NEWS

Old house made new in energy-saving retrofit

An old two-storey house in the Pape and Danforth area has become a new house, the first of its kind in Toronto.

Tracy Johnson
HOMEOWNER: Tracy Johnson and husband have been passing on the lessons they’ve learned.

It’s an EnerPHit house.

That is, it’s been retrofitted using international passive house design principles that negate the use of fossil fuels and make energy savings worth the effort.

Owner Tracy Johnson and her husband developed a presentation to show others how they can do the same with their houses.

On April 25 they hosted a webinar for the Pocket Change Project to pass on lessons they learned that could be applied by like-minded homeowners in The Pocket area or across Toronto who want to retrofit their homes, reduce their carbon footprints and save energy costs.

Super insulated

Johnson told Streeter her new house is designed to eliminate almost entirely any warm or cool air seeping out.

“You’ve got a super tight envelope that’s super insulated, so there’s very little leakage,” she said.

But there’s a catch: the retrofit must include a ventilation system.

Energy recovery ventilation system
FRESH AIR: The energy recovery ventilation system provides air from the outside for the tightly sealed home.

“If you don’t have good fresh air coming in all the time, then you can end up with mould,” Johnson said.

Johnson and her husband used to live in a big house in midtown Toronto. But after their two children grew up and moved out, the couple found the house was too big.

That was their catalyst to downsize. At the same time they wanted something that would eliminate dependence on fossil fuels and their carbon footprint.

“We looked for an orientation that would allow us to have south-facing windows, so we could maximize some of that passive solar heating that you get in the winter,” Johnson said.

They ended up buying a house on Sammon Avenue, built in the 1940s.

During the retrofitting a new one-storey addition was put onto the rear of the house. The plan is to add solar panels to that roof and from that charge their all-electric vehicle once they get one.

Dependent on electricity

Work involved removing asbestos from the old house, retaining the brick veneer along with the studding and clapboard underneath, as well as the wood rafters wherever possible.

The rear brick wall was demolished to make way for the addition and a heat pump was installed to provide heating and cooling.

The idea is to have the house entirely dependent on electricity.

In all, the entire project lasted from the fall of 2018 until March 2020.

EnerPHit house interior
SAVINGS AND COMFORT: Their EnerPHit house uses about 60 percent less energy than a regular house, Tracy Johnson says.

Over time Johnson and her husband have come to appreciate the dollars they’re saving in energy costs.

“You don’t realize those energy savings right away because you’ve just spent a lot of money investing in the house,” Johnson said.

But in the past two to three years they’ve used about 60 percent less energy than a regular house.

Canada long way behind

The principles of her EnerPHit house come from northern Europe.

“Passive houses were started in Germany and have taken off in the Nordic countries,” Johnson said. “We [in Canada] are a long way behind Europe.”

She noted there has been some resistance here to heat pumps because they were seen not to work well when temperatures dipped below -20 C.

But things appear to be getting better for the hard-working device. “Heat pumps have come a long way,” according to Johnson.

She advises homeowners who want to EnerPHit their house to contact Passive House Canada and get a good architect and consultant who understand how to design energy efficient houses.

“Call in some experts … have these discussions, and educate yourself because it is new in Canada,” Johnson said.