THE FUTURE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN HOMES

A ground-breaking ceremony took place in a Regina neighbourhood today during the city's Sustainability Week. The Saskatchewan Research Council and Communities of Tomorrow, a Regina funding agency, announced a new energy-efficient home project that will use 90 per cent less energy than the average home.

"The Saskatchewan Research Council is using smart science solutions to design and outfit a home that will help move us toward a sustainable future," Minister responsible for the Office of Energy Conservation David Forbes said. "This home will demonstrate technology that can reduce a homeowner's costs significantly."

The Factor 9 Home: A New Prairie Approach will be a significant advance in home energy and water conservation technologies. The home is targeted to use 90 per cent less energy and 50 per cent less water than a comparable 1970s-era home in Regina of the same size. It will accomplish this by using new and current technologies and products that any homeowner can purchase for their own home. Factor 9 is the number that one arrives at when looking into the future of what the energy use of homes should be for the world to be sustainable.

The Factor 9 Home is a very energy-efficient housing demonstration project that will showcase energy and environmental features, including exterior site issues and water use, indoor environment, recycling of household waste, construction waste management, low-embodied energy of building materials and building durability.

"With rising energy costs, we are pleased to be involved in this project," Factor 9 homeowner Rolf Holzkaemper said. "We expect significant energy and power savings with a reasonable payback period."

This project is slated for completion in 2006. It is sponsored by Communities of Tomorrow ($100,000), Saskatchewan Office of Energy Conservation ($50,000), Saskatchewan Research Council ($50,000), the Holzkaemper family (homeowner), Panbrick Incorporated, and Emercor Limited. Other partners in this project include the University of Regina and the City of Regina.

More information about the project can be found at www.factor9.ca.

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For More Information, Contact:

Karen Potter Saskatchewan Research Council Saskatoon Phone: (306) 933-7089 Cell: (306) 221-1097