Wednesday, February 10, 2010, Calgary, Alberta – Going green is about to take on a whole new meaning for homeowners now that Calgary’s first Net-Zero home, Avalon Master Builder's Discovery 4 House, is open for public viewing at SAIT Polytechnic.

“The Discovery 4 House was built on SAIT’s campus to research, test and demonstrate the latest in environmentally efficient building technologies,” said Irene Lewis, President and CEO. “With thanks to government and industry partners, SAIT’s Applied Research and Innovation Services team helped to make Calgary’s first Net-Zero home a reality.”

A Net-Zero house generates as much or more energy than it consumes over an annual period. This includes the energy used to heat the home, provide hot water and power lights and appliances.

"The Discovery 4 House is the culmination of years of work towards meeting our vision of building Net-Zero homes at no additional cost to consumers by 2015,” said Ryan Scott, CEO of Avalon Master Builder. “We are excited to work with SAIT Polytechnic, Carma Developers and Climate Change Central to complete this innovative demonstration home."

The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, joined the celebrations at today’s opening of Discovery 4 to present SAIT with $2.24 million from the College and Community Innovation Program, a collaborative initiative among the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

“Our government supports innovation because it creates jobs, improves the quality of life of Canadians and strengthens the economy,” said Minister Prentice. “This new partnership will provide skills training for Calgary, position SAIT Polytechnic as a destination for international research talent and give local businesses access to the knowledge and resources they need to innovate.”

The federal funding will be used for SAIT’s Green Building Technologies program in four key areas of research that will support the over-arching goal to develop a Net-Zero energy standard and certification for Western Canada. The research areas are: Net-Zero envelope – system performance and advanced assemblies; architectural ecology (focus on water use, waste and air quality); building integrated renewable energy/alternate energy; and, public education and student integration.

The Green Building Technologies program was established by SAIT’s Applied Research and Innovation Services department in 2008. The program provides training to students in green building technologies and works with industry to implement and help commercialize these findings. 

The Discovery 4 House will be on display on SAIT’s north west corner of campus until June. It will then be moved to the Carma community of McKenzie Towne where Avalon Master Builder has featured its “Emerge” product since 2008.  Public viewings will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Research tours are available by calling SAIT’s Applied Research and Innovation Services at 403-284-7056.

Additional details on the Discovery 4 House can be found at: www.avalonmasterbuilder.com.

SAIT Polytechnic is one of Canada’s most exciting destinations for post-secondary education, offering more than 100 career programs that position people for success in technology, trades and business. A leader in innovation, SAIT also collaborates with industry on applied research and delivers corporate training worldwide. SAIT is a member of Polytechnics Canada and one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers for 2011.

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