Monthly Archives: August 2011

Post By: Bruno Poitras

I have to say that I’ve never been much of a fisherman but I had a blast on the water recently. Many of you are probably picturing a tiny rowboat sitting in the middle of a lake, probably with the enthusiast himself fast asleep. This is pretty to close to the picture I would have conjured up too but this deep-sea adventure was nothing like that. After an early morning drive to Eastern Passage, my group set out on the Atlantic in search of the thrill of the catch; which so happened to be blue sharks.

Going with Blue Shark Charters was definitely the right choice as we were all very well prepared thanks to their helpful website.  The crew was amazing to say the least. After our very first catch the captain, Zack, and his first mate, Jeff, explained the shark’s anatomy and gave us some really cool information. Who knew that a shark was made up of 80% liver?

After eight hours of fun we had caught nine sharks and were ready to head back to shore. Out biggest catch of the day turned out to be seventy-two and a half inches of pure fight but we managed to haul it in. I would definitely recommend a fishing trip for anyone who wants to try something new but I don’t suggest it for the faint of heart. Whether you’re a group of friends looking to create more good memories or co-workers looking to strengthen your relationships, it’s a great way to bond.

Check them out at: http://www.bluesharkcharters.com/

Enjoy the open seas, as I’m sure you will!

Efficiency New Brunswick Announces First Two Homes Qualify For Net Zero Incentive

Martell Home Builders’ ECOmmunity features EcoPlusHomes that have received an EnerGuide rating of 93 and have qualified for $7500 per home in rebates from the Province

EnerGuide rating of 93/100 is unveiled at Moncton’s ECOmmunity.  From left to right: Pierre Boudreau, Moncton City Council; Pierre Martell, CEO Martell Home Builders; Axel Lerche, President EcoPlusHomes; Jacques Roy, Maple Leaf Homes; Hector Doiron, Efficiency NB.

Moncton, NB (August 22, 2011) – Efficiency NB was onsite to launch Atlantic Canada’s first ECOmmunity of highly energy-efficient and affordable EcoPlusHomes at a public event hosted by Martell Home Builders on Sunday, August 21, 2011.

The ECOmmunity is located at the Sterling Meadows development on MacCoun Street, just off the old Shediac Road in Moncton.

Pierre Martell, the project’s general contractor stated: “Depending on homeowners energy-use habits, these homes can put money in their owners’ pockets to pay off mortgages faster than if they built a conventionally efficient home – that’s great news for home owners, and the planet.”

Each bungalow is built using two airtight modularly constructed sections from Fredericton-based Maple Leaf Homes, and is powered by the EcoPlusHome system of integrated energy systems from German renewable-energy technology leader Bosch, and include:

• 20 photovoltaic cells to generate electricity from sunlight
• 2 solar thermal panels to heat domestic hot water from the sun’s heat
• 1 two-tonne geothermal heat pump to heat and cool the home using the earth’s constant temperature

The turn-key EcoPlusHome technology package is unique in North America as it integrates the three Bosch renewable-energy systems to support each other in delivering maximum energy-cost savings and GHG emission reductions to the homeowner.

“EcoPlusHome has made highly energy-efficient housing affordable, and accessible, to the public and to eco-conscious developers such as Martell who want to do good and do well,” said Alex Lerche, President, EcoPlusHome.

These homes combine a very energy efficient building envelope with high efficiency heating, ventilation and hot water systems and an alternative energy system that will produce at least 50% of the electrical energy needs for its residents.  This combination makes these houses eligible for Efficiency NB’s maximum incentive for new construction.  The Minister responsible for Efficiency NB and Minister of Energy, Craig Leonard, said they are actually the first homes to qualify for the new $7500 net zero incentive.

“These homes are the impressive result of a strong collaboration and commitment to energy efficiency and I congratulate all the parties involved,” said Leonard. “Through the work of Efficiency NB and strongly committed builders and homeowners we are raising the bar for new residential construction in New Brunswick.

Depending on the energy consumption habits of its eventual owners, the Martell ECOmmunity EcoPlusHomes have the potential to be “net-zero” meaning their photovoltaic solar panels generate at least as much electricity as the homes and their occupants consume.

Martell has applied the $7,500 rebates against the list price of each home which are currently for sale at  $279,900. The EcoPlusHome system can be configured for any new home.

The Martell Home Builders EcoPlusHome ECOmmunity will be open for public tours Sundays from 2-4pm. For a private tour please contact Natalie Davison at 506-232-1276 or natalie@themartellexperience.com

Photograph by zharth on Flickr

Summer is a great season—beaches, vacations, BBQs on your patios…  But as we enter the dog-days of summer, you home may feel more like a sauna than a refuge.  If you have air conditioning, your utility bills are skyrocketing.  It doesn’t have to be this way.

