What the labels mean, what they cost, and whether they are worth it in your climate.
A net zero ready home is built so efficiently that it would only need renewable generation added to reach net zero over a year. A net zero home has that generation. The difference is the solar array, and the useful part is the envelope that comes before it.
That order matters commercially. Generation added to a leaky building is the most expensive way to buy comfort in Canada. Every dollar in the envelope reduces the array you need, and the envelope lasts the life of the building while the inverter does not.
Whether it pays depends enormously on where you are. In Winnipeg or Fort McMurray the heating load is large enough that a deep envelope pays for itself on energy alone. In Saanich or Vancouver, where the heating season is short and mild, the case is more often about comfort, resilience and resale than about the bill.
We model it both ways and tell you which one your project is. That is a more useful conversation than a label.
A modelled path to the target, the incremental cost of each step, and the point at which it stops paying.
Builders and homeowners considering a high-performance new build or a deep retrofit.