HCP wants leak-free Westmount homes

A wish to make Westmount’s homes heat conserving and free of air leaks is behind a new initiative of the Healthy City Project.

“Our ability to become a sustainable community will be dependent on how we manage our energy consumption,” says Environment Committee Chairperson Jenny Patton.

To elaborate the theme, Patton has invited eco-renovator Emmanuel Cosgrove to speak at a public breakfast meeting in Victoria Hall next Thursday, Nov. 29, at 8:15 a.m.

Cosgrove’s work is highlighted by his reconstructed home on Park Ave, for which he is claiming a LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — certification.

Patton recognizes that although many homes depend on electricity for heating and other energy needs — and a handful even have geo-thermal pumps — the vast majority use oil or natural gas, both of which contribute to global warming.

“It is not practical for everyone to immediately switch to relatively benign alternatives,” Patton says, but we should take the next step — which is to make major savings through leak-free homes.

Although there are relatively few new buildings currently being constructed in the community, there is a boom in restoration and improvements.

The HCP his encourages sustainable measures during renovations. The Environment Committee would like LEED standards to apply throughout the Westmount.

The certification is sponsored by the Green Building Council, supported by Environment Canada. Criteria has already been established for large buildings and achieved by many, including the Tohu circus arts building and the new Concordia University pavilion on St. Catherine Street.

Although a US residential version exists, a Canadian adaptation is still being finalized. Cosgrove is a Quebec delegate to the panel working on it.