Here are a few easy ways to keep your cool this summer:

1. Fans are your Friends.

Neither ceiling nor portable fans use much energy to power, but both offer great air circulation. They can make the temperature in the room feel up to seven degrees cooler and are much more efficient than air conditioning, In large rooms, ceiling fans work best, as they blow air downwards—just make sure they are rotating counterclockwise to circulate the cooler air. In bedrooms and small areas, portable fans do a good job.  For added cooling, place a frozen bottle of water in front of a table fan. Be sure to turn them off when you leave the room.

2. Savvy Shades

The best way to keep your home cool is to keep the heat out. Consider installing solar screens or reflective window film to the outside of your windows, especially ones that get direct sunlight throughout the day. Solar screens can prevent up to eighty percent of solar heat from entering your home through the windows. Alternatively, be sure to keep your blinds and curtains closed during the day.

3. Get Greenery

Consider planting trees on the side of your house that gets the most sun. Leafy deciduous trees will shade your home and keep things considerably cooler in the summer. Come winter, the trees will loose their leaves and let sunlight through when it’s needed.

4. Power Down

Unless you absolutely need them, turn off incandescent lights and heat-generating appliances. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents or LEDs; they produce the same light but use a fifth the energy and heat.  Turn off your computer when you’re not using it. Also avoid the summer reruns and turn the TV off—it generates a lot of heat. Some plug-in power adapters also give off heat, so unplug you cell phone charger when you’re not using it..

5. Eat Out(side)

Your oven really heats up your kitchen.  Use your barbecue instead!  When cooking inside,  rice cookers, crock pots, and pressure cookers are great ways to heat up food without heating up your house too much.  If you must use your stove or oven turn on your  hood fan to vent the hot air outside.

6. Keep Dry

Humidity makes room air feel warmer. Minimize mid-day laundry, showering, and cleaning. When you must do these things, be sure to turn on ventilating fans to help extract warm, moist air.

7.  Let the Evening Air In

As the temperature falls in the evening, open some windows. This will let the evening air come through and cool the house. Maximize the impact by using table fans to create a cross breeze. Just be sure to close them before the temperature starts to rise again!

“Join us this Sunday and step inside our first EcoPlusHomes in Moncton”

– Pierre Martell

Sunday August 21 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Sterling Meadows development on MacCoun Street, just off the old Shediac Road in Moncton

This Sunday we’re excited to host a special event with launching the province’s first ECOmmunity – featuring two EcoPlusHomes constructed by our team in the past couple of months.

From 1pm until 4pm, visitors will be able to tour the homes and talk with industry representatives about the energy efficiencies and how they literally put money in your pocket as a homeowner.

The high EnerGuide scores of 93 or greater, have earned each home a $7,500 energy efficiency incentive rebate – the maximum available from Efficiency New Brunswick for new-home construction.

These carbon-conscious homes can save their owners $3,500 in energy costs and reduce green house gases by more than 80% each year – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Resale values for EcoPlusHomes should also be accelerated as North American energy costs continue to rise in the years to come.

Depending on your energy-use habits, these homes can also help pay down your mortgage faster than if you build or buy a home with conventional energy efficiency standards.

Each of the Sterling Meadows EcoPlusHomes is constructed using two airtight modular sections in partnership with Fredericton-based Maple Leaf Homes. The home itself is powered by a network of integrated renewable energy sources from Bosch of Germany – helping to redefine the future of sustainable homebuilding.

As Pierre Martell points out, “Depending on the energy consumption habits of its eventual owners, Moncton’s EcoPlusHomes have the potential to be “net-zero” – meaning their photovoltaic solar panels generate at least as much electricity as the homes and their occupants consume.”

Axel Lerche, President of EcoPlusHomes has worked directly with Martell Home Builders to ensure these homes exceed industry standards while remaining affordable and accessible, to the public and the eco-conscious developer.

“It is our sincere hope that citizens, developers and municipalities across North America will look to the EcoPlusHomes in Moncton’s Sterling Meadows as a meaningful, practical example of how best to meet the growing demand for cost and energy-efficient housing that reduces electrical demand and green house gas emissions, and saves people money.” said Lerche.

The Martell Home Builders ECOmmunity will be open for public tours from 2-4 pm every Sunday beginning August 21, 2011. For a private tour please contact Natalie Davison at 506-232-1276 or natalie@themartellexperience.com.

For general information contact:

Natalie Davison, Martell Home Builders

506-232-1276

natalie@themartellexperience.com

We know that we are very lucky. We love what we do!!

