Designing Homes for Climate and Culture

In the final episode of this series, host Darla Simpson interviews Richard Hall of the Nuxalk Nation about a guide he developed: the Residential Construction Specification Guide for the Wet West Coast. We’ll discuss his whole home approach to address not only persistent moisture issues on the central coast, but to design homes that include spaces for cultural practices, support community development and keep energy costs low.  For more on a related project, check out this video developed by the Industry Training Association. It tells the story of an apprenticeship program Richard was also involved in, training members of the Nuxalk Nation to build affordable and energy efficient homes using the Residential Construction Specification Guide.

Energy efficient lighting and appliances are the easiest way to reduce energy costs in our homes. In this episode host Darla Simpson takes the guest chair to share what you need to know to make smart decisions around lighting and home appliances. We’ll also touch on the topic of home automation and smart home devices to manage energy use, especially stand-by power. 

No matter how efficient home technologies become, how we use lighting and appliances can have an impact on energy bills. In this episode of the First Nations Home EnergySave podcast, we’ll talk about one-time actions, default heating and appliance settings, and easy day-to-day practices that First Nations housing managers and community members can embrace to cut energy costs.

Providing fresh air in a home is extremely important for health and comfort. The better air sealed our homes are, the more important it is to balance that with fresh air. In this podcast we’ll discuss how best to manage ventilation to keep energy costs low and air quality high, including some strategies for working with residents to prevent moisture and humidity issues. We’ll also talk about the increasing demand for air conditioning with hotter summers and outdoor air quality concerns. 

Heating and hot water are the two biggest utility costs in a home and are important for both comfort and affordability. In this podcast we’ll review common heating and hot water system designs, how they work, and what makes a heating system energy efficient.

In this episode we’re speaking with Gilles Lesage of Total Home Solutions about the Osoyoos Indian Band’s community-wide housing retrofit program. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of taking on a project at this scale including equipment discounts and funding support. We also talk about how the project is doing as it’s nearing completion, what they’ve achieved, and the lessons learned.   

Quality installation is critical for energy efficient homes, but it can be difficult to tell a great contractor from a not-so-great contractor. In this podcast we’ll walk through some strategies to help make your housing projects more successful, from being clear about what you’re asking for through evaluating quotes and proposals and when to get extra support for complex projects.

Cold and drafts are a big source of housing complaints, not to mention issues with mold and water damage when part of the building envelope isn’t working well. In this episode, we’ll talk about what housing managers need to know to improve energy efficiency, increase comfort and reduce utility bills through best practices in maintenance — and what to think about when it’s time to replace component of the building envelope.

Energy use in our homes is invisible. It’s very hard to look at a home and know if it’s using a lot of energy or to look across our communities and know which houses need the most help. In this podcast we’ll look at ways we can use energy billing information to prioritize energy conservation projects. We'll explore different ways of comparing between homes and some tools available to housing managers to get started. 

A home in Fort St. John has to deal with completely different weather conditions than a home in Cowichan Valley. This needs to be reflected in your homes building envelope - the skin between your home and the cold and rain outside. Your building envelope also plays a huge part in your homes energy efficiency, and it's an expensive fix after a home is built. In this podcast we’ll look at the different elements of a building envelope and the efficient and not-so-efficient options in new construction.