UBCO and Okanagan College Team Up To Build Green Homes of the Future

Local organizations are coming together in the name of research, studying how sustainable building technologies can be used to reduce energy use in new homes here in the Interior.

Coined the Wilden Living Lab initiative, UBCO researchers and Okanagan College students will see two homes built in Kelowna’s Wilden subdivision on lots made available by the Blenk Development Corporation.

One home will be built to current building code standards, while the other will incorporate additional sustainable building technologies.

Local builder AuthenTech Homes will identify the additional technologies required for the second home and will begin construction of the building, along with Okanagan College’s Construction Management Program.

Researchers from UBCO’s School of Engineering will then monitor and compare the energy use of both homes.

“To make sustainable building practices and increased energy efficiency the norm, we need partners and suppliers who can help make new technologies affordable, even for first-time homebuyers,” said Blenk Development Director Karin Eger-Blenk. “With the support of the Living Lab, we would like to speed up the progress we’ve already made in our initiative and get closer to a cleaner future.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to apply green building principles, technology, and techniques at the forefront of sustainable construction today,” added Andrew Hay, Vice-President of Education at Okanagan College. “We are very excited about the opportunities for our students to be engaged in applied research and construction, as they will gain truly useful insights into how to minimize environmental impacts and maximize energy efficiency before and after construction.”

The Wilden Living Lab study will continue over the next three years and is expected to educate home buyers as to what homes are most efficient here in the Okanagan.