We build homes- not just houses- homes.  We’ve selected a handful of our favourite homes and highlighted them in a series of four videos.  Thank you to our awesome clients for letting us into your homes and sharing them with us & you.

Enjoy!!

Our Great Homes: Part One

Our Great Homes: Part Two

Our Great Homes: Part Three

Our Great Homes: Part Four

Post By: Daniel Cormier, Project Coordinator

Last weekend I went tubing down the Miramichi River with friends on a nice sunny day. This was a fun activity to do and was well worth the drive. This year I noticed a couple of new additions to the river run as well. They added a 1000ft zip line that passes 40ft above the river, which was awesome.

As for the staff, they did an awesome job; they had staff members going up and down the river on a motorized canoe just to check if everything is okay and how people were doing. They also have a bus shuttle that picks you up where you parked your car and drops you off at the start of the run. During the shuttle ride we even had the owner of Stewart’s Tubing (who was very funny and entertaining) give us instructions and answer all of our questions before we got on the river.

The run down the river was about two hours of nice, sunny weather. Then, at the end of the run, there was a deeper section of the river where you could get out of your tube and have a little swim or even jump off the “Tarzan” rope.

I would definitely recommend anyone who wants to cool down on a nice summer day to take a drive to Stewart’s Tubing for a nice relaxing day.

www.stewartstubing.com

EcoPlusHome technology uses free renewable energy to run your home.

Join us on August 21st from 1-4pm for the Martell EcoCommunity Launch.

Improve the way you build or buy your next home.

Using advanced alternative energy solutions by Bosch, Martell Home Builders – in partnership with EcoPlusHome and Maple Leaf Homes – are building two EcoPlusHomes in Sterling Meadows (off the Old Shediac Road) each with pre-construction EnerGuide ratings of 93 out of 100.

If you’ve been reading about the Martell EcoPlusHome project on our Blueprint Blog then you already know that the pre-construction EnerGuide 93 rating is thirteen points over what’s previously been considered an industry leading rating for a newly constructed home.

Here is just a glimpse of the technology that makes it all possible.

Solar Panels for Power, Hot Water

The technology to generate electricity and heat your water draws its power from the sun using two types of solar panels developed by Bosch, the world leader in renewable technology. The first is a photovoltaic panel that generates electricity and the second is a thermal solar panel that heats hot water for baths, dishes and laundry.

The results have quieted the naysayers who question Atlantic Canada’s ability to produce enough energy from the sun. Most of Canada receives at least seven megajoules of sunlight each day – which is enough to supply an average household’s power requirement of about 2,000 watt hours from one 200-watt photovoltaic panel!

The solar panels are also surprisingly attractive and can withstand hurricane force winds and snow loads up to 35 pounds per square foot.

Geothermal Heat Pumps

EcoPlusHomes also use geothermal heat pump systems – the most energy and cost efficient systems on the market with the greenest technology for heating and cooling. When powered by the EcoPlusHome’s photovoltaic panels these systems have no carbon dioxide emissions or any other negative effects on the environment.

The first two EcoPlusHomes at Sterling Meadows are projected to save their owners 75% or more on their energy bills for electricity, heating, cooling and hot water than if the houses had only been built to code with lower energy efficiency (e.g. EnerGuide rating of just 69).

The vertical ground loop system uses the relatively constant temperature of the earth (thermal energy) to provide heating, air conditioning and hot water.

Ground and water temperatures, six feet below the earth’s surface, stay relatively constant throughout the year. This allows the system to provide extremely efficient heating or cooling all year long in virtually any climate.

With the EcoPlusHome’s pre-construction EnerGuide ratings of 93, owners will likely qualify for Efficiency New Brunswick’s maximum $7,500 rebate incentive. Depending on energy consumption habits, the homeowner can recover their initial investment in as little as 5 years.

Knowing that an investment in an EcoPlusHome will pay for itself while allowing you to saving dramatically on your energy costs, reduce carbon emissions and increase the long-term resale value of your home – which home would you choose to build or buy?

See the technology and crunch the numbers during our EcoPlusHome event at Sterling Meadows on August 21st from 1-4pm .

Improve the way you buy or build your next home.

Note: All EcoPlusHome energy consumption, energy cost savings, and green house gas emission data are calculated using Natural Resources Canada official statistics for an average family of four (2 adults, 2 children). These statistics also assume the EcoPlusHome uses compact fluorescent lighting and EnergyStar rated appliances. EcoPlusHomes are connected to the local municipal electrical grid to ensure a continuous power supply on overcast days.

What are you doing October 2, 2011?

We hope that you’ll be joining us in the CIBC Run For The Cure as Martell Hope Builders! We want to raise a TON of money to support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation & we want to have one of the biggest teams in the city. Friends, family, everyone… join Martell Hope Builders as we run/walk/crawl/get-pushed-in-a-stroller for the cure!

