2012 January | Inside The Housing Evolution

This blog follows the latest trends in high performance housing from an insider's perspective. I am the General Manager of one of Ottawa's leading homebuilders - Urbandale Construction, and it gives me a firsthand view of how the industry is changing. I've seen the barriers that builders face when trying to market new technologies and I've been working directly to overcome these barriers to bring new energy efficient designs into Urbandale homes.

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January 20, 2012No Comments

The Third Industrial Revolution

I just finished a very thought provoking book called “The Third Industrial Revolution”, by Jeremy Rifkin. Rifkin’s theory is that the world is on the cusp of a Third Industrial Revolution that will change the world’s economies and societies as dramatically as the First and Second Industrial Revolutions had in the 1800s and 1900s. The [...]

January 18, 2012No Comments

Live Chat Today on Ottawa Citizen Online

Today I’ll be doing a live chat for the Ottawa Citizen website on energy efficient construction. My guest panelist will be David Foster, the Director of Environmental Affairs for the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. Log in here today between noon and 1:00.

January 3, 20124 Comments

2012 – The Coming Apocalypse for Inefficient Homes

2012 promises to be a defining year for energy efficient housing in Ontario as the Ontario Building Code is being updated to include energy efficiency targets for the first time. In conjunction, the ENERGY STAR® program and the R-2000 program are also changing to make their energy efficiency targets significantly more stringent. With all these [...]

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Matthew Sachs

B. Eng. LEED AP

General Manager of Urbandale Construction since May 2008
Vice-Chair R-2000 Renewal Committee
Member of Energy Star Technical Advisory Committee
Greater Ottawa Homebuilders Green Committee
Recipient of Canadian Homebuilder’s Association 2009 R-2000 Builder of the Year Award
Participant in Natural Resources Canada’s Technology Roadmap for Sustainable Housing
Energy Consultant with Marbek Resource Consultants (Feb 2002 – May 2006)

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ABOUT URBANDALE CONSTRUCTION:

Ottawa's Quality Homebuilder for 30 Years. Building R-2000 and Energy Star Homes in Kanata Lakes, Riverside South, & Bridlewood in Ottawa, and in eQuinelle in Kemptville. For more information on Urbandale Construction, please visit www.urbandale.com.

INSIDE THE HOUSING EVOLUTION by Matthew Sachs