Ottawa – August 2, 2016 – On July 25, 2016 the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) qualified five Net Zero Energy (NZE) homes built by Reid’s Heritage Homes, and the first Net Zero Energy ready (NZEr) home built by Lucchetta Homes, under the Associations’ Net Zero Energy Labelling Program Pilot. These are the first homes to qualify for this prestigious recognition.

A Net Zero Energy home is one that is designed, modelled and constructed to produce as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. An NZEr home meets the same technical specifications as an NZE home, but doesn’t have the renewable energy generation installed yet—this is left for purchase and installation in the future.

“The CHBA would like to congratulate the teams at Reid’s Heritage Homes and Lucchetta Homes for being the first to achieve this milestone under our new program.” says Sonja Winkelmann, Director, Net Zero Energy Housing. “We would also like to thank the CHBA’s NZE Qualified experts that supported the project — the Service Organization EnerQuality and Energy Advisor Andy Oding — for the third party testing and inspections. Together, the builders, their teams, and CHBA have reached a monumental point in Canadian housing.”

"Reid's Heritage Homes' commitment to building high performance homes is inspirational," says Rose Benedetto, Managing Director, EnerQuality. "All new homes in Westminster Woods are third party certified to meet rigorous performance standards, and we congratulate them on this incredible achievement."

“Our national Home Buyer Preference Study confirmed that today’s consumers are looking for energy efficient homes. The industry is ready and eager to deliver these NZE homes, the ultimate in energy efficiency, to Canada’s discerning homebuyers. Our Net Zero Energy Labelling Program identifies the best of the best in home energy efficiency, and provides Third Party confirmation for both the industry and the consumer,” says Kevin Lee, Chief Executive Officer.

“The CHBA supports continued improvement in the performance of Canada’s housing through voluntary measures like the Net Zero Energy initiative, advancing innovation in our industry and providing excellent options for homebuyers, while at the same time protecting affordability. This Program will help to meet the housing aspirations of Canadians, and renew Canadian leadership in high performance housing,” said Lee.

Courtesy Canadian Home Builders' Association