Acreages Feature Residents tout benefits of living next to nature
FALL RECYCLING
ROOTS RUN DEEP
Tips for homeowners before first snowfall
Age-old question on when to plant
HOW TO A8
DONNA BALZER A11
A9 FREE oct 16 to oct 22 2015 issue 05-40 editorial 403-781-1324 advertising 403-263-4940 crebnow@creb.ca
real estate news from industry experts
GIVING BACK ‘Net-positive’ home provides more energy than it uses CODY STUART
managing editor
W
hen talking about giving back, many people think of volunteer work or assisting in the community. For one Calgary household, however, it means something entirely different. Situated in the southeast community of Ramsay, Cornelis Koster’s home is giving back in the form of energy. Billed as Canada’s first net-positive home, it uses several forms of green-friendly technology to not only provide its own heat and power, but also creates a slight excess of electricity. “We have a 5.5-kilowatt system powering the suite, garage and the house plus we have a surplus,” said Koster, who also serves as president of Ironcor Solar. According to Koster, construction on the project took 17 weeks and came in at a cost of $220,000. Located at 1818 Eighth St. S.E., the uniquely designed home contains a garage and personal studio on the main level with a legal secondary suite on the upper level. It features high-value insulation and no north-facing windows. Koster says the home’s design limits the amount of heat loss during the winter months while triple-glazed windows provide optimum sunlight and further cut down on the amount of energy lost. Along with every-day high-efficiency appliances and low-flow toilets, showerheads and taps, the home also utilizes more cutting-edge measures in its pursuit of zero energy use. Its most noteworthy innovation comes in its use of solar energy, which provides heat and power for the home, as well as heating water. In order to heat water using solar energy, thermal PV tubes mounted on the exterior of the home contain a fluid that is pumped into tanks stored in the home, and also run through the home’s in-floor heating system.
NET-POSITIVE A3
CODY STUART, Managing Editor
$456,100
$456,300
$455,400
$455,400
$454,100
$451,600
$454,300
$456,300
$459,100
$459,500
$459,900
$458,400
$457,300
$456,700
$456,100
$454,800
$449,800
$443,400
$437,600
$431,400
$426,300
$422,800
$421,500
$419,000
$415,100
CITY OF CALGARY
MLS® BENCHMARK PRICE* SEP ‘13 – SEP ‘15
Cornelis Koster’s “net positive” Ramsey home provides more than enough energy to provide power and heat to the home, garage and secondary suite, leaving Koster with a monthly credit on his electricity bill.
CONTENTS
ATTAINABLE HOMES TO OFFER UNITS IN SKYVIEW RANCH
NEWS BRIEFS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 FIVE THINGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Federal election
INDUSTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Placemaking
MUNICIPAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Low-carbon planning
POP THE QUESTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7
CREB® STAFF
Scott MacPherson, SAIT Polytechnic
SEP13 OCT13 NOV13 DEC13 JAN14 FEB14 MAR14 APR14 MAY14 JUN14 JUL14 AUG14 SEP14 OCT14 NOV14 DEC14 JAN15 FEB15 MAR15 APR15 MAY15 JUN15 JUL15 AUG15 SEP15
A
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity. Includes detached, attached and apartment.
SUTTON CANWEST REAL ESTATE
$449,900
ttainable Homes Calgary Corp. (AHCC), in partnership with Truman Homes, recently unveiled its new Orchard Sky development in the city’s northwest that will provide affordable homeownership to 64 families.
COMMUNITY A3
MARKET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10 Work/live units
MORTGAGE RATES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10 MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 OPEN HOUSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B19 @crebnow
/crebnow
crebnow.com
Donna Williams | 403-617-7749 | donnawilliamsrealestate.com Great value in this 1278 sq. ft., 3 bdrm up bung. Gleaming Acacia hardwoods. Fully dev W/O w/fam rm & new carpet. Beautifully landscaped w/3 amazing south decks! MLS®C4033951
SHAWNESSY WALKOUT BUNGALOW
$315,000
CASTLERIDGE 4 LEVEL SPLIT
Charming 3 + 1 bdrms, FP in living room, dev on all 4 lvls. Huge fam rm w/3 pc bath. 4th lvl w/4th bdrm. Good condition. New furnace HW tank. Short walk to school, shopping & bus. MLS®C4033344
$259,900
Fabulous trendy penthouse, 18 ft. ceilings w/full height natural stone FP, skylights. Huge upper loft area. Insuite laundry. indoor parking. Hardwood, close to LRT and shopping. MLS®C4031004
MIDNAPORE PENTHOUSE LOFT CONDO
$484,800
Immac top floor 2 bdrm, 2 bath, contemporary design w/high-end finish. Insuite laundry, heated indoor parking. Amazing roof top garden. 5 min walk to Foothills Hospital. MLS®C4030332
PARKDALE TOP FLOOR LUXURY