Join our team here!

If you absolutely cannot join us on October 2 and want to support us, you can make a donation by clicking the same link.

Let’s have a blast raising as much money as we can for the cure!

“The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is Canada’s largest single day, volunteer-led fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research, and education and awareness programs. It was created by a small group of volunteers who wanted to raise awareness and funds for the cause. The first event took place in Toronto in 1992 where over 1,500 participants raised $85,000.

Last year, support of the Run for the Cure grew stronger, with record-breaking dollars raised and unwavering corporate and volunteer support. In 60 communities, more than 170,000 supporters united as runners, walkers, donors, volunteers and partners, to raise $33 million. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is extremely grateful for this support and is honoured to be entrusted by the nation to continue to lead the way in creating a future without breast cancer.

Run or walk 5k or 1k at this year’s Run for the Cure on Sunday, October 2nd.” (www.runforthecure.com)

Looking for a one-of-a-kind gift? Maybe you’re like me and have a soft spot for anything homemade… Whatever the reason, you should check out the Victoria Park Arts & Crafts Fair, August 5-7, in Moncton’s Victoria Park.

This event has been such a hit in past years that Tourism New Brunswick has ranked it among the Top 20 events in the province! 2011 marks year 31 of the fair and organizers are expecting to see over 14,000 people over the duration of the weekend.

“Victoria Park is such a scenic and beautiful location,” organizer Greg Turner told the Times & Transcript. “It’s such a great, laid-back, relaxing atmosphere. There’s music, the fountain, birds, the beautiful flower gardens, and the trees. And you get the setting surrounded by Victorian homes, so it’s wonderful. We’ve attracted artisans from five provinces, including Ontario, Quebec and the three Maritime provinces.”

I’m excited to get some one-of-a-kind fashion for my kids. Check out my favourite! These iron on neckties from Monkey Bum Designs: www.monkeybumdesigns.com.

Come on and discover some great products, services and businesses while enjoying the beautiful surroundings of Victoria Park.

* WHAT: Victoria Park Craft Fair
* WHEN: Friday through Sunday
* Friday: 2 p.m.-8:30 p.m
* Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m
* Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
* WHERE: Victoria Park, downtown Moncton
* ADMISSION: $4 per person per day. Children under the age of 12 admitted free.

You can find more information at www.victoriapark-crafts.com.

Join us on August 21st from 1-4pm to learn how you can reduce your energy costs and carbon emissions when you buy an EcoPlusHome at Sterling Meadows.

The first two EcoPlusHomes at Sterling Meadows are projected to save their owners 75% or more on their energy bills for electricity, heating, cooling and hot water than if the houses had only been built to code with lower energy efficiency (e.g. EnerGuide rating of just 69). In addition, annual projected green house gas emissions are expected to be at least 80% lower – the equivalent of taking three cars off the road each year.

With energy prices increasing every year and supply in question, these savings are compelling enough to take a closer look.

The buzzword in sustainable home construction is net-zero housing … a house that provides owners with the opportunity to use less energy than it generates. In other words, zero energy consumption from the power grid which translates into huge savings!

While “living off the grid” conjures up images of a modest dwelling beside a lake in the woods, inhabited by granola-eating tree-huggers, a net-zero home is a game changer in the sense that it offers a comfortable and viable living option that is suited for living in suburbia.

The net-zero concept depends on two key elements: the energy efficiency/generating capacity of the home, and the energy consumption patterns of the homeowners. With the potential of an EcoPlusHome, homeowners with the desire to save money and the planet can now be closer than ever to living a net-zero lifestyle within their own four walls depending on how much energy they choose to consume.

It is important to note that EcoPlusHome energy consumption, energy cost savings, and green house gas emission data are calculated using Natural Resources Canada official statistics for an average family of four (two adults, two children). These statistics also assume the EcoPlusHome uses compact fluorescent lighting and EnergyStar rated appliances.

Using advanced alternative energy solutions by Bosch, Martell Home Builders – in partnership with EcoPlusHome and Maple Leaf Homes – are building two EcoPlusHomes at Sterling Meadows (off the Old Shediac Road) with pre-construction EnerGuide ratings of 93 out of 100.

The Martell EcoPlusHome is the premier energy-efficient home on the Moncton market with a payback on a homeowner’s investment being realized in as little as five years depending on the homeowner’s energy consumption habits (and that’s based on today’s power rates).

Knowing that an investment in an EcoPlusHome will pay for itself by allowing you to continue saving on energy costs while increasing the eventual resale value of your home – which home would you choose to build or buy?

We are very excited about this project.  Please plan to come out to see it for yourself on August 21st.