Imber Akse House – Burlington’s LEED home

Typical house designs treat the interior environment as one single climate zone when considering heating and cooling loads. This legacy was necessary out of lack of understanding of the interior climate but also due to limitations of heating and cooling equipment and pure cost considerations. However today there remains no logical reason to continue with this legacy idea.

The problem is that it ignores imbalances in temperatures from one end of the home to the other as well as possible passive methods for mitigating temperature fluctuations within the interior. The idea has been overcome the elements with more power – put in a large Heating and Air Conditioning system to ensure everyone is comfortable at least part of the time, in the majority of the home.

Modern house and building design looks at the house as a system or organism – using technology and design to solve inequities or imbalances in heating and cooling needs for the building. These new ideas also consider the occupants and their desires for comfort, at different times of the day, in different locations of the home by function as well as the external pressures on the interior climate which can differ from the North or South sides of the building.

From considering the home as a system – including zones for climate and passive means to control temperature – the house can achieve exceptional energy efficiency as well as occupant enjoyment.

We designed our house to accommodate various comfort zones in two ways. 

First, using radiant and ground source we have zoned different areas of the house for efficiency eg. cooler bedrooms than activity spaces. But secondly and most important, the house recognizes the different climate zones created by a North and South side. 

By locating bedrooms on the cooler North side within which occupants are naturally more forgiving of cooler winter room temps and more appreciative of cooler summer room temps and separating and insulating these rooms from the south facing windows with a hallway allows us to mitigate the interior temperature fluctuations using windows to the exterior as well as interior windows to the rooms. 

The windows to the rooms from this hallway carry natural exterior light into the spaces without the heat. A white TPO roof membrane also reflects a tremendous amount of light into the rooms but without heat gain – reducing energy load of cooling and also desire for artificial light by day. 

The heat gain in this hall during winter and shoulder months can be used to load the concrete floor, charging the radiant, as well as transfered into the rooms when necessary via their transom windows and redistributed using ceiling fans. 

In the end, controlling the house climate with a system of passive techniques and mechanical technologies will achieve a high level of efficiency and comfort for the long term  - for sustainability and the ecology.

One of the main features of our house, both aesthetically and functionally is the stone work. Consequently we spent a lot of time focusing on the style, source and construction of the stone. So when it came time to choose a stone mason, we were particular to find a company that could give us a more artisanal approach to their work than supplying the typical stone or composite veneer pattern that is prevalent today.

Diamond Masonry were chosen for their reputation, previous work and willingness to give it their all to achieve an old school artistic look – reminiscent of drystack ledgerock and rubble.

After sourcing the perfect mix of stone from various local quarries, John Greenis from Diamond experimented for a few weeks on how to achieve the right look while balancing a budget of difficulty and time on job. His solution is nothing short of beautiful – and exactly what we dreamed of.

It’s amazing the reaction from passers by – people who are captivated by the aesthetic beauty of natural stone assembled in a recognizably traditional and craftsman like method.

In the end, aesthetically the exterior and interior stone work will provide a sincere and relaxed elegance and contrast to the modern lines of the home – an old and new ideal. Functionally and as part of the sustainable features of the design, the stone in the interior will act as thermal mass, mitigating temperature change within the interior climate. In summer, the stone will collect night time temperatures and conversely assist in keeping the air temp cool by day. In winter, the stone mass walls will collect direct sun exposure energy as well as ambiant air temperature from the ground source (Geothermal) powered radiant floors by day, and slowly release that temperature through the night to keep the heating system working efficiently within ideal low output temperature ranges.

Recently part of our water collection and grey water re-use scheme was installed. Bushman Canada supplied our 2 x 1980 gallon cisterns that will collect our rain water from the home as well as shower greywater, post filtering and treatment from the greywater recycling unit, from the house. The water collected in the cisterns will be used around the home; irrigation of young plantings and trees, washing cars, topping up the pool and various maintenance needs.

Not only is collecting rain water for reuse a cost saver as you pay for both municipal water in and out, it is also an environment saver. Rain water that runs off a property to the street via hard surfaces and drain pipes simply fills storm sewers and heads to the lake, taking with it a broth of chemicals and particulate that chokes the aquatic ecosystem. Collecting the water and using it for irrigation slowly and responsibly means it gets used by vegetation – converted into natural air cleaning and air conditioning. Furthermore it is slowly released into the water table after being filtered by the soil and plants.

The installation, though seemingly invasive for the massive holes you require for such large tanks, was quick and painless with minimal disturbance of the site. The only downside following the install are the protruding vents and man covers that are necessary for maintenance of the units. With a little planning – which was not entirely afforded to us by surprise – you can do a lot to hide what can’t be avoided. We’ll simply extend the rear patio to cover what we can while building a box/bench to cover the remainder.

Next, the greywater recovery unit will be installed in the house. This unit will filter, treat and temporarily store shower water making it available for our low flush volume toilets and laundry machine. Overflow from the system will head to the cisterns. Eventually, once municipalities come to grips with ecological technologies, we will be allowed to cycle the cistern water back into the house for non potable household needs like laundry.

The drilling for the geothermal or ground source heat pumps is nearing completion. We thought our back yard looked big until Underground Sonic Drilling showed up with some seriously dude-ified equipment. The plan; to drill 8 holes at 300 feet deep and run the ground source loop of tubes up and down throughout. Of course all the while avoiding the trees, buildings, grey water cisterns and my 3 year old’s toy diggers that he’d leave on site every evening.

After 1 week of work, rain and shine, the work is mostly complete – and without a single complaint from the neighbours – that we could hear anyway. In fact, the drilling was remarkably quiet considering what’s involved. The drilling unit itself creates some vibration and the site generator and pump creates most of the sound typical of such equipment which is negligible.

This rig isn’t your typical oil driller – though we did find some natural gas. This driller uses a spinning bit in combination with water and vibration at sonic levels equating to faster and quieter drilling.

What we liked was the minimal imposition and disturbance on the property. The rig was able to mozy into tight areas among our trees and structures so we didn’t have to cut tree branches or move barriers for root protection. The pivoting drill head rotates to cut down on repositioning of the rig and tracks – minimizing the movement minimizes the destruction and compaction on the ground; roots systems and underground services.

Next up, 4 Seasons Geothermal, the Ground Source Heat/Cooling contractor will be in the mud to hook up the loop to the equipment in the house and pool building.

If we can say we’ve learned anything through the experience of building our own home it’s to make sure you get a good builder. Of course this means the obvious; quality minded, on time, passionate. But it also means standing behind you when things aren’t perfect for them.

We’ve got a great builder. With the financing climate being less than ideal there have been stresses but above all, Branthaven Homes has supported us, believed in the build, and kept on moving ahead. For this we are very thankful.

Over the summer months, following the window and roof completion, the electrical and ductwork began and is now almost complete. Also an extensive overhaul of the pool structure moved along, replacing the energy leaking legacy windows and skylights as well as the roof membrane.

Next up, stone exterior and interior stone wall (thermal mass) and drilling for the geothermal heat pump units.