The environment has been a local hot topic, with issues such as urban sprawl and sustainable development getting a lot of attention in the local media. One way to decrease the environmental impact of new housing is to develop more multi-family housing, which can increase the density of our communities. This allows more people to live within Calgary’s existing borders and encourages better use of the existing infrastructure and services. While multi-family communities are, by their very nature, environmentally-friendly, many new developments are going above and beyond the standard design and including environmentally-friendly features throughout their suites and buildings.

Even if saving the environment is not your top concern, a benefit to most environmentally-friendly features is they also save you money, through lower utility bills for the individual suites, and lower condo fees for the entire project. The features which are most likely to have the largest benefit, both environmentally and financially, are the inclusion of those which increase the project’s energy and water efficiency.

Water efficiency is encouraged by the City of Calgary through mandatory low-flow faucets and toilets in all new-home construction. The next step in improving water usage is through high-efficiency appliances, such as Energy Star dishwashers and washing machines, which are now found at projects throughout Calgary. Energy Star appliances also use less electricity, meaning that projects which include these appliances will come with lower power bills and cost less to operate and maintain. Water efficiency can also be found outside the suites, with rainwater recycling and low water landscaping being introduced at both high-rise and low-rise projects in Calgary. Environmental landscaping can save significant water and money during the dry summer months, which will benefit everyone in the project through lower condo fees and landscaping costs.

While all new projects include some basic water efficiency benefits, some developers have chosen to go further and include energy-efficient heating and cooling systems. The addition of these systems can have the greatest savings, both environmentally and financially, as gas and energy prices continue to rise. New technologies, such as geothermal heating and cooling, are being used in the Calgary market, notably the Gateway South Centre project. This system takes heat from the suites in the summer and stores it deep underground through a series of pipes, extracting the heat during the winter to warm the units. Thus, one system provides both air-conditioning and heating and is able to recycle energy throughout the year. This system is also being considered for the commercial component of the Gateway Midtown mixed-use project in the downtown core.

Another innovative system which has been used in Europe for many years is an on-demand, tankless hot water system. They provide hot water for domestic uses only when you need it, avoiding the constant heating, and energy use, required to keep hot water tanks hot. They can also be used to provide heat, as is being done at the London at Heritage Station project, saving buyers at this project from having to pay to heat and upkeep a complicated boiler and heating system, while allowing them to manage and control their own heating and hot water usage.

There are numerous ways to decrease the environmental impact and improve energy efficiency of multi-family projects and almost all developers are including some environmental design into their new projects. To help consumers better understand the benefits of environmental design in new housing projects, two organizations offer certification programs for developers to use in the marketing of their projects. The Canada Building Green Council offers certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which certifies that the developer is incorporating a number of environmental and energy efficient design elements into the project. The Acqua/Vento project in The Bridges was the first LEED certified project in Calgary and currently London at Heritage Station is the only other active multi-family project to offer this certification in Calgary.

Another program which offers certification is the Built Green™ program offered through the Built Green™ Society of Canada. The Built Green™ program has been available in the single-family industry for a couple of years and has recently launched a pilot project to offer certification for multi-family projects. Many developers have been certified Built Green™ in Calgary, including Avalon Master Builders, who is developing the Zen townhouse project in Airdrie.

For those concerned with the environment, multi-family housing is an ideal choice, offering a low maintenance AND low impact lifestyle, while those who are less concerned with energy conservation will still benefit from lower energy bills and less exposure to rising gas and electricity prices. With so many projects including environmentally-friendly features in their design, you’ll be sure to find a project that matches your lifestyle and your conscience in the Calgary market. More information on the two certification programs can be found through their respective websites, visit http://www.cagbc.org for information on the LEED program or http://www.builtgreencanada.ca for details on the Built Green™ certification. CL