Sustainability is a big word these days, used by architects, builders, planners… It’s an important concept since every little thing we could possibly do to help benefit our planet is worth considering. 

Homes have become more sophisticated over the years, but not always more sustainable.  Sustainability covers a broad spectrum, but basically combines features and materials that have less current impact, and over time, on the environment.  Is sustainability a luxury… naturally, I’d say yes! 

Sustainability enhances comfort, affordability, and healthiness in one’s home.  Those three words exemplify what we should be looking for, regardless of what we live in. 

COMFORTABLE – AFFORDABLE – HEALTHY.

There are several applications that one should review when making their home more sustainable or when looking for sustainability in a house they’re planning to buy.  Upgrades or mindful planning of a new home should encapsulate some of the following ideas:

Windows:

• Look for high-performance features such as double or triple-glazing, coatings on the glass (Low-E), the type of gas used in between the layers of glass (argon or krypton), non-conductive frames (ones that don’t bring cold air in through their material content), insulated frames (if made of a hollow material), airtightness.
• There should be several operable windows, with at least one in each room, to allow fresh air inside for cross-breezes and natural ventilation, and to exhaust stale air naturally.
• With existing, older windows, look at weatherstripping them where drafts may come in, filling any gaps  around them with spray foam, or using storm windows to help prevent unnecessary heat loss in the winter.
• Curtains and blinds are highly useful to reduce drafts in winter and to reflect hot solar energy in the summertime.  Interior shutters give some flexibility with this process, and allow parts of windows to be covered, while other parts still allow light to come in.

Are you curious about Toronto’s distinct architectural history? Keep reading this post next.

Appliances:

• Newer, high-quality units use less energy and can pay for themselves over time while contributing to lower electricity bills.
• The cost to run an old fridge versus a new one can sometimes be an extra $100 per year!
• Look for Energy Star ratings, which also are handy to compare different models and makes.
• Make sure whatever appliance you get is the right size… two smaller fridges versus one larger one consume far more energy, but sometimes one doesn’t need a huge 42” fridge/freezer, for instance, if their household has fewer members.  A 6-burner stove or a range with two ovens in it may make you look like you’re a superstar chef, but only if you actually use all that.
• Some fridges have an “energy-saver” switch on them, which pops it into a more economical mode when it’s not being opened and closed as much, during vacations or weekends when a family is away.
• Some dishwashers have soil sensors to determine how much water is necessary or how long a cycle needs to run.
• Dishwashers, pre-1994, used much more water while new ones save around 4,000 litres annually over those older ones, and also use substantially less water than hand-washing.  Dishwashers also save HOT water, so that’s another cost-saving.
• Gas appliances such as ranges and dryers are certainly worth considering since they’re more efficient than electrical ones and don’t take time to heat up as they generate instant heat.  There is some debate about the byproduct of gas and having proper ventilation, but running a fan hood while cooking is recommended, which solves that dilemma.  Most of the combustion from a gas dryer exits through the dryer vent.  A great thing about gas stoves is that they can be used during a power outage!
• Induction cooktops are a newer option that provides efficiency and rather instantaneous heat; they are a newer-tech innovation that is gaining in popularity, especially in condominiums that don’t have gas supply to the units.
• Consider planning a laundry room with extra space to have clotheslines or drying racks; a great feature if one isn’t in a hurry to dry their clothes.  It’s also gentler on fabrics (does this sound like a commercial?).

Do you love older condo buildings in Toronto? Is that so wrong? Keep reading to find out why loving older Toronto condo buildings is actually a good thing right here.

HVAC:

Furnaces and air conditioners, often have Energy Star ratings, as well, so this can be verified.

