Great Northern Insulation Insulates Home with an Air-Tightness that Exceeds Net Zero Requirements Using BASF's HP+ Wall System
June 19, 2019
Woodstock, ON, June 19, 2019 - The HP+ TM Wall System, created by BASF and installed by Great Northern Insulation (GNI), was used to construct a net zero energy (NZE) home in North Bay, Ontario. The NZE home passed an airtightness test with 0.77 air changes per hour (ACH), which is 0.83 ACH less than required to meet NZE certification for a single, detached home. Homeowners, John Halliday and Catherine Ella, had direct involvement in the design and development of their home.
Halliday, a native of North Bay, was determined to construct a NZE home. The BASF HP+ Wall System, is gaining popularity with homebuilders across Canada, and has now been used in two NZE ready builds in Ontario.
“Actually, I had met a BASF construction specialist, who also happened to be from North Bay, at a net zero builder’s course,” said Halliday. “The combination of Neopor® rigid insulation, WALLTITE® spray foam insulation, and the unique 2x4 framing of the HP+ XR Series wall system, is designed to significantly reduce thermal bridging and increase wall performance. It is really suited to the type of climate we have here in northern Ontario. I believe this wall system was very instrumental in providing a very tight, and draft free home.”
According to Halliday, the home has surpassed his expectations by being the most quiet, comfortable, draft-free and evenly heated and cooled home he has lived in. Halliday expects the features of BASF’s HP+ Wall System to become mandatory elements of future building codes.
“We’ve been working very closely with Great Northern Insulation to bring awareness of the BASF HP+ Wall System to builders,” said Kevin Nagle, Residential Construction Specialist for BASF Canada in Ontario. “Building codes are becoming increasingly more stringent in terms of energy efficiency, and a net zero home offers a significant increase in energy efficiency performance, especially when thermal bridging is minimized, and air tightness is maximized using a tested system like the BASF HP+ Wall System XR Series. This is our opportunity to improve the building industry as a whole.”
“If I could shout from a rooftop at everyone to use the BASF HP+ wall system, I would,” said Steve Reesor, President of GNI. “Existing building stock represents 17 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. We desperately need to lower this number through innovative new products and available rebates. When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter how you achieve net zero, it just needs to be done.”
To find out more about how Great Northern Insulation and the HP+ XR Series wall system, please visit https://www.gni.ca/basf-hp-wall-systems.
