Can you say that your house and community is making history? That may be a tall order for most of us, but for Jarek Topczewski, who built an environmentally-friendly house in the City of Edmonton’s Oxford community, making history is something he can be proud of.
Oxford was a forward-thinking community that demonstrated the real benefits of sustainable design and environmentally sensitive home building. It was the first time that the City of Edmonton developed lots and sold them with requirements for sustainability on every home to be built. Every home built in Oxford was to reach a minimum EnerGuide rating of 78 (in Phase 1) or 80 (in Phase 2).
For Jarek, building a home was a big decision. But building one that was green just made sense to him. When completed, his home even exceeded the minimum EnerGuide rating imposed on homes in the area, at 83. Bragging rights, Jarek says.
In the video below, hear about Jarek’s journey with building green, and the many benefits associated with building an environmentally-friendly home.
This video is the second in our “Innovation in Sustainability” series which will be running throughout October. The series showcases Edmontonians sharing their stories about how they are living the City’s “The Way We Green” initiatives.