• Check to see if the furnaces have easy-to-change filters, as that affects efficiency.
• Central air conditioning units have a SEER rating — it’s desirable to have a rating higher than 17, which is more expensive to install, but also much more efficient.  These better units may last longer, due to their better performance.
• Furnaces generate heat measured in BTUs, and it’s important that they are specified to meet the needs of a household.  Larger and/or taller homes can benefit from two smaller HVAC systems, which would work more efficiently while offering greater comfort for the homeowners.  The initial cost to have two systems is higher, naturally, but the efficiency and comfort factors are highly noticeable.  Air doesn’t need to travel as far from the source, therefore it’s more uniform in each room and on each level of the house.
• If the HVAC system is ducted, insulated ducts keep air at temperature as it travels from the source to the registers around the house.
• Hydronic systems, ones that use water to heat, can be found in both older homes and new ones. Older houses, with iron radiators, can often be quite comfortable, but the radiators need to be maintained by bleeding them seasonally to get any pockets out of the lines so that the hot water circulates efficiently through each of the circuits.  Modern, slim-line radiators (often seen in European homes) are virtually flat and can be used to replace the clunky old iron units found in homes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries while maintaining the efficient benefits of hydronics.
• In newer homes, hydronic systems are often used for in-floor heat, which gives the best heat of all, as it’s evenly spread throughout the house.  Thermostats can often be set lower, as the heat rises from the floor and is not lost higher up at the ceiling.  Smaller hydronic systems like this can even be run off a modern combi-core hot water tank, which has dual heat exchangers, one for the domestic hot water, the other for the hydronic space heating.  This eliminates the need for a separate boiler.
• Wall-hung water heaters have become more popular due to their lower energy use, and the small amount of space that they take — I consider it freeing up real estate for other uses in your own home.  They are more expensive and sometimes require other upgrades to accommodate them, but can offer big cost savings when a household doesn’t use lots of hot water; there’s no need to keep a large tank full of water constantly heated.  However, the flow rate is not usually as high as from a tank so it may not be as useful for filling large bathtubs or in homes with larger families using several bathrooms.
• Instant hot water, available at the faucets throughout a house can be achieved with a continuous loop of supplied hot water running through a circuit from the hot water tank to all parts of the house. The continuous loop is always full of hot water due to a small circulating pump, which uses very little energy as it keeps the water running through the supply line and back through the hot water heater if it doesn’t get used.  Such a system would save a ton of water over time (rather than running a tap for a minute until hot water is delivered), it’s simple to install in new construction and it’s inexpensive to run.
• HRV units are highly efficient in houses that are virtually air-tight (which, in itself, does not create a healthy environment).  A heat recovery ventilator is a ventilation device that helps make a home healthier, cleaner, and more comfortable by continuously replacing stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air. New homes built since 1977 are generally more airtight, which helps to save energy but can make the inside air stale.  To complement this airtightness, several modern homes use HRVs to distribute fresh air throughout the house by capturing heat from the stale air leaving a house, and using it to preheat fresh air coming into the house.  Similarly, an HRV reverses this process during the cooling season, by removing some of the heat from the incoming air and transferring it to the outgoing air.

Do you live in an older Toronto home? Are you thinking about selling soon? Keep reading here to find out what you need to know about selling an older Toronto home.

Plumbing fixtures:

• Low-flow faucets give the impression of more water coming out through aerators that are located in them.  It’s hard to tell that you’re actually using less water!  These can also be installed on some existing faucets, and also in shower heads.
• Toilets have become more forceful as they’ve become lower water users… old toilets could use nearly 20 litres of water per flush, whereas newer ones use 3 – 6 litres per flush — some have a flusher that allows one to differentiate between liquid and solid waste in a flush.  Considering that toilets account for about 1/3 of the water used in a household, it’s not a bad idea to replace older models,  If it’s a really special older toilet that you want to keep, there are toilet dams that can be inserted in the tank to keep the necessary water level high to give a powerful flush with less water (or fill a 2-litre pop bottle with water and seat it in the tank (if there’s space) to displace that amount of water each time the tank refills.
• Some people might find it strange to have a urinal in a house, but these use virtually no water and, if there’s space to install one in a bathroom, why now consider it?  It also saves arguments over leaving toilet seats up or down…

Are you thinking about buying a home soon? Learn more about my buying services right here.

Paint:

• There are now lots of eco-paints and stains available, and typically, using water-based products versus oil-based ones is better for the environment, and allows chemical-free cleaning of brushes and rollers used to apply them.

