A Pioneering Research Initiative for Sustainable Homebuilding.
The Wilden Living Lab is a collaboration between different stakeholders to co-create a technological idea and validate it through experimentation in a real-life environment.
The Wilden Living Lab is a collaboration between different stakeholders to co-create a technological idea and validate it through experimentation in a real-life environment.
One features standard technologies according to the current building code. The other exceeds code requirements using the latest technologies to enhance energy efficiency.
Once families moved in, sensors throughout the homes started documenting energy consumption and cost efficiency. Currently, both homes are being monitored and compared by a research team at UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering.
The Home of Tomorrow uses 67% less energy than the Home of Today (40.8 GJ/year)
Carbon emissions are 99.63% less in the Home of Tomorrow
The additional $36,500 of investment into the Home of Tomorrow take approximately 42 years to pay back.
Payback periods for single components are between 6 and 50 years.
1. Carbon neutral heating and cooling uses expensive electrical power versus non-expensive natural gas.
2. The installation of a ground source heat pump and high-performance insulation are still very costly.
Government incentives as well as decreasing cost due to higher demand would shorten payback periods significantly.