Passive homes house Indigenous

June 21 2018

A $6.4 million townhouse development primarily for Indigenous tenants, built to the latest Passive House standards, will help Nanaimo address a severe shortage of affordable housing.
Nanaimo is wrestling with a growing homeless population. There are at least two homeless camps, and a brewing controversy over the number of people camping in mobile homes and campers.
The 25-unit Nuutsumuut Lelum project will offer suites from $375 for bachelor units to $900 for three-bedroom townhouse units. These units are geared toward—but not exclusively for—Indigenous people, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., which spearheaded the project. The cost per unit is $256,000, as the land was donated by the City of Nanaimo. B.C. Housing provided $4.7 million of the total cost.
The complex has been designed to Passive House standards—each of the 25 units will have a minimum of 85 per cent energy reduction from a standard unit.
To put that in perspective, one of the three-bedroom townhouse units will have a monthly Hydro bill of around $20 in the winter months.
Reinforced insulation for windows, doors and floors helps keep cold out of the units. Each unit is also outfitted with heat recovery ventilation.