Lighting:

• Retrofitting fixtures with LED or compact fluorescent bulbs saves an enormous amount of energy over incandescent and halogen bulbs.  In recent years, the technology of these has improved such that they give similar warm light to achieve a comfortable feel in the rooms that they illuminate.  Look for 2700 K to 3000 K specifications for the bulbs or fixtures.  An LED bulb producing the same amount of light (or lumens) as a 100 W bulb uses only about 12 W, and a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) uses about 23 W to give the same amount of light.  
• Many light fixtures now have a built-in bulb that cannot be changed, so when a bulb dies, the whole fixture accompanies it to the dump… though these bulbs have an extremely high life expectancy (supposedly).  Don’t trust what the package tells you.  It would be prudent to use fixtures that have replaceable bulbs in them.
• Smart power strips cut power to connected devices when they’re not in use, so these can be employed to power several devices from a single outlet if they are in proximity to each other.  Think home entertainment systems, home offices…

Smart systems:

• Most of us already know about smart systems, and I have written another article describing these. However, thermostats, blinds that are light activated, and smart meters connected to central air conditioning systems (which cut cooling at a point of the day for an hour to save energy demands on the grid), help to lower energy consumption and remove the responsibility of changing settings from the hands of a homeowner, once they’re set and deployed.

Learn more about smart home investments for a refined lifestyle in this blog right here.

Roofs:

• On flat roofs, consider light grey rather than black asphalt or rubber membranes, to reflect more of the sun’s rays rather than absorbing them and contributing to heat gain in the house during summer.
• Wooden shingles, such as cedar, come from forests that are grown specifically to manufacture such products, so they’re not impacting other natural forests.  They are long-lasting and come from a truly renewable resource, so they’re reusable, recyclable, biodegradable and renewable.

What is ‘Life of Luxury’? Learn more about the concept and how it applies to your real estate journey here.

Overall, properties of sustainability to consider:

• Passive design — natural heating and cooling — is achieved through the orientation of a house, providing shade with trees, allowing winter sun to stream through windows, and cross-ventilation through operable windows around the house.
• Energy efficiency, achieved through high-performance windows and improved insulation, lower electricity use, and better HVAC systems.
• Carbon-neutral — gets carbon dioxide produced by gas appliances out of the house, via HRV systems, fans and/or natural ventilation.
• A rainwater tank connected to downspouts is a great way to have natural water on hand to water plants and the garden, or it can be connected to the plumbing supply into the house to use as grey water for flushing toilets, washing cars or doing laundry… and it conserves groundwater.
• Footprint… or right-sizing a house can mean less building, less impact on the land, and less maintenance over time.  Ultimately, they can be more comfortable and adaptable as a family’s size changes, reducing the need to move to another house (but less business for Realtors)…
• Materials should be considered in the planning process…  Are they natural?  Are they recyclable?  Are they non-toxic?  Brick and wood generally combine all of these features while giving richness to the exteriors and interiors of homes.  With any renovation or new construction project, it’s good to consider materials that would cause less waste, therefore finishes that don’t require a lot of cutting, and are available in different sizes so that a bulk of them needn’t be thrown into the dumpster in unused. 
• Garden and landscape are very important, as these contribute natural and potentially sustainable surroundings that are beautiful as well as healthy, and good for the earth.  A sustainable garden requires minimal amounts of the following: watering, fertilizer, pesticides, labor/maintenance, and building materials. Contrast this with traditional design principles that have depended heavily on higher water consumption, non-native and exotic plants, and environmentally harmful building materials.  Use native plants, consider minimal concrete, and reuse or re-purposing materials (modular retaining wall blocks, pavers, cut stone).  Take advantage of rainwater runoff by using slopes and berms to direct water to hydrate plants, consider rain barrels and green roofs, consider drought-tolerant landscapes that don’t require as much watering, or rock gardens that are an excellent option if you’re hoping to make a contemporary and natural looking garden that still allows water to flow freely.

I love this concept of a small apartment block in Buenos Aires, situated on a block with property sizes similar to some central Toronto neighborhoods. Privately funded, this project represents an intelligent and sophisticated modern addition to the neighborhood. Residents collaborated with an architect to create a venture for generating income or living in.

The scale is ideal for a neighborhood where 3-storey houses with high rooftops blend harmoniously with the treetops, forming a ‘natural ceiling.’ Forward-thinking ideas like this could offer a solution to Toronto’s current affordability challenges and present an appealing financial opportunity for multiple stakeholders.

In summary, every little bit counts when considering including some of the above options towards sustainability in the home that you create or the home that you are looking for.  These features are not only great for the environment, but also terrific in making a home lower-maintenance, more comfortable, and healthier to live in!  These are truly elements of luxury, and if one has more time on their hands due to a better functioning home, then that extra time can be spent doing the things that make life fuller and more complete.  It’s worth it!

Are you thinking about selling your home now or in the near future? I can help you get started. Reach out directly by calling 416-824-1242, emailing robert@lifeofluxury.ca, or filling out the form on this page.

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