When David Shephard shows his Victorian worker's cottage in downtown Toronto, he starts in the basement. It's where his pride and joy is: A mechanical system incorporating the most up-to-date "green" technology.
The semi-detached house at 12 Sackville Place in Cabbagetown looks much like it must have when it was built in the 1890s. You'd never suspect it's a unique example of environmentally responsible residential architecture.
Six months in the planning, the dwelling's "envelope" and mechanics were designed to ultimately make it independent of fossil fuels.
Mr. Shephard owns the house with his wife, architect Monica Kuhn, who is known in environmental circles for her involvement in projects such as the Hugh Garner Co-op Green Roof. He's an engineering technologist and biologist who works in the practice, Monica E. Kuhn Architect Inc. With living space on the second floor, the architectural offices are located downstairs. (The other half of the semi, No. 14, also figures in the story: It was once shared by the firm and the family, but is now occupied only by the couple and their children.)
"No. 12 ... is a demonstration of the fact that it is possible to have new, modern, energy-saving technology without putting up an entirely new building from scratch," Ms. Kuhn explains. "It can be put in place in a retrofit, and not be out of character. We have preserved the facade of this building."
While the Victorian exterior of the house has been preserved, its interior has been completely gutted, and fitted out with every modern energy-saving and energy-harvesting device.
The project "is ... an excuse to try every green technology and adapt it to a workable use," Mr. Shephard says.
The mechanical system - with boiler, water holding tanks, and cooling coils buried in sandy soil near an underground stream - is carbon neutral, Mr. Shephard says. It's a hands-on set-up: Using paper and wood for fuel, he fires up the boiler once a day for a four- or five-hour burn during the winter months. The boiler heats both of the 750-litre water tanks - one for heating and one for domestic hot water. Fuel costs have been reduced by a whopping 45 per cent, partly because the wood the couple uses consists of off-cuts and demolition waste from their projects, supplied by contractors.
"This is just construction waste," Mr. Shephard explains. "The contractors call us and I pick it up." But he adds that last winter, he did buy a face cord of wood.
The hot-water system's low-energy pumps send the water to radiators, he continues. "In the summer, when the temperature is below 26 Celsius, the system is convection, with the windows and roof skylight allowing the air to circulate. On hotter days, we have a choice of two additional cooling systems, with the goal of reducing our dependence on using fossil fuels.
"What I love about this place is that it holds heat in the winter and radiates it or throws it off in the summer."
T he second key feature of the project is the structure's "envelope." For instance, exterior walls have insulation rated R20, and the roof R50, while windows are triple-glazed. Marmoleum (marbleized linoleum) flooring, made with renewable linseed oil and jute backing, is also used. Carpeting has a high recycled-fibre content, a low rating for emissions of volatile organic compounds, and comes in the form of tiles so that worn parts can be replaced without the throwing out the whole thing.
"I like things to be both natural and beautiful," Ms. Kuhn comments.
