Two decades of innovation: One home's path to 96% emissions reduction

Ian’s Toronto home has transformed over the past two decades—from drafty and gas-reliant to a 96% GHG reduction. Starting his retrofits in the early 2000s makes Ian an innovator in energy-conscious updates, and his hard work shows us a sustainable way forward. 

As a hands-on homeowner and energy consultant, Ian used his home to trial a range of energy reduction technologies. Through trying new tech and then sharing his process, a number of his friends and neighbours have subsequently followed the same paths, especially with heat pumps. Innovators like Ian help others get comfortable with making changes that can seem risky and difficult otherwise. 

 Caption: Ian’s solar panels also provide shade to help cool his home in the summer: Solar thermal at front (two 4’x8’ collectors, solar electric (PV – partial system) rear. High albedo roof. 

Ian’s Words of Wisdom 

• Don’t be fooled by contractors who tell you your home needs a furnace or boiler. “Many contractors would just prefer that you get a new furnace or boiler that’s ‘efficient’ – its easiest and cleanest for them”. But just because it’s easy and clean for them doesn’t mean it’s easy and clean for your home, or the environment. Ian recommends seeking out companies who specialize in heat pumps. 

• Get an induction stove: “An induction stove is a truly remarkable thing – cooking time, ease of cleaning (especially the cleaning)” Not to mention burn safety, and no gas emissions in your kitchen. 

At a Glance 

*24 years! Yes, it’s a long time, but it was intentional. Ian didn’t want to replace his appliances until they kicked the bucket. He shows us that retrofits don’t need to be done all at once— planning for your gas appliances’ end-of-life is a great strategy for electrification. We love his long-term view! 

Background 

While Ian’s background as an energy engineer gave him a head start, his story is full of helpful lessons for any homeowner. His journey shows that with patience and planning, our homes can become havens of sustainability and comfort.  

Ian purchased his 1,700 sq. ft. mid-row house in 1999. His house was built in 1905 and came with many of the original, leaky features—single-pane windows, no roof insulation, and minimal wall insulation. When Ian moved in, his house was equipped with a mid-efficiency gas furnace and standard gas appliances.  In other words, there was lots of room for improvement.  

As a new energy engineer at the time of buying his home, Ian decided to use his house as a real-world lab.  Thanks to people like Ian who’ve spent years trying new technologies, energy retrofit technologies have gotten much easier for us now. 

Over the years, Ian made upgrades and worked with new products and new retrofit philosophies as they came to market. He was careful not to bite off more than he could chew. As best practices evolved, so did his upgrades. The next section will cover what it took for Ian to move from basic air sealing to full electrification and solar generation.  

Preparation  

Ian began tracking his home’s energy and water use in 2002. The real time data was crucial for his later decision making (make sure you don’t skip finding your baselines).  

A planner through and through, Ian timed his upgrades to line up with end-of-life replacements or renovations. This is a cost-effective strategy, as well as one that allowed him to take his time to research, design and implement the best option for his home. Here at THE Network, we are big fans of planning for your appliances’ end-of-life well in advance. There’s nothing worse than needing to scramble to get a quick replacement installed when your furnace dies unexpectedly in the middle of winter! 

Finally, almost every upgrade Ian made has resulted in cost savings.  For example, the solar thermal system replaced a rental water heater and cut the cost to heat water for the home in half. Only the heat pump heating was a ’deliberate’ increase in operating costs, however it is now cost-neutral. 

The Work 

Ian designed some of the improvements himself and sought individual firms for help with tasks outside his wheelhouse.  As listed above, Ian made over 15 energy upgrades to his home over the years. Alongside some of the larger projects (i.e. installing heat pumps and solar panels), you’ll notice Ian has invested time into some ‘lighter weight’ upgrades such as adding native plants to the outside landscape, tree planting, and getting a rain barrel. Although they seem small, these upgrades are impactful. Ian notes that preventing stormwater runoff is “probably the most important thing you can do in a local context”, especially to help prevent sewage overflow into Lake Ontario, polluting our water and interfering with aquatic ecosystems.  

Unfortunately, Ian's rebate options were limited, but he did take advantage of a federal EV charger incentive and participate in Ontario’s microFIT solar program. 

Over the years as Ian upgraded multiple gas appliances to electric, he found that this required an increase to his home’s electrical load capacity. He had to upgrade his electrical panel to 200-Amp Service, which is required for many homeowners as they transition to more electric appliances. Something exciting? New load management electrical components are arriving in the Ontario market and these could help with the cost of that 200A upgrade. Plus, every home is different, and the electrical load needed depends on many factors. This includes the number of appliances, efficiency of appliances, insulation of the home, etc. Take a look at Canada’s Home Electrification Toolkit, Chapter 12. (pg. 62) to get a better sense of what your home will need. 

 Caption: A heat pump hot water heater replaces the gas hot water heater 

The Results 

Ian's house is now fully electric, and the upgrades have cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 96%. His home is also much more comfortable to live in: triple-pane windows keep things quiet and cozy, and roof insulation combined with a light-colored surface has made the upstairs noticeably cooler, even during the hottest summer days. 

Thanks to his solar panels, Ian’s home now produces about half of its own electricity—even while running heat pumps for heating and hot water. And as a bonus, the panels provide extra shade that helps cool the house even more. Two solar thermal collectors handle more than half of the household’s hot water needs, with the rest covered by a heat pump water heater. 

In the end, Ian’s dedication has paid off—he now enjoys a quiet, comfortable, and gas-free home that’s ready for the future. You can explore more of Ian’s insights and track his progress at www.towardsnetzero.org. 

Ian’s heat pump (Mitsubishi Zuba 4-ton) with EV charger cable running along the fence. You can also see pipes leading to the solar thermal system on the right-hand side