There may be one in a neighbourhood near you.

If not, there will eventually be EQuilibrium Housing in your community if Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the national housing agency, has any say in the matter. Through 12 progressive demonstrations of housing ingenuity, CMHC hopes to prove the value of environmentally-effective EQuilibrium Housing to consumers, communities and professionals alike, and change the way we think about homes.

Working with partners in the private and public sectors, CMHC is promoting residential development that is in equilibrium with its environment, that is, homes which produce as much energy as they consume. Energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly EQuilibrium Housing may eventually become as mainstream as previously-promoted programs like the now widely-accepted building standard R-2000.

The EQuilibrium initiative, which began as the Net Zero Energy Healthy Housing program, embodies CMHC's goal of "balancing our housing needs with those of the environment" and builds on successful programs like Healthy Homes and ecoENERGY Efficiency. The benefits of EQuilibrium homes range from improved community sustainability to practical advantages for energy-conscious, environmentally-committed home buyers and owners:

• Lower energy costs year round

• Healthier, comfortable living

• Reliable, renewable power

• Reduced environmental impact

The 12 EQuilibrium projects, which will be open to the public, are now at varying stages of completion toward the 2008 deadline, for instance:

• Abondance is planning to begin preparation of its Montreal building site to construct an energy- and resource-efficient triplex

• The Laebon CHESS Project, one of two EQuilibrium demonstrations in Red Deer Alberta, has foundations underway

• Minto's Inspiration EcoHome master community of 2200 units outside Ottawa has reportedly reached the framing stage

• Edmonton's Riverdale Net Zero duplex is almost ready for drywalling

• Quebec's Alouette/EcoTerra Project in rural Eastman is the furthest along, with the pre-fab sections of its single-family home now on site and assembled for early completion.

On October 10, CMHC joins in celebrations of another significant step toward wide-spread demand for EQuilibrium Homes. Those in central Saskatchewan may wish to attend this week's 11am "ground breaking" ceremony for the YIPI! Net Zero Footprint Housing EQuilibrium demonstration to learn first-hand how practical innovation can grow out of deep-seated environmental commitment. By driving to the YIPI! building site north of Prince Albert, attendees will experience one of the clever, energy-saving advances that characterize "out of the box" EQuilibrium thinking.

"When I used to do construction, driving around the country trying to find the building site used up huge amounts of time," said YIPI! spokesperson Jeannine Paul, President of Saskatoon-based Nexus Solar Corporation, explaining that YIPI! project design makes good EQuilibrium sense -- the completed solar houses, not tradespeople, to do the traveling.

Since 20 per cent of Canadians live outside urban areas, the expense of transporting construction workers and materials to each rural single-home building site can be a significant financial restriction for property owners. Drive-time adds to costs, inconvenience, approval delays, scheduling constraints, fuel expenses and pollution. YIPI! overcomes these inefficiencies by centralizing construction at one permanent building site, which is designed to foster consistently high-quality construction, on-site economies and effective recycling. Completed solar houses can then safely and cost-effectively be trucked out to rural sites in Saskatchewan, Alberta or Manitoba, or shipped to international markets.

Quality control is another important YIPI! emphasis and a vital EQuilibrium factor in ensuring solar and other environmental technologies work as efficiently as possible.

"One of the things about solar is that it has failed, often because solar systems are not installed properly," said Paul, whose active interest in construction innovation may be partly due to childhood exposure to the frustrations of professional builders. "I grew up in construction, and heard all the headaches and complaints, and that drove me to overcome them. We do not want to have any of that going on. We know solar is put in properly -- that quality is what we want to guarantee."

Paul credits CMHC with providing technical, communication and funding support in a timely fashion to enable Nexus and YIPI! partner South Beach Homes to implement their EQuilibrium objectives. However, she emphasizes that South Beach Homes and its First Nation tradespeople are the key to long-term success for this environmentally-driven housing vision.

Prince Albert-based South Beach Homes Ltd., owned and operated by the Montreal Lake Cree Nation and a division of the Montreal Lake Development Corporation, was established in October 2005 as an important element in a fresh approach to sustainable housing and employment for First Nation people that could ultimately benefit everyone. Since then, South Beach Homes has used its proven construction expertise to build and sell over 200 ready-to-move and custom homes in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

"When YIPI! is a success, then everybody in Saskatchewan will treat solar energy as if it is normal -- an everyday thing," said Paul. "When we are successful, people will not be happy with poor housing and the First Nations will be recognized as experts in environmental building."

The EQuilibrium demonstrations, and innovative projects like them, are sparks of inspiration that must be fanned into flame to create the full range of housing we'll need in every neighbourhood and every community.

Published: October 9, 2007

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Futurist and Strategist PJ Wade is "The Catalyst" -- intent on "Challenging The Best Become Even Better." PJ earned this title by translating the dynamic impact of Boomers and their multi-generation families into relevant insights that start people thinking and taking action—in business and in life. Author of 7 books and more than 1600 published articles, PJ encourages individuals to become their own futurist. PJ writes and speaks about the insight, knowledge and solid decision-making skills that professionals and their clients need to live and work in this vortex of change. For instance, since PJ knows that home is headquarters for the new decades-long "unretirement," she wrote the popular book "Reverse Mortgages: Best Friend, Worst Enemy... Your Choice! (CatapultPublishing.com), which is filled with suggestions and insight on protecting and using home equity. Her new business book, "What's Your Point?," which identifies 7 common mistakes professionals unknowingly repeat to their detriment, will be published in 2009. As The Catalyst, PJ provides strategic communication, client appreciation and advanced education services to the financial, tourism, lifestyle and service sectors -- and the clients they serve. A frequently-quoted financial and business commentator, PJ is a thought-provoking strategic speaker who offers practical, real-life suggestions on leaving "the box" behind and embracing Forward Thinking -- a talent she regularly demonstrates in this column. For more on blogs, books and topics, visit TheCatalyst.com.