Ebtu, Phase One by Jens Mende
The home is named Ebtu and Ebtu is having a mid-life crises. Ebtu was born in the 1950’s and since then has consumed an excessive amount of natural gas (Ebtu= Excessive BTU) to keep warm but not all that cozy. Ebtu’s lifestyle has also allowed him to be very wasteful. He has released over 500 tonnes of Green House Gases since his birth. Ebtu is ready to change his ways and realizes that he has inner strength that will get him through this difficult time of self-awareness.
In order for Ebtu to make long lasting changes to his life he needs to connect with his core values. Ebtu realizes this isn’t just about him, it’s about a greater good. Ebtu has the ability to affect those that live inside of him and everyone that lives outside of him. Once Ebtu knew what he wanted he went looking for support and put together a team to help him through his crisis. The facelift and ecoEnergy Retrofit will be done from the exterior and basement. Ebtu is occupied so the intention is not to disrupt the tenants. The design and color scheme was put together by a local designer at a cost of only $150.00. This was the first step in creating a plan for Ebtu to move towards a more meaningful life.
This is the first in a series of three stories that will take you along Ebtu’s journey from having walls with as many holes as Swiss cheese to being comfy, cozy and saving “tonnes” of green house gases as well as saving real cash on heating bills.
The goal of the project is to bring Ebtu up to a standard that is equivalent to or better than a new home relative to the EnerGuide rating system. The EnerGuide rating for Ebtu is currently 44. The target at the completion of the project is an EnerGuide rating of 82. The average similar home in BC has a rating of approximately 56 and a new home would target 80.
Ebtu has many brothers and sisters within the community. Big and small, tall and short, Ebtu’s family comes in all shapes and sizes; there are aunts and uncles throughout the region, cousins all over the nation and distant relatives worldwide. They all have one thing in common - they use Excessive BTU’s. At journeys end Ebtu will still be Ebtu, the difference being it will be Efficient BTU.
Ebtu’s first baby steps to life long change.
Ebtu became a bit overwhelmed with all the decisions that needed to be made and wanted to know which retrofits would serve him best. He contacted a local builder, renovator and member of the CHB association who set up an independent, un-biased assessment of Ebtu by a Certified Energy Advisor. The Energy Advisor did a thorough investigation and came back with a detailed report for Ebtu.
The initial assessment from the Energy Advisor may take a few hours, and a “Blower Door Test” will determine how “leaky” your home is. Ebtu has an accumulated hole in it the size of 1.3 square meters! Sealing the house of all the leaks will make the living space more comfortable and dramatically lower the cost to heat the home.
The Energy Report shows which retrofit will make the longest lasting and biggest impact on those most important to Ebtu and his occupants. The value in this part of the report is to know the gains of the retrofit prior to doing the work.
Ebtu is ready to take action.
Ebtu is committed to making a positive change to his lifestyle, affecting not only his occupants but those of future generations as well.
Visit www.mountainrecreationhomes.com for more information or call 250-423-3030/ 250-423-1687. Ebtu is located at 902B 5th Ave.
Next month: Looking at retrofit budgets.
