Homeenergy.org and Dr. Rob Dumont have generously allowed me to share his article describing the incremental costs that he paid to make his home 85% more efficient than an equivalently sized home. This was accomplished in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in a climate where the January average cold temperature is -22°C and winter temperatures can exceed -40°C. Summer temperatures in Saskatchewan climb into the mid 30’s°C.
Feel free to download a pdf describing Dr. Rob Dumont’s home and the steps he took in 1992 to reduce his energy dependance here:
The chart below was compiled by UK energy efficiency researcher David Olivier. The chart demonstrates how far our housing stock must come to greatly reduce our need for fossil fuel energy. Notice that the average energy usage of the existing housing stock in North America is approximately 225 Kilowatt hours per meter squared per year (represented by item 16). This is much higher than Rob Dumont’s house which averages under 50 kWh per square meter per year (represented by line 27).
Measured Energy Consumption of Normal and Energy-Efficient Dwellings as compiled by researcher David Oliver.