Rethinking Lifestyle

Most of us will invest in a home at least once in our life time. Many will make such an investment more than once. A question we all ponder when we build or buy a house is what to consider in a good home investment. Some of us will do this explicitly, others will do it implicitly. But we will all do it.

Probably the default consideration is total square feet and cost per square foot. Conventionally that is the main consideration of the real estate agent when he/she places a value on the property. For many this will be the only consideration. But there are other factors to consider. Regular readers of this column are probably inclined to also consider heating and cooling efficiency, embodied energy in construction material and what size of house is adequate.

Conventional house construction in southeastern Manitoba continues to assume that little will change, energy wise, in the foreseeable future: that natural gas is going to continue to flow from Alberta and electricity from northern Manitoba, and that the price will not change much. Insulation is to building code, air to air heat exchangers are avoided, and houses are being built as big as can be afforded. Few houses are being constructed to maximize solar gain. Let’s talk about this.

The energy going into construction materials is called embodied energy. In most cases this is not considered when building. We are accustomed to looking at the price of building materials and assume that the price reflects the actual cost of these materials. It doesn’t. The energy going into the preparation of cement is substantial and this is all energy that cannot be retrieved. It’s gone! Are there alternatives to concrete? Are they practical? Houses that are no longer useful are knocked down. The material is loaded on trucks and taken to the landfill. No consideration is given to material that could, conceivably, be reused. Houses can be built with much less embodied energy than conventional house construction.

If your priorities include non-conventional considerations, you will be wanting to talk with others in southeastern Manitoba who are currently also dreaming about their house. And you will want to talk to others who have already built their dream house. To facilitate this, the South Eastman Transition Initiative is organizing a get-together November 10 at 7pm. We have reserved the Fireside Room at the Pat Porter Centre.

The evening is being structured to facilitate conversation between dreamers and others with relevant experience with non-conventional buildings. You are invited to come and hang out and talk with like minded people about your dreams.

The following will be there to share their experience:

• Mark Rempel and Wade Wiebe – strawbale construction
• George Klassen – options for energy conservation and generation in conventional house construction. George has recently written in this column about his experience.
• Tim Kroeker – straw clay construction and masonry stove.
• Gary Martens – tiny house-barn
• there may be others

We would like to offer you coffee and say all are welcome, but COVID restrictions prevent that. Vaccination and mask are required. Please bring your own coffee.