Almost all of us live and work in dumb buildings.

Our homes and workplaces are over-lit and under-insulated; their structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems are aging, outdated and inefficient.

They waste: resources, water and energy.

The result is heating and lighting bills that are 50 percent higher than they need to be.
With poor eco-IQs, our buildings not only cost too much to operate, they are profound contributors to planetary global warming.

That’s not to say they should be torn down and thrown away.

There are many examples of buildings that have been successfully renovated and restored to productive uses, even after standing dormant for many years.

It’s obviously time to rebuild, renovate and remodel, especially since utilities, federal and provincial governments are offering a variety of rebates, grants and tax credits to help finance building performance improvements.

By using the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system as a guide, your building rehabilitation will result in sustainable upgrades and operations.
“Retrofitting existing homes to boost energy performance will create millions of jobs, and by cutting energy use, we will reduce carbon emissions,” says Alex Wilson, author of Your Green Home (New Society Publishers, 2006).

“While public works programs can tackle low-income homes, different programs are needed for middle-class homeowners,” Wilson wrote in a recent issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine. “To reduce the total energy consumption of their homes by one-half to two-thirds (a challenging but realistic goal), a variety of tax credits, deductions, loan guarantees, and other inducements will be needed.
“We need new incentives that are performance-based, unlike most of today’s tax credits. By basing subsidies directly on improvements in energy performance – not simply on how much money is spent – we can encourage energy conservation retrofits and renewable energy systems that provide an attractive return on investment.”
Wilson suggests the performance-based focus could also apply to mortgages and loan guarantees using the home energy rating system (HERS), a 0 to 100 scale in which 100 equals the energy performance of a home meeting the 2004 Model Energy Code and 0 represents a net zero energy home.

“If the secondary mortgage market required a HERS index of 25 for new homes and 50 for existing home, we would see a dramatic ramping up of energy performance.”

Wilson advocates that building codes should be revised to promote a concept called “passive survivability.”

“In colder parts of the country, such requirements could include minimum R-40 walls, R-60 ceilings, triple-glazed windows, and passive solar features. By mandating such high levels of energy performance, homes would never put their occupants at risk – even with an extended power outage or loss of heating fuel – because the homes would never drop below 50 or 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

“By targeting as a top priority the energy performance of homes, we could not only put millions of people to work and achieve dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but also significantly reduce our vulnerability to wild fluctuations in world energy prices or energy availability while improving the comfort and security of homeowners and renters.”

Thanks to the federal government’s recently introduced Home Renovation Tax Credit, homeowners may be eligible to receive a credit on their renovation expenditures.

Let’s start with the rules. The 15 percent credit can be claimed on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000, but not more than $10,000. The maximum tax credit that can be received is $1,350.

The HRTC will apply to eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods purchased, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010.

Properties eligible for the HRTC include houses, cottages and condominium units that are owned for personal use.

Renovation costs for projects such as finishing a basement or remodeling a kitchen will be eligible for the credit, along with associated expenses such as building permits, professional services, equipment rentals and incidental expenses.

Routine repairs and maintenance will not qualify for the credit, nor will the cost of purchasing furniture, appliances, audio-visual electronics or construction equipment.

Taxpayers will be able to claim the HRTC when filing their 2009 tax return. Receipts do not have to be submitted with the return, but should be kept in case they are asked for by the Canada Revenue Agency.
Eligibility for the HRTC is family-based. For the purpose of the credit, a family is generally considered to consist of an individual and, where applicable, the individual’s spouse or common-law partner. Family members will be able to share the credit. More information on the tax credit can be found at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2009/fqhmrnvtn-eng.html.

Renovation supply retailers are eager to piggyback on the federal government’s tax credit and some have already announced offers of additional incentives to attract your spending dollars. Be sure to ask about special deals at your local building supply store. Both Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.ca) and Rona (http://www.rona.ca) have gift card offers.

Canadians who spend money on home renovations will also be eligible to receive an ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes grant. To be eligible for this grant, homeowners must first have a pre-retrofit evaluation. The grant provides homeowners with up to $5,000 to offset the cost of making energy efficiency improvements.
Before you start your renovation project, it’s wise to visit the CMHC web page on home renovation. Go to http://www.cmhc.ca/en/co/renoho/ to get started.

There are about 12 million dwellings in Canada according to a 2006 database compiled by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In that same year, residents reported that almost 840,000 of them fell below the adequacy standard and required major repairs.

Home renovation spending was calculated at $49.5 billion nationwide by CMHC in 2007 and about $7 billion in home-renovation business is expected this year in BC alone.

The world’s houses and office buildings consume 40 percent of global energy and emit the same proportion of greenhouse gases, making them the single biggest source of pollution in the world. (Transport is the next biggest culprit at 30 percent.)

A new study says a $400 billion annual investment in building efficiency would lead to a 60 percent cut in building emissions globally by 2050. The savings achieved would mean a five to 10 percent annual return on that investment, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development study found. (See the report at http://62.50.73.69/transformingthemarket.pdf)

Buildings and communities are “sustainable” when they are designed, built and operated with low environmental impacts while enhancing the health and quality of life for the people that live in and around them. Climate change, species extinction and a host of other environmental problems are already creating a very different world for our grandchildren than the one we enjoy today.

We need to make our residences and office buildings healthier, more comfortable, energy and water efficient. By following green building renovation principles, it is possible to achieve those goals and decrease their greenhouse gas emissions and maintenance costs.

And yes, our buildings will be smarter too.