Midhaven broke ground on Breeze, an appropriately named community located in north Oshawa. Breeze homes are GreenHouse™ certified and ENERGY STAR® qualified, meaning they outperform the Ontario Building Code’s energy efficiency requirements by approximately 20 per cent and are constructed with innovative energy saving materials, fixtures and appliances.

Over the last 10 years there has been a consistent rise in the number of new homes that are being labelled as energy efficient. The ENERGY STAR for New Homes® program, now approaching its 10th anniversary, has earned an impressive 30 per cent adoption rate by Ontario builders. Rigorous third-party verification by EnerQuality, Canada’s leading certifier of energy efficient sustainable homes, ensures that the home performs to higher efficiency standards, which ultimately means lower energy bills.

For Midhaven, creating greener communities also means encouraging a holistic, sustainable lifestyle, which is why homebuyers are asked to select a number of free green-lifestyle additions such as an outdoor clothesline or a push-powered lawn mower – choices offered in Midhaven’s standard Fresh Living package.

Industry is taking note. Midhaven’s growing list of environmental building awards is impressive and includes Natural Resources Canada’s 2014 ENERGY STAR Market Transformation Awards winner, New Homes Builder of the Year; the 2013 & 2014 Durham Region Green Builder of the Year; and EnerQuality’s coveted 2013 ENERGY STAR for New Homes Builder of the Year – Large Volume Builder.

“Midhaven deserves to be recognized for their commitment to creating more sustainable communities in Ontario,” says Corey McBurney, President of EnerQuality, “the success of Breeze demonstrates that homebuyers have an appetite for high quality homes. Midhaven’s out-of-the-box approach to sustainable living sets the bar and encourages us all to do better.”

Building green is more than an upgrade or a marketing strategy, it’s a philosophy, and the company’s commitment to environmental excellence starts at the top with Peter Saturno, Midhaven’s president and co-founder who started the business with his father when he was only 26 years old.

Saturno, after recently receiving the Ontario Homebuilders’ Association’s Lifetime Achievement award, explained, “We are problem solvers, we are an industry that is a catalyst for positive change. The New Homebuilding industry leads the country in energy efficiency advances … not because we have to, but because that’s the kind of industry we are; a socially consciousness and responsible industry.”