“We want you to love your home” is the motto of BC builder Melissa Tracey, of Trio Projects.

For her, part of living up that motto was outfitting Tilba Terrace, her 13 single-family home development in Parksville, BC with some of the less obvious attractions — high-efficiency natural gas furnaces, tankless water heaters and EnerChoice fireplaces.

Trio Projects aims to make their custom-designed homes more affordable over the long term. The affection new owners have for these homes grows after they receive their energy bills — by choosing high-efficiency natural gas appliances, in addition to following energy-efficiency best practices for air tightness and insulation, Trio helps lower monthly costs.

The wall-mounted tankless water heaters are getting the most notice by potential home owners. The units reduce the floor space required for the water heating system and also lower the natural gas requirement for the home because they heat water only as needed instead of storing it.

Tankless water heaters are also the key component of an innovative home heating system for a new development in Chilliwack.

Rob Kingma of Kingcraft Construction eliminated furnaces in The Cliffs, a 50 single-family home development in Chilliwack. Instead of a furnace, he paired a high-efficiency tankless water heater with an air handler which draws heat from the water and distributes it through the home for even, comfortable heating.

The new owners appreciate the benefits once they move in.

“Building energy-efficient homes has always been important to us and this was a new area for us to explore,” said Rob Kingma, owner, Kingcraft Construction. “We often hear from owners who notice their utility bills are lower than their previous home, whether they’ve downsized from a larger home or moved up from a townhome.”

Kingma estimates that this system is costing him about $2,000 more per home than a standard furnace system and it’s worth it because it can lower monthly expenses for future owners. The additional cost was also offset by more than $40,000 in natural gas rebates for both the high-efficiency tankless water heaters and EnerChoice fireplaces.

Both builders were recognized at FortisBC’s recent Efficiency in Action Awards — Trio Projects for Single family builder and Kingcraft Construction, for Single family project. In total, FortisBC recognized 11 BC organizations for their innovation in using or building with natural gas to increase energy efficiency, reduce energy costs and help meet climate action goals.

You might also be interested in:

• Trio Projects
• Kingcraft Construction

Trio Projects		Kingcraft Construction