Eco-friendly building options are now at the fingertips of Canadians looking to custom-build their home.
New models offer eco-friendly options such as VOC (volatile organic compounds)-free paint, recycled paper insulation, programmable thermostats, low-flow plumbing fixtures and dual-flush toilets, which combined can save 200,000 litres of water each year.
“We get more and more questions about how we can help and how to save energy,” Dany Bonneville, co-president of Bonneville Homes, said on the opening day of the Ottawa Home and Garden Show at Lansdowne Park Thursday.
New methods, like Bonneville Homes‚ Energy Efficient program, are making eco-friendly building more accessible to the average homebuilder while reducing energy consumption and saving natural resources.
Although building a custom, environmentally friendly home can run about $5,000 to $6,000 more than the average home said Bonneville, the end result is worth it.
“You would save in the long run with the energy that is saved alone,” said Bonneville.
Homeowners have the choice how many of the environmentally friendly aspects they want to incorporate in their home.
“There’s so many ways to go,” said Bonneville. “We need to know what they want and where they want to go so we can guide them.”
Through Sunday, Ottawa residents will have a chance to see an eco-friendly home firsthand at the Ottawa Home and Garden Show.
