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The 2010 Green Building Challenge

In late 2008 Light House proposed a challenge to homeowners, small business owners, and strata councils to green their homes and workplaces in time for the Vancouver Winter Olympics following a stringent set of energy, water, and waste reduction targets and strategies. A draw took place and 10 British Columbians were chosen to receive free technical assistance for their renovations.

Selected projects each received 5 days of technical assistance from a green building professional and 240 hours of research and assistance from interns. Technical assistance was provided by experienced green building professionals from Light House and City Green, supported by a team of professional volunteer interns.

The Challenge has been met and the results are in! Click the thumbnails below to learn about the energy, water and waste reductions achieved, challenges encountered, and lessons learned by the owners of each project.

In addition, we hosted a series of workshops throughout March summarising the findings from the projects as well as tours of some of the completed projects. Click on a topic below to download the presentation slides:

March 6: Green Retrofits for Small Businesses workshop (10am-noon) followed by a tour of the Wood Co-op
March 13: Home Heating workshop (10am-noon) followed by a tour of the Moore-Babicki Residence
March 18: Green Building for Stratas workshop (6-8pm)
March 20: Green Building Rating Systems for Homes workshop (10am-noon) followed by a tour of a LEED for Homes pilot project
March 27: Prefab and Laneway Homes workshop (10am-noon) followed by a tour of a laneway home project

Assisted Projects

Unassisted Projects

2010 Green Building Challenge Targets

Energy Target 1:

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4 tonnes per year
Energy Target 2: Reduce energy consumption by 25%, or approximately 10,000 kilowatt hours per year

Actions you can take:

  • Insulate roof, walls and floor
  • Install ENERGY STAR windows and doors
  • Install weather-stripping
  • Install a programmable thermostat
  • Install an ENERGY STAR furnace and/or boiler
  • Install a tankless hot water heater
  • Install a heat recovery ventilator (HRV)
  • Replace all light fixtures with fluorescent, compact fluorescent or LED lighting
  • Choose ENERGY STAR appliances
  • Consider a renewable energy system such as solar, wind or geoexchange

Measuring your reductions:

  • Have an energy assessment performed before and after upgrades by a Certified Energy Advisor
  • Monitor utility bills
Water Target 1: Reduce water use by 50%, or approximately 100,000 litres per year*

Actions you can take:

  • Install a minimum of 4 water-saving plumbing fixtures and appliances
  • Install a grey water system
  • Choose native, drought-resistant plant species
  • Use drip irrigation
  • Collect rainwater in a rain barrel

Measuring your reductions:

  • Install a water meter
  • Check out Source West’s helpful water savings worksheet at: http://www.sourcewest.ca/ *Based on a 5-person household

Waste Target 1:

Divert 1.5 tonnes of waste from landfill per year

Actions you can take:

  • Install a composting system
  • Set up an indoor recycling station with containers for plastics, paper & cardboard, glass and metal
  • Donate unwanted items to charities
  • Before renovations, develop a construction waste management plan for recycling and salvaging the following items: wood, gypsum, metal, concrete/asphalt, cardboard, plastics, brick and appliances

Measuring your reductions:

  • Each year, the average household produces 834 kg of garbage
  • installing a composting system reduces this amount by up to 40%
  • Record/photograph the approximate amount of household waste sent to landfill each week
  • Weigh/photograph amount of construction waste recycled and diverted from landfill during renovations


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