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Now House is a very exciting project because this will be the first project in Canada that takes an existing house and turns it
into a near zero energy house. On an annual basis this house will produce as much energy as it uses and leave the homeowner
in a very happy position, which means he will have an energy bill of zero.
The older the home, the less energy efficient they are. Energy costs are just going to keep going up. With Now House we're demonstrating
how people can future-proof their home. Not only are people aware environmentally what are they doing to the earth, there’s actually
a very good economic reason to make these type of renovations. You really have to think of it as an investment that’s going to improve
the value of your home. This is a house that’s built in the 1940s. This isn’t a futuristic kind of house, that’s why we called it Now
House because it’s really looking at things you can do to your home right now. For all intents and purposes we’re trying to make very
simple changes that will, you know, show homeowners that they too can do this. I know pal.
The owner of the first Now House is John Van Dusen and John comes along, his best friend is Elvin, his bloodhound. There’s just so many good
things that are happening with it and we’re in the process of getting so many other people in the neighbourhood onboard with this sort of thing.
We’ve put in a geothermal system. And then the Now House is giving us some more ideas. People are going to want a house that doesn’t cost
anything to maintain. So I think from an investment perspective it makes sense and then also from my own interest in the environment and future
of my children. On the Now House we did a number of things. We started by insulating the foundation walls all the way down six feet.
We're insulating, the attic area, the slope of the roof. We're insulating the outside of the house. So think of it as like a large tea cozy
we're putting over this house. We insulated under the basement and then we added a layer of radiant floor heating. We're putting in new windows.
We're changing the mechanical systems because we’re using solar photovoltaics to produce energy. And we're replacing all of the appliances.
You don't have to do the whole thing at once but making the choice of what to do first is important. As people think about energy efficiency and
what they can do,it seems like a daunting task, but it’s not. The way to start is with an energy audit, because that's going to give you a blueprint,
a plan, for your home. And RBC is really happy to offer a $300 rebate towards that energy audit when you finance with us. I think everybody can
play a part in it and if you look at however many millions of houses that already stand across Canada, there's a lot that could be done a little bit at a
time. We really hope that the Now House is going to inspire you to undertake some eco-renovations. It's the things that we do to our existing home that
will have the most extensive impact on the environment.